September 1, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review 



705 



growths are few but long, shorten back 

 the growths a few inches, as soon as you 

 get them planted, or, better still, as 

 soon as they get hold of the soil on the 

 bench. 



Sweet Peas. 



These are now one of our important 

 winter flowers and at some large estab- 

 lishments they are produced from Thanks- 

 giving until the flowery month of June. If 

 you have a bench vacant now the seed 

 can be sown at once, two or three in a 

 group, six or eight inches apart, and the 

 rows across the bench eighteen inches 

 apart. Five inches of soil on the bench 

 or a ground bed is enough. If too much 

 soil, there is a great tendency to grow 

 and not flower. At each group of plants 

 let a string run up, just as you would 

 for smilax, only a stronger string and 

 six or seven feet long. Two plants to a 

 string is enough. Keep all bottom and 

 lateral growth pinched off and from 

 the original growth you will soon pick 

 flowers and continue to pick for perhaps 

 two months. To have good peas continu- 

 ously from, say, December 1 to June 1, 

 several successive sowings are necessary. 



We don't all have vacant beds in the 

 months of September and October, yet 

 later, when the mums are thrown out, 

 we do and sweet peas come in well to 

 occupy the bench after early chrysan- 

 themums, so instead of sowing on the 

 bench now, you can sow three or four 

 seeds in a 3-inch pot and keep them in a 

 frame out of doors until planting time. 

 A very slender stick will support the lit- 

 tle vines until the bench is ready for 

 them. You don't need much variety. 

 The white and pink, the pure white, the 

 daybreak pink and lavender are the de- 

 sired shades. A night temperature of 

 48 to 50 degrees suits sweet peas in win- 

 ter time, WiLUAM Scott. 



WITH BOSTON GROWERS. 



Farqiihar & G)., Roslindale. 



B. & J. Farquhar & Co. have a very 

 compact greenhouse plant and nursery 

 at Boslindale, about eight miles from 

 their seed store. In addition they have 

 an additional forty acres at Sharon for 

 growing stock and seed testing. The 

 greenhouses are roomy and stock of all 

 kinds looks well. Outdoors fine blocks 

 of choice conifers were noted, including 

 an extra fine lot of Picea pungens, Sci- 

 adopitys verticillata, retinosporas in va- 

 riety, thuyas, etc. Khododendrons 

 looked well and were well budded. Large 

 quantities of all the more popular hardy 

 herbaceous perennials are grown, an in- 

 creasing demand for them being noted. 



Indoors one large house is devoted to 

 palms, kentias predominating. All 

 looked well. Araucarias, Boston ferns 

 and the variety Piersoni and small ferns 

 for dishes are grown In quantity. Gloire 

 de Lorraine begonia has always been 

 ■well done here; thousands of plants 

 yarying from those in 8-inch and 10- 

 mch pans to cuttings just potted were 

 noted, and all had a luxuriant appear- 

 ance. Plants to retail in flower at $1 

 are the most in demand. Cyclamens are 

 mrgely grown and are good sellers. 

 Dahlias in all the best imported varie- 

 ties are to be seen in thousands In 

 frames, making nice pots of tubers, 

 ^rape vines such as Muscat of Alexan- 

 dria, Black Hamburg, Madresfield Court 

 and other popular forcing kinds are 

 ^own in hundreds. Messrs. Farquhar 

 find an increasing demand for these and 



Harp of Asters, Roses, Valley and Adiantum. 



now grow their own canes instead of 

 importing at fancy prices. What at- 

 tracted our attention most, however, was 

 the house of Farquhar 's Christmas lily 

 (Lilium Philippense). This is a wonder- 

 fully beautiful and graceful lily and 

 will make a sensation when introduced 

 in 1905. 



W. W. Edgar, Waverley. 

 W. W. Edgar, of Waverley, is one of 

 the best plantsmen supplying the Bos- 

 ton market. At Easter time especially 

 his establishment is the Mecca for buy- 

 ers of well-grown plants. Nephrolepis 

 Bostoniensis is seen in various sizes, 

 many of specimen size. Piersoni is 

 grown, but is not found as good a seller 

 as the Boston fern. Palms are gradually 

 being dropped, a batch of Livistona ro- 

 tundifolia being the last to be carried. 

 Two large span houses are planted with 

 adiantums. A large part of one house 

 is devoted to Adiantum tenerum. The 

 handsome fronds of this variety com- 

 mand excellent prices. We noted a spec- 

 imen plant and many seedlings of a dis- 

 tinct adiantum named Edgarense, in the 

 way of cuneatum, but even better, we 

 thought, commercially. One house is de- 

 voted to Asparagus Sprengeri, for which 

 there is a constant demand. Genistas, 

 Acacia armata, Lorraine begonia, Cypri- 

 pedium insigne, poinsettias and cycla- 

 men are grown in quantity. The earliest 

 Lilium Harrisii were in pots in frames. 

 About 10,000 chrysanthemums are 

 grown, the favorites being Lady Fitz- 

 wygram, BonnafFon, Polly Eose, Ivory, 



Shrimpton and Eaton. Everything about 

 Air. Edgar's place was neat. 



E. N. Peirce & Co., Waltham. 



A ten minutes' walk through Waver- 

 ley Oaks brings one to the large plant 

 of E. N. Peirce & Co., who are the larg- 

 est growers in the immediate vicinity of 

 Boston. We were especially fortunate 

 in finding the senior member of the firm 

 at home, whence he had come to take 

 part in the G. A. R. encampment. Mr. 

 Peirce 's ancestors settled near the pres- 

 ent location of his greenhouses in 1630, 

 and from that time to this all have been 

 farmers, and many have shouldered mus- 

 kets in the various wars in which the 

 United States has been engaged. Eles- 

 tra Nye Peirce enlisted as a minute man 

 in the Fifth Massachusetts (Minute 

 Men) April 15, 1861, rising to the rank 

 of lieutenant and serving until Febru- 

 ary 11, 1865, He was thrice wounded 

 during the war. He now holds a num- 

 ber of prominent posts in connection 

 with various branches of the G, A, R. 

 Although a full-fledged military man, 

 his neighbors still dub him "Farmer 

 Peirce." 



The Waverley farm is now largely 

 under glass, tomatoes only being grown 

 as an outdoor crop. Lorillard is the only 

 variety grown in quantity and is used 

 exclusively indoors, a number of large 

 houses being planted with them after 

 carnations are pulled out; 17,000 are 

 also grown on wire frames outdoors. At 

 the time of our visit tomatoes were be- 



