238 



HORTICULTURE 



August 13, 1910 



Some of the Newer Cannas 



August 2 is rattier early to get a 

 line on some of ttie later-flowering va- 

 rieties, but the freshness and early 

 glory of most of them compensates. 

 Piloted by that well known Dreer en- 

 thusiast, E. H. Michel, formerly of St. 

 Louis, we had the pleasure of look- 

 ing over forty acres of what may well 

 be termed the acme of summer splendor 

 In the floral kingdom and of listening 

 to comments on the merits of the many 

 new cannas clamoring for public favor 

 — and of making comparisons with 

 some of the older but still popular 

 varieties. The following notes may, 

 therefore, be taken as a brief synopsis 

 of what Mr. Michel thinks rather than 

 any dictum of your scribe. 



Feuer Meer (Ocean of Fire) a mag- 

 nificent new variety; fiery orange-red, 

 medium sized flowers produced very 

 freely and In big trusses. Plower 

 stalks vigorous, standing up splendidly 

 — yet its branching habit takes away 

 any appearance of stiffness. The gen- 

 eral effect of the flower en masse is 

 exceedingly graceful and this strikes 

 \is as one of the most promising ot 

 newer sorts. We are not sure that 

 our color sense is exact in saying "fiery 

 orange-red." Perhaps fiery red would 

 be nearer it. Dreer says it's a fiery 

 scarlet. 



Black Warrior; this looks like a good 

 one also; very brilliant deep crimson; 

 a "top-notcher" as to size and habit. 



Rosea Gigantea; five inches in diam- 

 eter; flattens out well so as to show 

 its full breadth; very free flowering; 

 the Dreer color expert, after consult- 

 ing his Paris dictionary on color, pro- 

 nounces this coral carmine. Magnifi- 

 cent as to size and producing its 

 trusses with the greatest freedom. 



Gladioflora: Mr. Michel condemned 

 this one last year but now says that it 

 improves on better acquaintance. The 

 flowers are remarkabaly like a large- 

 flowering gladiolus; crimson changing 

 to carmine; irregularly gold lined on 

 the margins of the petals. Would show 

 up grandly in massing. Make a note 

 of this last item. 



Minnehaha; pale pink, fades 

 lighter very agreeably; pink center 

 to creamy edge. Dark foliage. Those 

 previously mentioned are all green 

 foliage, by the way. 



Gustave Gumpher; golden yellow 

 with a few light red sprinkles on lower 

 petals; looks promising. A very vig- 

 orous grower. 



Dr. Marcus; a perfect flower; darker 

 than Feuer Meer and has dark instead 

 of green foliage, a most distinct and 

 excellent variety. 



William Saunders; this is an ex- 

 tremely meritorious variety and is a 

 great credit to the name and fame of 



that distinguished horticulturist who 

 during his life time worked long and 

 arduously and intelligently for the 

 progress of our profession. The flow- 

 ers are brilliant crimson; nearly five 

 inches across; splendid as to sub- 

 stance and durability. Dark leaved. 

 Dwarf habit; uniform; very vigorous. 



Ondine. Solid orange with a small 

 gold margin; very distinct from Mad- 

 ame Crozy; we do not know enough 

 about this yet ot pass judgment. A 

 canna must have something wonderful 

 about it to get in the race nowadays. 

 It's got to be like Jimmie Birse's tea — 

 not only best; but superior to the very 

 best. 



Hungaria. This in some ways re- 

 sembles the great Rosea Grandiflora. 

 The tint is considerably lighter, how- 

 ever, and it has a yellow spathe. Looks 

 like a good thing. We will report its 

 ]irogress from time to time, and note 

 its good and bad points later on. 



Black Beauty; this is not a wonder 

 as to flower but, "glory be," the foli- 

 age! It's a "black beauty" surely 

 and a great thing where dark effects 

 are desired in massing. Wonderful 

 bronze purple and splendid form and 

 habit. AH right in every way. 



J. D. Eisele. Not a new one but, 

 like its namesake, it wears well. It 

 is one of the finest for massing. Bright 

 crimson scarlet overlaid with orange. 



Rubin. Brilliant velvety crimson; 

 and this combined with its dark foliage 

 makes it stand out very distinctively. 

 Very free flowering. A rich glowing 

 color unsurpassed by anything we have 

 seen in the forty acres; medium-sized 

 flowers but a good truss. 



