April 16, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



583 



pal losers under prevailing conditions — the flower grow- 

 ers themselves, — done up to the present time, to broaden 

 and enlarge the market for their products? How mucii 

 have they contributed towards the publicity which is a 

 vital principle in the conduct of any business according 

 to modern methods? We think it is safe to say that 

 there wafi money enough lost in stagnated flowers last 

 Easter to have paid for a publicity service of wide range 

 and practical utility, extending over the entire season. 



About sixty years ago M. Jules 



An elegant Lachaume wrote an elegant work on the 



art neglected art of composing crowns, garlands and 



bouquets of all kinds for balls and even- 

 ing parties and this, no doubt, luul its influence on the 

 floriculture of the toilet as practiced at that time all 

 over the civilized world. A knowledge of the culture of 

 such flowers as from their form, color and keeping qual- 

 ities were best adaptable to ornamenting the human 

 form was no small part of the education of the old time 

 gardener. The fondness for adorning the body with 

 floral garlands and clusters dates back to the most re- 

 mote antiquity, this custom being by no means confined 

 to the fair sex. Recent articles condemning the use of ar- 

 tificial flowers in place of natural ones for personal 

 adornment show a possible growing interest in this 

 branch of floricultural art which furnished our prede- 

 cessors in the florists' occupatron a field for the display 

 of refined taste almost unknown to the florist of the 

 present day. Perhaps the cycle has now run its course 

 and a revival of the fashions of 1850 might be enthusias- 

 tically welcomed by the public. A concerted movement 

 by the most influential florists in several of the large 

 cities supplemented by a diplomatic use of the society 

 reporters might do the business. We take opportunity 

 to quote in this connection from a comment on M. 

 Lachaume's book which appeared in La, Belgique Hor- 

 ticole in 1851. 



At the present day there is an evident inclination to 

 return to the better customs of Greece and Rome, and no 

 fashionable lady can present herself respectably at a ball 

 or an evening party without having a Rose or Camellia in 

 her breast. Let us hope that in a short time the crown 

 and the bouquet will be rigorously enforced in every re- 

 union which has pleasure for its object. Why should not 

 our ladies abandon the ungraceful cap for the elegant and 

 odoriferous crown of flowers? Flowers are. besides, the 

 natural emblem of luxury, riches and abundance. 



In order to render this part of horticulture directly real- 

 izable, we shall pass on to the descriptions of head-dress in 

 fashion, the first since 1847; the second during the pres- 

 ent year 18.51: and the third with some exceptions, at inter- 

 mittent i)eriods, 



1. Coiffure a la Flore (Head-dress of Flowers). — This is 

 suitable for those persons whose proportions and fonns 

 are of the most perfect character, and which come nearest 

 the Grecian type. The profile especially must be one of 

 those which are commonly found represented on ancient 

 has reliefs. This head-dress is worn with the hair ar- 

 ranged in graceful wavy locks, the back being tied in a 

 bunch, merely with a narrow band, and the ends floating 

 down. The crown of flowers does not in this case form a 

 diadem, but is tied in a knot behind and at the lowest part 

 of the head, from which point it gradually enlarges till it 

 reaches the front, or the point immediately above the brow. 

 This form of crown is composed of high-colored flowers, 

 as the Rose, Narcissus, Hyacinth. Camellia. Carnation, and 

 sometimes an Orchid, and it is bordered with Ericas and 

 distichous Cypress, terminating in leaves, with the more 

 slender or fine parts of branches of flowers which take an 

 upright, and, at the same time, a nodding form. The an- 

 cient ear-rings, and the string of pearls round the neck, 

 harmonize admirably with this head-dress, which, invented 

 more than a thousand years, is not the less handsome and 

 in keeping with good taste. 



Paragraphs 2 and 3 referred to Coiffure a h Ceres and 

 Coiffure ci la Pomone respectively, the first indicating the 

 use of ornamental grains and grasses among the flowers 

 and the other the use of berries such as Ardisia. etc. 



Hanging Baskets 



Almost everybody admires a well grown, tastefully 

 arranged, hanging basket, and their usefulness for the 

 adornment of conservatories, piazzas, windows and any 

 show house, are well known, in fact, a few suspended 

 at intervals in any plant house will agreeably relieve the 

 monotony of roof space. I should think the trade ought 

 to be able to get rid of quite a number around Memorial 

 Day, and the present is a good time to make up a few, 

 so that when the time arrives, they will not have that 

 recently-made-up look, that is quite often seen with bas- 

 kets and tubs around holiday time. The wire baskets 

 offered for sale by the florists' supply houses, are ideal 

 receptacles. I am well aware that many have a prefer- 

 ence for those made of rustic wood-work, but I think 

 the idea should be not to show off the basket, but the 

 plants that it contains, and those made of wire are more 

 easily covered up than the wooden ones would be, also I 

 think they are not so expensive. The position to be occu- 

 pied by the basket should determine its size, for instance 

 we find that one fifteen inches wide and ten deep is not 

 any too large to hang between two large pillars, whereas 

 if the supports are not so massive a smaller basket will 

 hannonize better. In filling the baskets, a strong rich 

 loam should be used, for such plants as I shall describe 

 below. 



For a sunny position ivy leaved pelargoniums and 

 fuchsias are as good as we have found for piazza em- 

 Ijellishment. We grow an ivy leaved pelargonivun for a 

 centre for the basket in a pot for a year previous to using 

 and trained in pyramid form. This plant rises well 

 above the rim of the receptacle and has a better appear- 

 ance than if it were flat. Vinca major elegantissima 

 makes an excellent trailing plant for the edge of a large 

 Ijasket. and Linaria cymbalaria is ideal for the smaller 

 ones. A plant of Fuchsia Black Prince, rooted at the 

 end of August is a nice size for a centre by the following 

 March and F. Trailing Queen harmonizes well with it, 

 the flowers being about the same shade of color. 



Quite often one has to contend with shady positions 

 to hang baskets in, and we have found the following 

 plants useful for such places : Cordyline indivisa, for a 

 centre plant with Abutilon megapotamicum for a trail- 

 ing plant. Dracaena Lindeni with the variegated variety 

 of the above-mentioned abutilon also makes a good com- 

 bination for a foliage basket; also quite a number of the 

 different varieties of coleus with such a trailing plant as 

 Othonna crassifolia lend a touch of color to the others. 

 Asparagus Sprengeri one of best introductions during 

 the past twenty years, does well either in the shade or in 

 the full sun. We have grown a stem of this plant almost 

 fourteen feet long in a large basket. Tradescantiia 

 zebrina pendula is another plant for this class that does 

 well in the shade. There are of course, many other 

 plants suitable for basket work, but the above mentioned 

 have been tried and proved here, and if fed frequently 

 with manure water or Clay Fertilizer during the sum- 

 mer they will keep in good condition for over three 

 months. 



West Medford, Mass. 



