THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



Aponogeton Distachon. 



ever-blooming plant as in outside wa- 

 ters 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 en- 

 sure flowers in abundance during win- 

 ter months. Tanks, tubs, or any re- 

 ceptacle of sufficient size and conve- 

 nience could be utilized for its cultiva- 

 tion, placing in the bottom of 

 them about a foot of compost 

 consisting of loam and well rotted 

 cow manure in proportions of about 3 

 to 1. The temperatures at which rose 

 and carnation houses are kept will 

 suit admirably and like these the apo- 

 nogeton will enjoy 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 abundantly along the mar- 

 gins of running water or in lakes 

 through which there was a constant 

 flow. This would indicate that it 

 likes a change of water more or less 

 frequently, conditions that can be met 

 under cultivation by turning the hose 

 into its tank or tub occasionally. The 

 plant has a fleshy tuberous root, broad 

 and flat at its apex, narrowing to al- 

 most a point at its base and from the 

 crown of this tuber it sends out long 

 roots in the soil surrounding, whilst 



the leaves and flower stalks find their 

 way to the surface, each stalk ter- 

 minated by an oblong leaf that floats 

 on the water. 



The flowers are borne on a forked 

 spike (hence the name distachyon, 

 meaning two spiked), are small and 

 inconspicuous in themselves, but they 

 are disposed in clusters in the axils of 

 large showy white bracts. These bracts 

 give the spike its color attractiveness, 

 but the flowers have also a welcome 

 charm in that they possess a delight- 

 ful fragrance so sweet as to have earn- 

 ed for the plant the name "Water 

 Hawthorn." The Cape Pond weed is 

 another popular name for ft and it 

 matters not which is used, either being 

 greatly preferable to its botanical cog- 

 nomen, and should be used by those 

 who would popularize the plant and 

 sell its flowers. 



When once the plant is strongly es- 

 tablished it spreads freely by root in- 

 crease and also reproduces itself from 

 its own self-sown seed. Dry roots are 

 also obtainable at times, these being 

 imported from the Cape. The beginner 

 with dry roots, however, must exer- 

 cise caution in starting his plants, oth- 

 erwise he may lose the lot. When the 

 dormant tubers are potted up they are 

 dry and more or less shrivelled. If 

 then introduced to aquatic conditions 

 there is a risk of the root tissues 

 swelling too rapidly and rotting in 



consequence. It is better for a start 

 to treat them as ordinary plants, 

 planting the tuber, with its crown 

 just covered in a pot of soil. It will 

 then absorb moisture gradually, swell 

 normally and when top growth is visi- 

 ble and well under way the plants 

 may be immersed with safety. When 

 new plantations are being established 

 with divisions from growing plants 

 no such precautions are necessary; 

 these can be planted direct into other 

 tubs or tanks. 



AQUATICS. 



These beautiful plants that are 

 grown in the water garden are receiv- 

 ing more attention every year. Those 

 who have never seen the two or three 

 acres of lily ponds at Riverton, N. J., 

 on the banks of the Delaware, in the 

 nurseries of the Henry A. Dreer Com- 

 pany, can have no idea of the beauty 

 of the nymphaea. A few plants of dif- 

 ferent varieties give no idea of their 

 beauty as compared with scores of lit- 

 tle oblong ponds separated by fine 

 walks of grass and each filled with one 

 species or variety of nymphaea. 



In a botanical garden or park or 

 private grounds the pond of aquatics 

 will always attract the visitors and re- 

 ceive general attention. Not, I believe, 

 wholly on account of their rarity, but 

 largely for their beauty. And what 

 can be more beautiful and refreshing 

 than the broad leaves so placidly rest- 

 ing on the surface and the pool lighted 

 up with the exquisite forms and colors 

 of the flowers? Nearly every shade is 

 there, but in no gaudy or blending 

 colors. The yellows and pinks and 

 blues and whites are of the purest and 

 most pleasing shades. When the day 

 flowering species want to close their 

 petals (we will suppose in sleep), the 

 evening and night flowering ones take 

 their place. 



Nymphaea. 



Where and when the nymphaeas can 

 be used as cut flowers for a vase or 

 table decoration nothing can surpass 

 them in elegance. The day flowering 

 species are, however, available for use 

 only in the day time, unless some 

 trouble is gone to. Prof. J. F. Coweil 

 of our Buffalo Botanical Garden, in 

 forms me that he is aware of a method 

 by which the beautiful day flowering 

 N. zanzibarensis and its varieties can 

 be utilized for evening decoration. It 

 may not be generally known, but has 

 been thoroughly tested. Cut the flow- 

 ers in the morning, when at their very 

 best, and put the stems at once in ice 

 water. This seems to arrest their 

 growth and prevent change either way. 

 To use a rather awkward expression, it 

 paralyzes them, and providing you 

 keep the temperature close to the 

 freezing point, the flowers will remain 

 open throughout the night. The first 

 experiment was made by scooping out 

 a hole in a block of ice, within which 

 the stems of the lilies were put with 

 water, and there they remained till 12 

 o'clock at night, fully expanded. 



To those who intend investing large- 



