"1 . '*X7 t.r.*"Rr- 



924 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



B^BBKTTAltY 14, IdO?. 



buds should be visibld towards the end 

 of the month. Similar treatment can be 

 given to Crimson and Baby Bamblers. 

 Sixty degrees at night now and cooler 

 conditions . later will bring them on in 

 season. It is not necessary or desirable 

 to have the flowers all open when selling 

 them. One or two expanded blossoms 

 and a few buds to follow will please your 

 customers much better. 



THE AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. 



[An address by P. J. Lynch, of West Groye, 

 Pa., before the Washington Florists' Club, 

 February 5. ] 



It has been suggested that I give a 

 general talk with reference to the Amer- 

 ican Eose Society, what, it has accom- 

 plished in the past, and. what it expects 

 to do in this city. I will give you no 

 occasion for 'alarm in thinking that I in- 

 tend to read an exhaustive essay, because 

 I feel that all of you are aware of the 

 splendid work the society has done in. 

 advancing the welfare of the rose. In 

 these few fiotes I hope to cover briefly 

 the scope of the society and enlist the 

 earnest and enthusiastic support, not 

 only^of the members of your club, but 

 your friends outside of the florists' pro- 

 fession as w6ll. 



Purposes dE Orgauuzation. 



The American Rose Society was estab- ^ 

 lished in 1899, with the broad purpose 

 in view of exten4ing the popularity of 

 the rose among commercial growers as 

 well as amateurs; to increase the gen- 

 eral interest in' its cultivation; to im- 

 press the standard of excellence; to fos- 

 ter, stimuliEi'te ".and increase the produc- 

 tion in every' possible way of improved 

 varieties suitable to our American cli- 

 mate. Since its inception it has made 

 steady progress, until now the announce- 

 ment of an exhibition under the auspices 

 of the society attracts interested grow- 

 ers and spectators from all parts of the 

 dountry. It may be safely said that at 

 i;he last exhibition, held in Boston, there 

 wa& perhaps shown the most magnificent 

 collection of roses, embracing almost 

 every class, ever staged in this country. 

 At that meeting Mr. Sander, of St. Al- 

 bans, England, remarked in his address: 

 "If the exhibition I see here could be 

 transferred to our Horticultural hall in 

 London I am sure it would create a pro- 

 found sensation. Your American Beauty 

 and Richmond are as good, if not better, 

 than any I have ever seen." 



The society exhibitions have been in- 

 strumental in bringing about a keen but 

 friendly rivalry between our commercial 

 growers, and the value of this is readily 

 apparent, because it stimulates the 

 grower to give the growing of his plants 

 that attention necessary to bring theffi 

 to the highest degree of perfection, for 

 the purpose of exhibition, thereby in- 

 creasing the productiveness of his busi- 

 ness in cash returns. Then, too, in set- 

 ting a higher standard of excellence he 

 advances the popularity of the rose by 

 bringing forth its wonderful possibili- 

 ties. Instead of going about bis work 

 in a careless manner, the grower, if he 

 be interested in the progress of the 

 society, will seek to outdo his brother 

 grower in results, with the two-fold ad- 

 vantage of which I have spoken. This 

 is the monetary view of the good the 

 society has done, and apart from this 

 commercial phase it has brought where 

 the rose-loving public may see, the crea- 

 tions of the rose world. 



These exhibitions are productive of 

 benefits even to the grower who does not 



Fcra Pans 



SS.'SHWR'Sf CHICAGO 



my 



^ / 



No dining room or* home is com- 

 for'oc c'railo« P'^'® without fems, as they add s.". 

 much to the appearance of the 

 room. The water should nevpr be allowed' to 

 stand in the outer jardiniere. Keep in the light, 

 but out of the sunshine. Water the soil daily, al- 

 lotting to eac;^ pan about half a pint of water. 

 Sprinkle the foliage morning and evening. 

 Wnen ferns are kept in a place where tempera- 

 ture is not above SO degrees, the soil will require 

 watering but once in two days. Asparagus Plumo- 

 sus is the hardiest and most used variety but tnere 

 are other beautiful kinds for filling fern pans. 



For preservation of Cut Flowers and thtf care 

 of Decorative Plants, a rubber hand sprinkler is 

 almost indispensable. They make watering and 

 spraying an easy task and accomplish it efiFective- 

 ly. Such a sprinkler can be purchased lor $1.00. 



