186 



HOETICULTUEB 



February 7, 1914 



Peterson has another surprise in th« 

 begonia line nearly ready to spring. 



TWO CHUMS AT CLEVELAND 

 MEETING. 



This was one of the few instances 

 where the American Carnation Society 

 escaped blizzard weather as an accom- 

 paniment to its midwinter meeting. A 

 temperature of 65 degrees on January 

 29 is a record which will long stand 

 unbeaten. 



The Chicago Carnation Co. distrib- 

 uted a handy tabulated folder, with 

 the various classes of the premium list 

 ready for filling in with the awards. It 

 was a convenience much appreciated 

 by the visitors. 



If every florist in the country could 

 see the mound of Primula malacoldes 

 with mirror background in the win- 

 dow of the J. M. Gasser Co., the sale 

 of this dainty little plant would be 

 prodigiously increased. 



A store window filled with straw 

 hats, with a sign reading "Fur Caps 

 $1.60," on January 29 was good evi- 

 dence that Adam Graham has not quite 

 got a monopoly of all the humor in 

 Cleveland. 



E. Allan Peirce found much interest 

 attaching to his exhibit of the new 

 waterproof paper pots he is about to 

 put on the market. Many advance 

 orders for spring delivery are already 

 booked. 



We do not know of a more eligible 

 location for a flower store anywhere 

 than the "flat iron" corner In Cleve- 

 land, occupied by the Jones-Russell Co. 

 They make good use of It, too. 



Birch bark interior finish, particu- 

 larly In windows, seems to be quite 

 popular in Cleveland. We noticed sev- 

 eral of them. 



SOME CLEVELAND GROWERS. 



The houses of Adam Graham & Sons 

 are not located where they can get as 

 much sunlight as desirable and the 

 carnations show the result. It does 

 not take long in this smoke-clouded 

 city to get a deposit on the greenhouse 

 roofs which shuts out much of the 

 light. Ferns do finely under such light 

 and general stock looks well. We 

 noted a splendid array of trained 

 Rambler roses that promise good for 

 Easter. Plenty of lilies coming along 

 nicely. All the houses are being fitted 

 as rapidly as possible with cemenl 

 benches. 



The establishment of the F. R. 

 Williams Co., in which also Bate Bros. 

 and the Cleveland Cut Flower Co. art- 

 interested, comprises a very extensive 

 range of houses mostly of the ridge 

 and furrow type. Tile benches are 

 used throughout. Carnations and roses 

 are grown by the acre and they look 

 good. Bulbous stock is also a large 

 specialty. The visitors were much in- 

 terested in an automatic coal feeding 

 arrangement here. 



Frank Friedley has also a very large 

 place. Here is found a supply of about 

 everything — carnations, ferns and 

 other greens, bulb stock, callas, roses 

 and a large planting of sweet peas — 

 all in finest of "ship-shape." 



R. B. Jones, 



of AdvaiK-e Co., 

 RieliiiiDud Ind. 



SAJt Seligman 

 New York City. 



PERENNIALS AND WHAT THEY 



MEAN FOR THE AMERICAN 



GARDEN. 



(A paper It.v Kiehard Rutbo. read before 

 the Pennsylvania Hortieultural Society, at 

 the January meeting.) 



{Continued fioin page 134) 



The Procession. 

 Sweet and mellow are the first 

 strains of the vernal prelude with the 

 white of snowdrops, rockcress and 

 leucojum, and the yellow of primrose, 

 narcissus and crocus, and the blue of 

 sclllas, hepaticas, anemones and vio- 

 lets. During April it gains in volume 

 when Primula Sieboldi, Alyssum saxa- 

 tlle and Iris pumila join and the 

 wealth of blossoms of hardy candy- 

 tufts, doronicums, trollius and ranun- 

 culus come in evidence. By the aid 

 of the strong notes of Cottage and 

 Darwin tulips, German iris, foxgloves, 

 bellflowers, lupins, peonies, sweet Wil- 

 liams, anchusas and Pyrethrum hybri- 

 dum it swells on to the glorious height 

 of the May day, emphasized by the 

 festive crescendo of the jubilant color 

 fanfares of the Oriental poppies. For 

 several weeks our garden becomes 

 pregnant with the sweet fragrance of 

 hardy garden pinks, and just when 

 the hardy garden roses are at their 

 height, we may enjoy the most charm- 

 ing three-color accord of June con- 

 sisting of the blue of Delphinium hy- 

 bridum, the white of Annunciation 

 lilies and the yellow of coreopsis or 

 Oenotheras. In turn the bold, stately 

 spikes of Yucca fllamentosa call for 



our admiration and, from now on, in 

 broad, evenly-balanced cadenzas of 

 the rich shades of Japanese iris. Phlox 

 paniculata, spii-aeas, vernicas, anthe- 

 mis and gladiolus we see ourselves 

 gradually gliding over to the grand 

 color finale of the fall. Montbretias 

 introduce new notes; we also enjoy 

 the playful intermezzo of light-winged 

 masses of flowers of the Japanese ane- 

 mones, swaying in a gentle breeze. 

 The warm golden waves of tall, late 

 helianthus and heleniums roll by and 

 vanish. At last we witness the su- 

 preme effort of dahlias, hardy fall as- 

 ters and chrysanthemums, vieing with 

 the hues of the autumn foliage to give 

 strength and radiance to the closing 

 strains of the most beautiful color 

 symphony on earth. To the thinking 

 human mind, the total picture is an 

 illustration of the fleeting character of 

 all things earthly. 



The Way of the Enthusiast. 



Likewise is a certain conventionality 

 on our front lawns exposed to street 

 or highway unavoidable. The herba- 

 ceous flower garden, as part of Ameri- 

 can home grounds, should represent a 

 sheltered atmosphere in which we may 

 be ourselves and nothing more. To 

 suburban and country residents it be- 

 comes more and more a private studio 

 in which to enter into the intimate 

 acquaintance of plant life and enjoy 

 floral beauty. Self-interest, self-action 

 and the free exertion of individual 

 taste in devising and planning, is not 

 only a delightful occupation, but in 

 by far the most Instances the gtiaran- 

 tee for advance and final success. The 

 novice, who with samples of her tap- 

 estry and wallpaper in hand on a 

 busy May day over the seed store 

 counter requests our advice in her se- 

 lection of herbaceous fiower seeds for 

 an immediate lively mid-summer and 

 fall effect, in colors corresponding with 

 the interior of her boudoir, may some- 

 times prove more than amusing. She 

 will, however, in time join the ever- 

 increasing number of more advanced 

 flower lovers, who with pencil and 

 note book in hand, at regular inter- 

 vals, pay visits to our nurseries which 

 command our serious attention. One 

 of the latter category, an ardent gar- 

 den enthusiast, in the course of a con- 

 versation a few years ago, speaking 

 of her beautiful nothern sea coast 

 home, said: "I call myself fortunate 

 to have a gardener who well under- 

 stands how to grow plants; but just 

 think of how much more efficient he 

 would prove if he would love flowers 

 and look at them as I do!" It was 

 a mere incident, causing a remark 

 which throws a flashlight on the sit- 

 uation. To love flowers means m this 

 case to possess the faculty to absorb 

 their beauty, discern character of hab- 

 it and form, and the trained eye and 

 practical experience for the all-impor- 

 tant work of associatin.g hardy plant 

 species for successive effects. 



Are the majority of us taking notice 

 of the signs of our time, by early 

 preparation for near exigencies? In- 

 sert an "ad" in the want column for 

 a competent man to tai'-e charge of a 

 first-class herbaceous garden; the re- 

 sult and after experience is likely to 

 give you the answer. 



