June 1, 1907 



HORTICULTURE, 



71» 



varieties as they grow in the finld, as 

 no where else can so many varieties 

 be found growing together under such 

 favorable circumstances as will be 

 found at Ithaca. 



Judges of the exhibits will be ap- 

 pointed at a preliminary session held 

 previous to the regular meeting. 



LENOX HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



The regular meeting of the above 

 society was held May 18, President 

 Heeremans in the chair. In order to 

 increase a more lively interest in the 

 society among the assistant gardeners 

 and others, it was unanimously voted 

 to reduce the initiation fee as much 

 as possible. It is expected that this 

 will result in a very considerable in- 

 crease in membership, as many have 

 expressed a desire to affiliate. The co- 

 operation of all those having the inter- 

 ests of tlie society and the profession 

 at heart is cordially invited by the of- 

 ficers and members. Several questions 

 taken from the question box created 

 very lively discussion, among the most 

 interesting and instructive being, 

 "Wliat causes hot water to circulate 

 in pipes?" and "Does a moist atmos- 

 phere prevent red spider?" Judging 

 from the discussion that followed 

 there would seem to be a large ma- 

 jority of the opinion that a moist at- 

 mospliere alone does not prevent red 

 spider. Two very fine vases of Glad- 

 ioli, Peach Blossom and Blushing 

 Bride, were exhibited by S. Carlquist, 

 for which he was awarded a certificate 

 of merit. 



G. H. INSTONE, Secretary. 



SOUTHAMPTON HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The regular meeting of the South- 

 ampton (N. Y.) Horticultural Society 

 was held Monday, May 13, president 

 Clark in the chair. Seven new mem- 

 bers were elected making a total of 

 forty-seven active and five life mem- 

 bers. President Clark showed a very 

 fine collection of narcissi, also a vase 

 of Mertensia irirginica. Wm. Gray, 

 gardener to Judge Russell, read a very 

 interesting paper on melon culture. 

 The question box also brought out the 

 usual interesting discussions. The 

 next regular meeting will be held 

 Monday evening, June 10th. 



U. G. AGER. 



CLUB AND SOCIETY NOTES. 



The Annandale rose show will be 

 held June 12 and 13. 



The New Jersey Floricultural So- 

 ciety will hold a rose show on June 7. 



The Missouri Horticultural Society 

 will hold a convention at Carrollton, 

 June 4, 5, 6. 



The executive committee of the 

 American Rose Society met in New 

 York city on May 28. 



The Chicago Horticultural Society 

 have selected the week from October 

 31 to November 6 for their flower 

 show at the Coliseum. 



At the meeting of the New Haven 

 County Horticultural Society, ilay 22, 

 James Biuce made a striking exhibit 

 of chrysanthemum flowers. 



go to press with the official program 

 and list of pi izes for the annual 

 games. If any one wishes to con- 

 tribute an additional prize or insert 

 an advertisement he should attend to 

 same immediately. 



The "outing" committee of the New 

 York Florists' Club are now ready to 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



A paper read before tbe Gardeners' and 



Florists' Club of Boston, by Thos. 



H. Westwood. 



Bedding plants are the plants of the 

 masses. They are widely distributed. 

 They are seen in the palace and they 

 adorn the hovel. They bring light 

 with their cheerful coloring. They 

 fill the air with their sweet fragrance. 

 Their reasonable cost brings them 

 within the reach of all mankind. They 

 do not seem to resent the ill treat- 

 ment that is so often given them, but 

 show forth their glory under great 

 difficulties. 



We are not to enter into a discus- 

 sion on growing bedding plants, but 

 will say in passing to grow this class 

 of plants successfully is just so much 

 "a fine art" as it is to grow many of 

 the more costly plants which receive 

 such skillful treatment from the 

 skilled artists. "Anyone can grow a 

 geranium'' is an old saying, as well as 

 a false one. The great height that 

 some of them attain shows us that 

 "anyone" is still with us growing 

 them. 



There is most surely a place for the 

 extensive use of these plants which 

 are grown in such abundance. We 

 commend the work of Mrs. Jack Gard- 

 ner in offering prizes for this class of 

 plants grown in window boxes. 



We congratulate the people of North 

 Easton for the work being done there. 

 The children's garden work ought to 

 be encouraged. The care which the 

 child gives to the garden is well spent, 

 both from a moral and mental stand- 

 point and the development of plant 

 life teaches the precious lessons to the 

 observant child. 



