812 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



APRIL 14. 189S. 



THE FLORISTS' REVIEW 



G. L. LtRANT, liUin.K and Manai-ek. 



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Copyright iSgS. 



FREE FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 



^Ve niite a ifinlency in some quarters 

 to be sarcastic about the efforts of the 

 Washington florists to stop the whole- 

 sale giving away of flowers and plants 

 by the public greenhouses to parties 

 with a political ■■pull." And we also 

 note an attempt to cover up the in- 

 iquity by sweet sounding phrases to 

 the effect that such use of the public 

 property is really to the advantage 

 of the florist in more widely dissemin- 

 ating a love for flowers. 



The efforts of the Washington flor- 

 ists in the line indicated are to be 

 warmly commended, and should be in- 

 dorsed by every honest citizen. The 

 keepers of public gi-eenhouses have no 

 more moral or legal right to give away 

 their productions than the keeper of 

 the mint has to give away the money 

 coined. 



And that the flowers and plants 

 given away by public institutions are 

 of any direct or indirect bene- 

 fit to the trade is simply non- 

 sense. It is the love of getting 

 something for nothing that is dissem- 

 inated, rather than a love for flowers. 

 And the trade doesn't need any assist- 

 ance from the government. Neither 

 does it ask any government official or 

 employe to commit a breach of trust 

 in order to assist it. 



The productions of the public green- 

 houses are for the benefit of the whole 

 public, and not for those who happen 

 to have political influence. And the 

 growing in quantity of the usual com- 

 mercial flowers in a public greenhouse 

 is prima facie evidence of an intent 

 of the official in charge to make an 

 improper use of same, for in no way 

 can the intent of the law be so con- 

 torted as to include the growing of cut 

 flowers for the purpose of free distri- 

 bution. 



THE PRESSWORK on the last issue 

 of The Review was accomplished with 

 great difficulty, on account of the wide- 

 spread strike of pressteeders in Chi- 

 cago. As a consequence, the quality 

 ■was not up to our usual standard, and 

 there was a delay in mailing part of 

 the edition. The strike has now been 

 adjusted. 



ADIANTUM FARLEYENSE. 



The well deserved title of ■'Qu^en of 

 the Maidenhairs" lias sometimes been 

 applied to this lovely fern, and in truth 

 it is one of the most beautiful of all 

 ferns, and having been so extensively 

 propagated of late years it has become 

 so widely known that an extended de- 

 scription seems scarcely necessary in 

 The Florists' Review. 



It may be stated, however, for the 

 benefit of the younger brethren, that 

 A. Farleyense is a native of Barbados, 

 and that botanists have decided it to 

 be not a species, but a form ot A. ten- 

 eruni, the latter being a handsome, 

 strong-growing species with much 



very successfully by many cultivators. 

 One of the chief essentials to its wel- 

 fare is a strong soil, and some of the 

 best plants I have seen have been 

 grown in rather coarse turfy loam, 

 with about one-third of dry cow man- 

 ure, the latter being broken up into 

 small pieces and thoroughly mixed 

 into the soil. 



When newly potted careful water- 

 ing is needed to avoid souring the soil, 

 but once established liberal supplies of 

 water can be taken up. Careful venti- 

 lation is another step to success, for, 

 though this fern requires plenty of 

 fresh air. yet the young fronds are 

 quite susceptible to cold draughts. 



Division of the crowns is the method 



Adiantum Farleyense. 



smaller pinnae than those of A. Far- 

 leyense. 



There does not seem to be a very 

 clear knowledge among the authorities 

 as to the exact location from which 

 tills fern was originally brought, some 

 stating that it was found at a place 

 called Farley's Hill, and others that it 

 has been named for the reputed dis- 

 coverer, one Farley, and a decision will 

 not be attempted by the writer, but 

 the fact remains that whatever be its 

 origin we have here one of the gems 

 of the genus. 



A. Farleyense is a warm house fern 

 and enjoys moderate shade and plenty 

 of moisture, and since its wants have 

 been better understood has been grown 



of propagation generally practiced, an 

 old plant being shaken out and divided 

 into almost as many pieces as there 

 are fronds (owing to the multiplicity of 

 the crowns) and these pieces being 

 planted in light soil and properly cared 

 for in a warm propagating frame will 

 seldom fail to grow. 



Seedlings of A. Farleyense liave been 

 reported at various times and places 

 during the 30 odd years that it has been 

 in cultivation, but it has never been 

 the good fortune of the writer to see 

 any, and while the indusiums are not 

 infrequent on old plants, yet in but 

 one instance have I found spores 

 therein, and then failed in germinat- 

 ing them. W. H. T.\PL1N. 



