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14 



The Weekly Rorists' Review. 



May 6, 1909. 



BERLIN INTERNATIONAL SHOW. 



It Was Really International. 



It is not my intention to pen a full 

 report of tlie grand spectacular effect of 

 the great International Exhibition re- 

 cently held in Berlin, as in its general 

 aspect it was on similar lines to the ma- 

 jority of European exhibitions, but I 

 shall only touch upon a few of its lead- 

 ing features and especially the novelties 

 which it brought out. 



Right here, however, it is worth not- 

 ing that, unlike many so-called interna- 

 tional exhibitions in Europe, it was inter- 

 national in character as well as in name. 

 Contrary to the expectations of many of 

 us who ku<j)w the ropes pretty well as 

 regards exlugits and exhibitors, there 

 were splendid representations of the hor- 

 ticultural products of Belgium, France, 

 Holland and England. Indeed, on no oc 

 casion have I seen such a varied muster 

 of exhibits from so many countries, and 

 I have visited nearly every international 

 horticultural exhibition in Europe dur- 

 ing the last ten years. 



r:: Exhibits From Holland and Belgium. 



Holland came out particularly strong, 

 with a flower garden of bulbs. This was 

 promoted by the Dutch Bulb Growers' 

 Association. About 20,000 hyacinths 

 were arranged in beds by F. U. Goemans, 

 and the display was quite a unique fea- 

 ture of the show. Rhododendrons from 

 Boskoop, Holland, eclipsed all others 

 shown, C. B. Van Nes & Sons taking the 

 lead, with Pink Pearl and White Pearl. 



Belgian exhibiters, notably Louis Van 

 Houtte, :]^ere, Ghent; Flandria, Bruges, 

 and E. Vercauteren, Ghent, well main- 

 tained the credit of their country, with 

 azaleas, palms, dracsenas. aspidistras, be- 

 gonias, etc., Phoenix Rcebelenii standing 

 out preeminently. 



France^ England and America. 



France was represented by Vilmorin, 

 Paris, with a magnificent strain of ciner 

 arias, and a collection of gerberas from 

 R. Adnet, Cap d'Antibes, were a peren- 

 nial source of interest, surpassing any 

 thing ever seen in this line for extent of 

 varieties and range of colors. 



P^ngland's principal exhibits were or 

 chids from Charlesworth & Co., carnations 

 from C. Engelmann and G. Lange, and 

 zonal pelargoniums from Cannell & Sons. 



America was also in the running 

 Henry A. Drcer, Philadelphia, kept the 

 flag flying by showing Nephrolepis exal- 

 tata Scholzeli. 



JZ^ German Exhibits Predominated. 



Naturally, German exhibits predomi 

 nated. I will only give a few of the 

 leading lines before passing- on to the 

 novelties. The best roses were shown by 

 Adolf Koschel, Charlottenburg. Azaleas 

 are cultivated extensivelv around Dres 

 den. and T. J. Seidel, of that city, cre- 

 ated a maguificent effect with robust, well 

 flowered specimens. F. Honkel. of Darm- 

 stadt, who has the finest collection of 

 aquatics I have yet seen, greatly inter- 

 ested the public with a remarkable ex- 

 hibit, and the veteran, W. Pfitzer, of 

 Stuttgart, showed new and rare begonias, 

 pelargoniums and Myosotis Ruth FiscJier! 



German firms have given us some re- 

 markably fine forms of Primula obconica, 

 both as regards size of flowers and rich- 

 ness and diversity of colors. Xotable 

 among these firms is G. Arends, of Rons- 

 dorf, and he and others contributed in 

 their richest style. 



I could go on and name many other 



good things, but have selected only a few 

 points which, in my opinion, will be of 

 most interest to readers of the Review. 

 Two more well-known firms and their ex- 

 hibits, however, should be included: Otto 

 Beyrodt, of Berlin, who contributed a 

 Japanese garden, and L. Spath, Berlin, 

 who brought conifers, rhododendrons, etc., 

 in profusion from his extensive nurseries, 

 and arranged them in a really picturesque 

 fashion. 



German Novelties. 



Viewed from a commercial standpoint, 

 novelties were few and far between. 

 Many things comparatively new came be- 

 fore the notice of the general public of 

 Berlin for the first time, but Hye and 

 up-to-date traders were disappointed in 

 tiieir quest for real novelties. ■'* 



However, there were a few exceptions. 

 Rose Natalie Boettner, a cross between 

 Frau Karl Druschki and Goldelse, of a 

 creamy white shade, seemed quite prom- 

 ising, as did Hydrangea hortensis Frau 

 Gertrude Linz, from E. Braunnemann, 



Tbe ■ditor Is pleased 

 when a Reader 

 presents bis Ideas 

 on any subject treated tn 



cV/l^ 



As experience Is tbe be«t 

 teaober, so do we 

 learn fastest by aa 

 excbansre of experiences. 

