August 15, 190S 



HORTICU LTU RE 



211 



nana compacta. In echeverias, secuu- 

 da, seeunda glauca, desmetiana and 

 ruetallica. In sempervivums, cornu- 

 tum. Smithii and tectorum. In sedums, 

 lydium aureuru, acre elegans and ear- 

 neuro irari >gatum. 



Plants for Subtropical Effect. 

 For tropica] and subtropical effects, 

 Mr. Boeglin mentioned ricinus, Musa 

 ensete and Martini; in nicotiana, ma- 

 crophylla, N. collosina and collosiria 

 variegata; solanums, robustum, atro- 

 purpurea and marginal pecial- 



ly desirable, and Solanuro ja minioidee 

 as a climber, very effective with its 

 pure fine flowers and fern-like foliage, 

 which, if planted near tall plants, will 

 climb over them and produce a charm- 

 ing wild appearance. Also palms, cala- 

 ditims, eucalyptus, tall growing abutil- 

 lons, acalyphas and crotons and the 

 ornamental grasses such as arundos. 

 eulalias, erianthuses, gyneriums, zeas, 

 bambusas and pennisetums. 

 Starting Cannas. 

 He then gave careful cultural direc- 

 tions on the various classes of plants 

 from which we extract the following: 

 "Canna roots before starting them 

 in sand should be properly cleaned for 

 very seldom you have perfectly sound 

 roots. If they are black spotted, cut 

 all dead and black spotted parts off 

 and keep them growing as fast as 

 possible to give the black spots no 

 time to gain. When 4 to 5 inch long 

 they should be potted in 4-inch pots 

 In good, rich soil. Cannas are great 

 feeders; the better the soil, the better 

 the result. 



Begonias from Seed. 

 "To raise begonias by seed, the seed 

 should be sown the last part of Jan- 

 uary. In preparing the boxes for this 

 purpose, put on the bottom about two 

 inches of moss, on top of the moss 

 about one inch of fine sifted soil with 

 one part of sand and two parts of leaf 

 mould, give the boxes a perfect soak- 

 ing before seeding to avoid sprinkling, 

 which the young plants can't stand. 

 If properly soaked the moss on the 

 bottom will retain enough moisture to 

 supply the young plants till they are 

 fit to be transplanted. Begonia seeds 

 should never be covered with soil or 

 sand. The seed boxes should be cov- 

 ered with glass and the glass cleared 

 each morning until the plants are 

 strong enough to do without. If treat- 

 ed this way the seed will be up in 

 ten days and in another two weeks 

 the plants are ready to be transplanted. 

 Prepare the boxes the same way, trans- 

 plant the young plants carefully, cover 

 with glass for about two weeks and 

 your plants will be strong enough to 

 stand a good watering. Three weeks 

 more and the plants are fit to be potted. 

 Begonias from Cuttings. 

 "To grow begonias from cuttings, 

 we must have before ail, good 'mother- 

 stock.' The best for this purpose are 

 old plants potted in the fall. Cut them 

 back to one or two inches from the 

 pot, keep them growing in a warm 

 place so they will make nice shoots 

 from the bottom and you will have 

 good cuttings, which is the foundation 

 of success in growing begonias. It is 

 absolutely useless to try to grow be- 

 gonias without having the right kind 

 of cuttings. Top or head cuttings will 

 never break out but will be growing 

 to a single stem and never amount to 



n n nm 



J In - id 1 



The house of Michell, for almost a quarter of 

 a century, has stood for progressiveness and suc- 

 cess. 



It occupies, to-day, as line a building as will be 

 found anywhere devoted to the 



Seed, Bulb and Horticultural 



industry, and is on the eve of making a move to 

 occupy more pretentious quarters, having pur- 

 chased the large, five-story binding known as 

 "TOWER HALL," 518 Market Street, which 

 in time will be occupied by them, the floor area 

 of this building being about 39, ceo square feet. 



From a modest beginning it now ranks as one 

 of the foremost Seed and Bulb Houses in 

 America. 



