May 19, 1021 



The Florists^ Review 



31 



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FOR SUMMER BASKETS 



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COSMOS FOR CUTTING. 



Perfecting Mammotli Perfection. 



For the last ten or twelve years a 

 great deal of attention haa been de- 

 voted to the development of the cosmos 

 and from the old late-flowering type 

 many new sorts have been bred up, 

 some by selection and some by cross 

 fertilization. The strain called Mam- 

 moth Perfection, still listed by many 

 seedsmen, is a large, late-flowered type, 

 requiring so long a season to bloom that 

 it should not be used by florists, espe- 

 cially those living north of the Ohio 

 river. Plants of this type in the south 

 attain a height of six or eight feet and 

 a width of three to four feet, and are 

 rather unsightly bushes, except for 

 their flowers. This type in the southern 

 states is nearly always covered with a 

 white fungous growth resembling 

 mildew, which attacks the plants about 

 the time they begin to flower. 



The Early Mammoth. 



The Early Mammoth type is by far 

 the most satisfactory of the single-flow- 

 ered cosmos. It comes into bloom with- 

 in about sixty days from seeding, under 

 normal conditions, and gives a profu- 

 sion of blooms throughout the season. 



By JAMES A. WIEBENS. 



These flowers can be had in pleasing 

 shades of light pink, white and dark 

 red. Magenta shades should be avoided. 

 If the seed is sown in a hotbed and the 

 seedlings are transplanted to the field 

 as are asters, blooms of this early-flow- 

 ering cosmos can be had from June un- 

 til frost. They are useful in bouquets, 

 in baskets and for decorating. The 

 cosmos can be used to good effect in re- 

 lieving the stiff, formal appearance of 

 many floral arrangements, in both the 

 home and in churches, and is deserving 

 of more attention than it receives from 

 the average florist. 



One of the things that should recom- 

 mend the cosmos to florists is its lasting 

 quality when cut. The flowers will hold 

 up from five to seven days in water, in 

 the temperature of an ordinary room. 



Anemone-flowered Type. 



A double-flowered cosmos also has 

 been developed, in three shades, pink, 

 white and crimson, but this is still quite 

 expensive and not generally recom- 

 mended for florists' use. The dou- 

 ble and crested cosmos, however, is a 

 most attractive flower, somewhat on the 

 style of the pyrethrum. This type, like 

 the early-flowering sort, lasts for a long 



time after cutting and lends itself 

 readily to almost any use. But the 

 double and crested, or anemone-flow- 

 ered, cosmos is not nearly so early as 

 the early-flowering varieties and it is 

 advisable to sow the seeds in hotbeds or 

 in the greenhouse and transplant to the 

 open, so as to get the advantage of a 

 longer blooming season. 



Treatment for Mildew. 



If cosmos plants are attacked by 

 mildew or fungus, a good remedy is to 

 dust them with powdered sulphur, as 

 this does not stain the flowers or the 

 foliage as Bordeaux mixture would. 

 Powdered hellebore may also be used 

 effectively. 



The illustration on this page shows a 

 field of cosmos of the Early Mammoth 

 type, grown on the farm of James 

 Vick's Sons, near Bochester, N. Y. As 

 already stated, this variety of cosmos 

 comes into bloom especially early. 

 Flowers often appear in considerable 

 numbers when the plants are not more 

 than a foot high and they continue 

 blooming profusely until frost. The 

 plants on this field on the Vick farm 

 reached a height of five to six feet, as 

 may be seen by comparing the height 

 of the plants with that of the man, as 

 indicated in the picture. 



Field of Early-Flowering Cosmos, Five to Six Feet High, at Seed Farms near Rochester, N. Y. 



