THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



179 



In the fine exliibit of -Mrs. A. Booth, gardener, on the 

 main floor, what a pleasure to see a species tulip, Clusi- 

 ana, which 1 have grown for many years in my own gar- 

 den, but which I had never seen exhibited in this country 

 before. Here were fritillarias, too, and scillas and nins- 

 cari — all little strangers to our shcnvs T think. The 

 Stump]) & Walter Company >h(i\\ed tulip riusiana ;uiiid 

 a wealth of very fine bulbous flowers and the exhibits of 

 Julius Roehrs Company of rock and spring gardens in 

 the Ijalcony merited great ])raise. 



The color masses of the show were rem.irk.nble. ( ilori- 

 ous Darwin tulips, very fine hyacinths, huge sweet jjeas, 

 carnations and roses of noble size and color, made sheets 

 of bloom along the aisles and seemed to me to be dis- 

 played with wonderful success. 



Hobbink & Atkins' conifers made effective groui)s and 

 their arrangement of spring flowering subjects, shrubs 

 and flowers, was particularly lovely and artistic. In fact, 

 the show as a whole was a notable one, a show calculated 

 to foster the ever-growing American enthusiasm for fine 

 flower growing. I congratulate all who exhibited upon 

 their successful efl^orts and thank them one and all for the 

 keen personal pleasure given me by the high beauty and 

 perfection of their flowers. 



A PROFESSIONAL'S VIEW OF THE SHOW. 



Bv A. B. iNl.xct.JREGOR, New York. 



The first impression that I gleamed on visiting the In- 

 ternational Flower Show in New York in March was that 

 the (luality of exhibits w-as fully up to the standard found 

 at the first-class shows abroad. My opinion is that the 

 staging was a marked improvement on last year's show, 

 which was the first I ever attended in this country, having 

 arrived here from England during the opening day of 

 that show and my first .\merican act was to view an 

 American show, of which 1 had heard and read nuich, Ijut 

 never witnessed before. 



I was especially impressed with the spring- flowering 

 groups, the arrangement of.3vhich and color efl:'ect .-werg 

 superb. The rose gardens were fine and compared most 

 favorably with those seen at the exhibits on the other side. 

 The cut roses were the finest I have ever seen, both in 

 size of bloom and length of stem. They were wonderful, 

 and, I must confess, superior to those produced abroad. 

 The crowds reminded me of the crowds usually seen at 

 Chelsea Gardens. The orchids, while an e.xcellent ex- 

 hibit, did not compare in quantity with those seen at the 

 big shows on the other sitle. The foliage jilants were 

 grand. The bulbous stock was certainly (in a i)ar with 

 that abroad. 



As to the general appearance of the entire show, I 

 would suggest that there is some room for im])rovement 

 as far as the hall is concerned. The massive white pillars 

 stood out too prominently. If this could be relieved by a 

 little decoration of smilax or other grasses the effect 

 would be marked. 



OUR COVER ILLUSTRATION. 



The Sign of Spring is the subject of our cover illustra- 

 tion. It is a reproduction of a photograph of Miss Irene 

 Kilmer, a great lover of outdoor .sports, a clever rider and 

 driver, at Oakdale Farm. Dutchess County, N. Y., with 

 the famous Scottish Deerhound, "Coquette," a winner of 

 the two blue ribbons at the recent Dog .Show at Madison 

 Square darden. New York. 



aration of Hyacinths for early forcing, by sul)mitting 

 them to treatment which will bring them into bloom at 

 or before Cin-istmas. The bulbs are lifted very early, 

 before the leaves have died oft, and are then kept for two 

 or three w oeks in a temperature of about 80 degs. V. The 

 treatment varies for the different varieties ; some of the 

 early-flowering sorts are best suited by a rather lower 

 temperature, and do not need quite so long a period of 

 trealmeni : the late varieties, as a rule, require a high 

 temperature, and a protracted stay in the hot room. In 

 fact, each variety has to be made the subject of special 

 study, and to be treated in exact accordance with its re- 

 quirements. The kind of soil in which the bulbs have 

 been grown, the tem])eratnre in which they were growing 

 iminediately before special treatment began, the exact 

 temperature maintained during that treatment — all these 

 and many other details must he carefully and accurately 

 recorded. The least inaccuracy of observation might 

 lead to failure, which ])art!y explains why the treatment 

 is not yet of general application. After the e.xpiration of 

 the warm jjeriod the bulbs are removed to a cool place, 

 where they remain until the end of .\ugu5t or beginning 

 of September, when the bulbs are ])otted. — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle (English). 



HYACINTHS FOR EARLY FORCING. 



b'or several years past Dutch bulb-growers have been 

 devoting a considerable amoimt of attention to the jiren- 



THE BOSTON SPRING FLOWER SHOW. 



\''\' W. N. I'raic, M ass.achusetts. 



The Bosttin Spring Shuw, held in Horticultural Hall, 

 Boston, March 18-21, was the finest the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society has ever held, the several halls 

 being well packed with splendid exhibits. It was too 

 bad that more space could not be had, as some plants 

 could not be accommodated at all. The arrangement 

 was admirable and the plants all seemed as fresh w'nen 

 the show closed as at the opening. Climatic condi- 

 tidus were perfect and the attendance a record one. 

 The one disappointing thing was the painfully slow 

 ■jiulging which should have been com])leted the first 

 e-V£ning,-and the general criticism of the judges' tardi- 

 ness will undoubtedly liring abdut a change at future 

 sh( iws. 



.\s one will J was pri\ileged to see buth the liostiin 

 and New York Shows it gave me much pleasure to see 

 how successful both were. The fact that there were 

 but a few Bostonians showing at New York and no 

 New^ Yorkers showing in Boston, did not affect the 

 shows. New York suffered more in this respect than 

 Boston, which secured the exhibits of such noted 

 growers as Thomas Roland and M. FI. Walsh. There 

 were some $15,000 in premiums at New York, and one- 

 sixth of that amount in lioston. The New York show 

 was naturally much larger than the one in I'oston. as 

 the schedule was a much more extensive one. The 

 Boston show was a nnuli more pleasing picture than 

 the Grand Central I'alace show, due to the numerous 

 massive ])illars breaking up the latter so much. 



The "Midwav" on the mezzanine floor in New York 

 had no duplicate in Boston where no spaces are rented. 

 It helped the treasury no doubt, but I hope the day 

 will come wdnen New York can run a successful show 

 without these side attractions, some of which were 

 interesting and attracti\-e, others very decidedly the 

 reverse. 



As to the quality of the exhibits : New York e.Kcelled 

 in orchid groups, Boston in specimens such as Cattle- 

 yas and dendrobiums; Dutch bulbous plants were 

 equally good in each city. New York had better 

 Schizantiuis and hydrangeas; Boston was far in the 

 lead with Cvclamens and Cinerarias. New York had 

 the best groups of flowering plants and the rose gar- 



