24 



The Florists^ Review 



NOVEMBEK ;50, 191G. 



THE GOOSE FLOWER. 



Sonic specios of plants, like iiiaiiv 

 liiiinaii boiun:s, liave a strontx propoiisit'v 

 toward tlio freakish, tlic Inzarre or tlio 

 sensational. AVo all know poople of 

 tliat nort. In dress, in speech or in 

 general conduct they display a constant 

 inclination toward the jjrotesque. Some 

 of them ])ossess a brilliant oddity of 

 intellect that verges either on <;eiiins or 

 insanity; they are merely actin^j natu- 

 rally. In other cases the outre per- 

 fiinnanccs are part of a ])ersistent, 

 clever scheme of self-advertisinfj. It 

 Mould be easy, but dano^erous, to cite a 

 few well-known examples of those 

 spectacular self-boomers. And this 

 ■weary old world, satiated with the com- 

 monplace, Avelcomes or at least toler- 

 ates most of these queer specimens of 

 humanity. 



Among plants there are few that aro 

 more consistently freakish in their be- 

 havior than the aristolochias. Conse- 

 quently many of them aro cultivated 

 cliiefly on account of the extraordinary 

 fornis of their flowers and in spite of 

 their defects, such as the disagreeable 

 odor of some of them — an odor whicii 

 wouM not be called fragrance even by 

 the flowers' stanchest friends. 



As is well known, several species of 

 aristolochia are named after oddly 

 shaped objects, animate or inanimate, 

 which they resemble. Probably the 

 most familiar instance of this is Aristo- 

 liichia macrojihylla or A. Siplio, the 

 Dutchman's jupe. Tliis plant, how- 

 ever, really owes its jiopularity to its 

 genuine, unquestioned merits as a vine, 

 rather tlian to its flowers, which, though 

 curiously formed, are not especially 

 (-■onspicuous. Other examples of tlio 

 fantastic among these ]dants are: 

 Aristolochi.a cymbifera, boat-shaped; 

 A. ornithoccphala, bird's head, and A. 

 tricaudata, three-tailed. One variety 

 has even been named A. ridicula; 

 among its appendages arc two long 

 lobes which are said to "remind one 

 of a donlccy's ears." 



Perhaps the most striking of all the 

 aristolochias, however, is A. grandi- 

 flora Sturtevantii, the goose flower, a 

 gdoil specimen of which is shown in the 

 illustration, reposing on a lady's arm 

 and looking. indee<l, remarl<ab]y like a 

 jiet bird witli a sleejiy dis]»osition and 

 an absurdly long, slender tail. The tail 

 reminds one of Euclid's definition of a 

 line, "lengtli without breadth." The 

 ^no«c flower has Either common names, 

 such as swan flower, duck flower and 

 pelican flower. 



The A'ine whicli bore this particular 

 goose flower was grown in one of the 

 ^greenhouses of John F. Rupp, of Shirt>- 

 iiianstown. Pa. y\r. Piipp states that 



J ) 



tlie vino had a fine crriji of "goesi 

 in Octol>er an<] aroused a good deal of 

 interest, attracting many visitors to 

 the greenhouses and securing favorable 

 notices in the Ilarrisburg and 

 MiM'hnnicsburg newspapers. The flower 

 Aviien ho ])hotograp]ied it, he says, was 

 fdeven inches wide ami seventeen inches 

 long, without the tail, which had a 

 buigth of eighteen inches. The lady in 

 the jdcture is a teacher in the school of 

 which Mr. Eupp has for many years 

 been one of the trustees, and her pupils 

 were among the most interested inves- 

 tigators of the goose flowers and the 

 greenhouses. 



The goose flower should be grown 

 under glass, and one writer naively sug- 

 gests that it is "most suitable for largo 



structures," o\ving to its pronounced 

 odor. It is easily projiagated l)y means 

 of cuttings taken from well matured 

 wood in early spring. It should bo 

 planted in a bed of gootl soil, in a 

 warm house where it can be con- 

 veniently trained up pillars, rafters or 

 a trellis. It is not well adapted for 

 pot culture. 



SEEDLING PERENNIALS. 



I sowed seed of sweet williams, fox- 

 gloves, hollyhocks and delphiniums 

 about August 19. The hollyhocks and 

 delphiniums I have potted into 2Vj- 

 inch pots. The sweet williams aiul 

 foxgloves were pricked out into flats. 

