42S 



HORTICULTURE. 



March 30, 1907 



SPRING EXHIBITION AT BOSTON 



The Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society certainly scored a magnificent 

 success last week for the spring ex- 

 hibition at Horticultural Hall was 

 unanimously acknowledged to be the 

 best spring show ever made by this 

 society. Its superiority was due not 

 only to the high quality of the exhibits 

 and the cultural skill displayed but to 



participation of the commercial grow- 

 ers in, these public exhibitions once 

 almost exclusively supported by the 

 private growers. It is very significant 

 when we see a commercial florist 

 capturing the first prize for twelve 

 specimen acacias in not less than 

 three species! 

 Indian azaleas were shown in great- 



Amaryi.i.isks at Spring 

 By W. C. 



the extent and variety of the displays 

 and, most noticeably, to the general 

 layout and the arrangement which 

 "was the best thus far in the new halls. 

 Instead of the series of dozens and 

 half dozens of pots and pans of the 

 various competing plants arranged 

 upon long tables, uninteresting to the 

 majority of visitors, the most of the 

 material on this occasion was dis- 

 posed in great groups and masses, a 

 "veritable riot of color, producing an 

 impression that will never be forgot- 

 ten. It is true that our exhibitors 

 have yet much to learn in the art of 

 plant arrangement for general effect. 

 Cyclamens, lilies and violets do not 

 grow perched up above kentias and 

 ■dracaenas, and araucarias are decided- 

 ly out of place crowded down among 

 ■daffodils and primroses. These incon- 

 gruous jumbles are seen at all ex- 

 libitions where plant grouping is at- 

 tempted and they were not absent on 

 this occasion but an intelligent effort 

 to break away from meaningless in- 

 discriminate mixtures was apparent 

 in many instances, and in none with 

 greater success than in the groups by 

 E. & J. Farquhar & Co., and by 

 Kobert Cameron of the Harvard 

 Botanic Garden, both of which are il- 

 lustrated in this issue. 



Especially gratifying to the older 

 gardeners and others who have a due 

 appreciation for hard-wooded green- 

 house flowering plants was the pro- 

 fusion of acacias, ericas and plants of 

 similar character shown on this occa- 

 sion. As compared -n'ith the exhibi- 

 tions in recent years it may be char- 

 acterized as a notable revival of the 

 conditions of "The good old times." 

 Again, it is pleasant to see the grow- 

 ing interest being taken by, and the 



Exhibition, Boston 



Ritchie. 



er i)rofusion and better quality than 

 on any occasion since the notable dis- 

 play made by Prof. Sargent at the 

 opening of the new hall some years 

 ago. Mr. Walsh's group of rambler 

 roses was much smaller than that of 

 last year, his stock having been de- 

 pleted by his contributions to the re- 

 cent rose exhibition in Washington 



and in this respect the Boston show 

 suffered but his collection contained 

 several varieties not shown heretofore 

 and was intensely interesting to the 

 rose lover. Cyclamens, always a nota- 

 ble factor in the Boston exhibitions, 

 were fully up to the record. Cinerar- 

 ias, including stellata, were excellent. 

 Bulbous stock was fine throughout, 

 the narcissus section being especially 

 good and very extensive. The group 

 of hard-wooded plants from Mrs. J. L. 

 Gardner, which occupied the stage in 

 the lecture hall comprised many gems 

 such as acacias, chorizemas, cytisus, 

 rondeletias, eriostemons, etc., and was 

 worthily awarded the special prize of- 

 fered in this class by the Julius 

 Roehrs Company. 



George M. Anderson showed a group 

 of cyclamens, 18 months from seed, 

 which were admired probably as much 

 as anything in the hall and received 

 a silver medal for them. Two plants 

 of Queen Alexandra daisies from 

 George Page, gardener to Mrs. Fred 

 Ayer showed the possibilities with 

 this lovely flower; a cultural certifi- 

 cate was his reward. A cultural cer- 

 tificate was also given to Thos. Ro- 

 land for a pair of stately specimens 

 of Cytisus canariensis which stood 

 like sentinels each side of the loggia 

 steps. A silver medal was awarded 

 to R. & J. Farquhar & Co., for the 

 magnificent group of tulips, hyacinths, 

 lily of the valley and other spring 

 flowering material which is very in- 

 adequately represented in the accom- 

 panying illustration. The group of 

 acacias from Thos. Roland received 

 unstinted praise from admiring gar- 

 deners and well deserved the silver 

 medal awarded. In this and other 

 groups of acacia there were repre- 

 sented A. armata, longifolia, pul- 

 chella, heterophylla and cultriformis 

 and in Dr. Weld's group was a superb 

 sjjecimen of James Comley's unnamed 



PRIMI'I.A Or.CDXlCA AND ERICAS AT SrRINd EXHIBITION, BOSTON 



By Harvard Botanical Garden. 



