August 7, 1909 



HORTICULTURE 



169 



TURKISH METHOD OF CULTIVA- 

 TION OF GARDENIA FLORIDA. 

 For the cultivation of Gardenia flor- 

 ida at Constantinople a method has 

 come into employment, original and 

 ])ractical, which might be employed 

 with advantage in other countries, 

 where the climatic conditions are suit- 

 able. It quite differs from the practice 

 in other parts of Europe. The cuttings 

 are taken at the beginning of the 

 month of January, and these consist 

 of healthy shoots of the previous year's 

 growth. They are cut at a joint and 

 struck in a bed in the propagating 

 house. This bed is made in the follow- 

 ing manner: A layer of beech tree 

 leaves, in a decayed state, and peat in 

 equa- proportions is placed at; the bot- 

 tom about 6 c. m. deep, and over this 

 a layer 2 c. m. deep of thoroughly 

 washed, coarse-grained quartz sand. 

 When the cuttings have been put into 

 the bed the lights are placed over 

 them and kept close. The warmth of 

 this bed should be maintained regular 

 at from 15 to IS degrees C, and the 

 cuttings lightly sprinkled twice or 

 thrice daily. As the Gardeiwa has a 

 great preference for the kind of soil 

 afforded, the cuttings make strong 

 roots, and mostly form small and good 

 balls. In March the cuttings are taken 

 out of the bed with as little disturb- 

 ance of the balls as possible and pot- 

 ted and placed on a frame having a 

 warmth of 15 to IS degrees C, close 

 to the glass, and no air afforded. They 

 must be closely watched, and when 

 growth commences the points must be 

 pinched out, in order that no runaway 

 shoots form. 



Syringing and shading according to 

 the weather conditions should be duly 

 afforded. The cuttings remain in this 

 dungbed for a period of six weeks, dur- 

 ing which they become well rooted, 

 and develop good bushes. At the end 

 of April they are fit to be placed in 

 the culture bed. The making of this 

 bed is the foundation of the magnifi- 

 cent results of the Turkish method of 

 cultivation. The frames are packed 

 with paper and carton waste from the 

 cigarette factories which maintains a 

 regular steady warmth for the entire 

 year. The paper, etc.. is placed in the 

 frames to the depth of about 2 ft. 4 in., 

 properly wetted, and turned over sev- 

 eral times similarly to stable litter, 

 and finally made firm. On this mass 

 of heating material is placed a 9-inch 

 layer of leaf mould and peat, to which 

 a quantity equal to one-halt of the 

 whole, of decayed wood (chestnut) is 

 added. A bed made in this way will 

 retain its warmth for one year. A bed 

 made of the wings of spruce seeds will 

 last an equal space of time. The 

 plants are turned out of the pots into 

 this bed at the end of April and in 

 the early part of May, at a distance 

 apart of 16 inches quincunx fashion, 

 the lights are put onto the frames and 

 kept close till the plants begin to grow. 

 Later ventilation and syringing are af- 

 forded by day. In June the lower 

 boards of the frames are removed all 

 round, above ground, and the lights 

 supported on bricks, at such a height 

 that the plants are about 9 inches dis- 

 tant from the glass. The glass is shad- 

 ed with a mixture of red clay and 

 water and as rain seldom occurs in the 



period of May-September, this kind of 

 shade answers admirably, but should 

 it be carried away by rain it is an easy 

 matter to replace it. Clay is better 

 than lime, the latter having an affinity 

 for the oil in the putty, causing it to 

 fall away and spoiling it. 

 ♦ In the cou:s> of the summer the 

 stionger shoots are stopped, the plants 

 syringed, in accordance) with weather 

 conditions and the light raised grad- 

 ually as the plants grow in height. In 

 October, the plan's are lifted with good 

 balls and potted in suitable-sized pots, 

 not too large, and plunged in a mild 

 dung or leaf Ijed and the lights kept 

 closed for a tinie. After the lapse of 

 a month the plants have filled the pots 

 with roots and should be placed in the 

 intermediate house to develop their 

 flower buds, and in Febiuary and 

 March to expand. 



Under the above kind of treatment 

 Gardenias grow to a height of 50 to 

 60 c. m., and carry always from 30 to 

 40 flowers. 



FREDERICK MOORE. 



USEFUL BOOKS. 



We can supply the following books, 

 postpaid, at the prices listed: — 



The American Carnation. C. W. 

 Ward. Price, $3.50 



Chrysanthemum Manual. Smith. 

 Price, 40 cents. 



The Chrysanthemum. Herrington. 

 Price, 50 cents. 



Mantial of the Trees of North Amer- 

 ica. C. S. Sargent. Price, $6.00. 



Soils: How to Handle and Improve 

 Them. S. W. Fletcher, Price, $2.20. 



Daffodils-Narcissus and How to Grow 

 Them. A. M. Kirby. Price, $1.10. 



