816 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Maucii 17, 1004. 



As they are moisture loving ))lants, tliey 

 must have copious supplies of water at 

 all times, ami partii-ularly during the 

 growing perioii, whieh is during spring 

 and early summer. Kibes. 



A CENTURY OLD. 



The Koyul IIortiLuItural Society of 

 Great Britain was organized March 7, 

 1804, and the Gardeners' Chronicle com- 

 memorates the centenary by a special is- 

 sue containing a story of the long and 

 honorable career of the society and 

 sketches of the founders, all fully illus- 

 trated. As the historian concludes, "in 

 spite of all its vicissitudes the record 

 of a hundred years is decidedly inspir- 

 ing. The second century opens well and 

 hopefully. The future of the society, in 

 so far as the advancement of horticulture 

 is concerned, will depend upon the prac- 

 tical recognition of the fact that no real 

 jirogress is possible without the exten- 

 sion of scientific knowledge and its ap- 

 plication to practice." 



TRICYRTIS HIRTA. 



Herbert W. Greensmith, who has 

 charge of Dreer's hardy garden at River- 

 ton, N. J., writes as follovi-s to our 

 English contemporary, the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle : 



The recent notes on Trieyrtis hirta 

 were very interesting to me, as this 

 beautiful" plant does well here without 

 very much trouble. All it asks of us is 

 to give it a semi-shaded place to protect 

 it from the burning rays of our summer 

 sun. If planted out in the open the 

 fierce light first burns the ends of the 

 leaves and ultimately the stem, till by 

 the end of August the whole plant is 

 alriiost ruined. It will, however, even 

 chen send up shoots from the base, and 



attempt to flower; and should we have 

 a prolonged fall, it will do so bravely. 

 But jilanted where the sun will not 

 strike it till towards evening the result 

 is very gratifying. If not disturbed for 

 two or three years it then grows four to 

 five feet high, and produces from thirty 

 to forty of its quaint but prettily 

 s]iotted flowers on each stem from the 

 summit and axils of the leaves, during 

 the latter part of September and Octo- 

 ber, for four weeks, or even longer, if 

 there is cool, clear weather; I have 

 known them to last into November. 



It is not at all fastidious with us as 

 to soil, growing equally well in sandy 

 and moderately heavy but w^ell-drained 

 soils. I have never had occasion to use 

 any peat, and the plant has been left 

 unprotected during the winter months 

 when our thermometer has shown a tem- 

 perature of 3 degrees below zero, but 

 has received no injury. I have found it 

 to give most satisfaction when closely 

 divided each year to single crowns or 

 from autumn-struck cuttings, which give 

 the same results. These I plant as early 

 in the season as is possible about six 

 inches apart each way in a solid bed; 

 thej^ then grow about a foot high, and 

 for four weeks or more in the fall are a 

 beautiful sight, being one complete mass 

 of prettily spotted white-and-purple flow- 

 ers. I have had as many as twenty-three 

 fully developed flowers on a single stem 

 at one time from plants thus gi-own. 

 Another advantage in keeping them 

 dwarf in this way is that they can, if 

 necessary, be easily protected from early 

 frosts, and thus massed" in a solid bed 

 are much more effective than a few iso- 

 lated plants would he. Cuttings of the 

 growing tips taken in the fall root very 

 readily if inserted in sand and placed 

 in a cold frame in a box or pan. Propa- 

 gated in this manner, I never care to 



risk them during the first winter without 

 protection. The tops will die down at 

 the approach of severe frosts to the 

 newly-made callus, from which springs 

 an eye for next summer's growth. 



Wo have also a variegated variety im- 

 ported as Trieyrtis macropoda variegata. 

 The flowers are not very conspicuous ; 

 jierhaps this is on account of its not 

 l)eing so happy as the one previously 

 mentioned. This variety flowered in 

 May, and produced large inflated pods, 

 and afterwards purplish-black fruits. 

 Towards autumn the foliage is prettily 

 striped with white, so I should judge, 

 from the Dictionary of Gardening 

 (Nicholson's), it is T. maicropoda 

 striata. 



NEW YORK. 



Carnition The Belle. 



The Market. 



The market has not yet improved 

 greatly. The cloudy weather has had its 

 influence on the quality of shipments and 

 stock is not up to the mark. Quoted 

 values cannot be considered arbitrary. 

 Often it is " take what you can get. ' ' 

 The supply is far in excess of the regular 

 demand and nothing is happening now 

 to create an unnatural call. 



Notwithstanding a generally expressed 

 fear that there will not be enough lilies 

 for Easter to go around, the cut flowers 

 are selling at from S cents down. Ad- 

 vance orders for pot lilies are being 

 booked generally at 12 cents. Inferior 

 stock may go at 10 cents then, but 12 

 cents may be safely banked upon as 

 bottom for first quality. 



A few bright days last week relieved 

 the violet congestion and many thousands 

 were cleared at $1 per 1,000. There 

 have been very few harvest days for the 

 street merchants during the severe win- 

 ter. Now their day has come. Its a 

 good thing for the cut flower market. 

 These gentry whom we all decried as a 

 menace in tlie old days, we now realize to 

 be a great help under certain circum- 

 stances. 



Southern narcissi are coming in thick 

 and fast, lowering prices still further. 

 The bulb growers have just cause to feel 

 disheartened. Tulips are simply of no 

 account, except a few fancy doubles. 

 Sweet peas are here in floods. Carna- 

 tions are abundant and prices sagging. 

 The very best of these and roses always 

 find a market, but even the select never 

 go above the pi ice quotations. An exami- 

 nation, however, of last year's prices at 

 this date is interesting. Quotations last 

 March 25, were Beauties specials, $15 

 to $25; Brides and Maids, $6 to $10; 

 carnations. 50 cents to $8; lilies, $8 to 

 .■flO; violets, 20 to 40 cents; smilax, $10 

 to $15 and valley, $1 to $2. The general 

 inerage is about the same as now. 



Rose Night at the Club. 



The New York Florists' Club's reg- 

 ular meeting took place on Monday even- 

 ing, it being rose night. The attendance 

 was about 100 and many were doubtless 

 kept away by the severe storm. The reso- 

 lutions on tlie death of Ernst Asmus were 

 read and embodied a touching and beauti- 

 ful tribute to his memory. Mr. Sheridan, 

 of the dinner committee, made a very 

 satisfactory report. Mr. Nugent, of the 

 entertainment committee, received evi- 

 dence of the club's appreciation in a 

 special appropriation of funds. The out- 

 I ing committee reported complete arrange- 



