310 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



December 21, 1005. 



be given for beautifying the place; in 

 short, he is expected to do everything 

 asked for. 



The position of a first-class private 

 gardener is first among those who till 

 the soil. Why? Because he is supposed 

 to have studied all branches of garden- 

 ing and to have experience in them, 

 since he is called upon by his employer 

 to do work in all the various branches. 

 He must necessarily know horticulture, 

 agriculture, viticulture, floriculture, 

 forestry, landscape gardening, vegetable 

 gardening, etc. He must also know 

 some botany, in order to be able to give 

 the proper names and class of all the 

 plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, etc., that 

 come under his care and keeping. 



It is the private gardener who has the 

 best opportunity to show his scientific 

 knowledge and art in the culture of the 

 finest flowers, vegetables, etc.; who can 

 show fine landscape work, and who can 

 make the place in his charge a perfect 

 model of beauty. 



A man who is thorough in all this 

 needs not bo elevated; he is by right 

 above all others. Every one will recog- 

 nize him at his proper worth as soon 

 as he gives proof of his knowledge, 

 art, good taste and conscientious work; 

 and no proprietor will hesitate to raise 

 his salary in order to keep on his place, 

 a man of whom he can justly be proud. 



I must now speak of a class of men 

 who call themselves gardeners, but who 



and he puts us all in the same category. 

 These men do us great injury, and we 

 ought to impress the employers with 

 the fact that all depends upon having 

 the right man in charge of their estates. 

 Let us each ask ourself : "To which 

 class do I belong?" The answer will 

 settle the question about improving the 

 state of gardeners. No man has cause 

 for complaint as to his station, who 

 thoroughly knows and understands his 

 business or trade, and who does his duty 

 therein. 



Now a word to those who hire garden- 

 ers. I would advise any man who wants 

 a gardener to take a man who has 

 studied gardening in its various 

 branches, who has experience, who can 

 give proofs of good work done, and 

 who has a liking for this branch of in- 

 dustry. If he does this he will have 

 good results, his place will be improved, 

 beautified, and will afford him pleasure 

 as well as satisfaction. 



Chas. Uffler. 



SEAFORTHIA INFLORESCENCE. 



The Illawarra palm, Ptychosperma 

 Cunninghamiana, is one of the well 

 known inhabitants of the palm house, 

 though possibly more readily recognized 

 when spoken of as Seaforthia elegans. 

 It is a native of Queensland and New 

 South "Wales, where it attains a height 

 of about sixty feet when fully grown, 



Inflorescence of Seaforttiia Elegans. 



possess little knowledge of gardening. 

 They have tried various trades, but 

 failed; they have never studied anything 

 about plants, have no experience in gar- 

 dening, but think if they cap cut a 

 lawn, or if they have helped a few 

 weeks in greenhouses, they know all, 

 and they give themselves out as garden- 

 ers. They work for small wages, hum- 

 bug their employers, have no success in 

 raising anything, perhaps spoil a lot of 

 things and thus the place is not im- 

 proved, but goes to ruin. Naturally 

 the employer is disgusted with such men. 



the stem slender and smooth, but ringed 

 with the scars of former leaves. 



The stem of this palm extends in a 

 sort of corky basin, through which a 

 great number of stout roots like ropes 

 connect the plant with the earth, and it 

 would seem that this singular arrange- 

 ment is simply another wise provision of 

 nature in the form of a sort of universal 

 joint, to allow the trunk of the tree to 

 swing with the force of the wind with- 

 out disturbing the roots. 



The long, drooping flower spikes of 

 this ptychnsperma, with their many whip- 



like branches, are often produced by 

 plants in cultivation, the flowers being 

 small and insignificant, but followed by 

 an abundant crop of seeds that remind 

 one somewhat of a small olive. 



Several specimens of this palm in the 

 large conservatory in Fairmount park, 

 Philadelphia, have seeded freely for 

 some years past, and excite much inter- 

 est among the visitors. 



Our illustration of the inflorescence of 

 this ptychosperma is prepared from a 

 photograph of a specimen flowering in 

 the private collection of Geo. W. Fifield, 

 Lowell, Mass., and for wnich we are in- 

 debted to Frank Sladen, the gardener in 

 charge of this establishment, who states 

 that it has produced three flowers in a 

 year, is thirty feet high and attract- 

 ing many visitors. W. H. Tapun. 



Y^etable Forcing. 



VEGETABLE MARKETS. 



Chicago, December 20. — Leaf lettuce 

 30c to 40c case; head lettuce, $2 to $3 

 bbl.; cucumbers, $1 doz. 



New York, December 19.— Boston cu- 

 cumbers, No. 1, 60c to 80c doz.; No. 2, 

 $1.50 to $2.50 box; lettuce, 15e to 50c 

 doz.; radishes, $2 to $3 100 bunches; 

 mushrooms, 10c to 50c lb.; tomatoes, 

 10c to 15c lb. 



Boston, December 19. — Cucumbers, $2 

 to $9 box; lettuce, 25c to 30c doz.; 

 radishes, $1,50 to $2 box; parsley, $1.50 

 box; tomatoes, 25c lb.; mushrooms, 50e 

 to 60c lb.; asparagus, 50c bunch. 



CUCUMBERS. 



What variety of cucumbers is best for 

 growing in the greenhouse for an early 

 spring crop? Our market seems to de- 

 mand a long green cucumber. Last 

 season I grew Improved WJiite Spine, 

 but they did not sell as well as longer 

 varieties. J. W. R. 



Any of the English frame varieties 

 would suit your purpose, as they are all 

 well adapted for forcing. The best known 

 variety is Telegraph and probably it is 

 as reliable as any. Regarding the pol- 

 lination of this, see the Review of De- 

 cember 7, page 145. W. S. Croydon. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Lettuce. 



Apart from keeping up a succession of 

 young plants and keeping the benches 

 filled as vacancies occur, there will be 

 very little variation from the general 

 routine of work in the lettuce house, 

 only it is better to keep the soil on the 

 dry side through the dull, short days 

 and to keep the beds frequently stirred. 

 This stirring will obviate to a great ex- 

 tent the necessity of applying water so 

 often, especially where solid beds are 

 employed, and keep the plants in a 

 healthy condition. 



Strict attention should also be paid to 

 the removal of any decayed or damped 

 leaves, which, when left hanging around, 

 are a fruitful source of fungous diseases. 



A sowing of seed should be made now 

 to procure plants for setting in hotbeds 

 later on. The time when these are gen- 

 erally started varies a good deal with 

 latitude and also depends largely on 



