214 



horticulture; 



February 13, 1909 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 

 OF LONDON. 



(;onsideiing the severe frost-s, thick 

 fogs and generully unfavorable weath- 

 er at this part of the winter sea.son, at 

 the meeting held by the R. H. S. on 

 Tuesday. January 2G, the show of 

 plants and flowers, allhough meagre as 

 compared wi'h ealier ones, was rich 

 in novelties in orchids, and some tine 

 new varieties were staged. Hugh Low 

 & Co. showed numerous cypripediiims, 

 the finer being C. aureum Hyeanum, 

 C. a. Ville de Paris, C. a. Virginalis, 

 C. Prewetti, C. Fascinator, of an olive 

 green tint suffused with rcse and dor- 

 sal sepal of w-hite, with a deep purple 

 colored median streak, and on either 

 side a faint suffusion of the same tint; 

 C. Euryades, with spotting of a strik- 

 ing kind; C. Dowlingianum having dis- 

 tinct purple spotting on the doi-sal 

 sepal, and less distincf ones on the 

 lateral petals, pouch cream colored 

 slightly marked with pink. Other 

 striking varieties were observed, as C. 

 villo-Di iiryi, C. G. V- Moore and C. 

 Leeanum aureum, etc. Lieut.-Colonel 

 G. C. Ilalforrt, of Westonbirt, Glouces- 

 tershiie, received an award of rn^rit 

 for Cypripedium Earl of Tankerville, 

 a cross between C. exul and Sander's 

 variety of C. nitens. The dorsal sepal 

 is circular, white, 2 1-2 inches in di- 

 ameter, and furnished with brown 

 spots, and of a green color at the base. 

 The rest of the flower has a general 

 likeness to C. insigne. 



Messrs. Charlesworth, formerly of 

 Bradford, Yorkshire, and now of Hay- 

 ward's Heath, Sussex, obtained a first- 

 class certificate for a plant of Sophro- 

 Laelio-Cattleya, the petals and sepals 

 of which are of a rosy crimson color; 

 in regard to the tube, the tint is 

 brighter, and the front of the labellum 

 is of a rich tint of crimson, making a 

 gorgeous bloom. The same firm ob- 

 tained a first-class certificate for Lae- 

 lic-Cattleya Felicia, a cross of L.-Cat- 

 tleya Hardyana and C. Trianae, the 

 lip is of a rich velvety crimson, throat 

 of a pale yellow tint, and sepals and 

 petals the tint of an ordinan,' C. Tri- 

 anae. A pretty Cypr-ipedium, named 

 Heia. came from :Mr. J. Foster Alcock. 

 Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons made a good 

 show with winter flowering plants, in- 

 cluding T'.egonia Agatha, a most use- 

 ful variety, and of long duration of 

 flowering, the second flowering season 

 immediately following the first without 

 the plant needing a resting period. The 

 firm showed the yellow-flowered Gom- 

 phia oliveaeformis. an old garden 

 plant rarelv seen now. Crowea lati- 

 folia was well flowered. Sir Trevor 

 Law rence show^ed a quantity of spathes 

 of Anthurium in great variety and in 

 most instances of abnormally large 

 siz«. 



Mr. "W. H. Page of Tangley Nurser:.', 

 showed Daffodil Golden Spur, which 

 has the peculiarity of flowering eariier 

 when grown on his soil than any ob- 

 tained from the Channel Islands or 

 elsewhere. He made a striking exhibit 

 of retarded lilies, such as L. speciosum 

 i-ubnim and L. s. album; also a new- 

 apple Kncore, a large, handsome fruit, 



even in outline, with skin, when ripe, 

 of a greenish yellow, slightly flushed, 

 one of the latest keepers, remaining 

 good till June. It is a seedling from 

 Warner's King and Northern Green- 

 ing. 



A pretty looking Sea Kale with pink 

 tips to the shoots, and of stout growth, 

 came from Mrs. Trotter, of Dyrham 

 Park. Barnet. Enormous carrots, 

 called Red Elephant, were shown by 

 Messrs. Carter & Co., also a bearttiful 

 . golden yellow incurved chrysanthe- 

 mum named Golden Sunset. 



Messrs. Cut bush & Sons showed a 

 carnation, a cross between a variety of 

 Souvenir de la Malmaison and En- 

 chantr-ess. of some promise. It par- 

 takes more of the features of the for- 

 mer, hut in tint it is brighter. 



FREDERICK MOORE. 



OBITUARY. 



