APRIL 26, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



1637 



Store of Qarke Bros., Portland, Ore., Photographed by Electric Light on April 13. 



powerful things in the world were the 

 Mississippi river and the London Times. 

 I differ from the immortal man. The 

 Times is ponderously heavy and it takes 

 the mind of a Herbert Spencer or Emer- 

 son to be moved by it, and the Missis- 

 sippi river as seen at St. Louis is slug- 

 gish, dirty, slimy and terribly disap- 

 pointing after an acquaintance with the 

 Hudson or Niagara. Half a century be- 

 fore we saw the ^lississippi we were 

 familiar with the words of Dibden, the 

 great song writer: 



To the West, to the West. 



To the land of the free. 



Where the mighty Missouri rolls down to the 



sea; 

 Where a man is a man. if he's willing to toll. 

 And the humblest may gather the fruits of the 



soil. 



All very beautiful and prophetic, and 

 the old river makes up by its commerce 

 for its pea-soup constitution. 



The Best Nymphaeas. 



Here are a few of the most free-grow- 

 ing and flowering of the hardy 

 nymphaeas: N. Marliacea albida, large 

 white; N. Marliacea chromatella, yel- 

 low; X. Marliacea rosea, fine pink; X. 

 odorata, fragrant white; X. alba candi- 

 •lissima, strong, free white; X. Layde- 

 keri lilacea, rosy lilac; X". odorata rosea, 

 Cape Cod pond lily; X. odorata sul- 

 phurea, yellow, very fragrant, and many 

 other beautiful hybrids. 



i^ome of the tropical species and vari- 

 eties are night blooming, but most of 

 ilie:n remain open until 10 a. m. They 

 •Te as easilj' grown as the hardy species, 

 but must be lifted and stored in a me- 

 dium temperature in winter and cannot 

 ■'C put into the ponds quite so early or 

 until the water is warm. Some of the 

 finest tender day-flowering sorts are: 

 ^'. cjprulea, large, blue flowers; pulcher- 

 Jinia, light blue, very large; X. Zanzi- 

 bariensis, dark blue, magnificent ; X. gra- 

 '^ilis, the only w hite tender nympha-a ; 

 -^- Mrs. C". \V. Ward, deep rosy pink. 



Where the lily pond is entirelv for 

 ornament, with no view to profit," then 

 many smaller-growing aquatic plants can 

 '-»e planted near the margin of the ponds. 



but these are outside of the province of 

 the commercial florist, and a selection 

 can be made by referring to the cata- 

 logues of nurserymen who make a spe- 

 cialty of water plants. 



Cosmos. 



Thei'e is no more beautiful autumn 

 flower than the graceful cosmos, but, 

 alas, our northern frosts cut it down 

 before it has developed its full beauty. 

 Our best customers are always asking 

 for cosmos when we have only frozen 

 foliage to show them. If you think it is 

 not profitable it can be made so by sim- 

 ply charging a good price, and if I were 

 young again I w^ould have lots of cosmos 

 to sell during the month of October. 

 1 would sow it now. 



Perhaps it should have been sown ear- 

 lier by two weeks. Give the plants from 

 their infancy the fullest light, to induce 

 a strong growth. At the end of May 

 make some rough boxes, say about two 

 feet long, ten inches wide and five 

 inches deep, and fill with good, fresh 

 loam, moderately enriched. Plant half 

 a dozen of the seedlings in each box, 

 and after protection from cold winds 

 or scorching sun for a few days, ])ut 

 the boxes outside within convenient 

 reach of the hose and do not neglect 

 them. 



At the end of September, when if 

 planted out they perish in a night, re- 

 move the boxes to the houses, where 

 they will go on flowering for a month. 

 There is no need of putting thein on a 

 bench. There are many places you can 

 set these boxes, at the ends of hcuises, 

 beneath the high gutters of modern 

 houses, and many places which will sug- 

 gest themselves to you if the microbes 

 of the grey matter are working in iiealtli 

 and activity. 



This advice is not needed for a Balti- 

 more florist, for dahlias flower there to 

 the month of Xovember. liut it 's a sug- 

 gestion for florists of Dawson (-ity and 

 many points not so remote. 



Eschscholzia. 



Many of our people wlio travel are 



charmed with the California poppy. 

 Poor California's building-covered acres 

 have crumbled into tlust, but the golden- 

 cupped poppy will be up and smiling as 

 usual very soon, regardless of calamity. 

 Tlie name of the California poppy is 

 eschscholzia, and the rich yellow species 

 is E. aurantiaca. It is the easiest to 

 grow of all annuals. Sow a row in a 

 shallow drill across the garden and you 

 will pick flowers from June to frost. 



Valley in Frames. 



If you are lucky enough to have a bed 

 of lily of the valley protected by a cold 

 frame you should cover it with sash by 

 the first of ^lay. You will get them in 

 flower a week before the uncovered and 

 of infinitely better quality. Water copi- 

 ously until the bells are turning white 

 anil shade two weeks before you expect 

 them in flower, and you will get valley 

 almost as large as the Ohio valley or the 

 Yosemite! 



Cyclamen. 



I notice the cyclamens that were trans- 

 planted from seed flats to other flats 

 eigiit weeks ago are crowding and have 

 formed little corms almost as large as 

 a crocus. They should now go into 

 ."Viuch pots. A fresh, sifted loam two 

 I)arts with another of real leaf-mold and 

 a fourth of well-rotted cow manure 

 •would be an ideal mixture for them. 

 Don't be afraid to bury the bulb or 

 corm with its top even with the surface 

 of the soil. They will soon elevate 

 themselves when they get hold of the 

 new soil. 



Cyclamens transplant readily as young 

 plants. They want little shade, but are 

 benefited by a light shading in the hot- 

 test hours of the day. While a cutting 

 draugiit is not good for them, or any 

 other plant, they want ventilation in 

 abundance on all warm days. They 

 sliould never be allowed to suffer for 

 water and greatly enjoy a light syringing 

 on all fine mornings. Whether you in- 

 tend to grow them in a house or frame, 

 there is time to think it over, because 



