250 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



I>iui;.\ii!i:i! '2'2. l',)04. 



Tliis is entirely t'r-iniH'ous. ;is most IVriis 

 Jiki' ;iliiiiiil;iiiir of li^^lil ;iiiil niir IVni 

 laiiycs arr lu'ltri' J'luni the lici;iiniin(i' (i)' 

 ,\<i\ finliii- tti llic caily pail nf Maicli 

 \\ il Inuit a n v yliailr. 



'J'licre ail' \aiiiMi> iiiriliiHls oT pi'dpagat- 

 \\ijj; frills. Sdiiic arc |ii(i|iajiat imI i'rnm 

 liilics (III t lir I'diits, simif I'rniii Inilhils 



I'oritUMl (Ml tllr ihi/.dllirs ;||||| Sdlllc art' 



pritjiaii'ali'il frmn sporo, wliidi is ccrtaiii- 

 \y till' must intcii'stiiiL; fuiiii nl' prii|)a- 

 galioii. 



Growing From Spores. 



'J'lii' spiirr- \ary in tlir ililVririil spiM-ies. 

 Some \\i' liiiil a iiaii^eil almi^ tin' ei|<;r (if 

 the fiiiinl; in dtlicr s|i(i-ics lliev are 



spl'eail all dVcr tllc sll l fare ; in dtliris tlir\ 



I'oriii L-h'l;!' pati-lics .m ciTiain jiarls (if 

 llie frmiil. Siniic n\' ilir ilii^lcrs arc i-ii\ 

 ere'd will] \^ liat w r WiiiiM call a \eiy lliiii 

 meiiiliranc, wliicli L;iailiia I ly lil'ls as llic 

 sjiiil'i's lipcii. ami 11 t'lciil i incs slnixcls ci 

 falls (ilf. Ill :-iiiiic spccii^ ihc spi res arc 

 imt cii\cic'l al all. fciii^^ a pale yrcci: in 

 tlicii infancy ami as ilicy ail\ancc in ma 

 tiirity. smnc liccninc InnVNii, snmc Mack. 



nllicls ci-ciMi. acciil iji ll'4 111 the species. 



W'lieii the cn\criiic sliiiws -ic_i|is dt lici^in 

 iiiiij; 111 lifl, il is nil i iii|i-al idii Ihc spdii' 

 is aliiidsi lipc. The Iriimls cuiilainiiiL; 

 1 he sjinrc c;in then lie t;alhirei|. \\i-ap|iei| 

 ill ]iapei' ami ilric'l li\ h.aneine iIumii up 

 in aiiN' warm )ilacc where there is mi ifni- 

 jXer el' waler rcnchiiie ijieni. In ihe cimi^c 

 (if .'i few ilay-. when ihey ■.wi- ^iitficieiil ly 

 (li'\, the\ .-lie lulilicil liiiiiiiuh a \cry liiic 



wire sie\('. wliicli I'emoves tlio frond :ui(l 

 a purl ion ef the clialf frdiii the spore. 

 'I'hey are then ready for snwiiiji-. 



A tier experiment iiiy in vai-ions Avays 

 with 1 lie sowiiie- df s|)ores .1 find the mosi, 

 sat islacldiy icsnlts are olilained liy nsiiig 

 '< im h di (i inch jmls. They should bo 

 Idled Id within one imdi of lln^ top >vitli 

 diaiiiaye, cdiisistinjr of small eroeks, ciii- 

 deis dr cliarcdal. The jiot is now I'cady to 

 leceixi' the soil. whi(di must he hiani 

 Screened line, with lid mamire, and llidi- 

 diidiijy sterili/,ed, either liy liakiii;;- oxer a 

 lire nnlil all forms of \ ciictalile and in- 

 sect life ha\e tiecli dest rnVeij, or liv llu^ 

 Use of steam, passing throiig'h and ther 

 diii^hly sterili/iii;^' the snil. After liliiiie- 

 Ihc |Miis with till' cinii|idsl lie careful to 

 make the snrface perfectly le\cl. The 

 pills slmnld )\ii\\ lie thdidn^lily watenil 

 and alldwed In st.and an Imnr nr sci he- 

 fdie sdwiiie- thcni. They are imw ready 

 Id rccei\e till' s[iiires. ('.are iniist he used 

 when sdwille Id vrlecl ;i pl.ace tree frum 



lira ii;^lit--. as the speres ale ^n line that 



the least liree/.e will sc;i|te| lliem ill e\el\ 

 directidli. 



