Mabch 5, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



.-.sy ^^" 



37 



DREER'S iiiyABLE Flower Seeds 



SWEET PEAS for Cntting 



The kinds which find the readiest sale are those like the following, which 

 have brlKbt, clear, decided colors. 



For complete list see our Current Wholesale Catalogue. 



ORCHID-FLOWERED VARIETIES 



This type has very large, wavy flowers, usually four blossoms, on long, stiff 

 stems, and are as easy to grow as the standard sorts. Oz. ^4 lb. Lb. 



Countess Spencer (true), a lovely clear pink.. .10c $0.36 $1.25 



Frank Dolby, largest pale lavender &0c 



Gladys Unwin, pale rose-pink, fine 10c 



John Insman, rich salmon rose 10c 



Mrs. Al&ed Watkins, superb pale pink 60c 



Nora Utiwin, a magnificent pure white 50c 



Phyllis Unwin, light rose-carmine, very large. . .10c 

 Orchid-Flowered Mixed, many varieties 10c 



STANDARD VARIETIES q^ 



Blanche Ferry, the popular pink and white .... 5c 



»» extra early, flowers 10 days earlier. 5c 



Countess o£ Radnor, delicate lavender 5c 



Dorothy Eckford, the best standard pure white 5c 

 Earliest of All, a very early flowering form of 



Blanche Ferry 5c 



Emily Henderson, a free and early pure white. 5c 



Flora Norton, a clear sky blue • 6c 



Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon, primrose yellow 5c 



Janet Scott, a large, bright pink 5c 



King Edward VII., rich crimson scarlet 5c 



Liady Grisel Hamilton, large pale lavender .... 5c 



Lovely, beautiful shell-pink 5c 



Miss Willmott, bright orange pink 5c 



Mont Blanc, the earliest pure white 6c 



Mrs. Walter Wright, deep mauve, flne 6c 



Prima Donna, a fine deep pink 5c 



Prince of Wales, rich deep rose 5c 



HENRY A. DREER 



714 Chestnut St.^ PHILADELPHIA Type o£ OrcMd-Flowered Sweet Peas. 



Mention The Review when yon write. 



The Crego Aster 



Advertised as the "Best Aater on tlis 

 Market." Seed ready for prompt delivery. 

 Colors— shell pink, white, and dark pink. Trade 

 packet (about 2000 seeds), $1.00; half ounce, $4.50: 

 ounce, $8.00. Cash with order, please. 



Addteu G. S. CREOO, Majrwood, 111. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



tory manner in which it may have been 

 practiced, varietal selection yet remains 

 the most certain and powerful method of 

 molding vegetable life to meet the needs 

 or fancies of man. It is the truest form 

 of breeding, the genuine pedigree work 

 by which we have slowly climbed toward 

 the goal of vegetable perfection. Vio- 

 lent climatic changes, distant removals, 

 intense fertilization and the little known 

 forces of mutation or bud variation have 

 all had their influence, but they are 

 small indeed compared to that of con- 

 tinued selection. Modification by inten- 

 tional hybridization or cross-pollination, 

 though a powerful means of adding new 

 characteristics, is of such recent prac- 

 tice, beginning, in fact, almost with the 

 closing years of the last century, that it 

 has made but limited impression on 

 vegetable types. The present standard 

 varieties are, with few exceptions, the 

 outcome of selection alone. Hybridiza- 

 tion, coupled with the all-necessary selec- 

 tion, is likely to bear an increasing share 

 in future vegetable breeding. Following 

 is a brief resume of the principal mod- 

 ern vegetables, with reference to the 

 general manner of their production. 



NEW DOUBLE BLUE LOBELIA 



Kathleen •• Mallard 



THK BKST NOVBLTT TOR 1908. 



Intensely blue flowers, often measuring % Inches in diameter, literally cover the plant, 

 producing a splendid effect. By buyinfl; noyr you can triplicate your stock from cuttings 

 before planting time. From 2^-lncb pots, $1.00 per doz.; $8.00 per 100. By express only. 



W. W. RAWSON & CO. 



5 Union St., BOSTON, NXSS. 



Mention The Review when .vou write. 



Asparasfus* 



The cultivated varieties of asparagus 

 all appear to have been developed by 

 age-long selection from the common 

 European species, A. officinalis. A few 

 modern kinds are claimed to be cross- 

 bred, but whether intentionally so we 

 are not informed. Asparagus, being 

 largely dioecious in blooming habit, is 

 readily cross-fertilized when two or more 

 varieties are grown in the near vicinity. 

 A Massachusetts society has undertaken 

 breeding experiments with asparagus, 

 both on the lines of pure selection and 

 well considered crossing, with the hope 

 of producing varieties more resistant to 

 rust than those now cultivated. 



Beets. 



Modern garden beets are admirable 

 examples of critical selection for untold 



generations of culture. Certain varieties 

 leave little to be desired in elegance of 

 form, coloring or quality. The present 

 effort appears to be toward uniformity 

 of type rather than refinement of the 

 above-mentioned features. The use of 

 beets for sugar production has, however, 

 led to wonderful development of forms 

 suitable for that important commercial 

 purpose. The sugar content of the beet 

 has been more than doubled in less than 

 forty years of concentrated breeding 

 work, largely under government super- 

 vision. Selection of the best sugar pro- 

 ducing individuals for successive genera- 

 tions has been the all-powerful means, 

 but cross-pollination is now beginning 

 to play its part. One of the important 

 objects sought by the breeders of our 

 Department of Agriculture is the pro- 

 duction of a reliable strain of one-germ 