The Art of Landscape Gardening. 

 By Humphrey Repton. Price, $3.20. 



Roses and How to Grow Them. By 

 Many Experts. Price, $1.21. 



The New Cyclopedia of American 

 Horticulture. L. H. Bailey. Four vol- 

 umes, $20.00. 



How to Plan the Home Grounds. S 

 Parsons, Jr. Price, $1.10. 



How to Make a Vegetable Garden 

 Edith L. Fullerton. Price, $2.20. 



KEEP FISHIN' 



Hi Somers was the thirndest cuss 



For oatchin' fish — he sure was greatl 



He never used to make no fuss 

 Aliout the kind of pole er bait, 



Er weather, neither: Ije'd jest say, 



"I got to ketch a mess today." 

 An' toward the creek you'd see him slide, 

 A-whistlin' soft an' walkin' wide. 



I says one day to HI, eays I, 



"How do you always ketch 'em. Hi?" 

 lie gave his bait another switch in. 

 An chucklin', says, "I jest keep tishin'." 



He took to readin' law at night 

 And pretty soon, the first we knowed, 



He had a lawsuit, won his fight. 

 An' was a lawyer! I'll be blowed! 



He knowed more law than Squire McKnab! 



An' though he had no "gift of gab" 

 To brag ab»ut. somehow he made 

 A sober sort of talk that played 



The mischief with the other side. 



One day. when someone asked if Hi'd 

 Explain how he got in condishin, 

 He laughed an' said, "I jest kept fishin'." 



Well, Hi is Gov'ner Somers, now; 



A big man round the State, you bet — 

 To me the same old Hi. somehow: 



The same old champeen fisher, yet, 

 It wan't so much the halt er pole. 

 It wan't so much the fishin' hole, 



That won for Hi his big success; 



'Twas jest his fishin' on, I guess; 

 A cheerful, stiddy, hopeful kind 

 Of keepin' at it— don't you mind? 



And that is why I cvn't help wishin' 



That more of us would jest keep fishin'. 

 — Chicago News. 



A TRIBUTE TO THOMAS C. THUR- 

 LOW. 



In the death of this gentleman. Hor- 

 ticulture loses one of its finest repre- 

 sentatives. He was a devout and 

 reverent Christian and all the flowers 

 he so dearly loved seemed to be a part 

 of him. He was one of the purest, 

 swee.est sculed men I ever saw. I 

 never 'new a man with a finer appre- 

 ciation cf aU that was beautiful. His 

 grounds were a garden of delight and 

 how he did enjoy his flowers. Lovingly 

 he would linger over them and drink 

 in their beauty. And while quite ill his 

 children went out and gathered arm- 

 fuls of his finest peonies and stood 

 great vases full of them around him 

 and he said with rapture "They cured 

 me. They were the best doctors 1 

 ever had." 



He was the father of the American 

 peony business. He wrote the first 

 article of any importance ever written 

 on the subject in America. He first 

 awakened in the heart of the writer an 

 interest in this resplendent flower and 

 much of the interest in late years in 

 perennials is traced to him. He always 

 wanted the best regardless of price and 

 almost always carried off the prizes at 

 the great Boston shows. 



I first became acquainted with him 

 in the fall of 1SS9. We had some cor- 

 respondence and he wrote me while 

 living in Franklin, Nebraska, that if 

 I ever came East I must make his 

 house my home. I did so and was 

 Immediately adopted into the family. 

 We became chums. We were of the 

 same age and he would introduce me 

 as his twin brother. Once while re- 

 covering from rheumatic fever he took 

 me home a;nd kept me till I recovered. 

 Our comradeship is one of my pleasant- 

 est memories. It was such a shock to 

 hear of his death. He was never 

 strong and for the last ten years he 

 was an invalid, spending several win- 

 ters in the South. 



He married late in life and leaves 

 four children. His daughter Susan was 

 his constant companion and gave him 

 almost reverent attention. Edward is 

 preparing for the ministry. George and 

 Winthrop are proficient horticulturists 

 and will carry on his work. 



He was born in 1S32 and was nearly 

 77 when he passed away July 21st. He 

 gently breathed his last surrounded by 

 devoted wife and children. His last 

 letter was written to me. 



He leaves a better and more beauti- 

 ful world as he passed through it on 

 to the 



"Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 

 And never withering flowers." 



C. S. HARRISON, 



Vork, Neb. 



SCALE OF POINTS FOR DAHLIA 

 JUDGES. 



The foUo-wlng scale of points has 

 been adopted at Newport, R. I., in 

 judging all dahlias e.Kcept Pompons 

 and Tom Thumbs: 



Individual Blooms. | folleetlon of Blooms. 

 Points! Pomts 



Size .5 



Color •'i 



Form 5 



Stem 3 



Foliage 2 



Size 



i Color 



Form 



Stem 



Foliage | 



Arrangement 



Total 20 1 Ti>tal 



.20 



