990 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



March 1, 1906. 



inches. First-class radishes can be 

 grown in two inches of clean sand if 

 the soil below is sufficiently enriched to 

 support the crop. The roots reach down 

 into the richer soil and procure the nec- 

 essary nourishment, while the bulbs de- 

 velop clean and nice in the sand. 



Manure from the hen-coop is pretty 

 hot stuff, but an excellent iertilizer 

 when properly prepared. It should be 

 composted with an equal quantity of soil, 

 or, biBtter still, half-rotted leaves, and be 

 allowed to stand for at least six months, 

 being turned over occasionally so as to 

 work, the heat out of it. The compost 



could be applied at about the same rate 

 as recommended for sheep manure, but, 

 after application, I would advise taking 

 a crop of cauliflower off the bench first, 

 then plant lettuce without applying any 

 more. The crop of cauliflower will tone 

 the soil down sufficiently to leave it in 

 nice condition for the lettuce to take 

 hold. This latter crop, being of a softer 

 and less gross feeding nature, would 

 not take kindly to such a strong manure 

 if it were applied directly before plant- 

 ing, but the cauliflower will stand a 

 richer soil without any risk of injury, 



W. S. Croydon. 



""«**,, 



^ NEW CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



[A paper by C. H. Totty, of Madison, N. J., 



read at a meeting of the Morris County, N. J., 



Gardeners' and" Florists' Society, February 14, 

 1906.] 



It has been asserted that while Ameri- 

 can raisers of new varieties concede the 

 palm for size to the imported kinds, 

 yet the American varieties are the only 

 ones adapted for average commercial 

 culture. 



Is this statehient true? I say hardly 

 80, because a walk through the New 

 York cut flower district during the 

 -chrysanthemum season shows us the fol- 

 lowing kinds being shipped in in quan- 

 tity and all of them are imported vari- 

 eties: October Sunshine, Alice Byron, 

 Cheltoni, Nellie Pockett, Mrs. Coombes, 

 and our own great and only W. Duck- 

 ham. There are others, but I have 

 quoted enough to show that the for- 

 eigners do get a show in the wholesale 

 markets of the country, 



I have had it stated to me that 

 Timothy Eaton is an English instead of 

 a Canadian seedling, but in the absence 

 of any proof I refuse to credit it. The 

 fact is that a valuable new variety may 

 originate in any country but, in the case 

 of some raisers, the French particularly, 

 one has to buy so much chaff to find 

 even one grain of wheat that the game is 

 not worth the candle. 



Vhy Australian Varieties Do Well. 



It has been stated that the reason the 

 Australian varieties do so well here is 

 because they are accustomed to strong 

 sunlight and being grown and flowered 

 entirely outside, have more native vigor. 



I am just now collaborating with a 

 hybridizer in California, where, I under- 

 stand, almost identical conditions pre- 

 vail, and, if it is a mattpr of climatic 

 condition, we hope to be producing some 

 William Duckhams and Beatrice Mays 

 in a year or two. The strongest reason, 

 to my mind, why the Wells-Pockett kinds 

 have done so well is because of the rigid 

 selection of the best kinds from an im- 

 mense number of seedlings. Thus the 

 present list, Mrs. Partridge, Mrs. 

 Heaume, Mrs. Knox, E. J. Brooks, etc., 

 some twelve kinds in all, are the pick of 

 over 97,000 seedlings. In the face of a 

 pruning down like that one would say 

 they must all be wonders and, candidly, 

 I do believe th'ey are the best list this 

 firm has ever sent out. 



How different is this wholesale method 

 from the conditions under which our own 

 hybridizers have to work; where, the 

 plants Toeing grown inside and taking up 

 valuable space, a few hundred seedlings 

 seem a very large batch to handle! 



Hybridizing is largely a gamble, any- 

 way, and a Col. Appleton may appear 

 in your one single dozen plants, but the 

 chance?, are against you and the law of 

 averages will tell in the long run. 



Novelties of the Year. 



In looking over the new things of the 

 year we will give first place to the 

 American seedling, Morton F. Plant. 

 This made its first, and almost its only, 

 appearance at our own local show, and 

 we should be duly proud of the fact. 

 This coming year, when the experts from 

 other localities have it to work with, 

 some phenomenal flowers are bound to 

 be shown. Call it an improved Viviand- 

 Morel, but twice the size at least that I 

 ever saw Morel, and we have in a few 

 words a very good description of Morton 

 F. Plant, with the addition that the 

 foliage and stem are facsimiles of Col. 

