20 



The Florists^ Review 



Septembbb 16, 1915. 



PYLE TALKS ABOUT THE WEST. 



[A syuopsls of an address, illustrated by pho- 

 tographs, given by Robert Pyle, of West Grove, 

 Pa., before the Florists' Club of Philadelphia, 

 September 7. 1915.] 



Mr. Pyle first outlined the relative 

 importance of the two expositions on the 

 Pacific coast this year, showing th%t7 of 

 San Francisco as an international one, 

 made up of exhibits from foreign coun- 

 tries as well as from different parts of 

 America, whereas th'e exp^ition art San 

 Diego is rather a state offe, called the 

 Panama-California E}^P^sition,and mada> 

 up mainly of exhibils fronudyie differ- 

 ent counties in C?amor|iia. ^^> 



Many Sights 19 Short Time. 



After detailing the warm welcome 

 that had been accorded by the florists of 

 Chicago, Council Bluffs, Omaha, and 

 those of Denver, in charge of J. A. Val- 

 entine, he referred to conditions exist- 

 ing at this season of the year in differ- 

 ent parts of California as it was possi- 

 ble to observe them in a trip which ex- 

 tended from San Diego, within ten miles 

 of the Mexican border, to Vancouver, in 

 British Columbia, and back over the 

 Canadian Bockies, the entire trip re- 

 quiring only twenty-five days, which of 

 course did not permit long stays in 

 any place, though it did give an excel- 

 lent opportunity to see the roses being 

 grown even at this season of the year 

 in Portland, to observe the berry grow- 

 ing district of Oregon, to take note of 

 the wonderful bean growing district of 

 Ventura county, California, where land 

 is selling at $2,000 an acre within a few 

 miles of other land that cannot be sold 

 at $200 an acre because of the favorable 

 location of the former. Mr. Pyle made 

 f'eferfeTlce to the various firms whose es- 

 tablishments he was able to visit in and 

 near some of the larger cities. For ex- 

 ample, near Los Angeles he was im- 

 pressed with the extensive operations 

 of Howard & Smith and the Germain 

 Seed & Plant Co., which has recently 

 gone into the nursery business. In and 

 near San Francisco he had the chance 

 to see the excellent work being done 

 by C. C. Morse & Co., as well as the 

 cooperative operations of the Vallance 

 Nursery. But the most impreesiv^ rem- 

 iniscences of the trip, undoubtedly, 

 were those reflected by what was ob- 

 served at the expositions of San Diego 

 and San Francisco, especially the latter. 



The San Diego Exposition. 



At San Diego it is most interesting to 

 reflect that about four or five years ago 

 the site of the exposition was hills, can- 

 yons and ravines, clothed with nothing 

 but sagebrush, that for every tree 

 planted the hole had to be blasted and 

 that for everything now growing there 

 had to be constant irrigation during the 

 dry season, which is still going on. The 

 extent of territory thus covered and now 

 turned over to the park department of 

 the city of San Diego is noteworthy. 

 The exposition, which cost perhaps 

 $2,000,000 to construct, will to a large 

 extent remain. The planting at this 

 exposition has been done with great 

 taste, that along the Prado, or main ave- 

 nue, and especially l^e Plaza Panama, 

 proving especially noteworthy. The ar- 

 rangement and setting were distinctly 

 in good taste. The brilliant purple of 

 the bougainvilleas, the perfect wealth 

 of color given by the use of caniias 

 throughout the shrubbery planting, the 

 lovely arrangement of flowers in the 

 patios, all on a scale that was compre- 



hensive and yet delightful, resulted in 

 an effect that allowed, or rather induced 

 visitors to fall in love with it. The 

 Botanical building at San Diego is the 

 largest lath covered structure in ex- 

 istence and contains an excellent collec- 

 tion of tropical and semi-tropical plants. 

 In front of it is a most delightful pool 

 filled with water lilies. But again, as 

 we leave Jthe exposition, we are im- 

 pressed dcnbly with the wonderful quan- 

 tijIjtiiPxtent and success of the plantings 

 ^ver the hills and down into the can- 

 yons, plantings that include the coni- 

 fers, palms, banana plants, acacias and 

 eucalyptus; but the complete list is pub- 

 lished in the official guide, made up by 

 Paul G. Thiene, who has been superin- 

 tendent of the planting and whose work 

 has been well done. 



At San Francisco. 



With reference to the San Francisco 

 exposition, Mr. Pyle paid a glowing 

 tribute to the artistic effect brought out, 

 not only by the general plan and by the 

 wonderful architecture, but also by the 

 harmony of color effects, the finishing 

 touches of which had been given by a 

 wonderful use of plants and flowers, and 

 evidence of the skill displayed by John 

 McLaren, superintendent of Golden 

 Gate park, who with able assistants has 

 been able to work out many surprising 

 effects. 



