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The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Febbuaby 22, 1906. 



tion has had, as the theatrical men say, 

 such a long run on the stage as La Pu- 

 rite. Its successors in the deep pink 

 class were Tidal Wave and Thomas 

 Cartledge, both useful, but Tidal Wave 

 attained the greater popularity. 



The Light Pink Class. 



Of the light pink class there have 

 been several notable ones. Grace Wil- 

 der, introduced by Mr. Dailley, was a 

 very useful variety, lor many years the 

 best of its color. Later, we had the 

 famous Wm. Scott, and if Mr. Dorner 

 had done nothing else, he deserves a 

 monument for raising and introducing 

 this. It came out at the same time as 

 Eichmond and Albertini, both of which 

 excelled it on the exhibition table, but 

 both fell so lar behind it in produc- 

 tiveness that they were soon dropped, 

 while Wm. Scott for many years had 

 no successful rival, until Mrs. Fr&nces 

 Joost appeared. Later we had Nelbon 

 and Genevieve Lord. The famous Law- 

 son then appeared. The introduction of 

 this variety gave a greater impulse to 

 carnation growing than any variety be- 

 fore or since, xn many respects it was 

 superior to anything preceding it; it 

 was brilliantly advertised, and best of 

 all, justified every claim made for it. It 

 made Peter Fisher's name a household 

 word in carnation circles, and when he 

 introduced Enchantress, saying that it 

 was better than Lawson there were many 

 doubters, but Peter v/as right. We hope 

 he may live to give us more as good 

 or better. The parents of Lawson were 

 Tidal Wave (locally known as Van 

 Leeuwen) anu Daybreak, which latter 

 was a distinct and \aluable break. Out 

 of Lawson have come several famous 

 sorts. Enchantress, Mrs. M. A. Patten 

 and Nelson Fisher; ana Mr. Fisher has 

 a brilliant red on the way. It is cer- 

 tainly a rich strain of blood. 



And we are ready for another one 

 of this color. Helen Goddard bids fair 

 to be a winner, and when Helen Gould 

 and Winsor are introduced next year, 

 particularly Winsor, they will certainly 

 prove valuable. I am in love with 

 Winsor; it is just the shade of pink 

 that is wanted, has a vigorous constitu- 

 tion, a fine, stiff stehi, and is very pro- 

 ductive. 1 have had no opportunity of 

 seeing Candace, a western variety now 

 being disseminated, but I have heard it 

 well spoken of by competent judges. 



Another shade of color which has 

 been very popular may be called very 

 light pink. The first one of these that 

 I was familiar with was Miss Joliflfe, 

 a light flesh, tinted with salmon. I 

 knew it well thirty years ago as the 

 best in its class. Later we had Day- 

 break. This was a very valuable varie- 

 ty with flowers larger than any which 

 had preceded it and with, for that date, 

 wonderful, long, stiu stems, and of 

 a very lovely light flesh shade, and un- 

 usually productive ; for many years, the 

 best of its class, but it finally succumbed 

 to disease and was displaced by Fair 

 Maid and Enchantress, both excellent 

 varieties. In fact, 1 think Enchantress 

 the best carnation, all things consid- 

 ered, ever sent out in this country. It 

 is still very popular, and as long as it 

 continues to be as good as it is now, 

 it will take a wonder, indeed, to dis- 

 place it. It is a model in all that con- 

 stitutes a good carnation, and raisers of 

 new varieties should aim to get its 

 qualities in their seedlings. What a 

 boon a clear yellow Enchantress would 

 be! 



The Scarlet Class. 



But I find my paper likely to take 

 too much of your time, so in consider- 

 ing the important scarlet class, I will 

 l)ass over them with brief mention. 

 What a demand for this color at Christ- 

 mas, it goes so well with the holly ber- 

 ries, the cheerful chimes and the gen- 

 eral joy! Century was raised in 1878 

 by the late Charles T. Starr, and while 

 more of a carmine than a scarlet, was 

 very bright and was very useful until 

 the advent of John Thorpe's Portia, 

 which was a brilliant scarlet, and very 

 largely grown for many years. Its col- 

 or has never been excelled; it was very 

 productive; lack of size was its great- 

 est drawback. Then we had in rapid 

 succession Lady Emma, Alegatiere, Gar- 

 field (this is the variety that Donald 

 McCallum called Eobert Craig, think- 

 ing he had a sport, but after being con- 

 siderably grown as Eobert Craig turned 

 out to be Garfield), then Estelle, still 

 grown in some sections; G. H. Crane, 

 for years a good ore; then America, 

 Adonis, and finally Cardinal. This has 

 proved to be a good one in the west- 

 ern states, but has so far, hardly come 

 up to expectations in the east; in fact, 

 it has been a great flitappointment, pro- 

 ducing a large percentage of worthless 

 blooms. 



The White Class. 



Now, we will briefly consider the 

 white class, so largely used for funerals, 

 weddings and in general floral work. 

