12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



Sbpxombkr 30, 1909. 



BASSETT'S DAHLIA FARM. 



J. Murray Bassett has four dahlia 

 farms in and about Hammonton, N. J., 

 that are of especial interest to flower 

 lovers at this season, Hammonton, as 

 everyone knovvs or ought to know, is a 

 growing town in the central part of 

 southern New Jersey. One naturally 

 adopts the standards of others better 

 posted and when the railroad conductor 

 called out "Hammonton and Atlantic 

 City only," the words of a sporting 

 Philadelphian who said there were only 

 two cities in the world, Paris and Atlantic 

 City, recurred vividly, suggesting the 



J. M. Bassett's Yellow Seedling Dahlia. 



thought that Hammonton had been in- 

 advertently overlooked. 



Hammonton never appeared to better 

 advantage than on the last Saturday 

 afternoon in September. The air was 

 clear and fresh, the trees bright green 

 without a trace of autumn; the grass and, 

 best of all, the dahlias, were in splendid 

 condition after the rain of the previous 

 day. The season has been a hard one on 

 dahlias, the long-continued summer 

 drought being most trying. Fancy, then, 

 the pleasure experienced at the sight of 

 the fields in splendid condition. The 

 deep cultivating, followed at frequent in- 

 tervals by further cultivation less and 

 less deep as the plants grew, had evidently 

 conserved moisture in a marked degree. 



The features of especial interest in Mr. 

 Bassett 's place are three seedling dahlias, 

 all in their second year and all of un- 

 usual promise. One is a scarlet believed 

 to l)e superior to Lyndhurst, of like color, 

 freer in bloom, stronger in growth, larger 

 in Hower, when compared to the older 

 variety. Another is an orange yellow, 

 a dahlia of the decorative type that 

 should prove beautiful in combination 

 with autumn foliage. The third is Mr. 

 Bassett 's especial pride. It is a decora- 

 tive white, large and full, wonderfully 

 free; this variety had an immense quan- 

 tity of buds on long, stiff stems. 



Delice was effective, the clear pink 

 showing to advantage. Parcifal, too, was 

 seen in good form. The novelty that at- 

 tracts everyone. Mr. Bassett said, is 

 Master Carl, an orange yellow variety, 

 cactus type. This variety is exception- 

 ally beautiful and seems assured of a 

 bright future. Among the singles, Sen- 

 eation, red white tipped, an introduction I 

 of L. K. Peacock, was striking. Big I 



Chief and Cardinal were also effective. 

 There are a number of single seedlings 

 of the Century type that, while fine, were 

 no improvement, Mr. Bassett said, over 

 existing varieties." Sylvia, Nymphsea, 

 Perle d 'Or and other good standard kinds 

 are grown in quantity. Aurora, the name 

 describing the color, a cactus variety, 

 very showy, is a favorite of Mr. Bas- 

 sett's, as also is its counterpart. Jack 

 Eose. 



Mr. Bassett completed a house last 

 winter 14x40 for propagating dahlias. 

 He also is experimenting with California 

 privet grown as standards. Phil. 



IMPORT STOCK. 



Ealph M. Ward & Co. have just re- 

 ceived cable advices from Japan to the 

 effect that the crop of bulbs of Ldlium 

 longiflorum giganteum is much shorter 

 than was anticipated and that prices have 

 advanced from thirty to forty per cent. 

 Large sizes have turned out extremely 

 scarce and full deliveries are not ex- 

 pected. Adolphe Goldenberg, of Ward 

 & Co., is in Europe and reports a good 

 crop of lily of the valley pips in the 

 Hamburg producing center, with the 

 prospect, also, that the stock will be of 

 excellent quality. He found azaleas at 

 Ghent to be short this year, and reports 

 that some varieties cannot be delivered 

 in full. He says prices will no doubt ad- 

 vance next season, for the Ghent district 

 is closely sold out of growing stock. 



Another of the large importers of Bel- 

 gian plants states that he has learned 

 from several sources in Belgium that ' ' the 

 cold, wet summer there has prevented 

 azaleas making their usual growth, and 

 for that reason plants will not be so lib- 

 eral in size, or so well budded, as in for- 

 mer seasons. Deliveries now arriving bear 

 out these statements. Palms are as scarce 

 as ever, principally owing to the large de- 

 mand from Germany, fiussia, England 

 and France. Azaleas are up in price and 

 will be higher by next fall. Dresden 

 growers have taken over 500,000 plants 

 from Ghent more than usual this fall. 

 Araucarias are plentiful." 



LIFTING AND STORING CANNAS. 



Please tell me when I should take up 

 my cannas and how and where I should 

 keep them over winter. C. H. 



After the plants have been killed by 

 frost, cut down the shoots to within six 

 inches of the ground. On a dry, sunny 

 day dig them up. Shake away a good 

 portion of the soil, but allow some to 

 adhere to the roots. Let the soil and 

 roots be well dried before housing them. 

 Pack them on shelves in a dry cellar or 

 shed; one where potatoes or dahlias will 

 keep will answer well for cannas. Be 

 sure that no moisture reaches them, as 

 this will cause the tubers to decay or 

 start the plants into premature growth. 



A greenhouse is hardly a suitable place 

 to keep them in, unless you can give 

 them a position free from drip and where 

 they will not be wetted by the hose, 

 W. N. C. 



FAILURE WITH ASPARAGUS. 



I am having bad luck with Asparagus 

 pluraosus, I have a bed in the green- 

 house on the ground. First the ground 

 was spaded deeply and was well en- 

 riched with cow manure. Boards were 

 nailed around the bed about fifteen 

 inches high and it was then filled in with 



carnation soil. The soil -was new, being 

 left over after filling the benches for car- 

 nations, I have the rows one foot apart 

 and eight inches between each plant. The 

 bed is shaded and is watered every otiier 

 day if it is at all dry on top. It so dg 

 up vines four or five feet high, but they 

 then turn yellow and dry up, and he 

 most of the foliage is a light green, i 

 applied some manure water on some, ;,ut 

 I think it made the plants look wo;se. 

 What shall I do to make them a pre ty 

 dark green, and what is the cause of ihe 

 new growths dying? J. G. 



I am inclined to think that you hiive 

 not proper drainage in your soU. The 

 way your shoots turn would seem to in- 

 dicate sour soil conditions or imperfect 

 drainage, probably both. It is of no use 

 trying to grow this asparagus, unless 

 you give it thorough drainage composed 

 of rocks or clinkers from the furnaee. 

 I would advise lifting your plants and 

 giving plenty of coarse drainage, so that 

 water will pass away freely. Then place 

 • eighteen to twenty-four inches of rich 

 soil over it, composed of fibrous loam, 

 rotted cow manure, partially decayed 

 leaves and sharp sand. The compost 

 should be rather coarse, for if properly 

 made you ought not to replant for six or 

 eight years. 



Giving manure water will only aggra- 

 vate the trouble with your plants. The 

 roots are evidently in an unhealthy state 



J. M. Bassett's Scarlet Seedling Dahlia. 



and nothing short of proper drainage an<' 

 replanting will remedy your trouble. 



W. C. 



PoNTiAC, III.— W. J. Miller & Son, at 

 416 East Payson street, are getting 

 ready to erect three greenhouses, each 

 27x100, and a boiler-room, 20x81. They 

 will grow roses, carnations and genera^ 

 stock, for the wholesale and retail trade 

 They expect to be able to fill the houses 

 in January, 1910. They will build a 

 salesroom and a propagating house next 

 spring. The new range will be called the 

 Payson Street Greenhouses, 



