870 



HORTICULTURE 



March 23, 190T 



laid the frames seldom more than six feet high from the 

 ground, occasionally less, which renders it very diflBcult 

 for a tall man to get about. When it rains there is of 

 course a crack between and around each frame and if 

 the visitor tries to dodge the water that comes through 

 he gets a stream either down the back of his neck or 

 else on his note book. The sides are open, except when 

 it is vers cold and then straw mats are used for pro- 

 tection. Sometimes a closed stove is erected to help to 

 keep the temperature up. The pots are partly sunk in 

 the ground. There are no paths properly made and the 

 slop and mud in wet weather ought certainly to rot off 

 the whole collection. Tt may be, however, that being 

 open at the sides the wind soon dries up the place and 

 this misfortune is thus averted. 



Last autumn, when in Paris, I thought I would like 

 to visit one or two of these market growers. • My old 

 friend, Aug. Nonin, one of the best hearted, most genial 

 Frenchmen I ever knew, kindly volunteered to pilot me 

 around and invited me to lunch by way of starting the 

 day. Chatillon-sous-Bagneux, where he lives, is a good 

 ride by the electric train towards the south past the forti- 

 fications quite into the open country. The residence is 

 a neat little detached villa, rough cast, with stone fac- 

 ings standing just behind an iron railing. Internally 

 everything is neat, tidy and comfortable and we pass a 

 pleasant hour or two with the family before starting on 

 our journey of inspection. 



Although this is not the first visit we determine to go 

 around the Nonin collection. This is housed in a. man- 

 ner similar to that already described. The earHes, how- 

 ever, are further off and in the open. M. Nonin'« busi- 

 ness is more like that of our own growers and a few 

 particulars may be useful. Just now he has 350 nov- 

 elties on trial. His own collection consisted of 500 

 varieties grown in 4,000 plants in pots. His earlies 

 number about 200 varieties and it is in this section that 

 he has been chiefly successful of late years. He is not 

 a market grower, although cut blooms are sold on the 

 premises to local purchasers. He is a seedling raiser 

 of novelties and a cultivator of plants and cuttings for 

 amateur and other growers. These are sent all over 

 France; the fewest perhaps go to Brittany, and also to 

 places abroad. 



As we wander along we notice many fine specimen 

 blooms, seedlings for 1908, which are on trial. Others 

 that attract attention are some already well known. But 

 some rarer are Mme. de Largentaye, rosy white, Jap; 

 Ami Gautier, mahogany red ; Mousse Orientate, a pale 

 golden yellow hairy variety ; Dubuisson Foubert, a Jap, 

 color amber buff; Mile. Jeanne Bois, a fine new white; 

 Douceur Angevine, lilac mauve ; Loango, golden bronze ; 

 Mme. Henri Delizy, white tinted purple ; and very many 

 more of the true show type. Dahlias, carnations, be- 

 gonias, etc., are also strongly in evidence. 



Among decorative chrysanthemums of special merit 

 for outdoor culture we note Tapis d'Or, Menelik, Champ 

 d'Or, Acajon, Flocon de Neige, Orange Pet, etc. 



(To be continued.) 



The Value of Bulb Stock 



That bulb flowers have really never been appreciated 

 at their full value, I know the reader of this short arti- 

 cle will instantly deny. You have in your mind the 

 prominent place that everything in bulb stock has taken, 

 not only in the florists' trade, but also in the private 

 greenhouses of this country during the past few months. 

 Of course for years both private and commercial 

 growers have grown bulb flowers in ever increasing 

 quantities; but when it comes right down to the facts 

 in the case, the private-grower has used his hyacinths, 

 tulips, and narcissi for filling-in purposes — when roses, 

 carnations, violets, and orchids (which I should have 

 mentioned first) were in short supply. It is the same 

 with the commercial florist — he says to his customer, "I 

 have no ro.ses, carnations, or violets, but I have some 

 very good tulips, yes, and some excellent daffodils." 

 What I wish to bring oxit is this — we have all of us 

 been very prone to look down upon bulb flowers; they 

 are good enough to fill in with, but never have had a 

 seat at the first table. Now T want to ask you .i ques- 

 tion, and it is simply this : What would the flower trade 

 of America have done without Dutch bulb flower stock, 

 during the past six weeks or so? It is all right to laugh 

 now, but many of our florists, without bulb flowers, 

 would simply have had to stop business in the month 

 preceding the sun's again shining, or in other words, 

 during the last half of January and part of February. 

 ] am a great admirer of bulb stock, and as far as I can 

 influence you towards it I am trying to do so. For the 

 splendid way in which this class of flowers carried us 

 through the almost absolutely sunless time from before 

 Christmas until a few short weeks ago, should forever 

 place in the highest estimation everything that goes by 

 the name of Dutch bulbs. 



In this connection, a reminding word to call to" your 

 attention the yearly increasing s^les of Holland bulbs, 

 that season after season are taking place to planters, 

 may not be unappreciated. The past two autumns, 

 especially, has seen such enormous quantities of Dutch 

 bulbs ordered from our seedsmen that towards the end 

 of the seasons, and quite a few weeks before the ground 

 has frozen, for the winter, it has been necessary to re- 

 turn mtoney to customers, with the notification that bulb 

 stocks were exhausted. In comparison with this state 

 of affairs cast your thoughts back with me, say ten, 

 yes, twenty j'ears, and bring to your mind the number 

 and value of Dutch bulbs that were imported by even 

 the largest firms at that time— do you remember the 

 first bulb catalogtie? Compare it with those of last 

 autumn. But, I feel that I have already taken up 

 enough valuable space. I am a firm believer in Dutch 

 bulbs, and I am sure all their friends will pardon what 

 may seem perhaps an unwarranted plea in their favor. 

 Sometimes I try to look ahead and wonder if the con- 

 sumption of bulbs will develop and increase during the 

 next decade as it has during the past — but the problem 

 will answer itself as time goes on, and T think favorably. 

 Dutch bulbs are no longer a side issue — a filler in — but 

 one of the greatest factors in the seed trade of America 

 tod a}'. 



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