624 



HORTICULTURE 



April 23, I'SIO 



shall refer have been imported into 

 this country and may be seen grow- 

 ing by anyone interested. Their 

 light and graceful habit maltes them 

 exclusively valuable as pot plants, 

 and anyone who has a conservatory 

 to embellish cannot do better than 

 utilize the small flowered varieties 

 for this purpose. The Novi Belgi va- 

 rieties are now very numerous, but 

 I shall only mention two which are 

 in advance of all others, and these 

 are Climax and Duchess of Albany. 

 Both grow five feet high and the 

 former has bright blue flowers with a 

 conspicuous yellow center and the lat- 

 ter is pale mauve suffused lavender, 

 and one great advantage is that they 

 commence flowering from half way up 

 the stem and not just at the end of 

 the shoots, as is the case with many 

 varieties. The best form of Novae 

 Angliae is Mrs. ,J. F. Raynor, which 

 Is only four feet high and has bright 

 reddish crimson flowers two inches 

 across. 



Aster. Amellus is a species with large 

 rich, blue flowers and grows about two 

 feet high. It is very useful for many 

 purposes, especially where masses of 

 color are desired, and it is only within 

 ■recent years that any new colors have 

 been evolved. Pale lavender, deep rose 

 and almost white forms will be found 

 among such varieties as Aldenham, 

 Herbert. .T. Cutbush, Lilacea, Distinc- 

 tion and Reverslia. Too much cannot 

 be said in favor of the beautiful va- 

 rieties which have resulted from cross- 

 ing Vimineus and Novi Belgi, the best 

 of which are Enchantress, Hon. Edith 

 Gibbs, Golden Spray, Delight, Star 

 Shower, Maidenhood, King Edward 

 VII, Chastity and Ringdove. The habit 

 of these is so beautiful that they are 

 unsurpassed for growing on single 

 stems and planting on the front of 

 the border where they make perfect 

 pyramids of bloom. Among the cordl- 

 folius group there are a number dis- 

 tinguished by their delightful habit 

 and delicacy of coloring, and Ideal and 

 Edwin Beckett are general favorites 

 with all who have grown them. 



A wonderful class of plants which 

 •should be represented in all gardens 

 are the Eremuri, and if single speci- 

 mens are planted at various intervals 

 along the border where their stately 

 spikes can rise above the dwarfer sub- 

 jects they present an imposing appear- 

 ance unequalled by any spring flower- 

 ing plants. Unlike the other plants 

 I have mentioned, they should be plant- ■ 

 •ed early in the fall and the young 

 growths will need slight protection 

 from cold winds and frosts in early 

 April. E. Elwesianus, which has pink 

 flowers and its pure white variety 

 albus will, when established, grow 

 from eight to nine feet high with fully 

 four feet of blossom. E. robustus is 

 equally tall with rosy pink flowers, but 

 E. Bungei does not exceed five feet 

 and is very attractive, having golden 

 yellow flowers. 



^To be continued) 



Madison, Wis. — The greenhouse 

 which is being built by the Foley Mfg. 

 Co. at the Experiment Station. Uni- 

 versity of Wisconsin College of Agri- 

 culture, forms a part of the new $60,- 

 000 horticultural building which is 

 soon to be erected. It is said that this 

 building will be one of the most mod- 

 ern and complete of any of the agri- 

 icultural colleges. 



R. VINCENT, JR. 



To most of our readers the gentle- 

 man whose portrait appears herewith 

 is already so well-known that the name 

 seems almost superfluous. We have 

 just received from the firm of which 

 this gentleman is the head, their an- 

 nual catalogue of Geraniums tor 1910. 

 It is a masterpiece in its line and 

 should be in the possession of every 

 geranium enthusiast. R. Vincent, Jr. 

 & Sons have recognized no limit to 

 effort and expenditure in bringing to- 

 gether the finest collection of geran- 

 iums in this country, adding every 



R. Vincent, Jr. 

 piomising new variety as soon as it 

 is possible to obtain it, from any and 

 all sources and whatever advancement 

 the florists' stock of geraniums in 

 America has made in recent years is 

 due more to the persistence and enter- 

 prise of Messrs. Vincent than to any 

 other influence. Mr. R. Vincent. Jr., 

 is now abroad and no doubt the collec- 

 tions will be enriched on his return 

 with the best new material that the 

 European hybridizers have brought 

 out, not only in pelargoniums but other 

 useful florists' plants. 



