October G, 1906 



horticui^ture: 



369 



OUR COLORED SLUPPLEMENT. 



It is with much pleasuic that we 

 present the readers of HullTICUL- 

 TURE with what is undoulitedly the 

 most strilving and beautiful print of 

 daffodils ever issued. Of the three 

 superb varieties of narcissi therein 

 depicted the London Garden has this 

 to say: "The magnificent White Ajax 

 Peter Barr did undoubtedly attract 

 more notice on its introduction than 

 any other flower, because it was, up 

 to then, the largest white Trumpet 

 Daffodil that had made its appear- 

 ance. Its advent in 1902. when it 

 gained a first-class certificate from the 

 Narcissus Committee of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, appeared to be 

 the signal for an all-round advance in 

 the quality and size of white trumpets, 

 for in the year following five superb 

 varieties, all of which have received 

 certificates, made their appearance, i. 

 e., Francesca, Loveliness, Mrs. R. Sy- 

 denham, Mrs. George Barr, and Henri 

 Vilmorin. Each year since then addi- 

 tions have been made to this section, 

 and the dearth of good white Trumpet 

 Daffodils, which once existed, is now 

 a thing of the past. It is scarcely 

 necessary to lay stress on the impor- 

 tant part which that grand variety 

 Mme. de Graaff has played in the pro- 

 duction of this fine new race of flow- 

 ers. It will suflBce to add that it is 

 one of the parents, not only of Peter 

 Barr, but of its great rival. Pearl of 

 Kent, raised by the Rev. G. P. Hay- 

 don, and considered by many of the 

 best judges as likely to eclipse the 

 former variety. It is, however, an in- 

 vidious task to make comparisons, 

 unless one has had the good fortune 

 to see all the numerous varieties grow- 

 ing side by side. Peter Barr is a re- 

 markable vigorous plant, and it is a 

 great point in favor of most of these 

 newer varieties that they are capital 

 growers. It was raised by Messrs. 

 Barr and Sons. 



Monarch. — Seventeen years ago 

 (vide Journal of the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society, Vol. XI, Part II) Mr. 

 Engleheart was lamenting the want 

 of "a big and sturdy midseason or late 

 flower such as Emperor, but with the 

 rich golden yellow of maximus, which 

 is not always happy in England." 

 Since then King Alfred has appeared, 

 but it has in no way supplied the de- 

 ficiency. The remarks made in refer- 

 ence to maximus are equally applica- 

 ble to it. A glance through the Vari- 

 ous trade catalogues will quickly con- 

 vince anyone that there is ample room 

 for improvement in the self yellow 

 Ajax section, and it is to the strength- 

 ening of this section that the hybridist 

 should now address himself. Mon- 

 arch, which is also portrayed in the 

 colored plate, has the unique distinc- 

 tion of being the other parent of both 

 Peter Barr and Pearl of Kent. It was 

 introduced in 1S9.5, and has proved a 

 strong, vigorous grower and increases 

 quickly. The plant scarcely attains 

 the height of Emperor, and the flower, 

 though larger and richer in color, is 

 not as effective in the garden, on ac- 

 count of its drooping appearance. In 

 this respect it somewhat resembles 

 Grandee, because the flower does not 

 display itself to the best advantage 

 on the plant. As a pollen parent it 

 has already demonstrated its worth, 

 and. in addition to the two noble white 

 Ajax varieties already alluded to. sev- 

 eral fine yellow trumpets, notably, 

 Cleopatra, have been raised from it 



NEW WHOLESALE QUARTERS OF WELCH BROTHERS, BOSTON. 

 I 



Conspicuous success in business un- 

 dertalvings is so exceptional that when 

 such has been attained by a firm or 

 individual the occasion is of suflicient 

 importance to merit something more 

 than a passing notice. We look upon 

 the opening this week of Welch 

 Brothers' new wholesale cut flower 

 and supply establishment in Boston, an 

 exterior view of which appears here- 

 with, as an event to which especial 

 distinction should be given. Lord 

 Bacon said that "chiefly the mould 

 of a man's fortune is in his own 

 hands" and Holmes struck the key of 

 universal sentiment when he wrote 

 that "Everybody likes and respects 

 self-made men." The truths set forth 

 in these quotations are well-exempli- 

 fied in the career of the firm of which 

 we write. Prosperity, confidence, and 

 pre-eminence in their avocation, have 

 not come to them suddenly or through 

 fortuitous circumstance but through 

 long, arduous years this monument to 

 their courage, sagacity and diligence 

 has been erected by their own indus- 

 try commencing at the very bottom 

 with "a heart to resolve, a head to 

 contrive and a hand to execute" and so 

 we are glad to congratulate Messrs. 

 Welch Bros., and Boston, and the New 

 England trade on this auspicioiis event 

 in the history of the flower business. 



A detailed review of the career of 

 this firm could add nothing to the 

 value of what we have here written. 



Suffice it to say that the new estab- 

 lishment is eligibly situated in the cen- 

 tre of the business section of Boston, 

 the location being chosen because of its 

 convenience of access from railroad 

 terminals and proximity to express 

 offices. The move has been forced 

 by the tremendous increase in busi- 

 ness and insufficiency of room in their 

 old quarters and takes into considera- 

 tion the probable greater demands of 

 the near future. The two floors occu- 

 pied comprise an area of nearly 13.- 

 00(1 square feet. Two great storage 

 rooms— one 1.5 x .5.5. the other 12 x 45 — 

 have been constructed, with thick insu- 

 lating walls and every accessory for 

 the care and handling of flowers. The 

 Remington process of ammonia cool- 

 ing, with a 15 h. p. Stanley motor to 

 operate it has been installed, steam 

 power being also in reserve for use in 

 case of accident to the electric power. 

 It is expected that the use of this 

 process will effect a large saving over 

 the cost of ice and a further advantage 

 lies in the fact that the graduation of 

 the temperature in each compartment 

 will be under absolute control. 



A complete florists' supply depart- 

 ment including a wire-working estab- 

 lishment is located on the basement 

 floor. Offices, furniture and the equip- 

 ment of the packing and shipping de- 

 partment are up-to-date in every par- 

 ticular. A stream of visitors has been 

 coming and going ever since the open- 

 ing on last Monday morning. 



For this purpose it may, therefore, be 

 specially commended, and all those 

 who are engaged in seedling raising 

 should procure it now that it has 

 fallen in price from £15 15s. to 12s. 

 6d. per bulb. 



Weardale Perfection.— Of this lovely 

 flower, what higher praise can be said 

 than that it is the finest of all that set 

 of noble seedlings raised by the late 

 Mr. William Backhouse of St. .Tohn's, 

 Walsingham, and in which were in- 

 cluded such sterling varieties as Em- 

 peror and Empress? Introduced a 

 year in front of Monarch, this variety 



is only slightly more expensive, and as 

 a pollen parent has proved equally as 

 useful. The many exquisite white 

 Ajax varieties raised by that keen en- 

 thusiast. Mr. Ernest Crosfield. all have 

 Weardale Perfection as their pollen 

 parent, and a more lovely race of flow- 

 ers has not yet been exhibited. In 

 comiiarison both with Peter Barr and 

 Monarch, Weardale Perfection is a 

 considerably taller grower, and its 

 flowers, which have been compared to 

 those of a gigantic N. pallidus praecox, 

 have been known to attain 5 Inches 

 across." 



