NOVKMHKl; 1. IflOO. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



645 



View from the Veranda at Egandale, the home of Mr. W. C. Egan, Highland Park, 111. 



the exhibition table witli a l<iiul of a 

 half-ashanu'd appearanee, you tcivow. 



Just leimniber fliat in feeding your 

 plants too mueh at this season in order 

 to win a prize with your blooms, yon are 

 also saerificing tlieir health and good 

 product later in tlie season. 



James Hart.shoe.\e. 



EGANDALE. 



We present herewith an engraving 

 from a jdiotograpli taken on the ve- 

 randa of the liomc of Mr. W. C. Egan, 

 Highland Park. 111., and giving a view 

 throngli a frame of vines of the main 

 lawn at Kgandale. It is certainly a 

 beautiful picture and the photograph is 

 a remarkable one in that it shows such 

 perfect detail in objects on the veranda, 

 where the light was naturally mueh 

 more subdued than in the open ground 

 beyond. 



It is an instructive picture in many 

 ways. Tlie view of the grounds shows 

 a beautiful bit of landscape, the com- 

 position being most excellent, and the 

 placing of the house and arrangement of 

 the grounds to provide such a view from 

 the veranda >liows excellent judgment 

 and careful forethought. 



!Mr. Egan. by the way, is his own 

 landscape gardener, and gives to his 

 grounds his continued personal atten- 

 tion, he having retired from business 

 about ten years ago. The place con- 

 tains about eight acres and with the 

 work of one regular gardener and an 

 assistant during the sinnnrer it is kept 



in such splendid condition as to excite 

 the admiration of all visitors. 



His beautiful grounds, where almost 

 everything that is good in the line of 

 hardy plants and slirub- may he found, 

 and all in the finest possible condition, 

 have conferred an almost incalculable 

 b'enetit upon Chicago and suburbs in 

 stimulating a taste for fin-e gardening, 

 and to this excellent example we are 

 indebted for the establishment of other 

 gardens that will in tinio add their 

 quota of beauty to the suburbs of this 

 city, which having come to "Build 

 stately," is beginning to "Garden fin'eiy." 



FICUS ELASTICA. 



There are probably few plants known 

 to connnerce that have the many good 

 points that the Ficus elastlca has. The 

 increased demand from year to year, 

 and the universal satisfaction given the 

 buyer, have made them a staple of the 

 florist trade. 



The rubbers need very little atten- 

 tion and stand plenty of abuse. In a 

 strong soil, a warm corner and copious- 

 ly watered, they thrive as few plants 

 do. In the liot rooms of the modern 

 dwelling house they do splendidly and 

 always look handsome. 'I he only atten- 

 tion they need, outside of watering, is 

 to have their leaves sponged occasion- 

 ally. 



To work up a large stock of flcus they 

 can be planted out in benches or the 

 solid bed. I prefer the benches as the 

 heail cuttings can be thoroughly ripened 

 liy withohling water. It is a vital point 



in taking the cuttings to make sure they 

 are well ripened. 



The trouble that so many Horist-- have 

 in rooting ticus from cuttings is the re- 

 sult of soft, unripe wood and from in- 

 serting the cuttings in the sand without 

 the cuts being properly c'.eaned. As 

 soon as the cuttings are taken the ends 

 should be placed in hot water, about 125 

 degrees, and left there an hour or so, till 

 the water has cooled. By that time the 

 water has dissolved the gummy sap 

 from the cut. After being thoroughlj; 

 wiped oft" the leaves can be tied up to 

 economize space and the cuttings placed 

 in the propagating bed. After being 

 cleaned in this way the actual cut comes 

 in contact with, the sand, and not as is 

 so often the case, a gununy callous over 

 the cut. 



I have by observing these two vital 

 points rooted ficus with no loss. The 

 temperature of the sand never above 65 

 degrees and no bottom heat, although 

 they will rsot quicker with bottom heat. 



Ficus are rooted in immense quanti- 

 ties every year by mossing, that is, cut- 

 ting the branch half way through, and 

 an inch or so lengthwise of the stem. 

 Strengthen the weak part by splicing 

 with a small stick, insert rooss between 

 the cut and tie moss around it to about 

 the size of a teacup. I prefer the first 

 method myself as it takes less time, for 

 the moss mus_t be kept moist, and Jn 

 |)ropagating a~ dozen or two this im- 

 portant point is more likely to be neg- 

 lected than in propagating a large quan- 

 titv. " ^ H.-McN. 



