1598 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



April 19, 1906. 



NURSERY NEWS. 



AMERICAN ASSOOATION OF NURSERYMEN. 



Pres., B. Albertson, Bridgeport, Ind.; Vlce- 

 Prea., Orlando Harrison, Berlin, Md. ; Sec'y, Geo. 

 0. Sealer, Rochester; Treas., C. L. Yates, Roches- 

 ter. The 3l8t annual convention will be held at 

 Dallas, Texas, June 13-15, 1906. 



It is stated that the peach buds in 

 Michigan suffered to some extent in the 

 March cold snap. 



The invoice value of the trees and 

 shrubs imported through the port of New 

 York last week was $19,872. 



The nurseries at Monroe, Mich., have 

 had a busy three weeks, the season's 

 shipments having been the heaviest ever 

 sent out. 



"The Control of Apple Bitter-rot," 

 by W, M. Scott, is a bulletin by the U. 

 S. Department of Agriculture which will 

 interest nurserymen. 



From Coeur d'Alene, Wash., comes 

 the report that the season 's planting of 

 fruit trees is five times that of any 

 previous spring. The demand for cherry 

 trees could not be supplied. 



THE RICHARDSON PEONIES. 



It is now over thirty years since I 

 begaii to study and experiment with 

 peonies. Great changes have occurred 

 during this time. Almost all of the best 

 varieties of that day would now be con- 

 sidered very common. About twenty-five 

 years ago the late Charles M. Hovey, of 

 Boston, one of the foremost horticul- 

 turists of his time, had a collection of 

 peonies probably as good as any in the 

 country. He imported from the best 

 European nurseries; and some of his va- 

 rieties were really magnificent. The old 

 festiva maxima was as good with him 

 as it has been since; but he had the mis- 

 fortune which most of us experienced 

 later, in that he got his varieties badly 

 mixed; and often plants imported from 

 different nurserymen, under the same 

 name, proved to be entirely different 

 varieties. He imported the variety Mme. 

 Breon, and we propagated and sold it by 

 the hundred ; a dark purplish red flower, 

 a good variety in its way, but not at all 

 the Mme. Breon of the present day. 



About twenty-three years ago John 

 Richardson, of Dorchester, near Boston, 

 then a man of more than 80 years, raised 

 a number of seedling peonies which were 

 remarkable in that they were for the 

 most part late, vigorous, free-flowering 

 and fragrant. All the varieties, with 

 one or two exceptions, were of a beauti- 

 ful silvery pink, or varying from flesh 

 to rose. In 1886 we procured Ihe five 

 of these varieties which he considered 

 best; and in thirteen years from one 

 plant of each we propagated thousands, 

 which we sold all over this country and 

 in Europe; and we think that every 

 plant sold w-as true to name. The va- 

 rieties obtained from Mr. Eichardson 

 were Dorchester, Grandiflora, Norfolk, 

 Perfection and Rubra Superba. 



We have been thus particular in re- 

 gard to the history of the Richardson's 

 seedlings because certain parties in Eng- 

 land have listed several of them as their 

 own seedlings. In justice to Mr. Rich- 

 ardson, this mistake should be corrected. 



Six years ago, on account of ill health, 

 our entire stock of peonies was sold to a 

 Chicago party. About that time, how- 



ever, my eldest son, George C. Thurlow, 

 concluded to go into the nursery business 

 also, and we have been trying ever since 

 then to get up a stock of the very best 

 herbaceous peonies to be obtained any- 

 where. We ordered, generally in small 

 quantities, from the leading nurseries in 

 France, England and this country, and 

 quite largely from Japan. When they 

 bloomed (in two or three years) we or- 

 dered more largely of those varieties 

 which we considered the best for this 

 section ; but we had the misfortune, in 

 several importations, to get varieties en- 

 tirely different from those we ordered, 

 and, in one instance, to receive a ship- 

 ment badly mixed. 



Our peonies are raised in a very simple 

 way. Any good loamy land, good enough 

 for corn or vegetables, we consider good 

 enough for peonies. We sometimes plow 

 two furrows deep, and set the plants 

 quite closely together. Our rule is to 

 fertilize the land at least one season be- 

 fore planting the roots; and we never, 

 under any circumstances, put manure or 

 other fertilizer directly under or among 

 the roots at the time of planting. For 

 light land we consider peat muck, well 

 exposed and decayed, the very best fer- 

 tilizer for small peonies or other small 

 plants. It produces an abundance of 

 roots, which we consider of more conse- 

 quence than extra large, often superfiu- 

 ous, roots. T. C. Thurlow. 



ANOTHER INVESTIGATION. 



A congressional investigation of the 

 Department of Agriculture was set in 

 motion March 27. It was begun in a 

 conference between Representative Lit- 

 tlefield, chairman; representatives Davis 

 and Samuel, members of the House Com- 

 mittee on Expenditures in the Agricul- 

 tural Department, on the one hand and 

 Secretary Wilson, Assistant Secretary 

 Hays and other officials of the Depart- 

 ment on the other. At the request of 

 Chairman Littlefield, Secretary Wilson 

 will at once forward to the House Com- 

 mittee a statement giving detailed in- 

 formation relative to expenditures. This 

 will be followed by hearings before the 

 committee, at which Secretary Wilson 

 and other employees of the Department 

 will be asked to appear. 



