THE FARM AND GARDEN 



TUBEROSES. 



adisplay of brlllumt flower charms, such as would 

 those whose houses are enibellished with stand- 

 ard climbers. 



Large Rhododendrons. 

 A writer in the London Garden gives the dimen- 

 sions of a few standard Rhododendrons planted 

 about thlrty-flve years ago. The largest one was 

 found to measure five feet at the stem, the cir- 

 cumference of which was two feet nine inches; 

 depth of head, ten feet; circumference of head, 

 forty-eight feet. They still retain their freshness 

 and vigor, and are annually covered with bloom. 

 The Philadelphia Florists and Growers had a 

 fine time at their second annual supper. A large 

 number participated, and some good speeches 

 were made. Mr. Evans' remarlis about the new 

 rose, " Her Majesty, " which he has just purchased 

 from Mr. Bennett, were listened to with interest. 

 The gold medal awarded to the originator of this 

 rose, was passed around and much admired. 

 Philadelphia should be proud of her enterprising 

 iflorists. 



By the way, we have a florist and grower in our 

 midst, who now has thirty houses devoted to the 

 choicest of cut flowers. He does not advertise, 

 nor issue a catalogue, but his reputation for grow- 

 ing good stock stands so high tliat ha cannot All 

 orders. Ijeading florists from New York and 

 other large cities get many of their plants from 

 him, because none can grow them as well. The 

 secret is that he has large houses, a good open 

 aituation with plenty of lighl, and above all, he 

 understands his business. What a good thing 

 for the oth'^rs that he does not issue a fine cata- 

 logue ; what a business he would do ! 



The William Francis Bennett Rose seems to 

 have gone ofT with a " boom." Every prominent 

 ,florist catalogues it, and, although the prices 

 range from $1.50 to 2.511 per plant, according to 

 quantity, there is already a good demand for it. 

 ■One grower bought three thousand dollars worth 

 and several si.\ hundred and one thousand dol- 

 lars worth. 



The three beauties advertised so extensively 

 by Messrs. V. H. Hallock, Son & Thorpe, should 

 'be purchased Ijy every lover of flowers. Our 

 friend Blanc tells us that the engraving does not 

 do them justice. The colors of Bessera Elegans, 

 and especially of Cydobotlira Flava, should have 

 been portrayed by a i-olored i>late. The flowers, 

 after being cut, last for a very long time. 'Milla 



Biflora, even if cut before the flowers are open, 

 will expand beautifully in water and last much 

 longer than if left on the plant. The very low 

 price at which these novelties are catalogued, 

 wiU enable every one to buy them in quantity. 



Gloxinias 

 That have been left over since last season, in sand 

 or in their pots, should now be replanted in good, 

 rich, peaty, sandy soil; with good drainage. It 

 is best not to give them too much heat at first; 

 let them come out slowly without giving much 

 water, for fear of rotting the bulbs. 

 Caladiums. 



Florists, and those having greenhouses, will 

 now commence to start the fancy-leaved varieties 

 in lieat. About the best plan is to plant them in 

 a shallow box, filled with moss. Here they will 

 soon begin to grow, and then tliey canbe assorted 

 as to colors. Those who only have a window to 

 grow Caladiums in, should wait until May before 

 starting them. By this means they will grow 

 quickly and strongly, and they will remain in 

 perfection until late in tl>e season. Some English 

 growers now keep their tubers very late, so as to 

 have the plants in all their beauty during the 

 winter instead of summer. 

 Cai.i-a Histata Varieg.^ta. (Spotted-leaf Lily). 



If a strong tuber of this can be procured, it will 

 form a highly ornamental plant. We saw one 

 lastsea.son planted in a twelve inch pot, that was 

 a beauty indeed. It filled the pot witli strong 

 shoots, the leaves being beautifully spotted and 

 so nearly transparent that one could almost see 

 through them. This lily is also a very free bloom- 

 er, although the flower is not as large nor as 

 white as the regular Calla Lily. 



Cereus Caespitosus. 



