852 



Tlie Weekly Florists' Review. 



SUPTBliBBB 22, 1904. 



as revenue is concerned, but neat, tidy 

 and if possible ornamental surroundings 

 must be, to anyone in our business, a 

 comfort, a solace and a continued ioy. 



Some florists are yet found m our 

 cities, where the land has become so valu- 

 able that they have covered every inch of 

 their property with glass, leaving no 

 room for outside embellishment. A "well- 

 painted greenhouse and office, with the 

 prettiest show of plants and flowers for 

 the passer-by to admire, is all they can 

 do in that line. Then there are others, 

 like this man whose place is photo- 

 graphed, who when building left a mar- 

 gin of fifteen to twenty feet between the 

 houses and the sidewalk and, as he retails 

 all he produces, the very best advertise- 

 ment, and the cheapest, is for him to 

 make his place attractive, for citizens of 

 all classes pass that way and it makes 

 an impression which, if backed up with 

 business principles, must tell. 



There are only about three primary 

 principles in our business: First, supply 

 a first-class article; second, be polite; 

 third, be prompt with all your promises, 

 and if there is a fourth, it is advertise 

 judiciously, and keeping a neat, orna- 

 mental place is a cheap advertisement. 



Sometimes you see a place like this 

 man's with some rough boards put up 

 enclosing beds of pansies or asters. That 

 looks too commercial. Let the place look 

 as if you put your flower beds and palms 

 there for your own enjoyment and you 

 will be thought all the more of. Even if 

 at this season your houses may contain 

 little that is attractive, it pays well to 

 put on a good front. 



Of course, I am well awaie that if this 

 was the home of a tailor or butcher it 

 would properly be considered overdone, 

 but as it is the modest home of a florist, 

 it's excusable. Our elevating business is 

 to make the home pleasant, the grounds 

 pretty. Our work appeals to the best and 



four feet high, floweis as large as any 

 large white calla, leaves fifteen inches 

 across, at Pasadena, Gal. They make a 

 magnificent show, with their rich, deep 

 yellow blooms, without that purple spot 

 in the throat, which is found in all other 

 yellow callas. 0. H. Hovey. 



PRINCESS OF WALES. 



Undoubtedly more Princess of Wales 

 violets have been planted for this win- 

 ter's blooming than, ever before and un- 

 doubtedly a great many will try them 

 that have not grown them before. To 

 those the following notes may be of 

 some value: 



Princess of Wales does best, in my 

 experience, outdoors through the sum- 

 mer. Those who planted out their stock 

 in May or June will now have nice 

 plants but these should not be housed 

 too soon. I commence housing mine 

 at the last of September. Undoubtedly 

 early housing is a great detriment to 

 the flowering of the plants through the 

 winter. If housed in September, more 

 so the early part, the plants vnll make 

 a very soft growth in October and No- 

 vember, which will throw the plants 

 out of bloom and it will be into Janu- 

 ary before blooms begin to come again. 

 I think the first and second week of 

 October, is the best time to house them. 



Calla Elliottiana at Pasadena, Gda. 



purest sentiments in man, woman and 

 child and therefore, it's our duty as far 

 as we are able to practice what we 

 preach. W. S. 



CALLA ELLIOTTIANA. 



Now that the yellow calla is attract- 

 ing so much attention, as it justly should, 

 perhaps the readers of the Review would 

 like to see how calla Elliottiana looks 

 growing in its full strength and beauty, 



The plants are then well hardened by 

 the cool weather, and there is little risk 

 of their all going to leaves, after that 

 date. I have not had to use any pro- 

 tection on mine in the field until about 

 October 15. 



In planting in the field I plant in 

 rows fourteen inches apart, and twelve 

 inches between the plants and every 

 fifth row leave a space of two' feet. 

 Then you have your plants in beds six 



feet wide and when the nights get cold 

 I run a plank along each side of the 

 bed. You have then a cold frame. I 

 protect them with sash, mats or shut- 

 ters. These all come six feet wide, so 

 there is not much trouble in protecting 

 them for winter's blooming. It is 

 policy to have the housing done by 

 Thanksgiving or before. 



The Princess of Wales is a very ^ardy 

 violet and a great many things can be 

 done with it that cannot be done with 

 doubles. Last year I flowered a house 

 up to New Year's and then covered the 

 roof and kept the house dark and kept 

 it' at the freezing point until the begin- 

 ning of March. The covering was then 

 removed and the plants wete started 

 slowly and came in bloom for Easter. 

 The pick for that day was fifty blooms 

 to the plant. O'wing to the lateness of 

 Easter this year it will be a difficult 

 matter to have violets in bloom. I am 

 trying a method to see if it will not 

 be possible to get them. " Wif: Sim. 



LAELIA ELEGANS. 



During the months of August and 

 September, when caltleyas and, indeed, 

 all orchid flowers are scarce, nothing is 

 more useful than this beautiful Bra- 

 zilian Iselia. First introduced in 1865, 

 it has never become plentiful and its 

 consequent high price has deterred 

 many from growing it. While it is 

 never likely to be as common or inex- 

 pensive as many other laelias or cattle- 

 yas, it is now being offered at a very 

 moderate price in America and any who 

 may feel tempted to buy a few plants 

 may be encouraged by remembering that 

 this is one of the few orchids that 

 propagate readily and with the greatest 

 ease by cutting the plants up. 



The culture of Lselia elegans is not at 

 all difficult. It succeeds well in the cat- 

 tleya house, either on a stage in a posi- 

 tion well up to the light, or suspended 

 from the roof. For compost we prefer 

 good osmunda fern fibre and the plants 

 succeed either in pots, pans or baskets. 

 For the strongest plants we think pots 

 are preferable. Anyone who can grow 

 Cattleya labiata or C. Trianse can suc- 

 ceed with Leelia elegans, for it needs no 

 special treatment. One good point also 

 in favor of it is that it usually gives 

 two crops of flowers and these flowers 

 come when orchids are in good demand, 

 and that orchids are increasing in pop- 

 ularity admits of no question. 



There are quite a number of fine 

 named forms of Lselia elegans and in a 

 collection of imported plants a wonder- 

 ful variation will be seen. Sepals and 

 petals are usually white or rose, vary- 

 ing to carmine, and the lip rich ma- 

 genta^ or purple. The scapes are erect, 

 carrying anywhere from two to a dozen 

 or more flowers each, which will aver- 

 age six inches across. We had as many 

 as twenty-three flowers on a scape of 

 Leelia elegans Lindeni. Out of some 

 twenty named forms in our collection 

 a few of the best are: Turneri, a very 

 fine variety with deep, rosy pink sepals 

 and petals and a rich magenta lip; pra- 

 siata Lindeni, alba, Schilleriana super- 

 ba, a magnificent form; tenebrosa, a 

 very dark variety; paralenchos. Little- 

 ana and Wolstenhomei. 



The extreme scarcity of this beautiful 

 lselia in its native habitat makes it un- 

 likely that it will ever be much cheaper 

 than it is today. Our enterprising 

 American orchid dealers are fully alive 

 to the value of this orchid commercially 



