504 



HOETICULTUEE 



October 16, 1915 



THREE POPULAR GLADIOLI 



Lily Lehman Pink Perfection- Niagaba 



Grown by B. Hammond Tracy of Wenham, Mass., as three of the best for cut blooms. 



THE FLORISTS' OPPORTUNITIES 

 ON THE WESTERN COAST. 

 The holding of the convention in 

 California this year has already proven 

 a better policv than even its promo- 

 ters dreamed of one year ago. All eyes 

 in the horticultural world have been 

 turned upon this great state, at a time 

 when conditions in Europe are making 

 it impossible to get plants from the 

 districts which have formerly supplied 

 us. C. W. Ward, of Cottage Gardens, 

 Queens, N. Y., is developing very ex- 

 tensive nurseries at Eureka, Calif., 

 three hundred miles north of San 

 Francisco, where climatic conditions 

 seem to be favorable for growing aza- 

 leas, rhododendrons and other plants 

 which we have depended upon Bel- 

 gium to produce. Other growers have 

 taken up the growing of palms in other 

 parts of the state and already this 

 seems to be an assured success when 

 the same knowledge and care is given 

 it that is required in Belgium, This 

 alone may revolutionize a large and 

 growing industry in the U. S. One of 

 the things first noticed by an eastern 

 florist is the lack of glass on the west- 

 ern coast. The plants require protec- 



tion from heat rather than from cold 



and lath houses afford this better than 

 glass-covered ones. These houses are 

 of the same general shape as the reg- 

 ular greenhouses but are apt to be 

 longer and higher. Some glass is need- 

 ed, however, for the young stock when 

 first lifted from the field. Going farther 

 north from San Francisco more and 

 more glass is used, till, in Washington, 

 comparatively large ranges are seen 

 and in and about Seattle the green- 

 houses remind one of those in Chicago 

 and vicinity. 



Going south from San Francisco, Los 

 Angeles affords the most opportunities 

 for commercial possibilities in horti- 

 culture. Here everything grows with 

 so little attention, except a good water 

 supply, that the eye is often shocked 

 with the riot of colors. Some experi- 

 ments are being tried out here which 

 will prove in the near future the possi- 

 bilities of producing in Southern Cali- 

 fornia many of the things that we 

 have always bought in Europe. All the 

 way down to the Mexican border 

 (which seemed like the end of civili- 

 zation) the coast suggests possibilities 

 which will justify the term "Golden 

 West," and offer the reward of dollars 

 to the men and women who will learn 



to understand and apply the principles 

 that will make nature their ally in 

 commercialized horticulture. 



M. B. Hancock. 



South Orange. N. J. — W. A. Manda 

 is gradually getting his grounds into 

 good shape after the chaos resulting 

 from the elevation of the tracks of the 

 D. L. & \V. railroad, but alterations 

 will not be fully carried out before 

 next spring. The new dahlias are a 

 prime popular attraction with their 

 great blooms as large as peonies and 

 will so continue as long as frost stays 

 away. Mr. Manda has diverted the 

 water in a brook which traverses his 

 grounds so as to form an island ap- 

 proached by rustic bridges, which will 

 be devoted to exotic plants exclusively 

 as a tropical summer garden. A very 

 extensive rock garden will be con- 

 structed also, and a pumping outfit 

 will be installed to take water from 

 the brook for greenhouse use. The 

 greenhouses have been repainted and 

 rei-ovaled and two large Kroeschell 

 boilers are being put in to take the 

 place of a number of small heaters. 

 One cannot but observe the sturdy 

 health and vigor of the cattleyas here, 

 all of which have passed the summer 

 outside up to the present time with no 

 protection other than some cheese 

 cloth. 



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