All decorative plants should have 

 PImSiT * jardinieres, both for decorative and 



practical purposes. They serve to 

 hold the excess water. A little sand placed in the 

 bottom of the jardiniere will Iceep the roots moist 

 and cool. With almost »ll decorative plants, the 

 soil should be watered once daily and the foliage 

 twice. About once a week Palms, Rubber Plants 

 and-all other decorative plants with thick foliage 

 should \)^ washed with a sponge on both sides of 

 the leaves in clear water. Every two weeks a 

 washing with whale oil soap will be found bene- 

 ficial. Palms, Ferns, and almost all decorative 

 plants require protection from the extreme hot 

 rays of the sun, although the Rubber Plant, when 

 plunged in the open ground in the pot or tub in 

 which it has been growing, will thrive most lux- 

 uriantly in the sunshine. Give plenty of water. 



. The love of flowers and plants is a 



Lovea Flowers pr'nial instinct in the human fam- 

 Uy, and evidences a need that 

 should be supplied just as surely as the demand 

 for learning is gratified. Children, particularly, 

 should be brought in contact with them and* en- 

 couraged to care for them, and no home or school- 

 room is complete without some growing plant. 

 It is a well understood fact, recognized by the 

 medical profession, that the existence of plants is 

 conducive to the health of children as well as 

 adtjlts. They supply oxygen for the room. 



Advertiiios for Retailers. 



(Cover and first page of a Hughes Folder.) 



exhibit, but who in order to compete in 

 the open market must perforce grow 

 first-class flowers to hold his own. In 

 short, our society is the harbinger of 

 better prices for every grower. 



"While we do not have the great num- 

 ber of new roses that the European 

 growers exhibit at their great shows, yet 

 we are steadily improving in the creation 

 of new varieties, as has been well testi- 

 fied to in the last three years, during 

 which time there have been more new 

 roses of merit introduced by American 

 growers than, perhaps, in a decade pre- 

 vious to that time. 



Interest in Hybridising. 



Interest in hybridization has been stim- 

 ulated, and while the work differs mate- 

 rially from that with carnations, inas- 

 much as the' latter flower responds so 

 readily to the efforts at improvement, 

 yet we are proud of the many new va- 

 rieties that have first seen the light of 

 ""day iri^Amefi^r Sfiidliave'bS"^' shown at 

 the exhibitions of the Anierican Bose 

 Society. 



Then again, in this branch of the work 

 the necessity for roses that will adapt 

 themselves to our varying climate has 

 been clearly shown, and by intelligent 

 efforts we have accomplished something 

 we have never had before, and that is 

 the creation of roses to suit the planter 

 of the south as well as the grower in the 

 north, not only for the commercial flo- 

 rists, but especially for the amateur 

 growers, who after all are first to be con- 

 sidered, because if we can enlist the 

 support of the great masses of amateur 

 rose growers in all parts of the country 

 by helping them to succeed, we know not 

 to what extent the power and influence 

 may extend in beautifying our land and 

 increasing the revenues of our growers. 



We have found by experience that out 

 of the multitude of new roses sent us 

 from Europe there are few that have 

 adapted themselves to our climatic con- 

 ditions, so that it would seem to be the 

 cardinal work of this society to demon- 

 strate that which is best and that which 

 is not best for professionals and ama- 

 teurs alike, and this can only be accom- 

 plished by unity of action among grow- 

 ers, enthusiastic love for the rose, and a 

 spirit that what is good for one of us is 

 good for all. 



The wants of the buyers of our prod- 

 uct vacillate from time to time, and in 

 order to keep abreast of the times and 

 secure flowers that will bring the best 

 price we must needs have some means 

 of acquiring this knowledge, as well as 

 of disseminating it. While Bride, Brides- 

 maid, Golden Gate and tea roses of 

 similar character, whose popularity has 

 not diminished because of the increased 

 number of people who buy, yet it would 

 seem, to touch upon this subject briefly, 

 that as ex-President Montgomery of this 

 society very aptly stated that the rose of 

 the future will undoubtedly be raised 

 from a mixture of the tea and hybrid 

 perpetual, producing a hybrid tea of the 

 type of Tom Fields and Queen Beatrice, 

 your home roses; Richmond, Liberty, 

 Miss Kate Moulton and others, all roses 

 of the hybrid tea class, because of their 

 high and positive colors, which are now 

 so much wanted. Then, too, these roses 

 require more skill in growing, which 

 means more attention, resulting in the 

 very condition spoken of previously, that 

 the grower secures in the end a greater 

 return for his labor than he cou^ hope 

 to do were we to continue to b^ satisfied 

 with the favorites of former years. So 

 much for what the society has tried to 

 do in the past. 



