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May 10, 1018. 



The Florists^ Review 



27 



rames if protected from the bright 

 un by lath shades and sprayed dur- 

 ng bright sunshine. For Thanksgiving 

 owering, house the plants early in 

 Jeptember. For Christmas blooming, 

 eave them out a month later. Pick 

 iflf all flowers remaining on the plants 

 ow. ' C. W. 



IWENTY GOOD GERMAN IRISES. 



My collection of irises now contains 

 ver 550 varieties, but I do not intend 

 o propagate all of them. They are 

 matched closely at blooming time, and 

 if those that I consider extra good I 

 ncrease my stock as fast as possible. 

 Avoid all manure in growing the 

 German iris. Even to mulch with 

 trawy manure may ruin the plants. 

 )ne fall I mulched with strawy manure; 

 ^he next season many of them rottedat., 

 he, crown and the tops dropped oflE "ffie 

 oots. Some varieties are more sus- 

 leptible to this trouble than others. 



I will give a list of twenty good va- 

 ieties, but of course there are many 

 lore good ones. I have bought new, 

 igh priced varieties, and generally 

 ;hey do not compare with many that 

 lave been on the market for a num- 

 ber of years. Here are some depend- 

 ble sorts: 



Atropurpurea, 



Aurea, 



Celeste, 



Darius, 



Fairy, 



Dr. Bernice, 



3ertrude, 



Ber Majesty, 



Leonidas, 



Mrs. H. Darwin, 



Magnifica, 

 Mme. Chereau, 

 Mrs. Nubronner, 

 Mme. Paquette, 

 Harlequin Milan ais, 

 Parisiensis, 

 Queen of May, 

 Jacquesiana, 

 Silver King, 

 Velveteen, 

 This list gives a wide range of color, 

 and all are good. 



Some claim that Silver King is the 

 same as Florentina, but mine is better 

 than Florentina, being a stronger grow- 

 er and having larger flowers. 



Velveteen and Judith are much alike. 

 Ccerulea is one of the best of the pumlla 

 irises, a lovely shade of skyblue. 



The Siberian irjses are satisfactory. 

 They do not have so wide a range of 

 color as the German irises and are most- 

 ly shades of blue. Orientalis, intense- 

 ly brilliant blue. Snow Queen, large 

 ivory white, and Lady Godiva, blush 

 white, flushed rose, are good. 



W. E. Fryer. 



LIQUIDS FOR ASPARAGUS. 



Please state the correct quantity of 

 each of the following substances to 

 make 1,000 gallons of liquid for plumo- 

 sus and smilax: Hard-wood ashes. As- 

 paragus Fertilizer (pure bone and pot- 

 ash), Bon Arbor, blood, blood flour, 

 bone flour, cotton-seed meal, cow ma- 

 nure from stable, dried cow manure, 

 fish guano or dried flsh, guano, dried 

 hog manure, fresh hog manure, horse 

 manure, sheep manure, hen manure, 

 lump lime, nitrate of soda, salt, soot, 

 tankage, tobacco stems, night soil, 

 Nico-fume, tobacco dust, Tobakine 

 liquid and Worm Eradicator. C. B. 



Several of the substances mentioned 

 in the foregoing list are not adapted 

 • for use in liquid form, among these be- 

 ing wood ashes, cotton-seed meal, bone 

 flour, fish guano, lime, tobacco dust 

 and tankage. 



The various kinds of stable manure 

 mentioned may be used in the propor- 

 tion of ten to fifteen bushels to 1,000 

 gallons of water, with the exception of 



^A Remarkable Specimen of Agave Atteauata. 



hen manure, which is more concen- 

 trated and should not be used in more 

 than one-half the quantity mentioned. 

 Of pure guano a still smaller quantity 

 would be required to give the proper 

 strength. Bon Arbor and nitrate of 

 soda should not be used stronger than 

 one pound to fifty gallons of water. 



The nicotine extracts mentioned are 

 good insecticides in the proportion of 

 one part of the extract to 300 parts of 

 water. Probably salt could be used 

 safely at the rate of twenty-five pounds 

 to 1,000 gallons, but when using salt 

 on smilax I have used it dry in small 

 quantities and then watered it in. 



W. H. T. 



A HUGE AGAVE. 



The remarkable plant here illustrated, 

 with its immense flower spike supported 

 in the form of an arch, is a specimen 

 of Agave attenuata, which belongs to 

 the same genus as the century plant. 

 The photograph was sent to The Re- 

 view by William Hertrich, superinten- 

 dent of the H. E. Huntington estate, at 

 San Marino, Cal. It is Mr. Hertrich 

 himself that occupies the center of the 

 picture, his figure framed by the arch- 

 ing spike. Authorities state that the 

 flower spike of Agave attenuata is 

 sometimes six inches in diameter and 

 from five to eight feet long, but the 

 spike of the plant here shown, Mr. 

 Hertrich says, was twelve feet long, 

 and carried, after blooming, from 700 

 to 800 bulblets. The flowers are green- 

 ish yellow, slender and about two 

 inches long. 



Mr. Hertrich quotes a statement of 

 Professor Bailey, to the effect that 

 Agave attenuata has flowered only 

 twice in the United States — in the 

 Washington Botanical Garden in 1897 



and 1898. As is well known, the agaves 

 mature slowly and most of them, like 

 the century plant, do not flower until 

 they reach maturity, when they bloom 

 once and then die. Others bloom more 

 frequently and a few species are in 

 flower every year. 



The different species of agave vary 

 greatly in size, from small, neat green- 

 house plants to huge outdoor specimens,, 

 often unwieldy and diflBcult to handle. 

 They are natives of hot, arid regions of 

 America, but they readily show their 

 appreciation of more favorable sur- 

 roundings and are not difficult to grow. 

 The soil should be principally loam and 

 sand. Most of the large-growing kinds 

 are easily propagated from suckers, but 

 some are raised only from seeds. 



DAHLIAS TOO ADVANCED. 



I have a lot of dahlias which have 

 been started in flats. They have grown 

 extra rank. Would it be detrimental 

 to flowering if they were cut back? 

 Please state the best way to handle 

 them. J. D. W. 



The best plan will be to head back 

 the dahlias and let them break away 

 near the ground. You have started 

 your plants rather too early. Another 

 season plant them out without starting 

 them at all under glass and they will 

 do better. C. W. 



NAME OF HYDRANGEA. 



Will you please tell me the name of 

 the enclosed hydrangea? M. B. C. 



It is one of the new French hydran- 

 geas, probably Mme. Mouillere. The 

 flowers being faded, it is hard to tell 

 exactly. ^ C. W. 



