348 



HOBTICULTURE 



September 9, 1916 



Early Flowering seS 

 Spencer Sweet Peas 



for Winter Flowering Under Glass 



Since tbe introdiiotion of Varravra Spencer Sweet Peas, great effort has been made 

 on the part of California and Australian growers to produce Early-flowering Spen- 

 cer Sweet Peas. We offer a list of varieties by one of the most prominent Cali- 

 fornian and one of the most prominent Australian growers. One of their chief 

 characteristics is their long season, period of blooming, frequently remaining in 

 bloom for four months. Every one of the crosses were made from the old Early- 

 flowering or Christmas Grandiflora types on the late or Standard Spencers as pa- 

 rents. We feel that there will be little demand for the common or. Grandiflora 

 Winter-flowering Type and have, therefore, decided to discontinue offering the 

 same. 



Californian Varieties August-Lpt'ember 



EARLY MORNING STAB 



The color is a deep orange scarlet or 

 flame color in standard, with rich, 

 orange-pink wings. The flower is prac- 

 tically the same color as the Late-flower- 

 ing Spencer Thomas Stevenson. It does 

 not burn out in the open and under glass 

 will be magnicent. The flowers are 

 large and of best Spencer form, and 

 borne in threes and fours in wonderful 

 profusion. Pkt., 15 seeds, 25c.; Vt oz., 

 $1.60: oz., $S.OO. 



BLARLY SNOWFLAKE 



This is one of the best Early-flowering 

 White-seeded White Spencers. The blos- 

 soms are very large and of the best 

 waved Spencer form. The flowers are 

 borne In wonderful profusion on long 

 stems. The form is every bit as good as 

 White Spencer. Pkt., 15 seeds, 25c.; % 

 oz., $1.60; oz. $6.00. 



EARLY SPRING MAID 



Those who are familiar with the Late- 

 flowering Spencer Mrs. Hugh Dickson, 

 will have a good idea of what a hand- 

 some variety this is. The color Is a 

 light pink on a cream ground, and the 

 blossoms have the same splendid char- 

 acteristics of Mrs, Hugh Dickson for a 

 florists' flower. It is a most effective 

 flower and, like our other Early-flower- 

 ing Spencers, it carries a great wealth 

 of blossoms borne in fours on long 

 stems. There is no Early Spencer Cream 

 Pink which is as attractive as Early 

 Spring Maid. Pkt., 25 seeds, 25c.; >4 oz., 

 $1.25; oz., $4.00. 



EARLY MELODY 



This is a .peeper shade of pink than 

 Early Song Bird on white ground, close- 

 ly resembling Countess Spencer and near 

 Hercules. It might be described as rose 

 pink on white ground. The effect, when 

 l>unched, is most pleasing. It is very 

 floriferous. The flowers are borne on 

 long stems and mostly fotir large, well 

 waved blossoms to each stem. Pkt., 25 

 seeds, 25e.; % oz., $1.25; oz., $4.00. 

 EARLY SONG BIRD 



The flower is the same color as Flor- 

 ence Morse Spencer and Lndy Evelyn 

 Eyre, and a bit lighter than Elfrida Pear- 

 son. It has the same excellent form and 

 features of Mrs. Hugh Dickson, but is 

 on a white ground. The placement of 

 the flowers is splendid for packing and 

 the flowers are borne on long stems in 

 threes and fours. When in full growth 

 it seemed as though every stem carries 

 four large blossoms. Pkt., 25 seeds, 25r. ; 

 Vi oz., $125: oz,. S4.00. 



EARLY HEATHER BELL 



This will be one of the most popular 

 shades with all florists, as it will be use- 

 ful for making up for any occasion. It 

 is a little like the variety known as 

 Anita Wehrmnu, but vastly superior in 

 every way. The flowers are very large, 

 borne in fours and threes on long, st(tut 

 stems, and are of beautiful, bold Spen- 

 cer form. The color is a rich but pleas- 

 ing mauve, but after standing in water 

 the color becomes a beautiful mauve 

 lavender. I'kt., 25 seeds, 25c.; '/i or., 

 .S1..50; oz., $5.00. 



Australian Varieties '"^'•zr-" 



CONCORD 



Pkt., 18 seeds each of any of the foil 

 CONCORD PINK. A beautiful, new va- 

 riety of a most attractive shade of 

 delicate pink. The flowers are large 

 and of true Spencer form. Tbe stems, 

 which are long and strong, usually 

 carry 3 large flowers. 

 CONCORD CRIM.SON. A variety of 

 great merit on account of its glowing 

 color. It is a rich crimson; the 

 flowers, of true Spencer form, are 

 borne on strong, stiff stems. 