HENRY F, MICHELL GO. 



SEEDSMEN AND DIRECT 

 BULB IMPORTERS 



1018 Market Street, Phila. 



It will pay you to drop us a postal for our whole- 

 sale catalogue. 



HENRr F. MICHELl. Prest. FRED K J. MICHUl. V-Pres t 





anything. All begonia cuttings should 

 have at least one eye to produce stocky 

 plants. Begonias like a loose, light 

 soil, not too rich. 



Mother-Stock. 

 "As to foliage and border plants, 

 keep in mind to bring a few in from 

 each kind before they are frost bitten 

 in the fall, pot them properly, cut 

 them back, treat them right and you 

 will have cuttings by the bushel. Cut- 

 tings made the beginning of Septem- 

 ber of coleus, ageratum, salvia, gnaph- 

 alium aud cuphea will grow to fairly 

 good mother-plants through the winter. 

 The best mother-stock in alternanthera 

 ate cuttings made in September right 

 in boxes in ordinary sandy soil, a 

 common hex 20 inches long, 12 inches 

 wide and 3 inches deep will hold about 

 100 cuttings. Stick the cuttings deep, 

 give them a good place near the glass, 

 treat them properly and you will have 

 healthy cuttings in quantity. To have 

 good plants of acalyphas and abutilons, • 

 cuttings have to be made in the fall.' 

 Plants from spring-cuttings are not 

 large enough for effective bedding. 

 Seeds of tropical plants must be sown 

 the last part of February in a very 

 hot place. Once transplanted you have 

 to keep them growing without rest to 

 have the best results. 



Cultural Methods. 



Don't, shade your stock too much; 

 give rather more air, for sun and air 

 produce sturdy stock. Frames with 

 fresh transplanted stock ought to- be 

 closed and shaded for a short time, 

 shaded only from nine o'clock in the 

 morning till three- o'clock in the after- 

 noon. Morning and evening sun will 

 never hurt plants but will be very 

 profitable to them. 



"Beginning the last part of April we 

 have still time to grow a lot of bed- 

 ding stock which will be large enough 

 at planting time. Coleuses, ires! 

 ageratums and alternantheras can still 



be grown successfully. If you have 

 warm frames, put about one inch of 

 soil on top of the manure, place your 

 empty pots nicely, fill the pots with 

 sandy soil, pack a little and give them 

 a perfect soaking. Then stick your 

 cuttings in the pots, in just the same 

 way that you transplant seedlings, 

 then keep the sash closed until they 

 are rooted, which requires about one 

 week. By this method you save time 

 and labor and the work is done just 

 as well as if the plants were potted on 

 the table. You have to watch the 

 stock closer in hotbeds than you do 

 in greenhouses. Sometimes the bed 

 turns too hot and in this case we must 

 give plenty of air; don't be afraid to 

 let in a little air over night. If a bed 

 turns cold, renew the manure in the 

 walks, it helps a great deal in such 

 cases. The bed has to be covered be- 

 fore the sun sets. Covering and un- 

 covering is about the only additional 

 work we have in order to grow plants 

 in hotbeds, but plants grown the right 

 way in frames are bedding plants to 

 perfection. This little additional work 

 does not scare a good gardener, for we 

 all know the truth of the old saying, 

 No award without pain, no harvest 

 without sowing.' " 



MOVEMENTS OF GARDENERS. 



Augustus Zirngiebel of Xeedham, 

 Mass., has taken a position as super- 

 intendent of the estate of Bronson 

 Winthrop at East Norwich, X. Y. 



Charles MeCauley of Washington, 

 D. C, has taken a position as man- 

 ager with Geo. R. Fabyan. Geneva. III. 

 Mr. MeCauley has been secretary of 

 the Florists' Club of Washington for 

 the past three years, and at their 

 August meeting where his resignation 

 was offered, he was presented with a 

 silver loving cup. Mr. W. F. Gude. 

 the host on this occasion, made the 

 presentation speech. 



