NOVEMBER 16, 1899. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



611 



vJ^'. ■ 



THE EXHIBITIONS. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The annual chrysanthemum exhibi- 

 tion of the Pennsylvania Horticultural 

 Society opened in Horticultural Hall 

 on Tuesday evening, November 7, and 

 closed on Saturday evening, November 

 11. This exhibition marks a new era 

 in Quaker City floricultural shows. 

 The chrysanthemum is the chief, not 

 the overshadowing, feature of the dis- 

 play. Both growers and flower lovers 

 are devoting more attention to other 

 plants, even at the height of the 

 chrysanthemum's reign. 



This change is of great value to 

 horticulture. It means that no mat- 

 ter what visitors' tastes may be, some 

 really fine exhibit will be found to in- 

 terest them; not crowded into a cor- 

 ner by the gorgeous Queen of Autumn, 

 but in a prominent position worthy of 

 the skill and care required for their 

 cultivation. 



Horticultural Hall was looking more 

 like an elegant mansion decked for a 

 ball than a public hall ready for a 

 flower show, when the doors were 

 opened on Tuesday evening. The 

 whole place was in exquisite order, 

 neat and clean, the floors freshly 

 oiled and just enough plants to orna- 

 ment without overcrowding the main 

 hall. 



The foot of the stairway was bank- 

 ed with groups of evergreens. At the 

 top of the first flight of stairs was a 

 magnificent specimen Boston fern, 

 flanked on each side by vases of long- 

 stemmed cut chrysanthemums stand- 

 ing on the steps of the two side flights 

 and reaching to the top. 



The main hall was devoted to the 

 foliage and flowering plants, arranged 

 as though planted in beds in a gar- 

 den, with curving paths. The center 

 was occupied by the Dewey arch and 

 the rustic bower for the musicians, 

 the stage being filled with seats for 

 visitors. The Dewey arch was appro- 

 priately formed of large plants of 

 Acalypha Sanderi; in front was an 

 effective display of orchids arranged 

 on a mirror, with other orchids sus- 

 pended above them; at the rear um- 

 brella stands filled with specimen 

 blooms of "Philadelphia," "Pennsyl- 

 vania" and "Mrs. Thomas Potter, Jr.," 



the whole finished with foliage plants, 

 forming a beautiful picture. 



The chrysanthemums in pots were 

 around these two central groups, and 

 with the foliage plants bordered the 

 entire hall. A table of rare orchids 

 was in front of the stage. Two great 

 specimen Boston ferns, two groups of 

 geraniums, a pond of exquisite water- 

 lilies in bloom, and some vases of Tri- 

 toma uvaria grandiflora were also 

 here. The approaches to the supper 

 room were devoted to the cut blooms 

 of chrysanthemums in vases, while 

 the room itself was filled with beauti- 

 ful collections of ferns, foliage and 

 flowering plants. Down stairs were 

 the fruit, vegetables, roses, carnations 

 and violets. 



The chrysanthemums in pots were 

 exceedingly well grown; hardly an or- 

 dinary looking plant was to be seen; 

 probably the favorable weather during 

 the summer made the work less diffi- 

 cult than usual. There was one large 

 fan-shaped plant. The majority of the 

 plants were in large pots. There were 

 no standards. 



The cut blooms of chrysanthemums 

 made a fine display. The Pompon 

 varieties were well represented. A 

 most curious and interesting exhibit 

 was a table of flowers cut from plants 

 imported from Japan in March. They 

 were, naturally, Japanese types of all 

 sizes and shades. 



The feature of the flowering plant 

 class were the cyclamens. • They were 

 a revelation, rnarvelously well grown 

 and flowered. Begonia Gloire de Lor- 

 raine was well worthy of note, also 

 the aquatics. The orchid class was 

 very fine, containing one or two novel- 

 ties. 



Acalypha Sanderi can not be strictly 

 described as a blooming plant. In the 

 large sizes shown in the arch it is in- 

 valuable to the decorator and should 

 prove a great co-laborer with poinset- 

 tia and holly in Christmas decorations. 



Among the ferns Nephrolepis exalt- 

 ata Bostoniensis stood out facile prin- 

 ceps. The specimens shown were alone 

 well worth going to see. These were 

 in pans or urns supported by pedes- 

 tals, the tips of the bottom fronds 

 touching the floor, the whole mass of 

 green from five to seven feet in height. 

 Nothing like them has ever been seen 

 here. A number of the older varieties 

 were extremely well grown. 



In foliage the variegated forms added 

 greatly to the effect of the display. The 

 crotons, variegated pineapples and 

 caladiums were particularly well 

 grown. 



The roses were of fairly good qual- 

 ity considering the mild, damp weath- 

 er. Liberty, both from West Hoboken 

 and Sharon Hill, was shown in good 

 form. This rose, perfect in color, vigo- 

 rous and free blooming, is lacking only 

 in fragrance. Beauty was excellent, 

 the prize winning six being shown- 

 with the top shoots unpinched. This 

 is pretty where the flower is half blown 

 .but does not add when it is fully open. 

 Bride, Bridesmaids, Kaiserin and Mete- 

 or completed this class. 



The carnations were chiefly debutan- 

 tes. Pinks and pink and whites, Ethel' 

 Crocker. Miss Genevieve Lord and 666. 

 were most prominent. 



The pears were the chief attraction 

 of the good fruit display. 



The collections of vegetables were 

 the largest and most comprehensive 

 ever shown here. There were a num- 

 ber of varieties little known. 



The weather was most favorable, the 

 attendance good and the interest shown 

 by all most encouraging. Whether 

 these annual shows prove financially 

 successful or not, they do a world of 

 good to horticulture, and not only in 

 showing the improvements made year 

 by year but in bringing together annu- 

 ally men who might not otherwise have 

 an opportunity for exchanging ideas. 



The exhibits were in remarkably 

 good condition on the closing day. Sec- 

 retary Rust and the committee de- 

 serve great credit for their manage- 

 ment. J. WELSH YOUNG. 



The Awards. 



In the chrysanthemum plant classes 

 the winners of first prizes were John 

 McCleary, gardener to Wm. Weight- 

 man, Germantown; G. W. Brown, gar- 

 dener to Robert N. Carson, Chestnut 

 Hill; Wm. Fowler, gardener to Mrs. 

 Chas. Wheeler. Bryn Mawr; Gordon 

 Srnirl, gardener to Jas. F. Sinnott, 

 Rosemont; Wm. H. Carey, gardener to 

 Allen B. Rorke, Ardmore; and Joseph 

 Hurley, gardener to Jas. M. Rhodes, 

 Ardmore. 



In the classes for chrysanthemum cut 

 blooms first prizes were taken by Rob't 



