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12 



The Florists^ Review < j^" ^t. leie. 



Schmaus range. The tall, heavy, dark- 

 haired man with a soft hat in his hands, 

 on the reader's right, is William 

 Schmaus, one of the firm. Mr, Droste 



is kneeling on the left. He has a 

 bandanna about his neck. Mr. Weiss is 

 leaning against the porch post, with a 

 straw hat on the back of his head. 



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Dianthus. 



There are some beautiful members 

 of the dianthus family. All are low- 

 habited and quite hardy, and they 

 flower freely each year. The most 

 popular is the old, delightfully scented - 

 mound or spice pink. D. plumarius, 

 procurable in a variety of colors and 

 easily propagated from layers, divisions 

 and cuttings; Her Majesty, double 

 white, and Napoleon III, double crim- 

 son, are all good border varieties. 



D. barbatus, the well-known sweet 

 William, is usually treated as a bien- 

 nial, but lasts for several years. The 

 seed should be sown now, in order to 

 have strong flowering plants next June. 

 Specially fine varieties are Sutton's 

 Scarlet, Sutton's Pink Beauty, which 

 has been given several other names, 

 such as Newport Beauty, and the true 

 auricula-eyed type. In a mixed packet 

 of sweet Williams almost every plant 

 will be distinct. For bedding or mass 

 effects separate colors are preferable. 

 Dianthus diadematus, the diadem pink, 

 is another free and persistent-flowering 

 variety. Of the smaller-flowered varie- 

 ties adaptable for borderings or rock 

 gardens, the several forms of D. del- 

 toicjes are flne. D. carmineus is even 

 better; in fact, it is the finest of all 

 the border pinks. Its rich, rosy pink 

 flowers are produced in perfect sheets 

 and it rivets attention at once in any 

 garden. 



Aconitunui. 



Not so well known as the delphin- 

 iums, but fully as stately and striking 

 when well grown, are the aconitums, 

 or monkshoods. The bulk of the spe- 

 cies flower in late summer, when the 

 delphiniums are on the wane. One or 

 two varieties bloom extremely late, but 

 A, bicolor blooms as early as June, 

 bearing blue and white flowers. A. 

 Napellus is the best knowq variety. 

 There are several colors of this, vary- 

 ing from pure white to the darkest 

 blue. These are at their best in August 

 and September, and under specially fa- 

 vorable conditions they attain a height 

 of eight or nine feet. A. Fischeri, with 

 pale blue flowers in September, is quite 

 dwarf, only attaining a height of two 

 to three feet. A. Wilsonii, one of the 

 newest varieties, is also a September 

 and October bloomer. Its flowers are 

 violet blue. It is of vigorous habit and 

 attains a height of six feet in any good 

 garden soil. The aconitums are all 

 splendid for cutting. They have bet- 

 ter keeping qualities than the delphin- 

 iums. They can be propagated from 

 seeds or divisions of the roots. 



Iris Gtorihanlca. 



Much better results would be 



achieved if the planting of irises were 



done earlier than is customary. The 



usual plan is to wait until October, 



November or April, but, while the Ger- 

 man irises are accommodating subjects 

 and withstand much neglect and abuse, 

 if they can be transplanted in August 

 they will give vastly better results 

 than when the work is delayed until 

 colder weather or until spring. They 

 are among the perennials which flower 

 with many people for Memorial day, 

 but quite apart from that they are 

 splendid perennials either in solid beds, 

 in masses, or dotted in mixed perennial 

 borders. Some fine varieties are now 

 being raised by hybridization and there 

 are great possibilities for improvement 

 in this line. The following varieties 

 are not ne#- and Tare inexpensive, but 

 are thoroughly reliable: Glory of Hille- 

 gom, I. pallida Dalmatica, Mme. Che- 

 reau, Mrs. H. Darwin, Bridesmaid, 

 Queen of May, I. flavescens, I. Floren- 

 tina alba, I. aurea, Gracchus, Princess 



Victoria Louise and Due de Nemours. 

