Al'Itll. 12. 1900. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



599 



Carnation Gov. Roosevelt. 



(Given the full number of points for form at Buffalo.] 



its petals to fully expand without 

 bursting. Ot its habit of growth or 

 productiveness I Ivnow scarcely any- 

 thing, but as I understand it will not 

 be sent out till 1902 there will be am- 

 ple opportunity to learn of those great 

 essentials. " WM. SCOTT. 



FROM OUR ENGLISH EXCHANGES. 



Gardeners' Magazine. 



SWEET PEAS. — Substantial prog- 

 ress is being made towards celebrating 

 the introduction of the sweet pea into 

 Great Britain 200 years ago. This 

 celebration is to be held on July 20 and 

 21, at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, 

 and will take the form of a grand ex- 

 hibition of sweet peas shown in 

 bunches, in vases, in pots. In pans, in 

 baskets, in bouquets. In wieaths, in 

 table decorations, and in other ways 

 that may suggest themselves to the 

 gardener and florist; at the same time 

 a conference will be held, at which pa- 

 pers will be read and discussed. 



POT ROSE S.— -Constant turning 

 around, and slightly moving the sur- 

 face soil does the plants far more good 

 than many would deem possible. This 

 frequent handling of the plants also en- 

 ables Us to note where one Is over dry 

 or too wet as compared with the re- 

 mainder; a rather important point 



where so many plants are grown. 

 Nothing enables one to so quickly de- 

 termine the tone condition of a plant 

 as handling it. 



ABUTILONS FOR BEDDING.— Dur- 

 ing recent years tine foliaged plants 

 have been used extensively in summer 

 bedding arrangement, and those abuti- 

 lons having variegated leafage have 

 had a fair share of attention at the 

 hands of the gardener, and been placed 

 in the front rank of this group. 



PENZANCE BRIERS.— The Penzance 

 sweet-briers require hardly any prun- 

 ing, as they would be entirely out of 

 character if cut hard back. Thin out 

 the growths somewhat, removing the 

 weakest first. Recently planted speci- 

 mens should be cut back to within a 

 foot of the ground to ensure strong 

 growth from the base. A fairly rich 

 soil will suit these briers and enable 

 them to make good growth. 



_ CLEMATIS AS A BEDDING PLANT. 

 The clematis is always beautiful no 

 matter where planted or how trained. 

 As a climber it is deservedly popular, 

 but it Is when planted against old 

 ruins or in the wild garden that its 

 beauty is best displayed. For planting 

 in beds in the flower garden, as a per- 

 manency the clematis are wonderfully 

 effective. Thus planted, their elegant 

 form and extreme beauty are shown oft 

 to advantage. In planting clematis it 



should be borne In mind that they are 

 gross feeders, hence the necessity of 

 applying some well-rotted manure lo 

 the bed bolli at the time of planting 

 and as an annual winter dressing. A 

 sound loam incorporated with a goodly 

 portion ot manure best suits the cle- 

 matis; at tlie same time they are not 

 very fastidious as to soils. \\ here the 

 natural staple is of a light, poor de- 

 scription, then means must be taken lo 

 ameliorate it by taking out, to a depth 

 of two feet, the natural soil and re- 

 placing it with loam, mortar rubble, 

 and cbarred refuse, the latter ingre- 

 dient may be worked in and about the 

 roots of the plants at planting time. 

 Strong specimens should in all cases be 

 procured in order that they may the 

 quicker produce an elfect and cover 

 the allotted space. A trellis of iron or 

 wood m convex form should be erected 

 over the bed, and the shoots as they 

 advance in growth during the summer 

 BhouUl be urawu through and over 

 this. During dry summer weather 

 abundance ot liquid manure should be 

 supplied alternately with clear water. 

 A sma!l quantity of some good ferti- 

 lizer is occasionally used, with higiily 

 beneficial results. In the month oi 

 February a slight ihinning of the 

 shoots should take place, afterwards 

 disposing the remaining ones evenly 

 over the trellis. In selecting varieties 

 it is advisable to give preierence to 

 those which are robust in constitution, 

 as the Jackmaui, patens, and viticella 

 types. 



SNOW EFFECT IN TABLE DECO- 

 RATION.— The decoration, briefly stat- 

 ed, consisted of handsome birch 

 branches and foliage of various kinds, 

 all moistened and then freely dusted 

 over with flour. A base of clay is used, 

 and into this the whitened material is 

 lixed as tastefully as possible, and 

 when all is finished, another dusting of 

 flour is given, finishing off with a tree 

 sprinkling of powdered glass to pro- 

 duce the glistening effect of frost and 

 snow. 



SCARLET VARIETY OF PRIMULA 

 OBCONICA.— It is of interest to ob- 

 serve that while Mr. Shea has been 

 busily engaged in the hydridization of 

 Primula obconica with P. sinensis, the 

 continental raisers have been endeav- 

 oring to obtain high colored forms of 

 the first - named species by selective 

 process. A so-called scarlet variety has 

 been figured in Revue Horticole, and 

 with reference to it Monsieur P. de 

 Vilmorin writes: "The new, large, 

 scarlet variety marked with purple is 

 the commencement of a new era in the 

 evolution of P. obconica. We were al- 

 ready far from the original type; the 

 plant, having lost none of its hardiness 

 or of its profuseness of bloom, had pro- 

 duced larger and still larger flowers, 

 sometimes fringed or fimbriated on the 

 edges, and variable in color from rose 

 to pure white. It now appears to move 

 in a contrary direction, that is to say, 

 towards the darker tints of Its primi- 

 tive color. Without being too pre- 

 sumptuous we anticipate that in the 



