1744 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



April 25, lOO*! 



the authorized version, 1 Kings 5:8 and 

 6:15, 2 Chron. 2:8, and many other 

 passages, is supposed to signify the 

 cypress, also the gopher wood referred 

 to in Gen. 6:14, of which wood Noah 

 built the ark. 



' "i He cypress, which grows no more 

 when once cut down, was regarded as a 

 symbol of the dead and perhaps for 

 that reason was sacred to Pluto; its 

 branches were placed, by the Greeks 

 and Eomans, on the funeral pyres and 

 in the houses of their departed friends. 

 The cypress was the tree into which 

 Cyparissus, a beautiful youth beloved 

 by Apollo, was transformed that he 

 might grieve for all time. All through 

 history the cypress is referred to and 

 it is one of the remarkable woods of 

 the world. It has at all times been 

 considered the most durable wood and is 

 also highly resistant to the attack of in- 

 sects. 



' * The conditions under which a tree 

 grows, are the conditions to which the 



wood of that tree is best adapted, and 

 this fact is especially true of the 

 cypress. Cypress grown in the flooded 

 swamps bordering on the Gulf of 

 Mexico is best suited to the moisture 

 and heat of a greenhouse and that 

 which grows under dry conditions is 

 used for residences and buildings of 

 that character. 



"Sap in cypress greenhouse material 

 is a fatal defect and only those that 

 have had a long and thorough ex- 

 perience with the wood can detect its 

 presence. Not one florist out of fifty 

 knows what 'stained' sap is, or can tell 

 it in a piece of lumber — very few 

 know what sap is or know whether it is 

 in the material or not. 



"In view of the above it is strange 

 that occasionally a man is found who 

 wants a different kind of wood for his 

 greenhouse — who wants cedar or some 

 other wood — but if you get cypress, anil 

 the right kind of cypi^ss, you will make 

 no mistake. ' ' 



experiments in intensive culture with a 

 wide range of garden crops, planned for 

 this Shiocton marsh tract before the 

 corporation which controls it puts it on 

 the market. 



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THE MEN 



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M. CRAWFORD. 



M. Crawford, the well-known horticul- 

 turist, whose portrait appears in this 

 issue, has removed his large stock of 

 gladiolus bulbs from Cuyahoga Falls, 

 O., to the tract of ground owned by the 

 Shiocton Garden Land Co., at Shiocton, 

 Wis. In this new location he will not 

 only continue to give attention to his 

 own specialty, the raising of gladiolus 

 bulbs, but will also superintend the 

 horticultural experiments of the Shiocton 

 Garden Land Co. Extensive gardens of 

 vegetables will be grown by the com- 

 pany under Mr. Crawford 's direction, and 

 experiments will be carried on in order 

 to determine the kinds of vegetables for 

 which the soil is best suited. Mean- 

 while Mr. Crawford will also act as 

 editor of the horticultural department of 

 the Shiocton News and of the Black 

 ("reek Times. 



Though in early life his opportunities 

 for self-improvement were limited, Mr. 

 Crawford is now well fitted, both by 

 theoretical knowledge and by practical 

 experience, for the performance of these 

 varied duties. He has been actively en- 

 gaged in horticulture for more than half 

 a century. He is also well known as a 

 writer and lecturfy on horticultural sub- 

 jects, and is an acknowledged authority 

 in several branches of the science. 



Mr. Crawford was born in County 

 Antrim, Ireland, in 1839. While he was 

 still very young his father died, and 

 when he was only 10 years old he and his 

 younger brother were brought by their 

 mother to America, and the family set- 

 tled in Ohio. About 1850 they made their 

 home in Cleveland, and six years after- 

 ward Mr. Crawford began work on the 

 large market garden conducted by the 

 late George H. Lodge in that city. From 

 that date he has been engaged con- 

 tinuously in horticultural work. In 1876 

 he began the raising of strawberry plants 

 for the trade, and since the early 



eighties he has been carrying on a 

 steadily increasing business in the grow- 

 ing of gladiolus bulbs. Recently he has 

 sown as much as fifty pounds of gladio- 

 lus seed in a single year, and it is ex- 

 pected that this season he will grow over 

 two million of the bulbs. But though he 

 has given special attention to the straw- 

 berry and the gladiolus, he has also 

 been a constant experimenter in many 

 kinds of flowers, vegetables and fruits, 

 trying new varieties of plants and test- 

 ing various methods of culture. It is 

 thought that no better man could have 

 been found to carry on the series of 



BUDDLEIA ASIATICA. 



