November 10, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



499 



AFTER ADJOURNMENT. 



It must have been some weird In- 

 fluence of Halloween— the night when 

 "warlocks and witches" prowl about — 

 that struck the cover pases of our last 

 week's issue. The way of the proof- 

 reader is hard. 



Jamos Durkln, an experimental horti- 

 <;ulturlst, exhllilta a burdock plant covered 

 with dahlia blossoms. He accomplished 

 this result by grafting the dahlia spiouts 

 ■on the bui-do<-k early In the spring. — Fair- 

 port (N. Y.) Mall. 



James is a wonder. "Experimental 

 bortlculturist" Bounds very modest 

 and unassuming for such a prodigy. 

 James had better watch out for 

 O'Mara. 



A chryBanthemum a foot in diameter 

 relegates that bloom to the freak class. 

 Something must have lilt tlu- flower to 

 give it such a swelled head, but Lenox 

 occasioiinlly surprises outsiders by being 

 downright sensational, and a flower show 

 was a good time to do things. — Boston 

 Traveler. 



Lenox Is liable to "do things" any 

 day. She has recently sent some 

 vegetable and chrysanthemum en- 

 tries to Boston shows that set the Hub 

 experts a guessing, all right. 



A NEW NEPHROLEPIS. 



(See frontispiece.) 

 Our frontispiece shows the latest ad- 

 dition to the rapidly lengthening list 

 of sports of the "Boston fern." This 

 is a very distinct break, a.s the picture 

 sliov/s, from the Tarrytown fern. Nepli- 

 rolepis Fiersoni eiegantissima, and 

 originated at the F. R. Pierson Co. 

 greenhouses at Tarrytown. N. Y. It 

 has been given the name, provisional- 

 ly, of Neph. Piersoni multiceps. It 

 was found in 1904 among a lot of 

 ferns growing in the open ground. It 

 is a very dis-tinct and unique plant. 

 In addition to the fantastic oddity of 

 its fronds which is well shown in the 

 picture, a distinctive feature of the 

 plant is its dark green foliage — almost 

 a blackish green, the younger growths 



CHRYSANTHEIVJUMS. 



How proudly now you wear each gay ro- 

 sette 

 -\s it to triumph o'er the lesser flowers 

 Which cheered the laud In Summer's 

 pristine hours! 

 When Flora drew from rainbow-hued 



palette 

 Her colors for the garden parapet 



She strove to set up«n her graceful 



towers 

 The grandest product of her waxing 

 powers; 

 "Thus, in your blossoms have her glories 



met. 

 Now, ere the autumn bronzes fields and 

 hills. 

 You come to brighten Summer's waning 

 days ; 

 You bring a romance from Japan's soft 

 rills 

 Where Nature gorgeous garniture dis- 

 plays: 

 Y'ou bear to us a rhapsody which thrills — 

 Sweet prelude to the glorious hymn of 



praise! 

 —'Dexter Smith, in Boston Transcript. 



THE CHRYSANTHEIVIUM, by 

 Arthur Harrington. The most com- 

 plete and practical boolc on tiie cul- 

 tivation of the chrysanthemum pub- 

 lished for Americans. Illustrated. 

 Price 50c. postpaid. Horticulture Pub. 

 Co., 11 Hamilton Place. Boston. 



HEALTHY VIOLETS. Send us 25 

 cents for George Saltford's invaluable 

 booVc on Violet Culture. The whole 

 truth and nothing but the truth. 



Order THE DAHLIA, by L. K. Pea- 

 cock. Price 30c. postpaid, from Horti- 

 culture Pub. Co., 11 Hamilton Place, 

 Boston. 



lighter. The fronds are very short and 

 dense: hence in small sizes or large 

 it makes equally desirable specimens. 

 For table decoration and fern dis-hes 

 it promises to become very valualilo. 

 Like the other varieties it does be-t 

 in full sunlight. The trade will await 

 with impatient interest the dissemina- 

 tion of this gem among ferns. 



PERSONAL. 



John Curvine has taken a posiUon 

 as assistant gardener at the East 

 Mansfield greenhouses, Mass. 



WHOLESOME CHESTNUTS. 



I believe that very often hydrangeas 

 tiave been lifted from the field too 

 early. But now that we are Into the 

 first week in November, when freezing 

 may be expected, it is the safer plan 

 to take up the plants and remove to 

 some sheltered spot out doors from 

 which, should the necessity present 

 itself, their removal to safer quarters 

 can be quickly accomplished. Hydran- 

 geas in full flower are very desirable, 

 especially at Easter or before. The 

 time to pick out the plants decided 

 upon as the most suitable for forcing 

 for sale on different occasions is when 

 they are taken up. For medium-sized 

 plants for early wants, plants grown 

 right along in pots may be the most 

 satisfactory, but plants taken from the 

 field and potted in good, rich soil will 

 prove very satisfactory for various 

 purposes. With the exception of one 

 good watering after being potted, the 

 plants will rtauire but little water 

 while at rest. 



Field plants of large size intended 

 for large tubs for outdoor decoration 

 next summer will prove much more 

 satisfactory if the tubbing process is 

 done this fall, and when storing them 

 away, it will be better if the wood is 

 not tied up in any way, in order that 

 the plants acquire proper shape. 



Quite recently I saw a splendid lot 

 of nephrolepis, of three varieties, in 

 pans raised on pedestals in a green- 

 house. These plants were at least 

 one -third larger and, consequently, 

 worth one-third more than the plants 

 of the same varieties grown in the 

 same size pots and pans on benches. 

 The hint may prove useful for some 

 grower who has not thought of it. Not- 

 withstanding the recognized merit of 

 most all the so-called improved vari- 

 eties of nephrolepis, the old N. Bos- 

 tonienis is still a favorite with some 

 people, and I do not hesitate in saying 

 that when a plant is required to be 

 placed on some high elevation, such 

 as a pedestal, nothing can approach 

 Nephrolepis Bostoniensis in imposing 

 effect. 



"Competition is the life of trade." 

 In ending so abruptly the author only 

 half-finished the job; he ought to have 

 said that competition is the life of 

 trade and the death of the incapable 

 tradesman. A florist may eke out a 

 living in one way or another, no mat- 

 ter how careless he is or how anti- 

 quated his methods are, if he has no 

 opposition, but when a competitor en- 

 ters the field who is up-to-date in cul- 

 tural methods and in methods of do- 

 ing business, something or somebody 

 has to skidoo. 



W. W. Thompson of West Hartford. 

 Ct, was married on October 30 to Mss 

 Rebekah B. Wheeler of North Ston- 

 ington. 



Dr. Henry, the noted botanical ex- 

 plorer, is visiting the Arnold Arbore- 

 tum. He has just returned from a 

 trip to the Pacific Coast. 



It is said that the Merchants' League 

 of America has been organized by 

 New York merchants to oppose any 

 parcels-post legislation, and they are 

 at work to create public sentiment 

 against such legislation. The estab- 

 lishment of a parcels-post system, sim- 

 ilar to that in England, would be di- 

 rectly in the Interest of the farmers, 

 and the sentiment among them la 

 largely in favor of such legislation. 