 Many x^uable points 

 are brouKbt out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, BpelUngr and gram- 

 mar, though desirable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 doinir your ^esu 



WK 8HALX. BE GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM TOU. 



very dwarf and remarkably free; has the 

 look of a good selling market plant. 

 Arends' strains of Primula obconica cre- 

 ated a most favorable impression, as also 

 did the rococo strain of cyclamen from 

 .1. C. Schmidt, Erfurt. Impatiens Holstii 

 nana Liegnitzia, from 0. Otto. Liegnitz, 

 a very floriferous, dwarf growing type, 

 should prove as useful as it is beautiful. 

 To conclude the best of the German 

 novelties, I will mention an azalea from 

 T. J. Seidel, named Herme, with semi 

 double, clear pink flowers, the petals mar 

 gined white. It was current talk in the 

 exhibition that it had been purchased by 

 an American firm. 



Other Noveltiej. 



Belgian novelties included Dracaena 

 Bruanti variegata, from E. Vercauteren, 

 Ghent. This I had previously noted in 

 the nurseries. The greenish-golden foli- 

 age is effective and gives variety to dec- 

 orative schemes. It should become fairly 

 popular and is, at all events, Avorth a 

 trial. Vriesias are extensively used as 

 commercial decorative plants in Germany 

 and France, and De Smet, of Vinder 



houte, Ghent, exhibited two or three new 

 things in this line. 



Holland's best novelty was a rhodo- 

 dendron of the Aucklandii type, and flow- 

 ers in the way of Pink Pearl, the petals 

 beautifully waved on the margins. Mr. 

 Watson, of the Kew Botanic Gardens, 

 who was one of the judges, promptly se- 

 cured this for the Kew collection. It 

 was exhibited in a collection of hybrids 

 by the enterprising Boskoop firm, C. B. 

 Van Nes & Sons. 



Among novelties I must also include 

 the gerberas from R. Adnet, France, and 

 nephrolepis from Henry A. Dreer, both 

 referred to above. Bee. 



INSUFFICIENT WATER SUPPLY. 



I am sending you with this letter a 

 box containing a leaf of a plant called 

 Bird of Paradise by the lady who owns 

 it. I wish to know if the name is cor- 

 rect, also what is the trouble with it. 

 You will see by the leaf that the little 

 green leaflets are dropping off. They 

 do not discolor much before they drop, 

 but keep dropping until the whole plant 

 is a skeleton, when it dies. This is the 

 fourth plant this lady has had, and while 

 this one has lived longest, it is now go- 

 ing the same way. This plant has blos- 

 somed and at present it has five seed 

 pods on it. There is no gas in the house. 

 It has always been kept in the parlor 

 window, away from the strong sun. It 

 has been watered by having the pot set 

 in a dish of water and is never watered 

 until the earth is dry and crumbly on 

 top, which is this lady's method of car- 

 ing for her plants. She has beautiful 

 ferns in the same room and no trouble 

 with them. Her soil is always good, as 

 her husband is a market gardener and 

 usually prepares her soil. B. M. R. 



The leaves, as near as I can tell from 

 the specimens received, are of one of 

 the acacias, either A. lophantha or A. 

 Arabica, gum Arabic. Acacias want cool 

 treatment and must never be allowed to 

 get at all dry at the root. The cause 

 of the leaves turning yellow was un- 

 doubtedly an insuflScient water supply. 

 These plants succeed best plunged in a 

 sunny spot outdoors from the end of 

 May until early October. Let the plants 

 have a room, if possible, with a night 

 temperature of 40 to 45 degrees, rather 

 than 60 to 65 degrees, and water abun- 

 dantly in the future. C. W. 



OBITUARY. 



John A. Shellem. 



John A. Shellem, one of the veteran 

 growers at Philadelphia, died May 3, 

 after a long illness. Mr. Shellem had a 

 range of upwards of 60,000 feet of glass, 

 growing both cut flowers and pot plants, 

 and became widely known in the trade 

 a few years ago through the work he 

 did with seedling roses. The variety, 

 William R. Smith, originated under his 

 hands, being a cross of Kaiserin and 

 Maman Cochet. 



The funeral will be held Thursday, 

 May 6, and will be largely attended, as 

 Mr. Shellem had a large circle of friends 

 outside the trade as well as in it. 



Adolph Frost. 



.Adolph Frost, the oldest florist of Cort- 

 land. N. Y., died in that city April 29. 



Mr. Frost was born January 4, 1831, 

 at Bischofswerder, west of Prussia, Ger- 

 many. His father was superintendent of 

 the king's woods. Mr. Frost entered the 