 CONCORD LAVENDER. Without a 

 doulit this is tbe finest of all Lavender 

 Winter-flowering Sweet Peas. The 

 color is a beautiful shade of rich, rosy 

 lavender. The flowers are of true 

 Spencer form. 



CONCORD WHITE. A splendid, pure 

 white variety of wonderful vigor and 



STRAIN 



owing varieties, 35c.: 6 pkts., $1.50 

 substance. The flowers are pure white 

 and of ideal Spencer form, borne three 

 and four to the stem. 



CONCORD SALMON. A rich shade of 

 salmon pink and very free flowering. 

 The flowers are borne three and four 

 to a stem and are of true Spencer form. 



CONCORD BLl'E. Tbls magnicent va- 

 riety is of a beautiful sky-blue color, 

 sometimes varying darker, the varia- 

 tion, however, being slight. Quite tlie 

 finest sky-blue we know of. 



CONCORD PURPLE. A leader in its 

 color. When first opening, a delightful 

 shade of mauve purple, changing, as 

 the flower ages, to purple blue. Tim 

 flowers are of ideal Spencer form and 

 quite large. 



YARRAWA 



The flnest Rose Pink Winter Flowering Spencer; the ideal florist variety. 

 Pkt., 15c.; % oz., 35c.: % oz., 60c.; oz., $1.00; "4 lb., $3.25; lb., $12.00. 



PLACE YOUR ORDERS NOW 



^Imnpp^iUa/kr^ 



30-32 BARCLAY STREET 



Depl. C. 



NEW YORK CITY 



NEW HYBRID WATER-LILIES 



Climatic conditions in St. Louis 

 during the summer are admirably 

 adapted to tlie growtli of tropical lilies. 

 Within the last four years the aquatic 

 collection at the Garden has been 

 greatly augmented, and the area of 

 water devoted to this fascinating 

 branch of floriculture considerably ex- 

 tended. 



Water-lilies may be divided into two 

 groups: (1) diurnal flowering, repre- 

 sentatives of the two sub-groups, Anec- 

 phya and Brachyceras, and (2) noctur- 

 nal flowering, more commonly called 

 the "night bloomers," which are rep- 

 resentatives of the Lotos group. Dur- 

 ing a bright August day flowers of the 

 diurnal lilies will be open between 7.00 

 A. M. and 7.00 P. M., but if the 

 weather is dull and rainy they remain 

 closed. In the night bloomers the 

 flowers open at sunset and stay open 

 until about 10.00 o'clock the following 

 morning. However, if the weather is 

 inclined to be cloudy, they will remain 

 open during the entire day, acting the 

 reverse of the diurnal type. 



The blossoms of the nocturnal lilies 

 are considered by many far superior 

 to those of the diurnal, or "day bloom- 

 ers," and thus many visitors coming 

 to the Garden during the water-lily 

 season, are disappointed. With this in 

 mind, a number of experiments are 

 being carried on in an effort to im- 

 prove and fix the few types of day 

 bloomers, the present-day plants hav- 

 ing resulted largely from insect pol- 

 lination, especially the Brachyceras 

 representatives. 



The i^ximphaea capensis and its va- 

 rieties, commonly found in gardens, 

 are far from the typical species. They 

 are the crosses resulting from insect 

 pollination, between the blue and 

 rose, and possil)!y the Egyptian N. 

 caerulca. until we find gradations of 

 color from the darkest l)lue to deep 

 pink. These, being self-pollinated, re- 

 sult in a breaking up into blues, pinks, 

 and dark pinks. 



Ono method of selecting the color 

 of lilies to be planted out is to ex- 

 amine the under side of the young 

 leavef, the color which appears here 

 usually giving some indication of the 

 ultimate color of the flowers. This 

 somewhat haphazard method undoubt- 

 edly eliminates the tedious work of 

 preparing the flowers for pollination, 

 but is not to be advocated, as the 

 true identification of the parents is 

 always lacking in hybrids of this 

 nature. 



Pollination. — Probably the best 

 month for experiments in pollination 

 is August, when the plants have usu- 

 ally attained their maximum growth 

 and are producing their best flowers. 

 Intercrossing must be done at a time 

 when the concave stigmas of the flow- 

 ers are well filled with nectar, as 

 without this fertilization cannot be ac- 

 complished. Experience has shown 

 that the hours between 0.00 and 11.00 

 A. M. are best suited for this process. 



Plants are selected which will pro- 

 duce the desired qualification in the 

 progeny. The pistillate parent, or flow- 



