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^>*r THE 



Florists 



REVJEWJ 







GAIN IN GROWING ^ 

 ^ GODFREY CALLAS 



The subject of this article is of such great interest that the poorest 

 treatment could scarcely drive the interest out of it. But the article has 

 both readableness and value, because it embodies the views of three experts 

 — the raiser of the Godfrey calla, the American introducer of it, and a suc- 

 cessful grower of it. 



HE advent of the pure 



T white and wonderfully 

 free-blooming Godfrey 

 calla has, to a large ex- 

 tent, revolutionized calla 

 growing in America. It is 

 steadily advancing in fa- 

 vor and bids fair to oust 

 the old Eichardia JEthi- 

 opica from the place of 

 honor it has held so long. And the 

 ^Godfrey is honestly earning its reputa- 

 tion, by means of its genuine superior- 

 ity. As fast as it wins new acquaint- 

 ances, it converts them into friends. 

 In the words of a fine compliment 

 sometimes heard in social circles, it 

 bears acquaintance. 



Knowledge and Near-Knowledge. 



One of the plainest signs or symp- 

 toms of the increasing popularity of 

 the Godfrey calla is the number of in- 

 quiries that are sent to The Review, 

 with reference to the character and cul- 

 ture of the plant. 



Believing that a 

 theme of such general 

 interest was worthy of 

 as authoritative treat- 

 ment as possible, Thp 

 Review proceeded to 

 get some facts from 

 headquarters, by writ- 

 ing to the originator* 

 of the Godfrey and 

 also to its American 

 introducer. These two 

 persons would neces- 

 sarily have some posi- 

 tive knowledge of the 

 subject, and would 

 not be likely to proflfer 

 any of that n e a r - 

 knowledge which is 

 often the most danger- 

 ous sort of fiction. 

 Misinformation, or im- 

 aginary knowledge, is 

 like a minus quan- 

 tity in algebra — at the 

 best of less value than 

 zero and decreasing in 

 value as it increases in 

 size. Much so-called 

 knowledge, like some 

 people's earthly 

 wealth, is best repre- 

 sented by a minus 

 quantity. 



The originator of 

 the Godfrey calla is 

 W. J. Godfrey, of God- 

 frey & Sons, Exmouth, 

 Devonshire, England. 

 The American intro- 



ducer is E. G. Hill, of the E. G. Hill 

 Co., Richmond, Ind. Both of these 

 firms responded promptly to the appeal 

 for information. 



The Godfrey's Ancestry. 



The reply from Godfrey & Sons 

 starts with the important little pre- 

 amble, * ' Please note that we have no 

 stock of the Godfrey calla to offer to 

 the trade," and then goes on as fol- 

 lows: 



"The Godfrey calla was raised in 

 our nurseries about twenty years ago. 

 We had been growing the ordinary 

 greenhouse calla and also the variety 

 known as Little Gem. The flowers or 

 spathes of the latter were too flat in 

 form and almost invariably had wilted 

 or sleepy tips; another drawback was 

 its late period of flowering. 



' ' We used the pollen of the two va- 

 rieties on each other, and from nu- 

 merous seedlings we made selections 

 for future crossing and seeding. The 

 spathes of many of the seedlings were 



The Godfrey Calla. 



of a refined type and better in form 

 than either of the parents. The 

 greater number were also of a pure, 

 milk white. 



"Ultimately we made two selections. 

 One was named the Godfrey, the other 

 Devoniensis; the latter is after our 

 county, Devon. Both varieties bloom 

 much earlier and with much greater 

 freedom than the ordinary calla; in 

 fact, they will produce three times as 

 many blooms as the older variety. 

 The Godfrey is much taller and more 

 robust than Devoniensis and the flower 

 is larger. Both, however, are of more 

 compact growth than the old variety. 



As Grown by the Originator. 



"Some of the stocks of these varie- 

 ties are somewhat mixed, for many 

 growers, especially in Guernsey and 

 Jersey, raised large quantities of seed- 

 lings and sold them for the true va- 

 riety. 



"In commencing the culture of 

 these, the best method is to pot the 

 tubers in June and 

 keep them growing all 

 the time. When estab- 

 lished, they should be 

 stood out in May and 

 partly dried off. About 

 midsummer they should 

 be turned out; the 

 balls should be partly 

 reduced and replaced 

 with a little fresh 

 mold and they should 

 be kept growing until 

 housed. When they 

 are potted in the au- 

 tumn, the result is not 

 so profitable; neither 

 will the varieties suc- 

 ceed so well when 

 planted out in the 

 houses." 



Particular notice 

 should be taken of the 

 foregoing statement of 

 Godfrey & Sons in re- 

 gard to the relation- 

 ship between the God- 

 frey calla and the Lit- 

 tle Gem. Of course 

 the two varieties are 

 related, but, as in the 

 case of many other 

 near relatives, the dif- 

 ferences between them 

 are as striking and im- 

 portant as are the re- 

 semblances. Some 

 growers labor under 

 the delusion that the 

 Godfrey is simply 