Last .season we received a number of these rare 

 cacti while they were in bloom, and were much 

 pleased with the pleasing color and fragrance of 



their flowers. We had not paid much attention to 

 the plants during the winter, well knowing how 

 little care they require, we did not even giva 

 tliein a watering, as they were placed in a house 

 where the atmosphere was rather moist. Wo, we 

 were surprised a few days ago in looking over 

 tliem, to find the majority of them jictuaUy in 

 bud; even some of them that had been accident- 

 ally thrown out of their pots, and had not a par- 

 ticle of root left to them. This shows how easily 

 tliese plants are managed. 



If you are about to make up your order for 

 flower seeds, you sliould tr.v some of the novelties 

 sent out for the first time this season, and es- 

 pecially the following : 



luERis Hybriua Nana, 

 (New Tom Thumb Candytuft). This novelty Is of 

 great merit. There can be nothing prettier than 

 this little candytuft for edging beds, borders, 

 rockworks, etc., and it is of particular importance 

 for bouquet making. It makes a true dwarf, 

 compact and beautifully rounded bush. The 

 plant is well adapted for pot culture, but its 

 beauty will be more perfectly developed if planted 

 out in the garden. The flowers appear in great 

 profusion in June, if sown early , and will produce 

 flower-heads continuously, until cut down by 

 frost. It can be had in various colors, viz. : white 

 flesh color, purple and rose. 



Nasturtium Empress of India 



This nasturtium is of a very dwarf habit, and 

 while the flowers are of the most brilliant crim- 

 son color, the color is also of the darkest shade of 

 green, making a beautiful contriist. The flowers 

 are produced in enormous quantities. This nov- 

 elty was awarded a certificate by the Royal Hoi> 

 Hcultural .Society of London, which, alone, is 

 enough to recommend it, as this award is never 

 given e.xcept to novelties of undoubted merit. 



iSTRONG HEALTHY PLANTS ! 



DELIVERED SAFEU BV HAIL. . 



6 f"' 50c. 14 'Of Si. 



6 Choicest New Varieties SI, 

 12 Hardy Scotch Pinks, - SI. 

 12 New Geraniums, - - Sir 

 12 Hybrid Gladiolus. - -_ SI. 



Illustrated Descriptive Priced Catalogue Free 



PEAnL-TUBtnUbt send l.-,c. and nddrees. I wU 



rH.rTra'i'Towe^iTnK iJuTbN with full dirwti<.nM U,r bloom- 

 ing or -I bulbs tor 2S<". Ornii#J:»' llowcred aume pnce. 



CHAS.T. STARR, AVONDALE, CHESTER CO.PA 



^ ORNAMENTAL ff^ 



Foliage plantS 



GREENHOUSE PLANTS, 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



CATALOGUE BIAII.EIJ ON APPLICATION. 



DAVID FERCUSSON &. SONS- 



Ridge and Lehlgb Avenues. Philadelphia, Pa. 



Fifteen Sorts for Only SI.OO, 



Oc 1 Hvl.rid Per, Regies. $i.<yi : or i> Moss Roses, f loo ; or 6 Hardy Cl.ml.ing and 

 & Hybr..l Per Roses. $1.00; or 14 Single Geraniums. Jr.oo; or 14 Dod.le Oct- 

 alliums Jiooor 10 Silver and Golden Tri-Color Geraniums. $1.00 ; or 6 Singly 

 6 Double and 8 Scented Geraniums. Ji.oo; or 15 Chrysanlhemums. i'.">J°'f^ 

 Tuberoses and 7 Gladioli. Si.oo. All strong plants for immediate nowermg. each 

 lalieled, delivered safely bv mail. Choice ]*=w Roses and other plants g'ven away 

 with each ti 25 order. A large and elegaifi collection of miscellaneous plants at 

 To cts each purchasers chofce. THE HOME PLOHIST.-For amateiirs 

 treat, cicnrlyon managing Roses, Fuchsias,, Callas. H^ho^opes Ivies, Violets 

 and 200 other plants, including Annuals, etc. in the C";'<="."''P''"j;iJ" , wo,k 

 v.tlurv H.iw to propagate from Cuttings, Seed, etc. Flowers in ,™ih'7- , "°"^ 

 for each »eelc, etc. Practical, Vi.or, ,..., Or.^ial^'fe/al IMusuated, C„inolc;Je KdiU^^^^ F''^'; ' ^o=„''^, 



