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H K T I C U L T D R E 



May 15, 1920 



GLADIOLUS COMBINATIONS. 



George Watson^s 

 Corner 



"Tom Lb j«nr MnfUt corner and me 

 iB nilne." 



Howard M. Earl one of the closest 

 observers among well posted seeds- 

 men in this country speaks very cheer- 

 fully of the seed situation at the 

 present time, and is quite hopeful as 

 to the final results when May and 

 June business comes to he summed 

 up. In a recent interview he was 

 quite emphatic in stating that: 



"Owing to the lateness of spring, 

 and the awakening of the American 

 people to a probable shortage of 

 vegetables the coming season. May 

 and June will be the banner months 

 for the seed business this year. 

 Present indications are that counter 

 trade will be unusually heavy until 

 real July weather sets in." 



Wallace Pierson brought with him 

 from Connecticut on his visit to the 

 Quaker City last Tuesday a fine lot 

 of the new white rose Mrs. John Cook 

 which his firm is putting on the mar- 

 ket this year. The exhibit was staged 

 at the Florist Club meeting by the 

 S. S. Pennock Co. and excited much 

 favorable comment. It is certainly a 

 magnificent flower. The writer had 

 the good fortune to get a couple of 

 blooms to take home to Lansdowne 

 _ for Mother's Day and there was much 

 rejoicing in that elegant borough 

 among the ladies of his household and 

 others. The bearer of that message 

 from Cromwell was some hero just 

 then. 



GENERAL NEWS NOTES. 

 The Robert Craig Co., of Phila- 

 delphia, Is planning to move its head- 

 quarters in July from 49th and Market 

 streets to Norwood, which is about 

 18 miles from Philadelphia. The 

 building which has been occupied so 

 long has been sold. It Is understood 

 that the greenhouses at the same 

 location will be sold, too. 



John Weiland, of Chicago, has de- 

 cided to adopt the Sunday closing 

 rule. He says that his stores will not 

 be open on the Sabbath after early 

 June, notice to this effect being sent 

 to his customers by means of cards 

 enclosed with their orders. 



The Ove Gnatt Co., is erecting a 

 new plant at Evergreen, Ala., for the 

 purpose of preparing magnolias. 



Mr. B. Hammond Tracy Writes About 



Some of the Most Valuable and 



Most Beautiful Varieties. 



The Horticultural Journal, of Lon- 

 don, Eng., has an interesting letter in 

 a recent number from Mr. B. Ham- 

 mond Tracy, the well known gladiolus 

 grower of Wenham, Mass., in which 

 Mr. Tracy discusses several matters 

 of interest to gladiolus growers, and 

 to the trade in general. Among other 

 things he says: 



For several years fashion or vogue 

 in flowers has been as pronounced as in 

 clothes or furnishings. At Cedar 

 Acres, the past season, purple and gold 

 were in great demand. 



Fortunately, in our borders we had 

 plantings of purple and gold Gladioli 

 with purple and gold Salpiglossis. At 

 the base, to cover the earth and give 

 added beauty, were carpets of purple 

 Verbena, purple Phlox, blue-purple 

 Petunias, and here and there a touch 

 of pink Verbenas. Blue Salvia and 

 gold Celosia were among the unusual 

 things growing near standard Helio- 

 trope. Rising in the background, 

 green bushes of Buddlelia were covered 

 with fragrant trusses of lavender 

 flowers. 



In the show rooms these same colors 

 found expression in harmonious ar- 

 rangements, for by mere chance we 

 were able to satisfy the demand by the 

 use of flower containers in the same 

 tints. 



Gladiolus Amethyst, now a prime 

 favorite,, was used most effectively 

 with Pink Perfection. We know of no 

 flowers but tulip La Reve, and a few 

 chrysanthemums, which have the col- 

 oring of Amethyst. The soft helio- 

 trope, suffused rose, is always well 

 placed when used with the creamy 

 buff of Niagara or Loveliness. Ame- 

 thyst or Prince of India with Baron 

 Hulot make a truly Persian combina- 

 tion. 



Gladiolus Mrs. Francis King, Liebes- 

 feuer. Pink Perfection, Crimson Glow 

 and Independence, glowing red and 

 rose and pink, in stately four foot 

 spikes, were quite the most glorious 

 tribute to the gardner's art that ever 

 went from our showrooms. They are 

 equally gorgeous as a planting. 



The exquisite coloring of White 

 Glory with Baron Hulot is hard to 

 describe. Chaste, cool and lovely, it 

 needs only to be seen to be desired. 

 Almost equally lovely is Iris Spray, 

 the new lavender, with Daybreak, 

 lovelier as it fades, or with the rich 

 cream of Niagara. 



The soft yellow of Yellow Prince and 

 the clear iris blue of Jacinthe make a 



most effective combination for vase or 

 gift box. 



Gladiolus Mrs. Dr. Norton is quite 

 alone in its beauty. No other variety 

 equals this in its class — silvery white- 

 ness — Tvith dainty touches on the tips 

 of petals. It is more like a veiled sil- 

 very pink. 



The Primulins Hybrids were increas- 

 ingly beautiful and popular last year. 

 The exquisite beauty of these Gladiolus 

 butterflies is difficult to describe. In 

 form and color no other flower quite 

 equals them. Smaller than the other 

 types of Gladioli, the daintiness of 

 form and arrangement on the graceful 

 spikes add to their decorative value. 

 They are not found in many florists' 

 shops, for they are not the "big pump- 

 kins" demanded by those who want 

 quantity. Yet they are the coming 

 Gladioli. No two spikes of bloom are 

 just alike and each seems more beauti- 

 ful than the last. Colors ranging from 

 the lightest primrose, through apricots, 

 yellows, orange and bronze, to deep 

 rich rose and reds, all placed together 

 in one vase give a startling picture of 

 nature's work of art. 



We have as a basis for our unquali- 

 fied praise of these Gladioli, the fact 

 that almost every order for flowers or 

 bulbs includes Primulins Hybrids. 

 They are, without question, unequalled 

 for forcing. 



The small blooms of the Primulinus 

 specie, just as it grows in South 

 Africa, are now in great demand and 

 large plantings are made in the cutting 

 garden, or in clumps in the hardy 

 borders. These are quite the daintiest 

 yellow blooms obtainable in mid-sum- 

 mer. 



In buying bulbs, do not always select 

 the largest bulbs. You lose the cream 

 of the stock offered. Many of the 

 choicest varieties do not produce darge 

 bulbs; the large bulbs may prove to be 

 "blind," past blooming age. Size Is 

 not virtue, but it is essential that the 

 bulbs should be of blooming age, fully 

 developed and healthy, rather than 

 large and overgrown, punky and soft. 

 B. Hammond Tkact. 



Sahle Brothers have just completed 

 extensive additions to their green- 

 houses on Newton street, Freedonia, 

 N. Y., making their plant one of the 

 largest in the Northern Chautauqua 

 section. 



The greenhouse controlled by Mrs. 

 E. M. Welsh, on Annawam St., in 

 Hartford, Ct., has been sold and Mrs. 

 Welsh will now give her attention to 

 a new store in the Aloin House. 



Geo. Kessen, for some time con- 

 nected with the Avondale Flower Co., 

 has now gone with H. W. Sheppard, 

 ot Cincinnati, Ohio. 



