August 16, 1913 



HORTICULTUEE 



229 



NEW AND INTERESTING AT 

 CRAIG'S. 



"Meritorious new plants" has long 

 been the slogan at this Philadelphia 

 establishment, and those who know 

 the keen judgment of Robert Craig 

 and his two able sons, William and 

 Robert, Jr., have come to depend more 

 and more on their discernment of 

 what is really meritorious in the plant 

 world. 



There is no such thing as standing 

 still in their special line. What was 

 good ten years or even five years ago 

 may be superseded today by something 

 better, and it is the ability to see the 

 good points of a new thing first that 

 spells success. Robert Craig has this 

 faculty in an eminent degree and it is 

 seldom that when he has backed a 

 new thing with his judgment the flor- 

 iculture world has been disappointed. 

 So if there be anything new or inter- 

 esting at Craig's the readers of Horti- 

 culture are entitled to hear about it 

 and your dollar-a-word correspondent 

 dragged himself away from more lu- 

 crative pursuits and spent the day at 

 Craig's — so that Hortici-lture might 

 make good to its doUar-a-year sub- 

 scribers. 



But we will not make a long story. 

 We will boil it down to a few pointed 

 paragraphs for the busy reader. 



Xephrolepis robusta. A splendid new 

 one. Remarkable for sturdy upright 

 habit. The frond resembles the old 

 Boston but is more wavy and much 

 more elegant in every way. Stands up 

 fine in the center and is equally good 

 in either large or small sizes. Mr. 

 Craig says this never reverts, and is a 

 very rapid grower. It won the silver 

 medal at the International Flower 

 Show last April over all competitors. 



Xephrolepis tuberosa plumosa. A 

 plumed variety of the old .lapanese 

 tuberosa. Very dark green dwarf and 

 compact in growth, beautifully waved 

 on the outer edges of the fronds. A 

 very distinct and charming fern. 



Nephrolepis Smithii. Has all the 

 good points of Amerpohlii with none 

 of the bad ones of that lovely variety 

 ^which it is bound to supersede as it 

 is a better grower and does not decay 

 in the center. Very symmetrical and 

 especially fine in medium-size ferns — 

 say four or six-inch pots. But a gem 

 all the way through. 



Of course the other favorite forms of 

 Nephrolepis such as todeaoides, Gia- 

 trasi, Schoelzeli, elegantissima, Har- 

 hisii, Scottii, etc., are much in evidence 

 — many houses being devoted to their 

 culture; but these have been so often 

 commented on that everybody is fa- 

 miliar with their good points. 



Adiantum hybridum. This is not a 

 new one but the persistent Robert still 



AN UNIQUE EXHIBIT. 



Look for this unique exhibit at the 

 Minneapolis exhibition. It represents 

 a mammoth reel wound with Revero 

 Hose. It is made of quartered oak 

 and in the hub is a miniature garden 

 scene with gardener spraying a flower 

 bed; real water coming out of the 



hose. There is also a garage, automo- 

 bile, and trees and shrubbery, making 

 a very unique and attractive exhibit. 

 A glass front protects the garden 

 scene. A representative of the Revere 

 Rubber Company will be present to 

 tell you the rest of the story. 



claims after all these years and con- 

 troversies that it still has points of 

 merit over the Croweanum and backs 

 this up by growing large quantities of 

 it every year. 



Adiantum Moordrecht. This is the 

 new Farleyense — the one that can be 

 reproduced from seed. Horticultxtie 

 devoted considerable space to a full de- 

 scription of it last year. Mr. Craig 

 has tried it for a year, and thinks very 

 well of it. They are growing a large 

 stock, the bulk of which is at Nor- 

 wood. 



Ficus Craigi. An improvement on 

 elastica. being shorter jointed and 

 having a pronounced ivory white mid- 

 rib. The advantage of the short joint 

 comes in the greater number of tiers 

 to a given height — therefore a more 

 imposing and beautiful plant. Has the 

 call over the old form whenever a 

 buyer sees it. We think this is a win- 

 ner, and while it may not prove a 

 mortgage lifter like the pandurata 

 which Craig introduced, it is a good 

 thing just the same. Mr. Craig says 

 pandurata is still selling well after all 

 these years, and they are devoting 

 many houses to it. 



New French Hydrangeas. Added ex- 

 perience deepens the impression that 

 we have in these hybrids of that 

 French wonder-worker, Lemoine. a 

 valuable addition to our list of Febru- 

 ary, March and Easter-flowering 

 plants. Mme. Mouillere has proven es- 

 pecially valuable as an early-flowering 

 variety and is classed now as the best 



white. Some of the varieties seen in 

 the frames in five and six-inch pots 

 showed as many as fifteen to eighteen 

 heads. There are seven or eight other 

 good sorts in pink, rose and white. 

 The good old standby Otaksa is of 

 course still grown here in large quan- 

 tity. 



Small Leaved English Ivy. Not a 

 novelty but an item seldom seen and 

 worthy of mention. Graceful and de- 

 sirable for cemetery work and much 

 preferred for baskets and window 

 boxes. 



New Crotons. Craig's is certainly 

 the home of croton, in this country. 

 Bewildering variety and perfect condi- 

 tion. All sizes from twenty-cent babies 

 to twenty-dollar specimens. These 

 are grown in the pure air of Norwood 

 where they get color that is color. The 

 Philadelphia end contents itself with a 

 house of representative samples to sell 

 from. 



Chrysanthemums. Of course these 

 are used here only as a catch crop but 

 it is interesting to know the varieties 

 which in the opinion of Jlr. Craig are 

 considered the most up-to-date and re- 

 munerative commercially. Among them 

 we noted Ramapo. Wm. Turner, 

 Mrs. Brock. December Gem, Thanks- 

 giving Queen, Chas. Razer. etc. Among 

 the Pompons. Anemones and Singles: 

 Garza, Quinola and Mrs. Beu are 

 prominent. 



The cyclamen, palm, dracena, poin- 

 settia, genista — and all the other 

 staples, it is unnecessary to mention 

 here except to say that stocks are up 

 to their usual standard. We may state 

 in passing, however, that in dracsenas, 

 instead of the usual one or two sorts, 

 the florist can here get his pick of a 

 dozen. 