;sl''c,oir,\r AMAZING OFFERIr^/ersrfntf^^^^ 



address, CHARLES ft. REESEB, Innisfallen Gfeenhouse, Springfield, Dnijh 



PIERSON'S 

 IMPROVED 



M AGNIFICEN T gffi POPPIIS 



.jHfhnop who want the invest enrden willi the least Ironlilf mid fTiuns/', ahimta not 

 fall to ?ry™he«Tsimpf"sealLMh" seed over tl.e ground whe.e ihe.v tiie in grow 

 Iml\°i'vWhavea?!U(lei, a mnss of c.ilol- lor months. The.v.Et_ow nLom 'We^f 

 ft n/i withj'afm(«'-V>i?lai-B<- fl"wei-s of the richest and moiiii iiiten-i- i-lKirfcs o« 



rotor a claTtw', ,"'£,,, "•,■.,( 0/ th,- .^rclrs a.td are ati o,nc,me„!Jo n„„ „nr,len. 

 Thevnr, iceaneffe.-l lliat r.mm.l be mulrlwd /nr ^rl» .riir-i/-"lM-le<-llv .l..z.z,iin«. 



Tl.fs era id ^ti'iiin whi-h ^v,■ offer has t n ,irnrti„e,l iiri.M- many years ol liiirh cultU 



vVlioS -n I wi.VVi'.wiitorushy the iiinst .•.•Ifl.ral.-.l grower in Europe. Tl<x 



//,',,', , ,, im- «,< r,r,uhs. Fnr bi'illinnl. ,\:,y.ylinB colors these p.i|.|.ies are 



■d .11 V l.vllie Tulii) Thev n.-.> in 1,1... .1.1 Ih. ,rl,nlr summn-.ana niakeashow 



whieii ha.s 

 rival 



WE OFFER A GRAND COLLECTION 



in sepaiiile rolora 



WW k «#i I bii r^ «*iiB»^»»»» WW— — w. asrollows;— 



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 I^git 'Re. . ScarlcrnndVvhUerDark .Sc^^^^ 



Scarlet, UaiU Mordorc. Poppy «",»>. t"'"»'^nr ""J/?' ,^,k'S''JV.Vitsner 

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 paper, or the win. c collcclion. i:!/»7"" '" ""•/'" ""'V.SM ' M?,:,n,"„,'Vp|\v Ih 



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 ill Vil'fir,"'' VVhiV?^ U„s2. ( Hoijon, l.iiac. XVI^ 



and While VarieKtilcd, l>af '".'"•• "'«'?'"'U''' ' h' li.e'^ l^ln'^h Wllitl. 



eaehofllieAV«/,/r.oft„.,for«I.OO. ni l>IU)V Ef) SWl'.KT PKAs. Scarlet. Kose tin. «lilc.niin^h.>^^ 

 Whifclaced with I.avcn.lce, an.l itiack, S oeiils per |.a],er: ..,.- I':'!'^ ■;_:■,'' '',,^',''X^i,",'Z';^^ 



<;oIden-l<!iiided l.ili iil -f-'V-tn, rii'^'i'''''^ 'ni^,na,m,iir, ^j,, cohii^'^H"^^"'''^ iirmo 15 Choi- 



io ;^;:.'; ^.:, *i ; i; r!,,"*!l.' TRY OUR GEM COLLECTION FLOWER S|EDS.|st una, 



5J;'t,^i;';:'oi-^;;>:;;::;;;ror;^i;;;r ORDER AT ONCE. ^.n;;.i^l'i/:;;^w;;"^irsAffii™ 



on receipt of statn^ to y_ j^^ pjERSON, ^illUl^^'o! Sox'm, Tally towH, Ncw Yorfc. 



pay pONtage. Address • 



