June S. 1902. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



37 



Cattieya Skmneri, 



for this reason. On Wednesday, May 

 28, a neighboring florist and good grower 

 came to see us and when we showetl 

 him through he said that these were 

 the finest carnations he had ever seen 

 for Decoration Day, but when we showed 

 him a bench of Croclier he threw up 

 both hands and declared it a grand car- 

 nation in spite of the fact that it had 

 been a faihire with him. I am not tell- 

 ing this, Mr. Editor, to be bragging on 

 my carnations, but after hearing and 

 reading nothing but abuse of a variety 

 that has brought us the very highest re- 

 turns it did me more good than a cash 

 order for a thousand blooms at Xmas 

 prices. It shows one thing conclusivel.v, 

 too, and that is that almost every vari- 

 ety introduced can be made to pay hand- 

 somely if it gets the treatment it needs 

 and that just because a variety does 

 poorly with us is not a sure reason 

 that it is a poor variety. Before we 

 condemn a variety let us look around 

 and see how it behaves at our neigh- 

 bor's place. A. F. J. Baur. 



CATTLEYA SKINNERI. 



This orchid has recently been imjiorted 

 in quantity and will doubtless be<>ome a 

 factor in the orchid cut flower trade. 

 While the flowers are smaller than such 

 varieties as labiata or Triana>, the plant 

 makes up by being very free flowering, 

 each growth producing from five to ten 

 flowers. The flowers are quite distinct 

 in color, which is a rosy purple, and are 

 produced in March and April, which is 

 an excellent time to get flowers, as Tri- 

 anse is over and nothing much but C. 

 Sehrodera^ is in flower at that time; 

 and as the last named variety is not 

 grown extensively except by one or two 

 growers, G. 8kinneri will bo very a<'- 

 ceptable. 



In habit C. Skinncri reminds one of 

 C Bowringiana, to which it is closely 

 allied, though Bowringiana does not 

 flower until early autumn. If imported 

 pieces of C. Skinneri are bought now 

 and well looked after they will become 

 established and render a good account 

 of themselves by next year. They are 

 comjiaratively cheap and the flowers 

 should wholesale at a quarter each in 

 any market. C. Skinneri is a native of 

 Guatemala. As with any other cattleya 

 it needs lots of water while growing and 

 a good ripening of the bulb to induce it 

 to flower freelv. C. T. 



BOSTON AS IT APPEARS TO A 

 PHILADELPHIAN. 



[An address by Geo. C. Watson before the Phila- 

 delphia Florists' Club, June 2, 1902.) 



The bonds of amit}', political, com- 

 mercial and otherwise, between the 

 great communities of Philadelphia and 

 Boston, are numerous and ancient and 

 cordial; but in no relation are these 

 bonds more emphatic than in the field 

 of gardening. 



I use the word gardening in its broad- 

 est meaning — which includes horticul- 

 ture, floriculture, arboriculture, and 

 landscape gardening, or the art of lay- 

 ing out grounds. I use the word pur- 

 posely because it is ancient and catholic. 

 I use it purposely because in recent 

 years some people of pretensions would 

 appear to be ashamed of it, while on 

 the contrary, they ought to be proud 

 of it, as being in its highest reaches 

 equal in grandeur to its sister arts- 

 music, poetry and painting. 



And so, when a Philadelphian, looking 

 back on his city 's ancient and modern 

 achievements in gardening and feels a 

 sense of elation in contemplating the 

 great figures that did their day's work 



so nobly in their chosen field, when the 

 proud feeling is strong on him and he 

 suddenly finds himself in the midst of 

 that other great center of gardening, 

 the city of Boston, he experiences a now 

 feeling. 



That new feeling is not envy, neither 

 is it shame. It is a higher pride, a 

 more exalted elation. The Philadel- 

 phian 's pride is still there; but it is 

 merged in the cosmopolitan glory of a 

 common heritage, for gardening knows 

 no latitude and no longitude and the 

 appreciative visitor cannot view the art 

 as practiced in Boston and New Eng- 

 land today, without feelings of the deep- 

 est respect and admiration. 



To some it may appear difficult to say 

 when one community has reached a 

 higher stage than another in the <lifR- 

 cult art of "gardening finely"; but a 

 little reflection will reveal the distinc- 

 tion. Of the four grand divisions of 

 gardening as laid down by Loudon, hor- 

 ticulture, floriculture, arboriculture, and 

 lanilscape gardening, the latter is un- 

 doubtedly the branch that calls for the 

 highest order of talent. There are 

 thousands in this country who call 

 themselves landscape gardeners and who 

 have but the faintest idea of the true 

 significance of the term. Many of them 

 know about as much about it as the cat 

 does about the Lord's Prayer. When I 

 speak of landscape gardeners therefore, 

 I do not mean the quack kind, but those 

 who have true taste and genius for 

 their profession, and they are rare in- 

 deed. 



Now it is because Boston has pro- 

 duced most of the genius in that crown- 

 ing branch of gardening, that she takes 

 rank as the Mecca to which we all 

 turn and worship. In one great man 

 alone, the late Frederick Law Olmsted, 

 Boston had a shining light that illumi- 

 nated the remotest corners of the land, 

 with examples of correct taste in the 

 matter of laying out grounds, both pub- 

 lie and private. Many younger tapers 

 have been lighted from that torch and 

 they are bidding fair to carry on the 

 work on the sound principles laid down 

 by Mr. Olmsted and other eminent men 

 of the older generation. 



Monuments of the taste and liberality 

 of the citizens of Boston in gardening 

 are visible in every direction^-in her 

 park system, in her cemeteries, in her 

 model suburban railroad station grounds, 

 r.nd in her innumerable elegant private 

 estates. Taking an impartial survey of 

 the whole field, I have no hesitation in 

 saying that Boston is the most advanced 

 community in garcTening matters in 

 North America, if not in the world, 

 and while Philadelphia was the Mecca 

 half a century ago, and is still a good 

 second, her citizens are as ready to ap- 

 plaud superior merit as they are capa- 

 ble of understanding such merit when 

 they see it. 



This distinction is merited by Boston 

 solely on the grounds of her higher cul- 

 ture" in landscape gardening. Other 

 cities outrank Boston in some branches 

 of gardening by reason of the climate, 

 location, or other accidental circum- 

 stance, but in most things it was Bos- 

 ton and Philadelphia that first shrtwed 

 them the way. The rigorous climate 

 and rocky soil of Massachusetts called 

 for gardeners of the right kind, and 

 that was the kind produced. 



We Philadelphians are proud of our 

 roll of great men in gardening— from 

 Bartram, Hamilton, Jackson, Pierce, 