I have heard various opinions coueciii- 

 ing Buddleia Asiatica, says a writer in 

 the Horticultural Advertiser, whirh, 

 though introduced about thirty years 

 ago, has only recently come to the frdiit. 

 I find few of the market growers c;.ie 

 to take it up at present, yet it may l,e 

 worth more than some think it is. I m.iy 

 be going a little out of the way in mvX-. 

 ing any suggestions regarding a plaat 

 I have not grown myself, but sevcj.il 

 growers have said that there was imt 

 enough in a pot, and it appears to , !e 

 that it is one of those plants which, ii'. 

 instead of being grown singly, three tr 

 more were grown in the same pot, mc/iv 

 satisfactory results would be obtaine !. 

 I find it roots freely from cuttings, an. I 

 once get a few good stock plants there 

 would be little difficulty in getting a 

 large crop of cuttings. I anl told that 

 although considered nearly hardy, it is 

 only under glass that it can be flowered 

 satisfactorily. It may be that some mar- 

 ket grower will take it in hand and prove 

 its usefulness. What a long time it was 

 before Eose Crimson Rambler came to 

 be recognized as of any value for mark(n 

 trade. 



St. Johnsbuey, Vt. — James Burns is 

 superintending the landscape work at 

 Speedwell Farms, Lyndonville, where a 

 new range of greenhouses also is beini; 

 erected. During his absence Mrs. Bums 

 has charge of the business here. 



Spkingfield, III. — The state of Illi 

 nois is making effort to collect from for 

 mer state treasurers the sum of interest 

 pocketed on deposits of public money. 

 A number of the state treasurers are 

 dead and action is being taken against 

 their estates or their bondsmen. George 

 M. Brinkerhoff, the florist, has been on 

 the bonds of six state treasurers. 



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SEASONABLE 



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SUGGESTIONS 



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Gardenias* 



From the larger markets cpme reports 

 of an increasing demand for the highly 

 perfumed gardenia, or cape jasmine. In 

 Texas, Florida and other warm states 

 these do splendidly out of doors. Many 

 are shipped north, but on arrival are 

 only poor apologies of what the flowers 

 are when picked. Their petals are easily 

 bruised and great care is needed in pack- 

 ing to secure their arrival at the stores 

 or markets in a presentable condition. In 

 our northern states, gardenia culture is 

 steadily increasing. The flower is more 

 popular than the orchid for boutonnieres 

 and commands a high price during the 

 winter months and a fair sum is usually 

 realized on flowers produced in spring, 

 the natural flowering time of the plant. 

 Any florist possessing a house where a 



minimum temperature of 60 to 65 dc 

 grees can be kept up in zero weather can 

 grow gardenias well. If hot water oi 

 steam pipes are laid under the benches 

 to give a little bottom heat, all the bet 

 ter. These need not be within two fee 

 of the bottom of the bench. All that i 

 needed is a little warmth for the soil. 



Many growers handle these plants onb 

 in pots. For mid-winter blooming thi 

 has some advantage, for buds form mon 

 quickly on pot plants than on thosr 

 grown planted out, but for size of bloom 

 quantity and dark green, vigorous fob 

 age, bench culture is essential. 



The propagation of gardenias is sim 

 pie. Cuttings rubbed off with a heel, o" 

 cut below a pair of leaves, and insertei' 

 in a propagating house with a good bot- 

 tom heat and a top heat of 65 to 70 de- 

 grees at night, will be well rooted and 