 They are all growing nicely. Will they 



You Always Carry a Goose This Way. 



flower next summer? What protection 

 shall I give them for winter.' 



I). II.— 0. 



You sowed the perennials ton late to 

 get a satisfactoiy crop of flowers next 

 season. The sweet williams and del- 

 jiliiniums will flower, but the foxgloves 

 and hollyhocks will hardly lie of sufli- 

 cient size and strength to do so. To 

 carry these over winter successfully, 

 store them in a well built coldframc 

 and wiien freezing weather arrives 

 rover them with dry leaves, placing 

 sasjios over these and board shutters 

 o\"er the sashes, to prevent S!iow from 

 lireaking the glass. Give some venti- 

 lation during mild weather, but be sure 

 to keep the leaves in a perfectly dry 

 condition; then each plant slinuld win- 

 ter perfectly. 



Another season, if you wnTit jilants 

 of suflicient size and strength to flower 

 satisfactorily, sow foxgloves and sweet 

 williams early in June and hollyhocks 

 and delphiniums about Julv 1. 



C. W. 



Salina, Kan. — F.dward Lotz, who has 

 been in the seed business here for many 

 years under the name of the Western 

 Reed House, has leased one of the best 

 located stores in the downtown district 

 and opened a retail flower store, han- 

 dling bulbs and plants in addition to 

 cut flowers. 



OBITUARY 



S. J. Renter. 



The death of S. J. Router, one of the 

 pioneer florists of New England, took 

 ])lace at his home at Westerly, R. I., 

 November 23, interment being Novem- 

 ber 20 in the presence of a large num- 

 ber of members of the trade from Bos- 

 ton, New York, Philadelphia and other 

 points. 



S. J. Renter was 65 years of age Oc- 

 tober 7, 1916, the family having re- 

 moved to Westerly from Norwich,. 

 Conn., in 18S0, in which year he started 

 a retail florists' business which grew 

 to large proportions. In the course of 

 time a greenhouse establishment w^as 

 started on the main road from Westerly 

 to the fashionable Watch Hill resort, 

 the glass being added to from year to 

 year until it became the largest range 

 "in the vicinity, known far and wide. 

 The place always has been kejit spick- 

 and-span, an advertisement for flo- 

 rists of inestimable value. A general 

 line of plants and cut flowers is grown,, 

 for the retail stores opened at Norwich 

 and New London, Conn., in addition to- 

 the one at Westerly, and for the whole- 

 sale markets of several large cities 

 within easy reach. 



Mr. Reuter's son, Louis J. Renter,, 

 grow up in the business, which was in- 

 corporated in 1907, the founder gradu- 

 ally relinquishing the active manage- 

 ment to the son, upon whose shoulders, 

 the principal responsibility has rested 

 in recent years. 



Joseph Henry Gushing. 



Joseph Henry Cashing, one of the 

 most successful greenhousemen in 

 Rhode Island, died November 25 at his 

 home at Quidnick, R. 1., following a 

 three weeks' illness. He was in his 

 sixty-sixth year. 



Although engaged at difTorent pe- 

 riods of his active business life in- 

 several lines of industry, the deced- 

 ent 's greatest success was achieved in 

 connection with the Quidnick Green- 

 houses. The flowers grown therein were 

 shipped to Boston and New York, as- 

 well as to the smaller cities of the 

 east. 



Mr. Gushing was born in Fiskovilie,, 

 R. I., in 1851, a son of 'Mr. and ]\Irs. 

 Chaunccy dishing. He received his 

 elonientarv education at a private 

 school at "River Point, R. I., and later 

 was grruluatcd from the East Green- 

 wich, R. I., Academy and a business 

 college of Providenc(\ Upon complet- 

 ing his course at the latter institution 

 he established a grocery business at 

 Anthuuy, K. I., but this was not success- 

 ful, llater he opened a grocery at 

 Quidniek, which grew rapidly. After 

 iilteen years he disposed of the busi- 

 ness to iiis brotlier-in-iaw and a partner. 



Previous to disposing of his grocery 

 business Mr. Cushing <leveloped a fond- 

 ness for plants and flowers, and after 

 the sal(! he invested his savings in 

 trreoTdiouses. Those were successful 

 from the start and soon covered sev- 

 eral acres, roses being one of the spe- 

 cialties. The range he continued until 

 about a year ago, when he sold his busi- 

 ness to other parties, who have con- 

 tinued the business under the stylo of 

 Quidnick Greenhouses, Inc. 



