302 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



AUGL^T IS, ISSIS. 



imparts pleasure lo and creates con- 

 fidence in your customers. See that 

 your store is painted now during the 

 dull season. We shall deal on store 

 "fittings" in another issue. 



The finest flower obtainable now is 

 Cattleya Gigas Sanderiana, the giant 

 flowering Cattleya. It is a superb 

 flower and adaptable for almo-st any 

 form of decoration. It usually has 

 from two to seven flowers on a spike. 

 If a lady wants something fine to 

 wear, send her a spray of these grand 

 flowers without greens of any kind 

 and twist the stem with and tie a 

 bow of very narrow ribbon, which 

 must be the exact color of either the 

 lip or petals. A white or violet head- 

 ed pin should be sent with it. If a 

 bouquet or loose bunch of these flow- 

 ers are ordered the greens used to hold 

 them in place should be Asparagus 

 tenuissimus, which should be covered 

 with Adiantum Farleyense, or A. gra- 

 cilliraum. No wires should be visible, 

 the stem made very small and twist 

 and tie with Cattleya ribbou. Remem- 

 ber the finishing touch is what tells; 

 ribbon the handle of your bouquets the 

 same color as that used for the bow 

 and have your arrangement light and 

 graceful. Good prices should always 

 be asked for orchids. Cattleyas ar- 

 ranged are worth one dollar or more 

 each flower. 



Stephanotis floribunda, or grandiflo- 

 ra, makes the very choicest of bridal 

 bouquets. It is even finer and more 

 appropriate than white orchids. 

 In arranging cut off the stiff stem and 

 leaves and stem the clusters with stiff 

 wire. Use Asparagus tenuissimus or 

 smilax tor holding greens and fringe 

 off with Adiantum gracillimum, inter- 

 laced with the finest tulle or delicate 

 lace twine, the handle with white satin 

 ribbon and tie with a large bow of 

 double faced satin ribbon or delicate 

 tulle. Large bridal bouquets are no 

 longer stylish for the reason that 

 they are too heavy and clumsy 

 to carry in proper position. The up- 

 to-date bouquet must be very light and 

 graceful, so that the bride may carry 

 it upright instead of upside down, as 

 is usually the case when over-large or 

 heavy. A well made bouquet of Steph- 

 anotis is worth from $25 to $50. ac- 

 cording to the trimmings used. 



Bouquets of Dendrobium Jamesia- 

 num with Adiantum Farleyense and 

 trimmings as above make a very hand- 

 some thing and can be sold from $20 

 to $35 in both cases. The bridegroom 

 should wear the same flower. Fine 

 valley can be had now and it is always 

 choice. When you are puzzled on 

 what to send in the way of fine flow- 

 ers don't be afraid to recommend val- 

 ley, but it must be fresh. Take off the 

 usual rope we find around it and re- 

 bunch it, arranging the best spikes 

 high above the foliage. 



Here is a case many of us have to 

 meet at frequent intervals. On Satur- 

 day one of the richest ladies of New 

 York sent an order from Newport for 



a boutonniere of white carnations to 

 be sent to a certain party five miles 

 from the store. We were sold out of 

 white carnations and there were none 

 to be had in the market. We spent 

 ten cents car fare to another store, 

 wliere we bought the carnations, six in 

 number, for which we paid 20 cents. 

 We had to arrange the six carnations 

 in one boutonniere, put It up In a spe- 

 cial boutonniere box, with fine paper 

 and pin, and send a special messen- 

 ger with it. This all cost us about 75 

 cents, but we could only charge 2."i 

 cents for it, and yet this must often 

 be done simply because it pays. Don't 

 grumble if you are out of pocket on 



some of your orders when they ai'e 

 from good customers. You can make 

 it all up on the next order they send 

 you. 



The choicest funeral design New 

 York can produce just now is a well 

 made crescent wreath of lily of the 

 valley with a large cluster of Cattle- 

 yas and a broad bow of white or Cat- 

 tleya ribbon, but it must be made fine. 

