820 



HORTICULTURE 



June 22, 1907 



NEPHROLEPIS 



Piersoni Elegantissima 



Tiie Tarrytown Fern 



A good stock in all sizes on hand at all times. A splendid seller and 

 money-maker. Large specimen plants, ready for immediate sale : 6-inch at 

 75c and $1.00 each; 8-inch at $1.50 and $2.00 each; 1 0-inch at $3.00 each; 

 12-inch at $5.00 each; 14-inch at $7.50 each; 16-inch at $10.00 each. Also 

 fine young stock for growing on, 2, H' -inch at $8.00 per hundred. 



F. R. PIERSON CO., Tarrytown-on-Hudson, N. Y. 



Special Culture of the Kentia 



During the past 10 or 15 years palm 

 culture has made great progress in 

 the United States especially along the 

 Atlantic seaboard. Large areas of 

 glass are nov devoted to their culture, 

 many important establishments giving 

 up almost their whole aiea to this 

 crop alone. Nowhere is this more 

 manifest than in the neighborhood of 

 Philadelphia where the business may 

 be said to have had its early impetus. 



The principal vaiitties grown for 

 the commercial trade are Kentia Bel- 

 nioreana, K. Porsteriana, Cocos Wed- 

 delliana, Areca lutescens, Phoenix re- 

 clinata and Rhapis flabelliformis. 

 Latania borbonica, once largely grown, 

 has been dropped to a great extent. 



At first the young plants were im- 

 ported from Europe and "grown on," 

 but now the up-to-date concerns such 

 as the Dreer Co., Heacock Co., Chas. 

 D. Ball, W. K. Harris, and Robert 

 Craig Co., depend more on seeds for 

 their stock. Great care is taken to 

 have the seeds fresh and they are 

 sown immediately on their arrival. 

 Some varieties germinate in a few 

 weeks, others take a year and longer. 



Palm House.s uf Jo.sei'H Heacock 



Joseph Heacock, who is an expert in 



kentia culture as is evidenced by a 

 recent visit to his establishment where 

 a large area is filled with perfect 

 specimens, says that one of the first 

 requisites is patience. He thinks Job 

 would have had the only real test of 

 patience if he had been put up against 

 the palm growing job. "You put in 

 the seed," said he, "and wait for 

 months — often a year will pass before 

 they are all out of the seed bed. All 

 through this your capital lies buried: 

 wages, coal, interest, and other bills 

 keep piling up. The adage of the 

 nimble sixpence does not apply to 

 kentia culture for you have to wait 

 four or five years before you get any 

 returns to speak of." Mr. Heacock 

 thinks on the whole he would 

 have been better off if he had 

 stuck to roses alone. This seems 

 rather a pessimistic view in face of the 

 fact that fifty to a hundred thousand 

 seeds of kentia are being sown at this 

 place every year. 



In growing kentias, and in fact all 

 kinds of palms, Mr. Heacock quotes 

 Jefferson "Eternal vigilence is the 



price of liberty." A compost of loam 

 and peat in about equal proportions 

 is the generally adopted medium with 

 the addition of a little silver sand. 

 Kentias require plenty of pot room and 

 plenty of water both under and over- 

 head throughout the summer. As Mr. 

 Heacock says, the great enemy is scale. 

 To keep down this pest tobacco water 

 has been found the most effective. 

 This is prepared in tubs large enough 

 for dipping the entire plant, after 

 which they are thoroughly gone over 

 by hand carefully sponging every leaf. 

 The same applies to red thrips al- 

 though these are a less frequent 

 enemy. 



Five years ago the supply was ahead 

 of the demand and many growers drop- 

 ped out. At present the tone of the 

 market is much healthier and there is 

 good demand for all sizes. Large 

 plants are scarce and bring high 

 prices. Palms will always hold a high 

 place as decorative plants and it is 

 gratifying to know that our Ameri- 

 can growers are keeping fully abreast 

 of the times. 



GEORGE C. WATSON. 