Here is an avenue of usefulness open 

 to our club and we hope and recom- 

 mend that some effort will be made 

 along the line of clearing up the front- 

 yards and back-yards of our city and 

 suburbs, perhaps by offering prizes 

 for the best kept yard, or by furnish- 

 ing plants to those who are not able 

 to pay for them and who wish to im- 

 prove their environment. The ar- 

 rangement of bedding plants is a sub- 

 ject about which a great deal may 

 be said, and this seems to be an op- 

 portune time to discuss this great 

 question. Strange to say, our amateur 

 friends come in for a great deal less 

 criticism than our professional friends 

 do. The amateur arranges his plants 

 as if they had dropped from the clouds. 

 There seems to be an abandonment 

 about their arrangement which is re- 

 freshing. 



Let us turn and see what is being 

 done in our ranks and let us discuss 

 some of the bedding that is to be seen 

 in and around Boston. Of course, 

 where there is so much money speni, 

 and where bedding is done on such a 

 large scale, we naturally look to our 

 city gardens. For enlightment we 

 look for effects that come as near to 

 nature, as one may come to nature 

 along bedding lines We do not see 



enough grouping of plants of one 

 variety. We see a good many plants 

 grouped, that are at variance with each 

 other. Ficus elastica, Celosia cris- 

 tata, crotons, euonymus, all in a group 

 are certainly mixing things, and are 

 certainly a poor example at least tor 

 educational purposes. We believe that 

 plants of one variety in a group will 

 give a more pleasing effect than a 

 mixture of plants which seem to be 

 antagonistic, the one to the other. We 

 believe there are more geraniums 

 grown for bedding purposes than any 

 other variety of plant grown for bed- 

 ding, and they are the most difficult 

 to arrange, as it is so easy for the 

 colors to clash, and to place the bed 

 in the poorest situation we can find. 

 The semi-doubles are our favorites on 

 account of the lasting property of 

 their flowers. We use a great many 

 geraniums because we are requested 

 to by our people. Where it is possi- 

 ble we plant a whole avenue or sec- 

 tion of our place with one variety. 

 Keep the scarlets and pinks apart. 

 For a dark mixture we give S. A. Nutt, 

 Alphonse Ricard, and Bishop Wood. 

 For a light mixture we use Poitevine, 

 any good white variety and Mme. T. 

 Thebant. We never use variegated 

 varieties, in fact we do not grow them. 

 The canna is the greatest acquisition 

 for this class of work that has been 

 Introduced for many years. They give 

 such a tropical effect and are worth 

 growing for their foliage alone, buc 

 some of them have very striking 

 flowers. A group of Admiral Dewey 

 makes a very handsome bed. A group 

 of Alphonse Bouvier planted sixty feet 

 apart bringing an occasional plant to 

 the .outer line of the bed which takes 

 away any suggestion of formality, and 

 filled in with Vernon begonias makes 

 a superb group. 



This leads us up to tropical effects, 

 the grandest of all our bedding, when 

 we know how to arrange such groups. 

 Musa ensete makes an imposing sub- 

 ject for tropical beds. We do not 

 use any variegated plants that are 

 very pronounced but depend upon the 

 varied shaped leaves for effect. To 

 plant one of these groups, which must 

 be of good dimensions, better have one 

 good sized group, than many small 

 groups dotted hither and thither. 

 Place a large musa near the centre 

 of the bed. Place other specimens 

 widely apart throughout the bed. A 

 few coming to the edge of the bed 

 adds to its grandeur. Around the larg- 

 est of the musas, group some free 

 gi-owing canna, around others Cyperus 

 alternifolia. Large plants of Dracena 

 indivisa are planted throughout the 

 bed. Dracena Braziliensis with its 

 broad green leaves, Alooasia arborea 

 adds strength to the group. Pen- 

 nisetum with its beautiful plume and 

 grassy foliage is a good neighbor to 

 the alocasia. The dwarf Cyperus takes 

 its place towards the outer edge with 

 Carex Japonica, a dwarf gress. Cur- 

 culigo recurvata is an interesting 

 plant for this work, planted towards 

 the edge where it stands sentinel over 

 its dwarf friends. During the days 

 when the air is not stirring this plant 

 will sway to and fro like the pendultun 

 of a clock, suggesting that the place 

 is a well regulated one and always on 

 the move. 



Ciotons, as bedders in the vicinity of 

 Boston, do not develop their bright 



