310 



HORTICULTURE 



September 22, 1906 



Exhibition Pansies 



(SEE COLORED SUPPLEMENT WITH THIS ISSUE.) 



The f)ansy is aud lias always been a most popular and 

 delightful garden flower; nothing in the whole floral 

 kingdom is more exteusiveh' employed in spring and 

 early summer decorations in beds, borders, or window 

 boxes ; very largely used also as a carpet for taller grow- 

 ing things, or as an edging. It also makes a very fine 

 pot-plant. As an exhibition flower it has few if any 

 equals in its class; and before I use up all the space 

 that has been allotted to me, I would cajl y'our att^^ntion 

 to the splendid flowers shown in the colored supplement 

 of pansies with this issue of Horticultuke. Let me 

 describe them to j'ou individuall}'. The upper left- 

 hand flower well represents the Fancy Striped type — 

 elegantly striped, mottled, and splashed — a very elegant 

 and striking combination of colors that cannot fail to be 

 greatly admired. The flowers are large and very 

 freely produced; on compact, dwarf growing plants. 

 The bloom in the upper right-hand corner, while of an 

 entirely different class, is none the less attractive and 

 elegant; it is of the Giant Curled type — the flowers of 

 this type of pansy are of large and striking form and 

 immense fulness; in fact, this extra fulness give; them 

 the appearance of being double. The colors are various, ' 

 but always of the very richest shades, lacings-, and 

 markings, and prettily frimbrieated quite often. The 

 two center flowers are very good types of the best mod- 

 ern show 23ansies — these are always richly belteJ, and 

 the petals largely bloched with solid colors; there is 

 no better type for the exhibition table. The bloom at 

 the bottom suggests the best strains of English blood — 

 the narrower border, setting off superbly the almost 

 completely solid, velvety texture of the petals. All these 

 forms make the very finest exliibition flowers; in fact, 

 they embody all these essential points, that, combined 

 as a whole, go to make an iiidividual pansy, perfect, 

 from a judge's standpoint. An exliibition flower must 

 in the first place be large, at least over 3 1-3 inches 

 in diameter, and at the same time thick and velvety 

 in texture. Again, the bloom must lay flat in the 

 exhibition dish, and show no signs of curling up at 

 the edges. While light colors are of course admissible, 

 still the most expert growers of the present time gen- 

 erally advocate and prefer the dark, velvety shades. 

 To sum up, the expert pansy grower of to-day is con- 

 tinually striving for perfection in these essential points. 

 The individual flowers must be large, and in general 

 shape round, and lie perfectly flat, brilliant in color- 

 ing, perfect in form, and of the most splendid sub- 

 stance. Such pansies as these are always the admira- 

 tion of the beholder. 



Amaryllis Belladonna 



This amaryllis is one of tlie most beautiful of the 

 genus, a native of the Cape, South Africa, from whence 

 so many useful and elegant bulbous plants come. In 

 its varied tints of lighter and deeper pinks, and when 

 well grown, it is unsurpassed for the larger and statelier 

 decorations; used in lavish quantities with suitable 

 greenery to set off the flower spikes it is pretty nigh 

 imapproachable. 



It starts to flower in the latter part of August ac- 

 cording to treatment, while destitute of foliage, the 

 latter starting after the flowers are gone, when growth 

 actually commences. Its growth is made and com- 

 pleted in late fall to early spring, during which time 

 liberal treatment in the shape of copious watering, in 

 eluding frequent stimulating watering, is essential to 

 ensure good results, other things being equally attended 

 to. Water should be gradually withheld as the leaves 

 show a disposition to turn yellow, and until the point 

 of complete suspension is reached. Much depends on 

 the thoroughness of a long rest as well as the degree of 

 dryness attained and maintained during this rest. 



Doubtless they are less common than they would be 

 otherwise for the reason that they make their growth, 

 which is ample in leafage, in the winter season, when 

 they necessarily take up so much valuable room and 

 yield no returns. For nowadays every square foot of 

 greenhouse space is looked to to turn out its quota of 

 floral treasure for a continuous six months at least. 

 In the milder parts of England it does splendidly out- 

 side in sheltered nooks or narrow borders adjoining 

 warm plant houses, in which position it increase? and 

 flowers abundantly. 



They overcome, liowever, the scruples as to green- 

 house space given over to the amaryllis in our fa^hion- 

 able New England watering place — Newport, R. I., — 

 where the choicest of flowers are appreciated and must 

 be had if possible. There the "Belladonna lily" is 

 grown to perfection in deep frames permanently plant- 

 ed out, sufficient heat being provided by artificial means 

 for the required growing temperature, which is not 

 high. There is nothing about these frames to distin- 

 guish them from any ordinary cold frame, other than 

 ample depth to provide for length of foliage, and the 

 securing of a larger body of air space to assist in main- 

 taining an even temperature. This method has the ad- 

 vantage of the English open-air treatment, inasmuch 

 as the bulbs can be started at will and given the essen- 

 tial degree of thorough rest to a nicety by keeping the 

 sashes over them when rain threatens. 



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