JANUARY 23, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



629 



cess. This proud distinction I claim, 

 without prejudice, for the Lawson car- 

 nation, and from the time that the wizard 

 of carnation culture, Peter Fisher, first 

 brought it to my attention, up to the 

 present time, nothing has been produced 

 that can in any way rival this magnifi- 

 cent production. Its fame is known over 

 two continents; and indeed I might say 

 in almost all parts of the world, where 

 the love of flowers is predominant, the 

 name of the T^wson carnation is a house- 

 hold word. Its glories have stimulated 

 liorticulturists in a laudable and ambi- 

 tious rivalry to produce something which 

 could compete with it, and while many 

 new types have been produced, which, in 

 many instances have been a revelation in 

 the floral world, the Lawson pink with its 

 brilliant color, and sturdy characteristics, 

 in my humble opinion, still holds its 

 proud place, as the queen of the carna- 

 tion family; and therefore, owing to the 

 subject matter of this paper, viz., ' ' Car- 

 nations from a Eetailer 's Point of 

 View," I will conclude what I fear has 

 been a tedious and uninteresting narra- 

 tive, by saying that as our good business 

 stands today, our avocation, with the car- 

 nation eliminated from the channels of 

 trade would be like Shakespeare's great- 

 est production with Hamlet left out. 



An Important Industry. 



Since the great interest that has been 

 manifested by the public in their favor 

 for this popular exotic, it seems to me 

 that our trade has increased, that a more 

 popular demand has been stimulated in 

 all that tends to develop and build up a 

 business, which is increasing all over the 

 world with wonderful progress. From a 

 comparatively unimportant, and I might 

 almost say, obscure line of trade, we are 

 developing into a famous, popular, profit- 

 able and important industry. 



In the older days, and now, too, when 

 at imposing banquets and feasts, popu- 

 lar heroes and favorites were supplied 

 with rare, delectable and luscious fruits, 

 great care was ever exercised in the pro- 

 duction to obtain the most perfect and 

 the best, and, as we sometimes observe 

 today, the many were sacrificed for the 

 few, so the succulent and tasteful and 

 attractive specimen was produced by 

 eliminating and discarding great numbers 

 in order that the most perfect should be 

 obtained, and so it is in the floral king- 

 dom. 



Nature is so lavish with her favors, 

 the wonderful resources of soil, and cli- 

 mate, and environment, and so prolific of 

 results, being absolutely boundless in its 

 possibilities, that Ave have a never-ending 

 field for honorable service and ambition 

 to cultivate. Montgomery gave to the 

 world his magnificent results of rose cul- 

 ture; Coleman first brought to our notice 

 the great possibilities of the chrysanthe- 

 mum ; Fisher astonished us all by his 

 careful, patient and successful efforts on 

 the carnation. And I take a pardonable 

 pride, in a modest reference to the fact 

 that here in our own good city of Bos- 

 ton, much that has been done in the 

 growth and progress and good results 

 have been introduced and brought to a 

 successful conclusion by Boston men. 



In the old days of the trade, thou- 

 sands of dollars' worth of so-called Bos- 

 ton roses were shipped to all parts of 

 the United States. This good, old city, 

 with its members of the craft, have ever 

 been forward and ambitious to promote 

 the best interests of the trade, not only 

 for their own ambition, but for the good 

 of the whole countrv. 



■.•ii: '-■ 





Charles Weber. 



(The grow»>r with whom Victory originated, at Lynbrook, L. I.) 



Our business has reached a volume and 

 proportion beyond what the most san- 

 guine could be led to hope for, and speak- 

 ing from the standpoint of a retailer, the 

 beautiful and popular carnation has not 

 been the least of the adjuncts which has 

 assisted in bringing it to tlie high stan- 

 dard which it has attained. ; 



I might before concluding inoiition the 

 commercial value of a well grown carna- 

 tion, such as the Lawson. They were 

 eagerly sought, and as high as $1 apiece ; 

 paid for them at retail. Orders were re- | 

 ceived for tliem from all parts of tliis 

 country and Europe. Nothing was con- ' 

 sidered so acceptable to the sick in the 

 iiospitals, as two or throe of these l)oau- 

 tiful flowers. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



Department of Plant Registration. 



The United States Nursery Co., S. W. 

 (.'rowell, manager. Rich, Miss., submits 

 for registration a new rose, Helen Good, 

 a sport from ^laman Cochet ; identical 

 with the variety in growth, foliage, size 

 and shape of flower; differs only in color, 

 which is a shell pink suffused with gol- 

 den yellow; very distinct. 



W. J. Stewart, Sec 'y. 



MAKING CONCRETE WALLS. 



Since Eibes mentioned in the Ekvikw 

 that I had used coal ashes in making con- 

 crete for Avails, I have had so many let- 

 ters of inquiry from florists from almost 

 every state in the Union that 1 came to 



the conclusion the easiest and best Avay 

 to answei' them is through the Review. 

 I Avill give you my experience with con- 

 crete walls and try to answer questions 

 asked me. 



1 built a range of four houses last 

 summer, covering a plot of 100x110 feet. 

 1 Avent doAvn tAvo feet Avith my founda- 

 tion, eighteen inches Avide, mixing it the 

 same as for the Avails, Avith the excep- 

 tion of using the large clinkers from soft 

 coal in place of the fine hard coal cin- 

 <lers. I then put up a framework the 

 length of my house, four feet high and 

 nine inches Avide, driving stakes in the 

 ground to brace the boards Avell, so they 

 Avoidd not sj)n>ad A\hile being tamped. I 

 also fastened heavy Avire through at dif- 

 ferent places, so as to make sure of it 

 being very firm and cAon. I used hard 

 coal ashes from buckwheat and rice coal, 

 mixing my concrete to these proportions: 

 Seven orclinnry round-bedded Avheelbar- 

 lOAvs of ashes to one barrel of cement. I 

 used llie best I'ortland cement and by 

 purchasing by carload lots I paid $1.15 

 ]ier barrel. Mix your ashes and cement 

 well and use enough water so that after 

 it is tamped there will Ije a soft, Avatery 

 substance on top. I tamped it thor- 

 oughly; by doing that you haAc no holes 

 for the cold air to go through. I let it 

 set for a day or two, then tore down the 

 fra:neAvork and put up another 100 feet. 

 Four ordinary day laborers and a car- 

 ]ienter ought to put up 100 feet in a day, 

 providing the digging has been done. 



1 imbedded a 2-inch iron pipe in the 

 concrete at the top of the wall every 

 eight feet Avhile making my Avail and left 