ROOTING BEGONIAS. 



We have not been very successful in 

 rooting begonias. Will you please state 

 the temperature best suited to root them, 

 both temperature of house and sand? 



K. 



You should state which species or type 

 of begonias you are rooting. There is a 



wide difference in species. There is the 

 Rex, or ornamental section; the shrubby, 

 the tuberous-rooted and the semituberous- 

 rooted. 



If it is the shrubby section, of which 

 we will take Pres. Carnot and incarnata 

 as types, then we have found some pecu- 

 liarities about rooting them. In Janu- 

 ary, February and March they root fair- 

 ly well with the sand 65 to 70 degrees 

 and nearly the same top heat, but if 

 cooler they root slowly. Then, again, in 

 April, May and June, when the houses 

 are quite warm and the temperature of 

 the sand is on the average less than the 

 atmosphere, they root quickly and well. 



This is contrary to conditions that suit 

 the great majority of soft-wooded plants 

 and can only be accounted for by the 

 supposition that the begonia, being a 

 tropical plant, or at least sub-tropical, 

 wants at all times a good genial heat, 

 which in our greenhouses it often does 

 not get. W. S. 



Chester, Pa. — William Fowler, of 

 Holly Oak, Del., formerly a resident of 

 this borough, has purchased land on the 

 Smedley tract, Morton, where he has 

 started to break ground for the erection 

 of eight greenhouses. When the new 

 houses are completed he will discontinue 

 his plant in Delaware and remove to 

 Morton. His brother, Richard Fowler, 

 of Sharon Hill, will operate the latter 

 establishment. 



PEONIES 



All colors, early and 

 late, named, II. 60doz.; 

 tlUOOpe^lOO. 

 Clematis — Large flowering, 12 00 per dozen; 

 PanlcuJata, $1.00 per dozen Clematia— 1 year, 

 from pots, $4.00 per 100. Violets— Selected layers, 

 $1.26 per 100: $10.10 per 1000. U. P. Roses— 2yr8., 

 4-in., fine asBortmt'nt, $1.2o per doz.: $10 00 per 100. 

 Pansies International In bud and bloom, $1.00 

 per 100; $10.00 per 1010 Smaller plants, but good, 

 $4.00 per lUOO. 



7. A BALLBS, Blooming'toii, 111. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



Strong, 2 and 3-yr. 

 Concoiid. Niagara, 

 Moore's 



GRAPEVINES 



Early, Salem, etc 5o 



Currants— Strong 2-ycar, Fay's Prolific, 



Cherry, White, Grape, Lee's Black, etc 4o 



Raspberries— Finest Red and Black sorts.... So 

 mackberries— Rathbun and other best sorts.. .So 

 Packing free for cash and extras added on account of 



express charges. See o£fers of other stock in this issue 



or write, w. e. SALTER. Rochester, N. Y. 



D. AND C. ROSES 



are the cheapest because they are the best. We have in 

 stock over one thousand varieties on own roots, include 

 ing all the new European and American varieties of 

 merit as well as all the old varieties. All sizes from 

 2Ji-inch pots up. We can also offer 40 of the leading 

 and newest varieties of Cannas. including Mont Blanc; 

 also miscellaneous lists of plants and shrubbery at 

 prices that will make it worth while to send usvour lists 

 for quotations before buying elsewhere. Send for a 

 copy of Our New Guide to Rose Culture for 1906, a 

 handsome book of 116 pages. Free for the asking. Ad- 

 dress The Dingee & Conard Co., West Grove* 

 Pa. Established 1860. 7i greenhouses. 



Mention The Review when yog write. 



Low Prices 



SEND FOR OUR 

 WHOLESALE LIST 



Per 10 Per 109 

 Japan Maples, polymorphum, 2-3 ft... $4.00 



Pin Oaks, 8-10 ft 6.00 



Box Wood. 12-15 in 3.00 



Privet. Regaliana, 2 ft 1.20 



Privet, Calif omicum, 2 3 ft $2.50 



Althaea, in variety. 3-4 ft 8.00 



Aralia Pentaphylla. 3 4 ft 10.00 



Azalea Amoena, specimens 27.50 



(Other sizes, 70.000 plants.) 



Hydrangea P. G., 2-3 ft 6.00 



Hydrangea P. G., 3-4 ft., X fine 10.00 



Spiraea Van Hr.uttel, 3-4 ft 7.00 



Begonia Radlcans, strong 5.00 



Honeysuckles, strong, in variety 5.00 



H. P. Roses, 2-yr.-old 10.00 



Per 100 



$10.00 



Rosa Rugosa 



50,000 Creeping Roses, 2 yrs. old, own 



roots, $50.00 per 1000 6.00 



Roses, in 4-inph pots 10.00 



500,000 Roses in 2-incb pots, $20.00 to 



$30.00 per 1000. 



Baby Rambler Roses, 2-inch pots 6.00 



New Canna Floradora, grows about 4 or 5 ft. in 



height, has dark foliage and bright scarlet 



flowers of good size, 15c each; $1.25 per 10. 

 New Canna Fairy Queen, Is a tall growing variety 



with dark foliage and large bright orange 



colored flowers. A free grower and a fine 



bloomer, 15c each; $1.25 per 10. 



THE ELIZABETH NURSERY CO., Elizabeth, N. J. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



