Copyright, 1898, by 

 rUORISTS' PUBUISnilNG CO.. 520-533 Caxton Building. CHICAGO. 



Vol. J. 



CHICAGO AND NEW YORK, MARCH J 7, 1898. 



No. 16. 



PEPEROMIAS. 



This is a very large genus contain- 

 ing hundreds of species. Those best 

 known and most useful to the florist 



temperature for weeks without any ap- 

 parent harm. A pan of these beautiful 

 little plants is very attractive and their 

 fleshy, succulent leaves enable them to 

 withstand the dry air of a living room 



Peperomia. Saundersii (P. arifolia argyreia). 



are P. maculosa, P. marmorata, P. 

 pubifolia and P. Saundersii (often 

 known as P. arifolia argyreia). They 

 are from tropical South America. 

 ■rt'hich stamps them as plants that like 

 heat, but they endure a greenhouse 



better than the vast majority of our 

 plants. 



They need shade in the summer but 

 none in the winter and should never 

 be kept too wet. A lumpy loose soil 

 with a mixture of broken charcoal, or 



even broken crocks, will suit them 

 well, and a pan three or four inches 

 deep is better for them than a deep 

 pot. The best specimen of P. maculosa 

 I ever saw was growing on a rock- 

 work at the side of the path in a palm 

 house where it received plenty of 

 moisture but no superfluous water at 

 the roots. 



They are easily propagated in sand 

 or sandy soil in a bottom heat of 75 

 degrees, either by the leaf, as you do 

 Begonia Rex, or with an inch or so of 

 the stem attached. Early spring is the 

 best time to propagate. 



The flowers of all are inconspicuous; 

 it is the ornamental leaves that make 

 the plant valuable. P. pubifolia is 

 well adapted for a hanging basket. P. 

 maculosa makes a fine subject for a 

 pan, and the beautiful species illus- 

 trated herewith makes a compact plant 

 of gi-eat beauty. All the species that 

 are desirable for the commercial florist 

 can be said to be of easy culture. 



WM. SCOTT. 



A VARIETY OF QUESTIONS. 



The following comes from "S. S 

 P.": 



"What is the proper temperature and 

 place to keep seeds to preserve the 

 germinating qualities?" 



The length of time that seeds will 

 keep their "germinating qualities" un- 

 der the most favorable conditions va- 

 'ries greatly with the families or or- 

 ders. For instance, it is generally con- 

 ceded among seedsmen that parsnip is 

 no good if more than one year old, 

 while cabbage and turnip, the Bras- 

 sica family, are good for four or five 

 years, and cucumber and squash much 

 longer; in fact, if seed will keep ten 

 years, why not twenty, and if twenty, 

 why not 2.000? In air-tight packages, 

 in a cool but perfectly dry tempera- 

 ture, is the best place to preserve the 

 vitality of seeds. 



"Is it advisable to plant chrysanthe- 