Cinnabar. Unique shade ot yellow- 

 orange. The plant also possesses merit, 

 being of branching habit and stooling 

 very freely. 



President Meyer: Introduced seven 

 or eight years ago. Color cherry and 

 having a fine truss, produces a splendid 

 effect in the mass. Those who have 

 not already tried this well-tested va- 

 riety should make a note of it. 



Duke of Marlborough: Strikes us 

 as almost the same shade as Rubin; 

 deep crimson, flne trusses, and free 

 flowering. Perhaps the individual flow- 

 ers are a little larger than Rubin. 

 Quite distinct, Mr. Michel says. 



West Virginia. It is difficult to see 

 any diffrence in this from the old fa- 

 vorite, Souvenir d'Antoine Crozy. Most 

 will prefer to stick to the latter until 

 the newer cliamant proves some point 

 of superiority. 



J. H. Veitch; very similar to Wm. 

 Saunders, but Mr. Michel's thinks it a 

 better bloomer early in the season. 



Dr. Robert Funcke. Don't think this 

 one amounts to a whole lot. 



Fuerst Bismarck. Not new but still 

 a good one and holds a place. 



Jean Tissot; holding its own as one 

 of the best bedders. 



Grand Chancellor Bulow; grand 

 truss; solid crimson; the spikes borne 

 well above the foliage. 



Secretaire Chabanne; this might be 

 described as a very much improved 

 Pan. Marquant. The color is brighter 

 and deeper than in that old favorite. 

 Some of the petals get decidedly pink 

 after a day or so in strong sun. A 

 good bedder. 



Train time being near at hand we 



had to break away and could only give 

 a passing glance to many fine ones. 

 Among the many. Richard Wallace 

 stood out very prominently; it is a 

 very large pure yellow and holds its 

 flower up well. Messrs. Eisele, Sim, 

 and Michel all think a great deal of 

 this one. Luray, is still looming up 

 as one of the best of the older pinks. 

 Two lines of the dark King Humbert 

 show up flne a quarter of a mile away; 

 as does also a white streak in the dis- 

 tance which we are told is Mont Blanc. 

 Three new ones of good promise are: 

 Mrs. Alfred Conard, Halley's Comet 

 and Mephisto. 



There are something like five hun- 

 dred thousand plants in this block. 

 Lots more elsewhere. Worth going to 

 see. August and September are the 

 best months. 



PROF. B. S. MACKINTOSH GOES 



TO PENNSYLVANIA STATE 



COLLEGE. 



Professor R. S. Mackintosh, former- 

 ly professor of horticulture in Ala- 

 bama, has accepted a position in the 

 horticultural department of the Penn- 

 sylvania State College. His special 

 work will be an investigation of the 

 peach industry of that state. The hor- 

 ticultural work in Pennsylvania is de- 

 veloping very rapidly. At the present 

 time there are ten professors and as- 

 sistants in the department. 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 



The Philadelphia Clubs' train is 

 10 a. m.; not 10.30 a. m., Monday, 

 Aug. 15th. The mover of the motion 

 got it twisted and the error was not 

 detected until after postals were 

 mailed. 



Charles Carson, a jobbing gardener 

 well known to the older generation in 

 the southwestern section of the city, 

 died last week at an advanced age. 

 He retired many years ago and the 

 business was continued by his son, 

 who now conducts same. 



Robert Greenlaw, for twelve years 

 with N. F. McCarthy & Co., of Bos- 

 ton, is now with Pennock-Meehan Co., 

 and will represent them on the road. 

 The new England states, Canada, and 

 New York will be his principal ter- 

 ritory. Mr. Greenlaw is a pushing 

 salesman, with a genial personality, 

 wide experience, and a first class 

 record. 



The Lord & Burnham Co. have 

 secured the contract for a big palm 

 house and two other greenhouses at 

 the Baron de Hirsch School, at Wood- 

 bury, N. J. These will be used for 

 educational purposes, and we under- 

 stand a professor of horticulture has 

 been engaged. The institution seems 

 to be along the same lines as the 

 National Farm School at Doylestown, 

 Pa. D. T. Connor of Philadelphia 

 helped his company in securing the 

 contract. 



John Waterer & Son, of Bagshot, 

 Surrey, Eng., made a magnificent dis- 

 play of rhododendrons in their season 

 at the Japan-British Exhibition in 

 West London, which afforded great 

 delight to throngs of visitors. 



