FLORICULTURE. 257 



L. L. Lamborn (at the present time made unduly prominent) is an aver- 

 age size, clear white. The blooms are inclined to tip to the side, giving a 

 droopy appearance and a crooked, very brittle stem which is liable to 

 break near the base of the flower; a rather shy bloomer, consequently an 

 unprofitable variety. 



Grace Wilder, medium or below in size, is at its best the most exquisite 

 shade of pink known to flowers, — delightfully fragrant and attractive. 

 Its conspicuous faults are a weak calix, liable to burst, a shy bloomer, 

 producing less than half the flowers of a Portia or Tidal Wave; also lack- 

 ing in constitutional vigor, therefore not a profitable variety. 



I have called attention to the chief points of excellence in the best 

 known of the sorts now grown for commercial purposes. This occasion 

 will not permit a description of many worthy varieties that claim public 

 attention. 



Constitutional hardihood is an important quality in a plant. Possess- 

 ing this it starts out with this advantage over the weaker ones, that 

 throughout its life journey it is better equipped to withstand the vicissi- 

 tudes which will beset it between the cradle and the grave. Hitherto, 

 the carnation has not been used for a lawn or garden plant to any consid- 

 erable extent. I apprehend the reason for this lies in the fact that 

 the public has not hitherto been supplied with the proper kind and 

 quality of plants for that purpose. I predict that we are on the eve of a 

 new departure which will introduce the custom of planting the carnation 

 on the lawn and in the garden, as it is the most available first-class flower 

 in the whole list. 



PANSIBS GROWN IN COLD FRAMES. 



By Gust Malmquist, Minneapolis. 

 {Bead before the State Florists Association). 



For amateurs and florists with limited greenhouse space, this method 

 is of especial value and it is certainly the cheapest way of growing them 

 for all. We all know that pansies are almost hardy and will live over 

 winter with only slight protection; on this basis I treat my plants. I 

 plant the seed about the first of September in boxes and keep this outside 

 in frames with plenty light and air so as to prevent the plants from being 

 drawn. The seed should be planted thinly so as to give the young plants 

 plenty of room, then there is no need of transplanting before they are 

 ready to be planted in the frames. The last week of September they are 

 usually ready for transplanting. 



A common cold frame is then prepared and the young plants planted in 

 the usual way in rows, about one hundred and fifty plants under a sash 

 three by six feet. Sashes are then put on and kept close a couple of 

 days with light shading added if clear weather, after that plenty of air 

 and light are given, so as to make the young plants sturdy and harden them 

 off. The sashes are kept on all the fall and when cold weather sets in ad- 

 ditional covering of boards or shutters is added. When hard frost is at 

 hand, the whole frame is allowed to freeze solid, and then the frames are 

 covered up with long manure and banked all around. This covering is to 

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