366 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



They arc of the dwarf Tom Thumb type. 

 The variety Dryden is of the Miranda 

 type of flower. No bed on the whole 

 grounds has attracted more attention. It 

 has just been simply a bouquet of its 

 beautiful pink llowers. It is a gem. I 

 have never seen a better bedder, and it 

 should be grown by every florist. 

 "America," as will be seen by the pic- 

 ture, is also a wonderful bloomer. For 

 a bright, neat spot on the lawn it seems 

 to me that this type of geranium is in- 

 dispensable. They look neater and are 

 predier than the stronger growing zon- 

 als. America is a salmon shade. 



I The bed of David Harum canna has 

 been very much admired. It is the ex- 

 hibit of J. C. Vaughan, and is immedi- 

 ately to the east, or front, of the 

 Woman's Building. As usual, the pho- 

 tograph does not do justice to the bloom. 

 There is something remarkably pleasing 

 about this beautiful canna. The foliage 

 is a rich bronze, but not too dark. The 

 flower is a fine, pleasing orange scarlet. 

 There is harmony or blending of the 

 flower and color of the leaf which makes 

 the variety most attractive. I predict 

 for this canna the greatest popularity. 

 William Scott. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Hollyhocks. 

 This is an e.xcellent time to sow seed 

 of hollyhock if you have the conven- 

 ience to winter them in a very cool 

 house or a well protected cold frame. 

 The best I ever grew were sown in 

 early September and wintered in 3-inch 

 pots in a cool house. Unfortunately the 

 disease has troubled us very much but 

 this year we have been free of it. They 

 are stately, majestic plants and nothing 

 is finer as a background to a border. 

 Their growth is very simple, providing 

 you escape the disease. I would sow in 

 a flat and when well up shift into a 

 2-in., and later 3-in., always remember- 

 ing that they are hardy plants and want 

 the coolest treatment, in our milder 

 states wintering out of doors. At the 

 same time if you want to get the very 

 best results do as I say and winter 

 them in a house or cold-frame in pots. 



Pansies, 



For pansies that are to be wintered 

 under glass don't delay sowing at once. 

 Those sown for field culture should now 

 be ready to transplant into the beds, 

 which should be done as soon as the 

 plants are fit to handle, for the sooner 

 they are well established and make com- 

 pact little plants the better they will 

 winter. 



Pelargoniunis. 



Tlie end of the month or end of Sep- 

 tember is the ideal time to propagate 

 the show pelargoniums. Plants that 

 went out of flower in July should have 

 made a good growth and if they hive 

 been out of doors in the sun or in a 

 sunny house all the better. A week be- 

 fore you cut the old plants down keep 

 them quite on the dry side. It will 

 make the wood all the better for propa- 

 gating. 



Now, the greatest mistake made by 

 those who do not know the require- 

 ments of these plants is that they are 

 afraid to cut them down. Don't be 

 afrxid; if you have but two or three 

 inches of stem it is enough. There will 

 be any amount of breaks from the old 

 stems. Almost any part of the growth 

 you have to cut off will make a good 

 "plant. The leading green growth is all 

 right and so is a few joints below it. 

 The cuttings can be put into 2-in pots 

 at once in sandy loam, but it is safer 

 to put them in the propagating bench 



in the usual way. They want a gond 

 soaking and after that only water when 

 the sand is dry. They root freely in 

 about three weeks. 



The old plants, if it is desired to kcf-p 

 them, can remain on the bench for a 

 week or two and be given scarcely any 

 water. There are no tops so they iie'd 

 only enough to keep them from shrivel- 

 ing. Very soon a great number of youiiu 

 growths will have started from the i>)<l 

 wood and when half an inch long ymi 

 can shake off all the old soil, trim 

 back the roots and repot in a size small- 

 er than they flowered in, and you have 

 started again on another year's growtli 

 and these old plants will with good cnri' 

 make fine bushy plants and are the bi-st 

 for early forcing. 



' Geraniums. 



In a week or two you will be prfipi 

 gating your first big batch of geranium 



We don't belie' 

 the sand. You 

 percentage in the sand, but you can af- 

 ford to lose a few more by potting them 

 at once. They make mucli better plants 

 when rooted in the pots. Pot firmly in 

 good sandy loam. \Vhen I say pot firm- 

 ly I mean see that the soil around the 

 base of the cutting is firm. The surface 

 of the soil always gets close and packed 

 by witering, but many thousands of cut- 

 tings and even transplanted seedlings 

 are lost by loose soil around the roots. 

 We stand the cuttings when first potted 

 on benches where the roof is slightly 

 shaded, but not in any north side house. 

 (Jive them a good soaking when first 

 potted and after that water only when 

 they are decidedly dry, and unless we 

 got very hot weather you will lose but 

 a very few. 



Violets. 



Take good care of your violets just 

 now. What I have seen have been grow- 

 ing freely for the past two months. All 

 runners must be kept cut off. They 

 should be gone over at least once in two 

 weeks. Syringing must be kept up 

 every fine day or you will get red spider. 

 This is best "done in the morning. Dur- 

 ing the month of September we always 

 get an attack of aphis, which are most 

 difficult to dislodge as they get down 

 into the crown of the plant and because 

 violets don't like a strong dose of to- 

 bacco smoke, which, after all, is the 

 best way to kill aphis on most plants. 

 Tobacco dust may answer the purpose. 

 Fumigating frequently but mildly will 

 keep them away, but I like best the to- 

 bacco water applied in a very fine spray, 

 and don't overdo it in strength. Niko- 

 teen at the strength of one in 300 of 

 witcr, or the Rose Leaf extract at one 

 to 75 of water is safe. Wm. Scott. 



HARDY AQUATICS. 



Beginning at the water edge in the 

 lower left hand corner the tall reedy 

 growth consists of Iris pseudoacorus and 



: Garrett A. Hobart at the Pan-American Expositi< 



cuttings. See that the plants are en- 

 couraged to make a vigorous growth. 

 Water is sometimes needed, but never as 

 much as hoeing, and be sure to keep 

 the old flowers picked. If planted out 

 purely for stock even the buds can be 

 picked off. Don't try and propagate 

 till the first week of September, and not 

 then if the weather is hot. 



Acorus calamus, yellow iris and sweet 

 Hag mixed, backed by Solidago canaden- 

 sis and S. lanceolata and a group of ara- 

 lia farther back. The small island clump 

 at the left is acorus and Sagittaria var- 

 iabilis and the growth skirting the edge 

 of tlie pond off to the center is com- 

 posed of the same plants with Scirpus 

 validus (lacustris) in the water and 