 The oldest white one that I know was 

 President Degraw, imported from 

 France about the same time as La Pu- 

 rite, and introduced to commerce by 

 the late lamented Chas. Zeller, of Flat- 

 bush, the original carnation enthusiast 

 of America, whose stock of more than 

 fifty varieties I had the pleasure of in- 

 specting some thirty-five years ago; 

 carnation growing was in its infancy 

 then. They were most grown in pots, 

 although they were beginning to be 

 planted by a few growers, mostly in 

 solid beds and a few on benches, which 

 is now the most popular way of grow- 

 ing. President Degraw had a long run, 

 many years of popularity. Then came 

 Peerless or Edwardsii, followed by Kin- 

 zie's White, Peter Henderson, Snowden, 

 Silver Spray, a good one; Lizzie Mc- 

 (jrowan, none better in its time; Flora 

 Hill, for a long time famous and still 

 grown to a considerable extent; Glacier, 

 Queen Louise, The Queen, Lady Bounti- 

 ful, most beautiful (the greatest defect 

 in this fine variety is the tendency to 

 be a shy bloomer in the fall and early 

 winter) ; white Lawson and, finally, 

 Lieut. Peary, which I think is the most 

 valuable white to date. Vesper is an- 

 other good one, and not as well known 

 as it deserves to be; it is vigorous, early 

 and continuous, very satisfactory with 

 many growers. White Enchantress 

 promises well. The Pelle is a very good 

 white with many growers. 



In crimsons, which is one of the least 

 important, commercially, we have had 

 Black Knight, Louis Lenoir, Anna 

 Webb, Crimson King, F. Mangold, Sea- 

 wan, Gomez, Maceo, Daheim, Harlowar- 

 den and Harry Fenn; tue latter two are 

 the best in this class and are still cul- 

 tivated. 



White Variegated. 



The class known as white variegated 

 has been represented by a number of 

 varieties, enjoying a large measure of 

 popularity; the best have been Hins- 



dale, a good variety extensively grown 

 fifteen or twenty years ago. I never 

 saw it better than at John H. Taylor's, 

 Bayside, L. I. For several years he 

 grew it in large quantity; Chester 

 Pride; Variegated La Purite, a sport 

 from the great La Purite; Mrs. Bradt 

 and Lilly Dean, Olympia, Prosperity, 

 M. A. Patten and Variegated Lawson. 

 The latter two are the latest and best. 

 Jessica, which is being introduced this 

 year, looks promising. 



In yellow variegated, we have had 

 Astoria, introduced by Wm. Wilson, of 

 Astoria, about thirty years ago, a fine 

 variety in its day. Then came Chas. T. 

 Starr's Buttercup, introduced to the 

 trade in 1884, and the best one we have 

 ever had; followed by Andalusia and 

 Sunrise and Eldorado, which are now 

 probably both out of cultivation. We 

 need a good, new one in this class. 



American Carnation Best. 



Now, I have named in all the classes 

 most of those that have been specially 

 valuable in the past and those which 

 are the best at the present time. I 

 have also had the "-emerity to pick the 

 winners of those being introduced this 

 year. It is interestiag to note that the 

 early and free bloommg qualities of the 

 American carnation are beginning to 

 be recognized by some of the wide-awake 

 English growers. Among the kinds that 

 have done well over there may be men- 

 tioned Enchantress and America. Fair 

 iuaid. The Belle and Harlowarden have 

 done particularly well. I recommend our 

 English friends to try Helen Goddard, 

 and, when they are introduced, Winsor 

 and Beacon. Although there is a lack 

 of sunlight in England, the free-bloom- 

 ing American varieties produce some 

 flowers in the fall and winter and in 

 March, April, May and June bloom free- 

 ly. As the London fashionable season 

 runs into July, there is always a good 

 demand for the blooms. The method of 

 growing, heretofore, in England has 

 been in pots, but the American method 

 of growing on benches has been intro- 

 duced. Mr. Ditton, one grower near 

 London, has been quite successful. 



One thing seems clear: The best of 

 the American sorts are superior in pro- 

 ductiveness to any on earth, and equal 

 in form and color to the best anywhere. 

 Although there have been many disap- 

 pointments, the advances are surprising, 

 almost bewildering, and it is to be hoped 

 that those who have devoted so much 

 time and thought to seedling raising, 

 may continue with enthusiasm in the 

 good work and that the number of those 

 who are so engaged may be largely in- 

 creased, for when success comes to any, 

 it may be enjoyed by all, both profes- 

 sional and amateur, who are willing to 

 participate. We owe much to those who 

 are willing to grow hundreds of seed- 

 lings, and to test them at great ex- 

 pense for several years in the hope of 

 occasionally getting one good enough 

 to send out. The cool, calculating, sure- 

 thing, business man is not likely to spend 

 much time raising seedlings, but the 

 intelligent enthusiast in the carnation 

 field is always likely to become a bene- 

 factor to us all. 



I WOULD like to congratulate you on 

 the phenomenal results obtained from 

 my advertisement. I have sold several 

 hundred thousand Asparagus plumosus 

 nanus seeds. The Eeview surely does 

 the work. — F. Gilman Taylor, Glendal^ 

 Cal. 