 Appleton. Honor to whom honor is due ! 

 And we owe a good deal to the Daille- 

 douze brothers for this grand variety. 



Next on the list is Beatrice May and 

 it is certainly a beauty. This variety 

 has developed one serious fault, from 

 my own point of view, which is that it 

 is altogether too modest and shy in pro- 

 ducing stock, making the dissemination 

 slow and unsatisfactory. I had hoped to 

 make some money out of Beatrice but, in 

 the language of the poet, " 'Twas ever 

 thus. Since childhood's hour I've seen 

 my fondest hopes decay. ' ' And a most 

 vigorous hunt over three continents fails 

 to reveal any stock to speak of. 



As a keeper this variety is second to 

 none. It kept for three weeks on the 

 plant in perfect condition and some of 

 the flowers after being exhibited and 

 scored by the C. S. A. committee kept in' 

 water some three weeks longer. The 

 way Beatrice May finished up for me 

 last year is about as near perfect as I 

 ever expect to see a white chrysanthe- 

 mum. 



Two Good Reds. 



Perhaps the next best thing as an 

 all-round variety in its color is Mrs. 

 Henry Partridge. Eed varieties are 

 almost without exception prone to burn 



in bright sunlight, but Partridge will not 

 damp one petal. Almost everyone likes 

 W. E. Church, but so many complain 

 of its poor growth. Partridge will give 

 you the Church color and in addition is 

 a grand, dwarf, stocky grower. I tried 

 it on every bud from August 10 to the 

 end of September and it was good on 

 every one, the late buds showing, as was 

 natural, a much thinner flower. 



Another very dwarf variety that 

 showed similar color to Partridge on 

 first opening was Mary Ann Pockett, 

 but it soon faded to an Indian red. This 

 variety was so very dwarf that I did not 

 take any notice of it all summer and the 

 flower when it developed was a most 

 agreeable surprise. Mary Ann Pockett 

 will be a very valuable variety to grow 

 in pots or on a front bench where head 

 room is restricted. 



While on the dwarf varieties (and the 

 splendid dwarf habit is one of the 

 strongest qualities of the Wells varieties 

 every year) I would mention May Sed- 

 don. It had no chance to prove itself 

 this year, as my stock did not come till 

 late, and it is so very dwarf that it 

 must have a long season of growth to do 

 it justice. Do not, I beg of you, keep 

 on propagating this variety too late this 

 year. Give it a fair show and if it comes 

 with you as it has been grown, eleven 

 inches across and eleven inches deep, 

 you will have a prize-winner in the 

 white classes. 



Mrs, Dunne a Fine Grower. 



Mrs. John E. Dunne is a fine grower 

 and a fine variety, one that will give you 

 100 per cent of good flowers. The color 

 is old rose, very striking and beautiful, 

 and reminds me of the old Chenon de 

 Leche, for years a great favorite with 

 me. Dunne will run up four to five 

 feet with good culture and a crown bud 

 around August 20 will give you the best 

 flower. 



Another sterling sort, in that every 

 flower comes good, is Mrs. G. Heaume, 

 a splendid clean grower, three to four 

 feet high. The color is pretty much 

 the shade seen in Queen Alexandria, a 

 salmony bronze, one of the kinds com- 

 monly called off color, but I am free to 

 confess that everyone who saw it in my 

 houses liked it. 



Mrs. Wm. Knox, when first expand- 

 ing, looks distinctly an aristocrat, as 

 every petal falls naturally into its proper 

 place, but I am sorry to have to confess 

 that the neck is hardly strong enough to 

 hold erect the large spreading flower. 

 In the short vase classes it is a winner, 

 as it gives a flower with as large a 

 spread as F. S. Vallis and a far neater 

 appearance. 



Richardson an Immense Grower. 



T. .Richardson is an immense grower 

 and will make a stem like a young tree. 

 Do not overfeed this variety, as it has 

 such a tremendous root action it is easy 

 to overdo it. The color is the same 

 shade as Enchantress carnation, a point 

 to be considered in classing it as a pink. 

 A bud the last week in August is to be 

 preferred to an earlier one. 



Mrs. J. J. Thompson was called the 

 most artistic flower in the Philadelphia 

 show and if it were not necky I would 

 say grow it largely. In the short vase 

 classes, or classes where a support is 

 allowed, it is one of the most striking 

 varieties ever set up. We have had vari- 

 eties before that have been termed 

 ostrich plume, but never one that so 

 closely resembled an ostrich plume in 

 the exquisite twist and curl of the petaL 



