46 



The Weekly Rorists^ Review* 



July 1, 1909. 



spite of every effort to supplant it. Ap- 

 parently, those plants which we produce 

 by sowing the seed are much less sub- 

 ject to deterioration than such a plant 

 as the potato, which we produce by plant- 

 ing the tuber, the reason to my mind 

 being fully found in the natural, con- 

 stant hybridization which occurs at the 

 blossoming period among the seed-pro- 

 ducing plants. Now, this constant hy- 

 bridization — not the intermingling of 

 different varieties with one another, but 

 the intermingling of individual plants of 

 the same variety — appears to me both as 

 a means of deterioration and at the same 

 time as an essential of life in its rela- 

 tionship to what we call types of cab- 

 bage. 



Natural Deterioration. 



We must recognize the fact that each 

 plant is an individual, member of a va- 

 riety though it be. Each plant pos- 

 sesses a character of its own, a consti- 

 tution of its own, and seemingly a dis- 

 position of its own. Some are healthy 

 and strong, some unhealthy and weak; 

 some are well disposed and perfect types 

 of the variety, while others show vicious 

 tendencies, and the seed produced from 

 any given plant is of course hybridized, 

 through nature's process, by the other 

 plants which grow in its proximity. With- 

 out constant vigilance on the part of the 

 grower, this natural mixing of individual 

 plants in the blossoming season becomes 

 a menace and an element of deteriora- 

 tion, but the remedy is extremely simple 

 and well known — we have only to discard 

 the vicious specimens, a matter which de- 

 pends for practical results far more on 

 the discernment and intelligence of the 

 man behind the hoe than upon the num- 

 ber of plants removed from the field. 



Eeproducing year after year without 

 any particular care, permitting every 

 plant to bear all the seed it naturally 

 will and harvesting the whole product 

 just as it is reproduced, with the natural 

 process of mingling good and bad to- 

 gether, results in a rapid deterioration 

 of the variety as measured by garden- 

 ers' standards. The plants become wild, 

 producing cabbages, but not cabbage 

 heads. The plant, while seemingly it 

 has gained in hardiness and vigor and 

 is in consequence the better able to resist 

 disease, has apparently lost its capacity 

 to produce the head for which it is cul- 

 tivated and which gives it its value. 

 This, at least, seems to be a natural ten- 

 dency and might be termed natural de- 

 terioration. 



Deterioration From Overbreeding. 



On the other hand, the seed breeder, 

 seeking by the most patient and pains- 

 taking effort to improve his stocks, in 

 making his selection of stock seeds has 

 naturally in mind a given ideal of every 

 variety. The plants which he selects for 

 his planting stock, which of course forms 

 the basis of his strain, are those speci- 

 mens which in every particular are the 

 nearest approach to the ideal type which 

 he has in mind. Seedsmen, in particular, 

 like to see all the plants grow just alike, 

 but the effort of itself is to a certain 

 extent an effort to destroy the vitality 

 and individuality of the plant, which 

 to my mind is an essential to the life of 

 the variety. Following too blindly the 

 effort to make all grow to a given id.eal 

 is apt to result in a weakening of vitality 

 and a lack of the resistant force neces- 

 sary to combat the plant's natural ene- 

 mies and the conditions unfavorable to 

 its development. 



Some time ago a seedsman wrote me 



Rawsoo's Gold Medal Primulas 



Undisputedly the finest Primrose for the American Florist. 

 Our Fresh Seeds are ready Now and this is the best time to bow them. 



100 seeds 1000 seeds 



Crimson 50e $4.00 



Ktlmon 6»c 4.00 



XmKS Bed 50c 4.00 



100 seeds 1000 seeds 



Gold Nedftl Mixtiire 60c $4.00 



Pure Whtte 50c 4.00 



BiUIUnt Pink 50c 4.00 



Dmp Bine 50c 4.00 



The DneheBB, pink, white eye. . 50c 



4.00 



W. W. RAWSON & CO., Seedsmen 



6 UNION ST., BOSTON, MASS. 



Mention The Review when vou write 



PLANT CANES 



JAPANESE BAMBOO 



Lighter, stronger and naore durable than the common 



Canes. Per 100, 65c; per 1000, $5.50; original bundle 



of 2000 Canes, $10.50. 



Currle Bros. Co., 



and Florists, MliWdUkOOy WiSi 



Mention The Review when you write. 



PRIMUL^A 



n 1 11 c II s I 



I C) I, 



No better strains in existence. Famous Ronsdorfer 

 and Lattmann Obconica hybrids, 2-in. stock ready now. 

 For prices see classified adv. 



J. L. SCHILLER, 929 Prouty Ave., Toledo, 0. 



Mention The Review when you write 



COtD 8TORAGK BULBS 



CIGANTEUM and AURATUM 



Cannas, Caladiums, Gladiolus and Tuberose Bulbs 



SEEDS FOR FLORISTS 



Money-Bavlngr price listB— Free 



Da RUSGONly CIHCimrATX. o. 



Mention The Review when you write 



GLADIOLI 



As e^ood as any and better 

 than many. 



L E. STEWARL Rives JuncUon, Mich. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



Catalogues, Colored Plates, 



CALENDARS. POST CARDS. BTC. 



HIGH CLASS ENGRAVINGS of AU KINDS 



Send for Catalosue. 



VREDENBURG&CO. 



BOCHSSTXB mW YORK 



Meiirimi I'he Review whnn voii writp 



Jos. H. Barnett & Co. 



334 Dearborn St., CHICAQO 



HALF TONE ENGRAVERS, ZINC ETCHERS, 

 ELEQROTYPERS 



Citaloiue uni Unrtitimt CMt by all PracBtisi 



Send us your Photoffraphi and let us make your Half 

 Tones. We make the encraTiogrs for the Review. 



Always mention the Florlsta* Review 

 when wTltlns adveitlaera. 



Bulbs 



Our price list for coming season 

 has been mailed. Should a copy 

 have failed to reach you, drop a 

 postal. It will pay you. 



Our TERCENTENARY strain of Pansy 

 cannot be surpassed. 



Yuess Gardens Co. 



NEWBURGH, N. T. 



Mention Th<» k«»vi<»w when vou write 



IRIS PALLIDA DALMATIGA 



German and Japan Iris, LIUeB, Delphinium 

 Formosum, other bulbs and hardy plants for 

 fall planting. Delivery after October 1. 



E. S. MILLER 



Wading River. Longr laland, N. Y. 



Mertlon The Review when you write. 



Bridgeman's Seed Warehouse 



EstabllBhed 1884. BICKABD8 BROS., Props. 

 Importers and rrowera of high-grade 



SEEDS, BULBS, PLANTS, ETC. 



37 last 19th Street, NEW YORK CITY 



Telephone 4286 Gramercy 

 Mention The Keview wnen vou write 



BAY TREES-BOXWOOD 



All Blzea and Shapes 



SPRING BULBS now ready for delivery. 



Write for special prices to 



r. W. O. SCHMITZ 



PRINCK BAT, NSW YORK 



Al^vays mention the Florlate* Review 

 when wrltlngr advertlsera. 



