38 



The Florists^ Review 



X- ',ry;:^-'t-^^.r-^«UK.-5?x./,: 



Mat 11, 1922 



the crown bud on Turner, regardless of 

 date? F. C— Ind. 



It will not hurt the chrysanthemums 

 to take the tops from each cutting of 

 the varieties that are now more than 

 six inches high. I should suggest this 

 cutting process be done now, while the 

 wood is still soft, so the cutting will be 

 in proper shape to cut and the parent 

 stock be soft enough to break again 

 readily. This cutting back can be car- 



ried on until the middle of June, if it 

 is desired to keep down the height of 

 the plants. 



The best flowers of Turner that we 

 have are from buds taken between Au- 

 gust 28 and September 5. We pay no 

 attention to the question as to whether 

 or not it is a first bud that the plant 

 produces or the fifth, as we consider the 

 period of taking the bud of much more 

 importance. Our Turner plants here 

 always give us fine results. C. H. T. 



525E5ESES25SSEaSESE52SE52S2Se5^ 



NOVEL SHOW 



BUBBAGE SHOWS BOSTON. 



Native Flowers and Ferns. 



There have been many fine and at- 

 tractive flower shows held in Boston, 

 where roses, orchids, azaleas, rhododen- 

 drons, gladioli, dahlias, peonies, carna- 

 tions and other popular flowers have 

 been made special features, and in May, 

 1921, a grand display of native orchids, 

 exhibited and staged under natural set- 

 tings by A. C. Burrage, was made, 

 which attracted a record attendance of 

 24,000. All attendance records, how- 

 ever, have been shattered by the grand 

 exhibition of native ferns and flowers, 

 planned, prepared and staged once more 

 by the same enthusiastic and redoubt- 

 able horticulturist, A. C. Burrage. As 

 the show is still in progress and as 

 these notes are written, the total at- 

 tendance cannot be given, but May 4, 

 in a day of continuous, drenching rain, 

 4,200 attended. The following day, 

 equally wet, saw 5,000 present. May 6, 

 clear and pleasant, it was hard to get 

 near the hall, so great was the throng, 

 and by 2 p. m. the total attendance of 

 the two preceding days had been passed 

 and all records for a single day were 

 smashed. 



Waterfalls and Everything. 



The staging of this beautiful and 

 iinique show was a big undertaking. 

 All the flooring of the main hall had 

 to be removed. Around the sides and 

 extreme end of the hall, mountain-like 

 masses of such evergreens as white 

 j)ines, hemlocks, cedars and spruce rose 

 to heights of fifty feet, resembling for 

 est-covered mountains. At the base and 

 rising for a considerable distance were 

 moss-covered rocks, naturally placed, 

 on which were to be found all of the 

 forty-seven varieties of ferns native to 

 New England, each planted just as it 

 is found in a state of nature, some 

 times in bold masses, occasionally soli- 

 tary specimens. At the extreme end 

 of the hall a high and bold mass of 

 rocks — some sixty tons of rock were 

 used — was built up to a height of twen- 

 ty-five feet and in the center a wide 

 and quite -im])rcssive waterfall came 

 tumbling down in a scries of falls, the 

 last being one about fifteen feet in 

 height. Three hundred gallons of wa- 

 ter per minute ])assed over the falls. 

 Behind the falls and on both sides grew 

 masses of the beautiful New England 

 ferns, apparently reveling in their new- 

 ly found home, dripping with the spray 

 from the falls. A skillfully prepared 

 concrete pool was at the base of the 

 falls, through which the water went 



rushing along, a natural-like stream, at 

 a fairly rapid pace to nearly the oppo- 

 site end of the main hall, where it dis- 

 appeared down a large pipe, was car- 

 ried back to the rear of the falls and 

 pumped over again by an electric mo- 

 tor. 



A rustic bridge crossed the stream 

 near the falls and along its banks were 

 wide, swamp-like borders planted with 

 vacciniums, andromedas, cypripediums, 

 calthas, osmundas, sarracenias and 

 many other plants, most of which are 

 at home in moist situations. Scattered 

 through the forest-like slopes of moun- 

 tains were numerous large specimens of 

 white dogwood, or Cornus florida, vi- 

 burnums, amelanchiers, Kalmias an- 

 gustifolia and latifolia. Rhododendron 

 maximum and other flowering trees and 

 shrubs, which gave fine masses of color. 

 At the base of the rockwork, in which 

 ferns and some flowers reveled, were 

 plantings of various orchids, bluets, 

 violas and some seventy-five other va- 

 rieties of native flowers, even so late a 

 bloomer as Agter novffi-anglsei being 

 represented. 



