August 18, 1906 



HORTICULTURE, 



161 



readily to kindness as the phlox — not exceptiag the 

 rose or indeed any other genus. The phlox appeals es- 

 pecially to amateurs and gentleiiuMi's gardeners to bring 

 about the recognition it is so plainly asking for. Will 

 the amateurs and gentlemen's gardeners embrace this 

 opportunity and at once go to work and lay the founda- 

 tion of ''•'The Phlox Society"'? 1 feel sure they will. 

 There should be no dilliculty in getting a membership of 

 five hundred at least. 



Here are some arguments tliat can be used: The 

 phloxes are the hardiest of plants, not excepting peo- 

 nies. They flower from spring dawn till snow time. 

 They grow from 1 inch to 6 feet high. The smaller 

 ones are like moss covered with jewels ; the tall ones are 

 as effective as hollyhocks. Their tones and shades of 

 color as as numerous as in any other family of garden 

 plants. They are agreeably perfumed. They are com- 

 paratively little injured by storms. They have but few 

 insect enemies. \Vliite mildew, which is their worst 

 fungus enemy, will never do any injury under good cul- 

 tivation. Slug shot is a good mildew destroyer. 



They are equally eiiective in formal beds, in mixed 

 borders or in isolated groups oil lawns, or rock work. 

 For straight lines in panels of color they have no equal, 

 and it is one plant that fits in such an arrangement, or 

 when grown in pots plunged in the open ground. When 

 in flower pliloxes have no competition in effectiveness 

 for use in temporary decorations of whatever kind. As 



cut flowers for bold effects their entire panicles are not 

 equalled by any other subject. Here's a pointer: Cut 

 the flowers in the morning as soon as they are dry from 

 dew; turn the panicles upside down and with an atom- 

 izer spray the calyx and tulies of the flowers with a so- 

 lution of gum arable, which should be just thick 

 enough to be slightly sticky when pressed between 

 finger and thumb, then place the stems in water to a 

 good depth and as soon as the gum is dry there will be 

 no shedding of flowers and the panicles will be in good 

 condition for three or four days. The atomizer must 

 be kept covered in water when not in use and the muci- 

 lage tightly corked. Poppies treated this way ar-; made 

 equally as permanent. 



For the decoration of summer homes in the country 

 phloxes are invaluable, and now that summer "flower 

 shows" are becoming so much in vogue ('liorticiiJtural 

 shows" is a better title, for not one, but every branch 

 of horticulture should be equally encouraged,) phloxes 

 will help to make these displays the more noticeable, at 

 but little cost and with scarcely any sacrifice to the dis- 

 play in the home garden. They mav bf> «bown equally 

 as well as cut flowers as in pots. 



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A Problem for Rose Growers 



Change of stock is a subject which present da;; rose 

 growers seem to consider a favorite theme for discus- 

 sion. However, notwithstanding all that has been writ- 

 ten on this important topic, it seems as though we are 

 still in the dark as to the best methods of securing the 

 benefits which are commonly supposed to result from 

 the change. 



It is not my intention to give here the impression 

 that I have in my pwDssession any valuable information 

 with which I intend to enlighten rose growers, but mere- 

 ly to suggest that there may be certain definite lines to 

 which we must conform, if we wish to attain success- 

 fully the end which we have in view. It certainly must 

 appear to anyone, who will give it a moment's thought, 

 that a mere change of stock cannot, in itself, be of 

 much benefit. Yet, there are growers with reputations 

 for keen observation who maintain that they have un- 

 doubtedly been helped by changing stock, and these 

 statements ought to lead us to look deeper into the 

 problem, in the hope that our understanding of it may 

 assume a less hazy aspect. 



I have known of parties to say that they believed in 

 the practice because they always had good results when 

 they bought — say Beauties or Liberties — from Mr. So 

 and So.' Now, in all probability, Mr. So and So used 

 no more care in selecting his propagating wood than 

 dozens of other good growers, but the fact remains that 

 when a certain man bought plants from him he always 

 had good results. 



Here is another example. Consider some locnlities 

 where all the growers seem to do American Beauty ex- 

 ceptionally well, and others where it is only fairly well 

 done, if indeed it can be grown at all. In both cases 

 the growers may be equally skillful, although we must 

 admit that there are some of them who frequently have 



an attack of that disease commonly know-n as temporary 

 enlargement of the cranium, during the continuance of 

 which they are very apt to attribute to themselves qual- 

 ities which rightfully belong to mother earth. On one 

 hand we find a free, luxuriant growth, and on the 

 other, a hard, stunted, short stemmed appearance. The 

 only fault that can be found in the first ease is the 

 fact that, during the short days, the canes are likely to 

 grow to an abnormal length, or perhaps they may even 

 go completely blind; while in the second, if the grower 

 is fortunate enough to get his plants into the winter in 

 good shape, the very feature which was so troublesome 

 in the fall — namely the tendency to set buds continually 

 — then proves a decided advantage, as canes will rarely 

 run over eight to ten feet before flowering, and blind 

 wood on any kind of a good shoot is almost unknown. 

 The foregoing cases then, illustrate what would be my 

 idea of a desirable exchange of stock. Plenty of other 

 examples applying to tea varieties could be given, but 

 the principle is the same in any event. 



The cause for this marked difference in style of 

 growth is what we must endeavor to find out. As far as 

 my observation has gone, I have always attributed it 

 chiefly to the very great dissimilarity in the texlure of 

 the soil of the different localities. The point which I 

 am driving at then is this: by acquainting our.«elves 

 with the texture of our soils, by studying their possibil- 

 ities and limitations, we will be in a position to judge 

 intelligently what does, and what does not constitute a 

 desirable change; while, if we are not in possession of 

 these facts, we may make a haphazard exchange of 

 stock which will prove worse than useless. 



