June 26, 1913. 



The Floriste' Review 





SCHIZANTHUS FROM SEED. 



When is the proper time to sow seed 

 of schizanthus? What is the best va- 

 riety, the right treatment of it and 

 the temperature required? F. F. 



Schizanthus may be had in flower 

 from December until May. It is at its 

 best in February, March and April. For 

 an early batch, sow seed in a shallow 

 flat early in August. Pot off singly. 

 Grow as cool as possible. Pinch to 

 make the plants branch. Keep potting 

 on before the plants have any chance 

 to become matted at the roots. Use a 

 compost such as suits mums or roses. 

 Feed the plants liberally when estab- 

 lished in the pots they are to flower in. 

 Grow them cool and airy at all times. 

 A night temperature of 45 degrees is 

 better than one 5 degrees higher. 



Later sowings of schizanthus can be 

 made in September and November. The 

 secret of success with this beautiful 

 plant is to keep it growing without any 

 check, to give it abundance of water 

 and plenty of liquid food when needed, 

 to grow it in a cool, light house, well 

 ventilated, and never to attempt any 

 forcing tactics, as this would surely 

 spoil the plants. The best schizanthus 

 for pots is S. Wisetonensis. There are 

 several grandiflora forms and so-called 

 improvements of this now on the mar- 

 ket, C. W. 



OBITUAEY. 



Thomas Harrison. 



Word has been received of the sudden 

 death of Thomas Harrison, of Bernards- 

 ville, N. J., which occurred June 19 at 

 a physician's office in Brooklyn. Mr. 

 Harrison was well known. He was for- 

 merly superintendent of Elsinore, the 

 Ladew estate, and later of Meudon, the 

 Guthrie estate, at Glen Cove, L. I., but 

 was best known as the father of the 

 Nassau County Horticultural Society, 

 which he organized, and of which he 

 was the first president. For the last 

 few years he had been superintendent 

 of Ellis Court Farm, at Bernardsville. 

 Mr. Harrison was 52 years old. The 

 funeral was held at Khinebeck, N. Y., 

 June 22. 



F. W. Brookes. 



Frederick William Brookes, one of the 

 oldest residents of Chicago and gen- 

 erally conceded to be the first to embark 

 in the florists' trade in that city, died 

 June 22 at his home in Morgan Park, 

 111., at the age of 86' years. He was 

 born in London, England, in 1827, and 

 came to New York in 1832. In the fol- 

 lowing year the family started by ox 

 team for Chicago, arriving there after a 

 journey of thirty-five days. 



Mr. Brookes showed the spirit of a 

 pioneer in other lines of industry as 

 well as in the florists' field. He was a 

 charter member of the first printers' 

 union in Chicago and worked as a com- 

 positor in Chicago newspaper offices. 

 In 1849 he left the printers' trade and 

 became a cattle buyer, traveling through 

 Iowa and Illinois. In 1857 he estab- 

 lished himself in the flour and feed 

 business, in ivhich he remained until 

 after the Civil war. In 1865 he and his 

 father, Samuel Brookes, built what is 

 believed to have been the first green- 

 house in Chicago. They conducted a 

 florists' store, which the son carried on 



.•jf.r 



Amot Peny. 



until 1893, when he retired. He is sur- 

 vived by three sons. 



Amos Perry. 



Amos Perry, the well-known English 

 hardy plantsman whose place has been 

 visited by a large number of American 

 specialists and whose illness was re- 

 ported in a recent issue of The Eeview, 

 died at his home at Enfield June 10. 

 He had not enjoyed good- health for 

 two years, and death resulted from 

 heart failure, following Bright 's dis- 

 ease and dropsy. Mr. Perry was born 

 September 22, 1841, and started life 

 in the scholastic profession, but after 

 serving his apprenticeship as teacher 

 his health failed, and his medical ad- 

 viser told him to leave the country. 

 Instead of doing this he secured em- 

 ployment in the Wingfield nursery, 

 Gloucester, adopting the profession of 

 his forebears — his grandfather was a 

 foreman of Messrs. Veitch's nursery, 

 Exeter, and his father was rose grower 

 at the Ware nursery, Tottenham. He 

 stayed only a short time at Gloucester, 

 later finding work under his father at 

 the Hale Farm Nurseries. Mr. Perry 

 remained with the firm of T. S. Ware 

 for twenty-five years. He became a 

 partner in the firm, which then con- 

 sisted of Messrs. Ware, Fells and Perry. 

 Mr. Perry was among the first to rec- 

 ognize the great value of hardy flowers. 

 He made a collection of all the best 

 subjects he could secure and entered a 

 group at one of the meetings of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society. But hardy 

 plants were not in favor; the superin- 

 tendent of the show, Mr. Eyles, was 

 disinclined even to find space for them, 

 but finally allotted room in an out-of- 

 the-way corner among the exhibits of 

 sundries. Mr. Perry continued to work 

 among his favorite flowers, and made 

 journeys to the Continent in search of 

 novelties. He visited the Pyrenees in 

 1870 and brought home many interest- 

 ing plants, including Bamondia Pyre- 

 naica alba. Primula integrifolia alba, 

 Gentiana verna alba, a douDle-flowered 



gentian, which, however,- did not sur- 

 vive the journey, and Anthericum Lilias- 

 trum major. Mr. Perry severed his con- 

 nection with his old firm in 1894, and 

 commenced a business on his own ac- 

 count at Winchmore Hill, where he en- 

 gaged in carnation growing. But the 

 soil of the nursery was unsuited to these 

 plants, and he turned again to his fa- 

 vorite hardy plants and alpines. So 

 successful was his business that the 

 Winchmore nursery* became too small, 

 and he removed to thirty acres of 

 ground at Enfield. Among the many 

 plants which Mr. Perry introduced to 

 commerce are those following: Echina- 

 cea purpurea Winchmore Hill var.; 

 Phlox Canadensis Perry's var.; Spiraea 

 rivularis gigantea. Chrysanthemum max- 

 imum grandiflorum, Achillea Perry's 

 White, Sparaxis pulcherrima, Anchusa 

 Italica Perry's var.; Spiraea venusta, 

 Helenium pumilum magnificum. Aster 

 Amellus Perry 's Favorite, the first pink 

 variety of this flower. He received nu- 

 merous awards for novelties in irises, 

 poppies, geums, heucheras, delphiniums, 

 phloxes, asters and other hardy flowers. 

 Mr. Perry retired from active work in 

 the business some two years ago, and 

 during his leisure he has raised thou- 

 sands of seedling liliumf, sparaxis, del- 

 phiniums and poppies in his garden. He 

 leaves a widow, two sons and three 

 daughters. Both sons are engaged in 

 the business, which will be carried on 

 under its present name. The funeral 

 took place at Enfield cemetery June 13. 

 The accompanying portrait of Mr. 

 Perry was prepared from a photograph 

 made by J. D. Eisele, of Riverton, N. J., 

 on one of his visits to Mr. Perry's hardy 

 plant farm. 



Yankton, S. D.— It is announced that 

 the Gurney Seed Co., which heretofore 

 has confined itself to the seed business, 

 will this summer erect greenhouses and 

 do a general cut flower and plant trade. 

 D. B. Gurney states that a great deal of 

 money has been going away from Yank- 

 ton which he thinks may as well be kept 

 in the town. 