 There are many other fine sorts, but 

 the foregoing are all dependable. The 

 pallida selection is unquestionably the 

 best. 



liUscellaneous Irises. 



The new race of intermediate irises, 

 crosses between I. Germanica and the 

 dwarf I. pumila, flower earlier than I. 

 Germanica, are dwarfer and produce 

 flowers varying in color from pure 

 white to clear lavender. They are well 

 worthy of trial. Iris orientalis, violet 

 blue, and I. orientalis Snow Queen, 

 pure white, producing spikes two to 

 three feet high in June, are splendid 

 irises for the border. They also do 

 well in low, swampy ground. They are 

 splendid for cutting; so is the Siberian 

 iris, I. Sibirica, which can be had in 

 pale blue, deep blue and pure white 

 colors. 



All these irises are of easy culture 

 and will grow and flower satisfactorily 

 in sunshine or shade, in dry or moist 

 land. For early flowering the little 

 I. cristata and I. pumila should always 

 be planted. Too few florists appre- 

 ciate the value of Iris Anglica and I. 

 Hispanica for cutting. Both are per- 

 fectly hardy and, being inexpensive, 

 they should be planted much more 

 widely. In clumps in the herbaceous 

 border they are effective. The Spanish 

 iris flowers a week earlier than the 

 English. The flowers of the latter are 

 larger and carried on stouter stems. 

 Both are splendid for cutting. 



ODCN LdTEa^^^ DEADEDd 



CANNA LA FAYETTE, 



Speaking of cannas, we have been 

 particularly impressed with the novelty 

 La Fayette. We have a 6-foot bed of 

 this canna in our trial planting, and, 

 while it is rather early to come to 

 definite decisions, it certainly seems to 

 be far the best red canna with green 

 leaves that there is in commerce. We 

 have added some fifty varieties to our 

 test of 100 varieties we grew last 

 season, including most of the new 

 varieties, and we feel we are in po- 

 sition to judge something of their 

 merits, Floyd Bralliar, 



"ALL ABOARD FOK TEXAS," 



Did I hear every fiorist who reads 

 this say that? If not, why not? We 

 want to see all of you in the land of 

 sunshine and plenty. We want to show 

 you our beauty and our greatness. Do 

 not say it is too hot, too far south in 

 the summer. Nay, verily. We have no 

 sunstrokes or heat prostrations in Texas. 

 Even our soldier boys 400 to 600 miles 

 farther south have no sunstrokes. They 

 always have an ocean breeze in Hous- 

 ton, so cut your way out over the heat, 

 pack your grip and come; let us show 

 you we make good hosts. 



Besides, the fast increasing demand 

 for plants and flowers here rtiakes it im- 

 perative for us to get together and. as 

 a body adjust our grievances, talk over 

 excessive freight charges, overappraise- 



ments for taxation and some unneces- 

 sary laws our legislative bodies are 

 making and will make, as though the 

 greenhouse stock created diseases and 

 disseminated insects and pests that 

 stalked forth as vultures upon every- 

 thing living upon the face of the earth. 

 Preparedness is the word. So let us 

 get together as the S. A. F. should do, 

 as a body, and unite upon a fixed pur- 

 pose to protect and improve ourselves as 

 a body. 



Come on, you florists, and tell us how 

 you so easily become millionaires and 

 men of so much leisure! Look over our 

 shortcomings and give us brotherly ad- 

 vice as to how and what to do. We 

 expect all of you. We know a great 

 many southern florists will be here, but 

 we want to see you men from Maine, 

 Massachusetts, New York, Washington, 

 etc. Do not disappoint our expectant 

 brothers. 



Come and see the flora of the south. 

 Look at our rice and sugar plantations, 

 orange and fig orchards, cotton, wheat 

 and corn ranches and cattle that cover 

 thousands of acres; see our forests, 

 where the sound of the ax has never 

 been heard. Besides, Houston is one of 

 the best little cities in the U. S. Test 

 the hospitality which knows no bounds. 

 Everything will be yours. You need 

 not ask for it, but just help yourselves. 



See Galveston, an adjacent city, the 

 second import citjr in the U. S. as to 



