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The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



OCTOBER 13, 189S. 



An odd incident in the history of 

 Lady Fitzwygiam is the fact that Wm. 

 Scott sent the seed from which this 

 variety was grown from America to 

 England, wliere it was introdnced by 

 Mr. H. .J. .Jones (I believe). The fact 

 is the more noticeable because none of 

 the varieties classed as earlies in Eng- 

 land prove early in this country, as 

 witness the whole Des Granges fam- 

 il.v. and in the same way, very many 

 of our early and second early varieties 

 lirove mid.^eason sorts over there; this 

 is very demoralizing to values, as a 

 Des Granges coming into bloom Octo- 

 ber 20 say. with Mrs. H. Robinson, is 

 very decidedly n. g. ; but Lady Fitz- 

 wygram is early on both sides of the 

 water. 



We are very proud of a bright yel- 

 low sport from Fitzwygram; the color 

 is good and the variety, now in its 

 second year, is a very welcome addi- 

 tion, being the only yellow from Sep- 

 tember 21_tiU_Marion Henderson comes 

 in about October 10; it is nearly as 

 welcome as a bright, pure, early pink 

 woulft'-be. 



Midge looks well, but takes consid- 

 erable time to bring its blooms to full 

 size and perfection. Owing to using 

 the very latest cuttings of Geo. S. Kalb 

 we shall' not have it on hand at the 

 proper date, which we regret. It is a 

 little odd that so many of the first 

 earlies should be white in color. 



Midseason sorts ai'e coming on finely, 

 stems thick and heavy at the ground, 

 nicely covered with foliage, and buds 

 swelling from day to day; it is a 

 most interesting interval, these next 

 four weeks, and chrysanthemum lovers 

 grow a little impatient to see devel- 

 oped the new varieties, French, Eng- 

 lish and American, which are to meet 

 their fate this year, as well as those 

 dear seedlings of "our own," which we 

 always watch with an extra touch of 

 solicitude! 



No point of culture is more impoi- 

 tant at this time than keeping the 

 houses absolutely clean, and the walks 

 as dry as possible; watch carefully for 

 the aphis; have' every trace vt iV de- 

 stroyed before the blooms begin to 

 open. ^, <J. Hlbfe — 



There is no more congested state of j 

 the greenhouse at any time of year 

 than just now, and will be till we have 

 some of our chrysanth.^ cut and away. 



Lilies. 



Out of doors entirely without any 

 frame around them would be a perfect- | 

 !y proper place for our Bermuda lilies j 

 that are destined for Easter crop, pro- i 

 viding you were not liable to a rainfall ! 

 far in excess of what was good for the j 

 lilies in their artificial state, or to a 

 sharp frost, which is most certainly in- 

 jurious to them, for that I have proved I 

 to my cost. The longiflorum under [ 

 favorable conditions is hardy, but j 

 when planted close to the surface and ' 

 stimulated by frequent waterings it is 

 in no condition to receive suddenly 

 ten degrees of frost; so have chem so 

 situated that they can be covered with 

 glass or shutters in case of a severe, 

 cold night. 



The Harrisii type is still less hardy 

 from its many years of environment in 

 a semi-tropical island. With due re- 

 spect for the opinion of learned men, 

 I believe the Harrisii or Bermuda lily 

 is only a variety of longiflorum which 

 conditions and euvironment.s of sail 

 and climate have in perhaps a hun- 

 dred years evolved varietal character- 



istics and what are varieties and even 

 species but simply modifications of the 

 individual produced by its surround- 

 ings; or, to put it in another way, the 

 individual adapting itself to its sur- 

 roundings? Man divides varieties from 

 species. Nature has made a division 

 of a genus and we call them species. A 

 genera is a division of an order and 

 orders are branches of a family, and 

 so we get back by slow but sure de- 

 grees to a single cell tht; parent of all, 

 both the animal and vegetable king- 

 dom. But this is not seasonable hints, 

 so to our more practical talic. 



Just now you will be shifting lilies 

 from 3 to 5 inch and from 4 to 6 inch; 

 look out sharply for the disease. It 

 shows Itself by yellow streaks and 

 spots on the leaf, and if it is plainly 

 seen when the plant is only 3 or 4 

 inches high it is useless to think it 

 will ever outgrow it. Pitch them out 

 at your very earliest opportunity. This 

 is the advantage in starting the lilies 

 in a small pot. You can dispose of the 

 diseased ones without their having oc- 

 cupied space or large pots and waste 

 of soil. 



Chrysanthemums. 



Disbudding will soon be done with 

 most varieties. Lateral growth should 



be kept pinched off. Cool, damp nights, 

 a little fire and a little ventilation will 

 be of great help, and liquid manure 

 can be used freely on them till they 

 show color. I never noticed the black 

 aphis succumb so readily to the fumes 

 of tobacco as this year. A mild fumi- 

 gation once a week has kept them en- 

 tirely free of all aphis. As the black 

 fly is, I believe, an importation from 

 Japan peculiar to the mum, perhaps 

 he is getting tired of our hospitality 

 and means to quit. 



It you have pot plants that are worth 

 a few sticks and a tie, don't delay the 

 operation till the day of sale. When, 

 if done, it will look stiff and formal. 

 Do it at once and before the flowers 

 are out the plant will have resumed a 

 natural appearance. 



Hydrangeas. 



Those that are intended for Easter 

 should be kept outdoors as long as pos- 

 sible wit4i the object of ripening the 

 wood. Kept on the dry side and plenty 

 of air between the plants so that the 

 lower buds will have light, a little 

 frost does them no harm, but not more 

 than 2 or 3 degrees. As soon as 

 chrysanths are gone, or the mid-sea- 

 son varieties, the hydrangea can b'; 

 put on the bench. You cannot have too 

 much time to spare. The slower and 

 cooler they are brought along the more 

 satisfactory they will be to the pur- 

 chaser. Of all voracious plants the hy- 

 drangea is king, so root room they 

 must have. If they have been grown 

 this summer in a G-inch they will need 

 an 8-inch. If in a 5-iuch. shift into a 

 T-inch. The shifting should be done 

 when you put them on the bench to 

 start growing. Plants that you do not 

 want in flower before May or June can 

 be placed under the lightest and cool- 

 est bench you have, and only water 

 enough given them to keep from shriv- 

 eling. 



Violets. 



The account of the great horticul- 

 tural industry of Poughkeepsie violet 

 culture which appeared in a recent con- 

 temporary was to me most interesting, 

 but the able writer, whoever he was, 

 forgot one important item, namely, 

 that many of the growers remove the 

 sash or glass entirely during the 

 months of June, July and August, and 

 when he found the glass covered with 

 a thick coat of whitewash must have 

 been near the Fourth of July, many 

 weeks previous to the publication of 

 his observations. 



A light but frequent fumigation of 

 tobacco is most beneficial; in twenty- 

 four hours the odor has departed. 

 Cleanliness is of the greatest impor- 

 tance. Early, imperfect flowers should 

 be kept picked off, runners removed 

 every two weeks as well as any decay- 

 ing leaves. If red spider appears a 

 fierce application of the hose is the 

 best remedy, well and thoroughly done, 

 but only when the spider is trouble- 

 some should any syringing be indulgetl 

 in, because "the spot" so dreaded by 