Mr. Pyle referred to the avenues of 

 palms, to the fact that huge trees, 

 twenty, thirty and forty feet high, had 

 been moved bodily, for practically all 

 the space four or five years ago was 

 unplanted. He said that undoubtedly 

 the most noteworthy piece of planting 

 in connection with the exposition is the 

 wall of ice plant, Mesembryanthemum 

 spectabile, made by plant^ig cuttings 

 in flats, two feet wide by six feet long, 

 and when fairly started these placed on 

 edge, one over the other, and watered 

 by a system of irrigation pipes which 

 keeps : them constantly moist from the 

 top, , 



He referred to the wonderful color 



effect that had been produced by the 

 alternate planting in the courts, the 

 Court of Abundance, the Court of the 

 Seasons, and the Court of the Flowers, 

 such as the following: For example, 

 starting with daffodils, all yellow, these 

 were followed with yellow tulips, Bou- 

 ton d'Or, and these in turn followed 

 by the yellow violets, not less than 

 200,000 of each in a single one of these 

 courts, which gives some idea of the 

 scope and extent to which the planting 

 has been carried. In another court the 

 season began with something like 8,000 

 rhododendrons, followed by an equal 

 number of hydrangeas in tubs; whereas 

 in the parkway plantings alongside the 

 lagoon, outside the Horticultural build- 

 ing, were similar quantities of Begonia 

 Erfordii. Nothing, not even the path- 

 ways and the fire alarm signal boxes, 

 was allowed in the color effect to 

 clash one note from the general har- 

 mony of the entire scheme. 



Mr. Pyle was much interested in the 

 roses that were exhibited in the con- 

 test for the $1,000 prize for the best 

 rose, to be named by the exposition 

 authorities. The roses in this contest 

 are being judged every week, points 

 regularly recorded, the result not to 

 be decided until the end of the exposi- 

 tion. A gold medal has been awarded 

 to E. Gill Nursery Co. for roses. There 

 are fine displays of conifers from the 

 New England firms, of gladioli ana 

 dahlias. C. C. Morse & Co. showed 

 the finest display of annuals and was 

 complimented on the results obtained 

 by the cordon system of growing sweet 

 peas, still in full bloom. 



Mr. Pyle paid warm praise to Carl 

 Purdy for his work in, ca^ng for the 

 exhibits; to John Mol^aren iort ^^at 

 he has done, not only on the exposi- 

 tion, but for his monumental work in 

 making out of a flat, uninteresting 

 piece of land, the wonderful Golden 

 Gate park, into which he has built 

 lakes, waterfalls, streams and hillsides, 

 all of which look as natural as if na- 

 ture herself had planted them. 



2Jlllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllll^ 



I SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS I 

 I FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS | 



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price than any of the others and is the 

 readiest seller during the winter sea- 

 son, when in good shape. L. 



POTTED FEBNS. 



In the south, September is the best 

 month in which to lift the ferns from 

 the frames, to get them in shape for 

 fall and wiiiter sales. After the suck- 

 ers have all been "removed, the ferns 

 should be either replanted in the frame 

 for another month, boxed, or planted on 

 a side table near the glass. Use good 

 soil, with one-third old manure, for 

 potting, and keep the plants shaded a 

 little for a week or two, but give plenty 

 of ventilation. 



Nephrolepis Smithii, when above 4- 

 inch size, should be placed in shallow 

 pans, as it does not root deeply. Be- 

 sides, it looks much better in a pan 

 than in a pot. The plants should be 

 stood on inverted pots, to keep the fpli- 

 age from touching the benches and to 

 insure a good circulation of air 

 through them. Avoid crowding this 

 variety and be careful to keep water 

 from the foliage. It costs more to grow 

 this variety, but it brings a better 



FREESIAS AS POT PLANTS. 



The first batch of freesias for pot 

 plants, in the south, should be started 

 as soon as possible. Five bulbs in a 

 4-inch pot or ten in a 6-inch azalea pot 

 make a good show. They can remain 

 out in a coldframe for a month yet. 

 Keep the weeds down and water freely. 

 It does not pay to try to force them 

 for Christmas. They do better if al- 

 lowed to come along at a temperature 

 of 50 degrees or a little over. Plant 

 a few every month, to have a succes- 

 sion. Where there is little danger of 

 frost they do exceedingly well in a 

 sash-covered coldframe. L. 



FOECINO BULBS IN SOUTH. 



When should Dutch hyacinth, Roman 

 hyacinth and Narcissus rugulosus bulbs 

 be placed in a cellar to root, and on 



