J48 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



of large plants that we are most con- 

 cerned, and to obtain a fine lot of 

 flowers in the summer, and I might 

 just mention that this summer of 1899 

 the oleanders have been unusually fine. 



The flower comes on the matured 

 wood of the spring growth or previous 

 fall, so the ideal treatment would be 

 to store them in October, after flower- 

 ing, in a very cool house, or a light 

 shed will do, but no frost must touch 

 them. In early April prune back the 

 growths that have borne flowers, and 

 with more heat and more water en- 

 courage them to make their growth, 

 which by June will be fairly matured, 

 and they will then soon flower. Dur- 

 ing the winter months they will do 

 with very little water unless kept in 

 a warm greenhouse, when, naturally, 

 they want more. 



The correct name of our common 

 oleander is Nerium Oleander, and sev- 

 eral handsome varieties exist: Album 

 plenum, double white; Henri Mares, 

 pink, double; Madonna grandiflorum, 

 creamy white, large and double; Pro- 

 fessor Durand, pale yellow, free; Rose 

 Double, bright rose; splendens, bright 

 red, double and several others. 



The oleander is pestered with mealy 

 bug, and much more by a white scale. 

 There is no excuse for the bug on a 

 plant that will enjoy the hose as does 

 the oleander. When you see the signs 

 of scale, sponge the whole plant with 

 kerosense emulsion. 



ORANGE. 



The writer's first experience in gar- 

 dening, or that for which there was 

 any pay, was in an old fashioned con- 

 servatory in the curious roof of which 

 there was enough lead to make "sink- 

 ers" for all the fishermen of the great 

 lakes. It was very dark at all times, 

 and more than one winter can I re- 

 member that the old heating flues 

 which ran beneath the white and spot- 

 less paths were never lighted. Such is, 

 or was, the climate of the south coast 

 of England. The frost never entered 

 this house, for a venerable heliotrope 

 grew against the south wall,a beautiful 

 plant of Acacia pubescens flourished 

 at the east end, a Phormium tenax 

 grew strong and bushy in the north- 

 east corner, close by a veteran Fuchsia 

 fulgens; opposite them were two 

 bushes of the tea tree, and not far off 

 a beautiful tree of the Norfolk Island 

 pine (Araucaria excelsa) that had to be 

 sunk in the border to keep its top from 

 the roof, and there were huge camellia 

 trees that bore thousands of blossoms, 

 the single red a more beautiful tree 

 than any of them. 



But the chief feature of this old 

 house, that was torn down about forty 

 years ago, was the large orange trees 

 which were planted out in the borders. 

 There were flowers or oranges in some 

 degree of ripeness all the year round, 

 and there were several varieties. Per- 

 haps it was the cool, dark house that 

 was accountable for the flavor and 

 texture of these oranges, for I must 

 say that inferior as most tropical fruit 

 is when picked green and sent to us, 



that the oranges we bought in the 

 shops were much superior to those that 

 ripened on those old trees. Quantity 

 there was by the bushel, but the qual- 

 ity was not tempting, and the writer 

 was at that age when anything good 

 to eat was tempting. An accidental (?) 

 shake of a tree would always bring 

 a few of the big yellow fellows to the 

 ground, but they suffered less from the 

 omnivorous appetite of a 15-year-old 

 than the peaches and nectarines in the 

 same garden. Yet we hear travelers 

 and residents of our orange-growing 

 states declare that the ripe fruit, 

 freshly picked, is far superior to those 

 picked prematurely and sent to our 

 northern markets. This little diver- 

 sion on oranges is not what we are 

 after, and we must cease. 



Small dwarf oranges in pots have 

 besn grown for several years past, and 

 are now seen in all the florists' stores 

 at Christmas. A plant in an eight- 

 inch pot and two feet high, well cov- 

 ered with fruit, is very attractive, 

 and many people want one. We have 

 not found them to hold their foliage 

 as could be wished in a parlor or sit- 

 ting-room, but the golden fruit hangs 

 on. It is surprising to how many peo- 

 ple the orange tree is yet a stranger. 

 The majority of our people don't 

 know whether they grow like a musk- 

 melon or a chestnut. 



The varieties of the orange are said 

 to be almost as numerous as those of 

 the apple, and the large, fine flavored 

 kinds, such as the Navel, would not be 

 precocious and free fruiting enough 

 to make very small specimens in pots 

 bearing two or three dozen fruits. The 

 variety or species grown for this pur- 

 pose is, I believe, the Otaheite, which 

 flowers and fruits very young. As 



might be expected, the fruit is small, 

 but none the less ornamental on that 

 account. 



You had much better leave the grow- 

 ing of the plant to a specialist, who 

 will or can supply you with small 

 plants in pots and with fruit about 

 ready to color or colored, from one 

 foot to thirty inches high, and per- 

 haps larger. I shall merely attempt to 

 tell you how to produce another crop 

 of fruit for the following winter on 

 any that you may happen to have left 

 over. 



You can keep them anywhere in a 

 cool house till the first of March, then 

 cut them back a few inches and put 

 into more heat. Keep them syringed 

 and in the full light. They will soon 

 make a good growth and in May will 

 flower. Give air without a cold draft, 

 and be careful not to let their hand- 

 some leaves burn. The fruit will soon 

 set, and from that on they want a 

 light, airy house, plenty of water and 

 only shade enough to keep the leaves 

 from burning. In September or Oc- 

 tober the fruit will begin to color, and 

 from that on they can be kept in a 

 temperature of 50 to 55 degrees. 



The greatest enemy to oranges is 

 the white scale, and when plants are 

 badly infested with it, especially little 

 plants, it is as well to destroy them, 

 scale and all. If a larger plant in a 

 tub that you value, cut it back in the 

 spring and give the bark two or three 

 spongings with kerosene emulsion. 



Large oranges in tubs are used 

 largely in some parts of Europe for 

 ornamental gardening. We have not 

 yet reached that, and I trust never 

 will, for a large orange tree in a tub 

 is a kind of white elephant to all con- 

 cerned. 



Calanthe Vettchii, 



