HORTICULTURE 



Vol. XXXII 



AUGUST 28, 1920 



No. 9 



THE TALK OF THE TRADE 



It is inteiesting to watch the gladi- 

 olus growers in their efforts to produce 

 absolutely pure white varieties. Sev- 

 eral of the varieties called white are, 

 strictly speaking, not white at all. but 

 cream, while others have a consider- 

 able infusion of some color. There was 

 nothing at the recent show in Boston 

 to eqiuil Europa, as a white glad. I 

 think that most all growers will admit 

 the truth of that statement. It makes 

 a difference, though, for what purpose 

 the flower is wanted. Take Lily White, 

 which was shown by Pres. Meader. of 

 the American Association, as an ex- 

 ample. In spite of its name, this 

 flower lacks the snow white character 

 of Europa, but it is a remarkably good 

 florists' flower, much better than 



Europa ever will be from that view- 

 point. The individual flowers are not 

 very large, and they are set closely on 

 the stem. They are not deep enough to 

 crush readily. They stand up remark- 

 ably well and can be used readily for 

 decorative work. As a florists' flower, 

 therefore, Lily White is exceptionally 

 good, but it is always necessary to 

 make a distinction between what 

 is purely a florists flower and what is 

 a show or exhil ition type. 



If I am not mistaken, there is likely 

 to be a little confusion over the 

 gladiolus known as White America. It 

 will be remembered that Mr. Chihls 

 has been putting out a variety under 

 this name, but recently I was shown 

 another and quite different White 



America, which I was told had been 

 brought over from Holland. In the 

 work which Is being done to prevent 

 duplication of names, I am afraid the 

 committees will have some difficulty in 

 avoiding such duplication where the 

 same name is given to different varie- 

 ties in two different countries. 



It seems to me that the L. Bemb 

 Floral Co., of Detroit is serving l)Oth 

 its customers and its own interests 

 with the little card which it sends out. 

 The sentence "Flowers are Alive" im- 

 mediately catches the eye and leads 

 the reader to follow down the card 

 with the result that the name of the 

 cTncern is impressed uiKin the mem- 

 ory. Perhaps other florists will like 

 to adopt a similar plan and I am sure 

 that Mr. Pochelnn will nit object if 



A Field of \\>ll (irown Aster?* 