 From 1.000 to 1..500 valley and 25 Cat- 

 tleyas can be used in a 30-inch wreath. 

 No green should be seen but a narrow 

 fringe of Farleyense on the outer edge. 

 Such a wreath will bring from .fi')0 to 

 $75. D. 



(To be continued.) 



ORIGINATION OF NEW VARIETIES. 



Cross-fertilization. — I believe none of 

 the readers of these notes are ignorant 

 of the presence of sexes in plants, and 

 how fertilization to produce seed is 

 effected, so I will only speak of mat- 

 ters to facilitate fertilization. But it 

 will be well to mention the changes 

 cultivation has caused in the build of 

 flowers and what effect it his on the 

 production of seed. 



A naturalist pronounces the double 

 flowers, that we so strenuously try to 

 improve and perpetuate, monstrosities, 

 as interfering with the free production 

 of seed, the numerous stamens being 

 converted into petals, thus invalidat- 

 ing fertilization. This is not the only 

 irregularity caused by culture; there 

 are others, but not quite so noticeable. 

 In a large collection of seedlings we 

 often find some that are incapable of 

 producing seed, caused by the partial 

 or total absence of sexual organs; oth- 

 ers apparently perfect, but when used 

 as seed parents have proven fruitless, 

 indicating some derangement. Of such 

 varieties Albertini and Scott are fair 

 examples, while they are incapable to 

 produce seed, the value of the pollen is 

 unquestionable when transferred to 

 other varieties, and vice versa. A va- 

 riety may be able to produce seed, 

 when fertilized with fertile pollen, its 

 own pollen being sterile. So failures 

 to produce seed on artificially fertilized 

 fiowers can mostly be attributed to 

 that source. 



There is often a misunderstanding 

 regarding hybridization and cross-fer- 

 tilization, the two being confounded. 

 Hybridization is the crossing of two 

 distinct species of a genus of plants. 

 Cross-fertilization is when the pollen 

 of one flower is carried to another. 

 This may be of the same p*lant or from 

 the flower of one plant to another of 



the same species or variety to fertilize 

 same, and it is an acknowledged fact 

 that cross-fertilization has the most 

 beneficial effects on the vitality of the 

 progeny so produced. In many varie- 

 ties of plants nature necessitates cross- 

 fertilization by maturing the pollen in 

 advance of the pistil, thu"; preventing 

 a fertilization with the pollen of the 

 same flower, leaving the wovk of fer- 

 tilizing to bees and other insects, who 

 in quest of the nectar carry the pollen 

 on their hairy bodies involuntarily 

 from one flower to another. Our car- 

 nation belongs to this class of plants, 

 but we find it in some varieties more 

 pronounced than in others, and this 

 peculiarity simplifies very much the 

 work of artificial fertilization. What 

 we practice in improving or originat- 

 ing new varieties is simply cross-fer- 

 tilization, for our hundreds of varie- 

 ties are all of the same species. 



The procedure of fertilizing is very 

 simple. I select the fiower to bear the 

 seed when half or nearly open, accord- 

 ing to the advanced growth of the sta- 

 mens, and remove the yet closed and 

 often open pollen containing anthers, 

 to guard against the least -chance of 

 self-fertilization. Then I cut away the 

 Inner petals to give the yet undevel- 

 oped pistil more room and a better 

 chance to develop, the same as it has 

 in a single flower. It will take one. 

 two or more days to develop and ma- 

 ture the pistil, which, when arrived at 

 that stage, can be noticed by the 

 curved, spreading form, slightly curled 

 points, and hairy upper surface to 

 hold the pollen. To apply the pollen 

 we use a very fine camel hair brush, 

 and to make the dry pollea adhere, 

 breathe over the brush to give it a 

 slight touch of moisture, but by no 

 means make it wet, as water will in- 

 jure the pollen and prevent fertiliza- 

 tion. The pollen is thus easily collect- 