W. C. Krick. 



It is our sad duty to record the death 

 on Feb. 7 of W. C. Krick of Brook- 

 lyn, N. Y.. well known to the trade for 

 many years as manufacturer of florists' 

 wire designs and the 'Krick Letter" ■ 

 for inscriptions. Mr. Krick was for 

 many years a member of the Society of 

 American Florists, and was one o£-trhe 

 earliest members of the Xew Yor''K 

 Florists' Club. The funeral on Wed- 

 nesday was attended by many sorrow- 

 ing friends in all departments of the 

 trade. 



Fred Ashley. 

 Alfred Ashley, who has been asso- 

 ciated with his brother Ernest in the 

 florist business at Allentown, Pa., was 

 thrown from a wagon recently and 

 died on January* 28 at the Allentown 

 hospital. He was about 29 yea^s of 

 age. 



John Griffith. 

 John Griffith, who had been engaged 

 in the nursery business for many 

 years, died suddenly at his home in 

 Attica, N. Y.. on January 29, in his 

 sixty-ninth year. A daughter, four sis- 

 ters and a ijrother survive him. 



IVIrs. T. 0. Mellen. 



Mary J. Mellen, aged 79 years, widow 

 of Thomas C. Mellen, died at her home 

 in Weymouth Landing, Mass., on Feb- 

 ruary 4. She leaves a daughter. 



Hiram Myers. 

 Hiram Myers, one of the pioneer 

 florists of Kansas, died at his home in 

 Wellington on Januan,- 26, aged 70 

 years. 



Edward T. Elton, Jr. 

 Edward T. Elton. Jr.. an employee 

 of A. A. AVeldon at New Britain, Conn., 

 died on January 28, aged 42 years. 



John H. Righter. 

 John H. Righter of Righter & Bar- 

 ton, rose growers, Madison, N. Y., died 

 on Feb. 2, aged 61 years. 



William A. Munroe. 

 Wm. A. Munroe, seedsman. Provi- 

 dence, R. I., died suddenly on the 

 morning of Januan.- 2'^. 



A tVlETHOD OF CULTIVATING PR!- 

 IVIULA OBCONICA WHICH 

 PAYS. 

 I give these experiences of a Ger- 

 man cultivator which appear in Mol- 

 ler's Deutche Gai-tner-Zeitung, No. 4, 

 1909, for the reason that they differ 

 considerably from the general piactice. 

 The seeds sown wore those of famous 

 Ronsdorf Hybrids. The seed pans are 

 filled with a mixture of dung bed soil 

 that has laid in a heap for some length 

 of time, to which sand and turfy soil 

 in equal quantities are added. In or- 

 der to retain moisture the pans are 

 covered with tissue paper. AVhen seed 

 is sown in January, the plantlets 

 should be pricked off in the following 

 month, and in March or April they 

 should be again pricked off, the ex- 

 treme points of the roots being re- 

 moved with a knife. In the hurry- 

 scurry of today many of the things 

 done by the old gardener are gone into 

 disuse, and this shortening of the roots 

 is one of them. When the plants have 

 grown in size they are placed in houses 

 having means of good ventilation. In 

 sunny weather the plants must be 

 shaded, as IMmula obconica cannot 

 bear a hot sun. In .May the plants are 

 placed in frames which are kept closed, 

 and they are often syringed by day, 

 but only slightly, for to keep them very 

 wet would work great harm. As will 

 be well understood the plants must be 

 abundantly shaded. After a time the 

 plants must be accustomed to the air, 

 and ventilation gradually increased and 

 be well syringed. In the course of the 

 summer the plants are twice replanted, 

 and kept close after each replanting, 

 gradually innuring them to the air 

 after a brief interval. Finally the lights 

 are taken off the frames and shading 

 materials employed in their stead and 

 the frames often syringed by day. 



After or during rainfall manure wa- 

 ter is plentifully applied, but not to 

 newly planted ones. All flower buds 

 appearing in the course of the summer 

 are nipped oft as soon as observed. In 

 September the plants are potted up, by 

 which operation the lai-ger root masses 

 are not treated too tenderly, but the 

 roots are shortened as much as may 

 be needed. The plants are then placed 

 in frames where the losses and dis- 

 tur-hances and formation of new roots 

 is very soon made good. The plants 

 must be well rooted before the com- 

 mencement of bad weather or all the 

 labor and trouble will go for nothing. 

 When quite established, the plants 

 should he afforded plenty of air. If 

 flower-s are not wanted, remove every 

 bud and they will produce abundantly 

 at a later date. There are several 

 other matters which could be named, 

 but these are not necessary for the 

 professional gardener who pays care- 

 ful attention to his plants. 



FREDERICK MOORE. 