Al'tei' ^dwine, jilace yeiir puts in ;i 

 --l;ad\ |ilace in 1 he ^^reeidmnse and cd\ei- 

 with ^;lass. This ylass ciaerin^' slmnlil p,. 

 kept dii cdiiiinnally in jirexeiil dllier 

 spdi'e-, eciiin^ in and In keep a lininid al- 

 mds|i|||.re alidiit the spores. This assists 

 L;eriji i n;i 1 ion. as .a dry .-it inos)ihere is det- 

 lillielital to iheil eldWlh. We then place 

 the pills in s;i||i-(.|s cdiit a i nin<^- A\atci'. 

 wliiili rises .and ki cps the composi moist. 



Carnation Victory. 



If any of the jiots are foniid to be drying 

 out tiioy imist by no menus be watered 

 overhead, but placed in a pail of water, 

 so that it .soaks up and saturates the 

 A\hole compost, as top watcriug will dis- 

 tnili the spores and in all instances wash 

 them out of their places. It is an old 

 axiom in human life that cleanliness is 

 next to godliness, and in jdant life it is 

 (Minally true, esjioeially among seedling 

 Il rns, for they (piickly reliel under un- 

 clean conditions. 



Tlie warm or exotic ferns germinate 

 iKst in a temperature of say about G-'l 

 degrees. The cooler or hardy ferns will 

 germinate in a nuicli lower temperature. 

 The lirst sign of growth apj)ears in a 

 faint coloring of green on tiie soil, whi(di 

 will rapidly cover the Avliole surface. At 

 the tirst indiciition of the spoi'es making 

 liny fronds they should he separated in 

 small jiatches and planted in other pots 

 or Hats containing fern compost. Over- 

 Inad \\atei'ing may now be indulged in, 

 lint use a very line rose on your watering 

 pot; also keep nnder glass for a time 

 longer and give more light. They will 

 soon jieed ili\iding again and presently, 

 when large enough (o handle', they may 

 lie pl.aced in 1' iiudi or Ui'i-imdi pots. 



Tlu're is mystery attiiched to raising 

 ferns from spores and it is no uncommon 

 o-cnrrence for a toltilly different kind to 

 a|ipear than the one which has been sown. 

 Also, we liiid when the utmost care has 

 been taken in eolliH-ting and saving the 

 spores, several kinds may tippear in the 

 same pots. It is reasonalde to suppose 

 the spores in the fern Innise iire being 

 constantly w.-ifted by currents of air. and 

 readily atttich thenisehes to fronds of 

 other spe(di's. They are then collected 

 and .after sowing, of conr^e. mixed plants 

 will result. 



As J lia\(' )ire\ ionsly si;iiei|. ijiere is an 

 increasing demand for ferns in this couii- 

 iry. es])e(dally in \aricties suitable for 

 .jardiniei'o ■wink. Jn fad the demand is 

 far in excess of the sujiply, although I 

 may say millions of ferns are raised an- 

 nually throughout the eoiintry. Also, we 

 timl our obi ftivorite, Xephrolepis T-?oston- 

 ieiisis still in great "lemiind, with the new 

 and beautiful variety. ]'iersoiii clegantis- 

 sima, or ornamental l^oston fern, and 

 Xe|(liro!epis Scott ii, a w(m(lerfully dense 

 and coni[iact growing \ariety, making an 

 excellent house ]dant. and a beautiful 

 center-piece for a talde, when grown in 

 the shallow j>an pots. In my humble opin- 

 ion this excellent fern has a great future 

 before it. 



Best Ferns for JartJinieres. 



1 shall now enuiner.'ite a few vtirieties 

 Ilf ferns suitable for tilling jardinieres, 

 df wliiidi pterises form the leading fea- 

 ture: in f.-icl. the pteris family is for sin h 

 vMiik indispeiisr'bl(\ I', adiantoides is u 

 di ep green and ylessy fern and the \ari 

 ety argyrea. a sliowy green and white v.a- 

 riely, a native of tin' llast Indies. P. 

 ■ letica and its \:irieties. albo-linoata ;ind 

 Uiaynifica, together with the sliowy vari- 

 ety major, are excellent commercial sorts. 

 J', serrnlata and its \arieties, cristata, 

 ( risfata cominKda and densa, are all na- 

 tives (d' the tropics. P. tremnla is a New 

 /(■aland fern, a (piick grower and makes u 

 nice jiot plant, together with the crested 

 \ariety. Smith iaiia. 



Asjddium tsiissimense is commonlv 

 known in this city as tensemense. It is 

 a general favorite on account of its good 

 keejung (pialities, but is somewhat slow 

 of i^rowth. 



