788 



HORTICULTURE 



June 15, 1907 



THE DETERIORATION OF PLANTS 



BY FORCING: THE CAUSE; 



THE REMEDY. 



(Abstract of Remarks by Antolne Wlntzer, 

 Before the Florist Club of Philadelphia.) 



Are our roses deteriorating or is it 

 Imaginary on our part? The real or 

 supposed deterioration of roses is the 

 subject of considerable discussion 

 whenever practical rose men meet at 

 conventions or clubs. To me has been 

 assigned by the honorable members of 

 the Philadelphia Florists' Club the task 

 of solving this rather knotty problem. 

 Now while a man may give his own 

 reasons on any subject it does not fol- 

 low that he is right, and his experi- 

 ence may be at variance with that of 

 Others. 



My honest opinion is that a great 

 many varieties of roses have deterio- 

 rated. Why have they done so? I be- 

 lieve the main causes to be over 

 propagation, unnatural conditions in 

 growing the stock-plants, under and 

 over watering, over feeding and vari- 

 ous other causes too numerous to 

 mention. We must also bear in mind 

 the fact that thousands of new rosea 

 and types of roses have been 

 originated during the past 25 years or 

 more, less than 2 per cent, of which 

 are heard of ten years alter. 



The Hybrid Tea roses (to the pro- 

 duction of which, rose breeders are 

 now devoting so much att(ntion) were 

 an unknown factor 35 or 40 years ago. 

 The breeders at that time were dis- 

 seminating more H. P. varieties than 

 all the other classes combined, the 

 majority of which were introduced by 

 Verdier of Paris. It was through the 

 efforts of the late Henry Bennett that 

 the Hybrid Tea class had its beginning 

 wherein Bennett gave us beautiful 

 varieties in form and color. Nearly 

 all his productions were lacking in 

 vigor, and to a greater or less extent 

 this has been the case with the 

 majority of the Hybrid Tea roses 

 since. Practical experience has shown 

 that only a limited number of this 

 class are strong, when field-grown in 

 this latitude. In a great many sec- 

 tions of the South and Pacific States 

 they seem to grow and thrive better 

 than in this section, although, even 

 in these favorable locations, they are 

 not entirely immune from black spot. 



Now what is the lesson the propa- 

 gator can learn from observation? 

 (1) Secure the best and most healthy 

 field-grown plants for propagation, 

 grow the cuttings from such, under 

 natural conditions and continue on 

 the plan for a number of years and 

 the result will be that the roses so 

 grown will not deteriorate. But it is 

 of vital importance that the very best 

 plants should be selected for breeders. 

 This, in fact, is the secret of the 

 whole matter, start right, keep on the 

 right track, and you will stay right, 

 and the stock you grow will be right. 



Now in conclusion permit me to 

 ask how many gi-owers are there in 

 the business, in the position to do 

 this? With the wholesale prices of 

 roses where they are at present there 

 is surely an eternal unfitness of 

 things in our present price of own- 

 root roses. 



Prof. Frederick E, Clements, Ph.D., 

 has been elected head of the botany 

 department of the University of Min- 

 nesota. . - 



A JAPANESE AQUATIC GARDEN 

 IN PHILADELPHIA. 



Our frontispiece and the other ac- 

 companying illustrations show what 

 is said to be the most finished and 

 beautiful example of Japanese aquatic 

 gardening in this country. It is hard 



to realize that this gem of miniature 

 oriental scenery is located in the 

 very heart of Philadelphia, yet this is 

 a fact. It is the garden of J. H. 

 Klauder, 1513 Allegheny avenue, 

 Philadelphia, and considering the 

 limited space and other difficulties, is 



really very wonderful. The features 

 are all drawn to a scale and it took 

 many years to gather together the 

 little rocks which figure in it. It 

 shows a phase of gardening art which 

 we think will deeply interest our 

 readers and, compared with some at- 



tempts at water gardening we occa- 

 sionally see — square or oval stone 

 margined basins surrounded with 

 plantations of balsams, lantanas Cen- 

 turea gyninocarpa and similar incon- 

 gruous material — it is not without its 

 lesson. 



EXPERIENCE WITH PEONY SEED. 



I had a lot of seeds last year — 1906 

 —and I thought that, to make the labor 

 short, I would collect them in two 

 gatherings, so after gathering the 

 first lot, I put them away in paper 

 bags, two or three weeks, until I had 

 made the last gathering, and then 

 sowed the entire lot in flats, and 

 placed them in an unhealed greenhouse, 

 covering them extra cold nights with 

 old boards, although at times they 

 were slightly frozen — in the meantime 

 keeping the seeds moistened. Now, 

 judge of my surprise when the last 

 gathered seeds came up thickly, while 

 the first gathered were yet hidden In 

 the earth, and the earth still presents 

 its unbroken surface. The seeds evi- 

 dently holding to their tradition — not 

 to come up until the second year — 

 while the second lot are stealing a 

 march on time and are coming with a 

 rush. Now, why is this? The first lot 

 of seed were of that rich nut brown 

 color that the florist says is all right, 

 while many of the second lot lacked 

 that ripe look, and had an appearance 

 of immaturity, but both lots appeared 

 plump and full. Was Nature trying to 

 harden the seed against the time of 

 planting, conserving her forces, as it 

 were, while in the second lot the 

 germinating qualities were progressing 

 to their final completion? Can any one 

 recall a similar experience or suggest 

 an explanation? 



GEORGE HOLLIS. 



South Weymouth, Mass. 



CROTONS AT GIRARD COLLEGE. 



Edwin Lonsdale, superintendent of 

 the Girard College grounds has 

 effected a number of improvements on 

 the croton and has a fine display in 

 store for the visitors in August. His 

 efforts have been especially rich in 

 the way of short-jointed varieties for 

 edging purposes. Girard College may 

 not be on the convention program but 

 '.vill well repay a visit. 



The annual flower show of the Vil- 

 lage Improvement Society, Southamp- 

 ton, Mass., will be held August 16. 



BEDDING PLANTS 



Of Every Description 



Also a fine tot of Palms in all sizes, such as 

 Kentlas. Arecas, Latanias, Phoenix and 

 Cocos. Pandanufl Veltchll and utllls, Cra- 

 tons. Dracaena^t. Nepenthes, Arallas, 

 Araucarlas, Aspidistras, Ferns suitable for 

 dishes, in leading varieties. Clbotlum Schledel 

 from $ I. CO to $3 ooeach. 

 Will book contracts for Azaleas for future delivery. 



Wholesale Price List on application. 



A. LEUTHY & CO., 



Importers and Exporters, Growert and Dealeri, 



PerklBi St. Nnraeriei, Roslindalc, 



BOSTON, MASS. 



GERANIUMS 



3000 to 4000 Geraniums, S. A. Nutt, 

 Beaute Poitevine, in 3 and 3>; in. 

 pots, $6.00 per 100. 

 200 Beaute Poitevine. very large 

 plants, 13-15 inches in diameter, 

 $6.00 per dozen. 



Call and iuspect the stock before 

 buying elsewhere. 



A. C. LAKE 



Wellesley HKIs 



Mass. 



