THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



ground is dry enough to work. For the 

 ornamental garden these are best sown 

 in small patches, say eighteen inches 

 across. Level and make fine the surface 

 of the soil, sow thinly and cover the 

 seed by finely raking the surface a few 

 times, stamping down with the rake. 



The commercial man who wants rows 

 of these annuals should always sow in 

 drills. For small seeds the corner of 

 the rake will make a drill one-half to 

 three-quarters of an inch deep. After 

 sowing, hold the rake in a perpendicular 

 position and as you walk along beat 

 the surface of the drill; that will suf 

 ficiently cover the drill. If your ground 

 does not bake after a watering you can 

 Avater the drills. If it does bake, as 

 is usually the case, it is better to trust 

 to the spring rains. 



When any of these summer annuals 

 are grown for cutting flowers from, al 

 ways sow in drills fifteen or eighteen 

 inches apart so the hand cultivator can 

 be used, as it saves much labor. 



For the cultivation of all annuals 

 needing the help of the greenhouse or 

 frame, see Aster. 



ANTHERICUM. 



The variegated species, A. variegatum, 

 is a very useful plant, used largely for 

 the margins of beds, also for veranda 

 boxes and vases. It stands our hottest 

 suns, and is as well a very desirable 

 plant for the window. 



Plants lifted from the ground and 

 potted can during the winter be divided. 

 Or a few plants lifted and allowed to 

 send up their long flower spikes will 

 supply any number of young plants 

 which spring from the flower stalk and 

 these can be taken off and put in the 

 sand, soon rooting and making plants. 

 It is a very easy plant to grow in any 

 soil, but to have good, useful plants 

 in spring it should have a light house, 

 pot room and plenty of water. 



ANTHURIUM. 



Eemarkable plants that are grown 

 for their curious flowers as well as their 

 fine leaves. The flowers are often used 

 in combination with orchids. Their cul 

 tivation is very similar to that of many 

 of the orchids. Whoever grows a few of 

 the latter should grow A. Scherzerianum. 

 The flowers of this well known species 

 last in perfection two or three months. 



They are from the West Indies, Cen 

 tral and South America. A moist, hot 

 atmosphere suits them and they require 

 an abundance of water in spring and 

 summer. In the dark, cold weather less 

 water is needed but the temperature 

 should not go below 65 degrees at any 

 time. The compost for potting them 

 should be about like that suited to our 

 terrestrial orchids : eqrnl parts of peat, 

 turfy loam, fresh sphagnum, broken 

 charcoal (not powdered) or broken 

 crocks. Fill the pot one-third full of 

 clean broken crocks and then distribute 

 the roots carefully among the compost, 

 keeping the crown of the plant two or 

 three inches above the rim of the pot, 

 and cover the surface with fresh sphag 

 num. 



There are a great number of species, 



all beautiful and curious and worthy 

 of a place in every collection of hot 

 house plants. A. Anareanum and A. 

 Scherzerianum are grand sorts for cut 

 ting. 



ANTIRRHINUM. 



Fine colors and forms of these well 

 known garden perennials are now an 

 important plant with the florist for cut 



years. It was introduced to Europe 

 from the Cape of Good Hope in the lat 

 ter part of the eighteenth century and 

 has become so completely naturalized 

 upon some lakes and streams as to ap 

 pear like a native, so great is its luxuri 

 ance. 



Doubtless much might be done with 

 it in American waters in southern lat 

 itudes, but the present object of this 

 note is to advise those who have the 



Antirrhinum Cut with Four-foot Stems. 



flowers during winter. They are all 

 varieties of A. majus, the old-fashioned 

 snapdragon. If a particular variety is 

 desired it must be propagated by cut 

 tings in late spring, kept over summer 

 in pots and planted in five inches of 

 soil on the benches in September or 

 October. Fine strains are more often 

 raised from seed, which can be sown in 

 April and kept in pots during summer 

 till put on the benches in September. 

 If sow r n in the fall they are slow in 

 coming into flower. Of course, either 

 from cuttings or seeds, they must be 

 kept from flowering during summer. 



Such soil as you would use for your 

 carnations and a night* temperature of 

 45 to 50 degrees will suit them. Give 

 them the fullest light and ventilation on 

 all favorable occasions. As a border 

 plant see Hardy Perennials. 



APONOGETON DISTACHYON. 



A few flowers of this beautiful plant 

 occasionally appear as a novelty in the 

 windows of some of the best flower 

 stores. It is certainly a novelty, too, 

 in the cut flower market, though far 

 otherwise as a cultivated plant, having 

 been in cultivation for more than 100 



facilities to give it a little attention 

 under glass for winter flowering, and 

 small indeed are its cultural needs. 

 Grown under glass it would be an ever- 

 blooming plant as in outside waters it 

 flowers persistently till forced to a 

 reluctant rest by the freezing of the 

 water. 



I have gathered flowers of it in mid 

 winter when that season has been un 

 usually mild, so that no forcing condi 

 tions are necessary under glass to in 

 sure flowers in abundance during win 

 ter months. Tanks, tubs, or any re 

 ceptacle of sufficient size and con 

 venience could be utilized for its culti 

 vation, placing in the bottom of them 

 about a foot of compost consisting of 

 loam and well rotted cow manure in 

 proportions of about three to one-. The 

 temperatures at which rose and carna 

 tion houses are kept will suit admirably 

 and like these the aponogeton will en 

 joy all the sun it can get. As far as 

 my observation goes of the plant under 

 natural conditions it always appeared 

 to thrive best and flower most abun 

 dantly along the margins of running 

 water or in lakes through which there 

 was a constant flow. This would indi 

 cate that it likes a change of water 