Everybody Happy. 



The entrance and exit from the ex- 

 hibition hall was through avenues of 

 evergreen trees on paths covered with 

 soft gravel, on which pine needles had 

 been thickly scattered. It was an in- 

 spiration to hear the exclamations of 

 ilelight from the great numbers of chil- 

 dren attending, to all of whom the wa- 

 terfall was the star magnet, but it was 

 cheering to see how many took note of 

 even the humblest flowers and seemed 

 to recognize them instantly. It was also 

 worth a great deal to listen to the con- 

 versations of many middle-aged and 

 elderly people, who paused to look at 

 and talk about familiar flowers, re- 

 minding them of their early days in the 

 country, before they came to live in 

 the city. It cost a good deal to stage 

 this beautiful, unique and much appre- 

 ciated show, but A. C. Burrage re- 

 marked to me on the opening day that 

 he felt amply repaid for all his labors 

 when he viewed the delighted faces of 

 100 happy children. Incidentally, great 

 credit must also be given Douglas Ec- 

 cleston, Mr. Burrage 's superintendent, 

 for the able way in which he carried 

 out such a huge undertaking. 



I wish great cities other than Boston 

 could have such exhibitions as this. It 

 is something of a revelation to those 

 accustomed to the rather tedious and 

 hackneyed arrangements at flower 

 shows, and if, in addition to pleasing 

 multitudes of people, it will serve as a 

 stimulus for the creation of better back- 



grounds and more natural and artistic 

 staging at our shows, much will have 

 been accomplished. And how much bet- 

 ter it is to have such shows absolutely 

 free, with many thousands present daily 

 to enjoy them, rather than have a few 

 hundreds daily to view them! All so- 

 cieties cannot afford to do this. The 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 can, and the more free flower shows we 

 can have, the greater love of flowers 

 will we instill in people's hearts and the 

 more will we promote the cause of flo- 

 riculture and horticulture. 



The Besolts. 



As a direct result of this exhibition, 

 the Society for the Preservation of Na-- 

 tive New England Plants came into ex- 

 istence under the auspices of the Gar- 

 den Club of America and the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society. Its direct 

 object is to encourage and educate the 

 people of New England to protect na- 

 tive plants and wild flowers from de- 

 struction, to cut them only with care 

 and discrimination, leaving the rarer 

 species to multiply themselves, and to 

 spread a knowledge of their habits and 

 cultural requirements throughout the 

 community at large. 



The new society plans to provide free 

 lectures, hold exhibitions, plant wild 

 flower sanctuaries and spread knowl- 

 edge and love of wild plants, believing 

 that, once people have learned about 

 them, they will become their guardians 

 and stop their rapid extermination. The 

 annual membership fee is $1 and the 

 sustaining membership fee is $5. Junior 

 members, those under 18 years, pay no 

 dues but ten cents for the price of a 

 button. Mrs. 8. V. R. Crosby is secre- 

 tary and a large number of menibers 

 have already been enrolled. The daily 

 lectures on wild flowers and ferns, Mav 

 4 to 8, by Prof. M. L. Fernald, H. W. 

 Faulkner, E. T. Jackson and Norman 

 Taylor attracted crowded audiences and 

 aroused great interest each dav. 



W.N. C. 



BLUE LACE FLOWEE. 



A flower first used in basket work a 

 few years ago by a New York retailer 

 lias gradually spread in favor until many 

 florists in various parts of the country 

 are growing it. This is the blue lace 

 flower, botanically known as Didiscus 

 ca'rulea or Trachymene cserulea. The 

 jilant is an annual, attaining about two 

 feet in height, and is grown from seeds, 

 which are procurable from the leading 

 houses. Notably successful in their cul 

 ture of the flower, although this is the 

 first season they have tried it, Zieger & 

 Sons, Germantown, Philadelphia, give it 

 treatment such as snapdragons receive, 

 with especial care as to watering; the 

 plants will damp off if kept too wet. 

 Zieger & Sons planted two benches, one 

 of which was in heaviest flower during 

 December, January and February. The 

 second bench, 4x80 feet, which did not 

 flower through the winter, afforded a 

 cut of not less than 2,000 blooms the 

 Friday before Easter. Zieger & Sons 

 have found these plants profitable at 

 novelty prices, but express a doubt 

 whctlier they would be worth growing 

 otherwise. 



The blue lace flower is useful for that 

 added touch which some retailers are 

 anxious to give their work, to lend dis- 

 tinction and to make for variety. The 

 flowers are small and blue, and the foli- 

 age is rather hairv. 