THE PEACE OF SPRING. 



Tlip quiet of the pasture lands! 



There all the grn.ss is green and sweet, 

 k\\<\, \^hisper!ess. it understands 



The gentle pressure of our feet: 

 There dandelions thickly spread 



In wondrous aral)esques of gold 

 As though the stars from Overhead 



Upon earth's bosom had been rolled. 

 Tile violets laugh at the sk.v — 



An echo of the dreaming blue; 

 The voieeIe.-iS breezes wander by 



To thread the blossoms paths anew: 

 The early bees in search of sweets 



Seem all a-tiptoe in the air. 

 Each wing is noiseless in its beats 



As through the soundless da.y they fare. 

 The wild rose in its cloister nook 



Is shielding yet its summer blush: 

 The trees beside the lazy brook 



Sway softly in the morning's hush; 

 The scattered clouds of white go by 



Like sun-kissed sails far out at " sea — 

 The argosies that jonrney high 



I'o whatsoe'er their haven be. 

 The iniet of the pasture lands! 



Where new-born flower, leaf and vine 

 Seem to bo spring's "up-bearing bauds 



That offer us her amber wine: 

 Where filmy veils of mist uproll 



On sights that halt and hold us long- 

 There, in a chord that thrills the soul. 



The very silence sings a song! 

 - Wilbur D. Ncsliit. in Los Angeles Times. 



CHICAGO NOTES. 



The Growers. 



Decoration Day is now but six weeks 

 ahead but to the grower in this nn- 

 usual spring it seems rather far in 

 the future. Many vines and plants 

 are now ready to be put out of doors 

 that usually are kept inside for an- 

 other month at least. Plants and plans 

 for this holiday are well under way, 

 the former almost too much so for the 

 grower with limited space. Geraniums 

 are in their last shift, and are seen 

 in 4 and 5-inch pots. The smaller 

 iAeraniums in 2% and 3-inch pots will 

 make nice bedding stock. Other bed- 

 ding stock is in equally advanced state. 



Leesley Bros, finished their first 

 planting of onions for sets last week. 

 They are doubling their acreage devot- 

 ed to this purpose this year and are 

 getting the 200 acres, lately leased, in- 

 to shape for planting. The land will 

 be tile drained and a ditching machine 

 is rapidly preparing the place for lay- 

 ing the tiles. The Leesley Bros, are 

 a pair of enterprising young men. 

 Their nurseries are on the north side 

 of the city and are mana.ged by the 

 elder brother Clyde, while the younger 

 brother, Robert, has the 400 acres on 

 the west side under his care. 



Nurserymen. 



The local nurserymen are finding the 

 season for selling altogether too short. 

 There was no intermediate period, but 

 winter gave way to summer and the 

 stock was ready for planting at once. 

 This shortening of the spring trade 

 means loss of many sales and a great 

 inconvenience in having to hurry 

 through the work. 



Seedsmen. 



Judging from prices of held-over 

 onion sets, growers realized more for 

 their contract stock than on what they 

 had to sell later. 



The change back to winter gave the 

 seedsmen a chance to breathe again, 

 and the sight of snow Sunday was not 

 at all unwelcome to them. The rush 

 at the seed stores tor the past two 

 weeks was something to be regretted 

 from both sides. For the customer it 

 meant weary waiting and many mis- 

 takes, and to the sellers it meant work 

 almost or quite to the limit. 



General Business Notes. 



Special programs among the clubs 

 and schools and the planting of trfees 

 will take place as usual on Arbor Day, 

 which is celebrated on the 23rd. 



Now that the spring has fairly 

 opened, the dealers report the sales of 

 the Evergreen Fertilizers to be coming 

 in rapidly. The vegetable growers are 

 trying it extensively. 



Arbor Day, April 22nd, will be cele- 

 brated by many of the clubs, schools, 

 etc. City Forester Prost will, as usual, 

 be much in demand, and has promised 

 to speak at various places. 



Wm. J. Smyth has had a very pretty 

 display of iris in five colors in his 

 window the past week. He handles 

 quantities of this popular flower and 

 says the demand for it is growing. 



Very many growers have their young 

 carnations in the field. Those who 

 got their stock out some time ago have 



