August 27, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



421 



that, unless clumps or beds of Narcissus have become 

 crowded, it is by no means necessary to lift them at all, pro- 

 vided that, in common with all other permanent occupants of 

 the flower-border, they receive an annual top-dressing of good 

 manure in fall, the remains of which may be raked oil' very 

 early in spring, before the leaves appear above ground. 



It is surprising that one may visit so many places even 

 among good gardens, withoutseeing anything like a collection 

 of these loveliest of spring hardy bulbs. I have visited many 

 gardens of late and have seen but one where any other than 

 the commoner kinds were grown, and this was a trial collec- 

 tion ; as if it had not been proved again and again that the Nar- 

 cissus adapts itself readily to our eastern climate. One very im- 

 portant point, however, is to plant early, if imported bulbs are 

 procured, for success the first year hinges upon a vigorous 

 root-action before the arrival of frost. It is not too late to trans- 

 plant, and this is the very best time to plant imported bulbs. 

 It is well to be cautious with new or little known kinds when 

 forming a collection. There are enough well tried varieties 

 which maybe relied on to do well, and which include the very 

 best of Daffodils, such as N. princeps, an early kind, N. Poeti- 

 cus and its varieties, which are always admired, and by plant- 

 ing with the type several varieties, such as Angustifolius, 

 Ornatus and Recurvus these Poet's Narcissus may be had in 

 bloom for six weeks. They flower in the order named, the 

 type following the variety Ornatus. N. maximns is one of the 

 best kinds, and reliable, being of robust habit. Horsfield's 

 variety is to my mind the best and most distinct of all in cul- 

 tivation. It forces well and is a general favorite. The varie- 

 ties known as Emperor and Empress are noble kinds, but not 

 reliably hardy. 



The giant Welsh Chalice Flower, however, is perfectly 

 hardy, has immense flowers, and is perhaps the most profit- 

 able Daffodil ever handled by the trade, owing to its rapid 

 increase and the growing demand that keeps up the price. 

 Where one bulb is planted three may be dug in a year's time. 

 It is obviously a good sort to have. N. obvallaris, the Tenby 

 Daffodil, with its airy appearance, is very early and also forces 

 well. Golden Spur is a kind of recent origin ; it is very large, 

 early and of a rich yellow color. The pretty, sweet scented 

 Jonquils, with their Rush-like leaves, should not be neglected. 

 N, gracilis has similar foliage with clusters of fragrant yellow 

 flowers, and is the latest flowering variety we have tried ; it 

 always blooms in the latter part of May and is quite hardy. 

 Those who have a greenhouse should try the Hoop-Petticoat 

 Narcissus. These are easily procured, flower abundantly even 

 when forced, and are known as N. bulbocodium. If the soil is 

 of a retentive nature a handful of sharp sand should be placed 

 under each bulb when planted ; this assists the young roots 

 to push their way into the soil and acts as drainage to the bull) 

 when at rest. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



The Florists' Convention. 

 Extracts from Papers Read. 



THE annual convention of the Society of American 

 Florists, which was held in Boston last week, at- 

 tracted a larger attendance than any former meeting. The 

 plan of omitting the afternoon session each day gave such 

 an opportunity for social enjoyment and sight-seeing that 

 the sessions in the morning and the evening were always 

 well attended, the large hall in the horticultural building 

 being filled in every instance. A resolution was passed 

 that at future meetings the exhibitions shall be closed when 

 the Society is in session. This will leave nothing to draw 

 members away from the exercises and will be an additional 

 improvement. The papers read were of a practical char- 

 acter, and the discussions were pointed and business-like. 

 The local florists' club made the visiting members wel- 

 come in every way, and by arranging excursions not only 

 in the harbor, but to such interesting places as the grounds 

 of Mr. H. H. Hunnewell at Wellesley and Mrs. F. B. 

 Hayes at Lexington, gave an opportunity of inspecting 

 some of the most interesting examples of the gardeners 

 art that could be found in the country. 



The trade exhibits in the lower hall were very interest- 

 ing. Mr. Chas. D. Ball, of Holmesburg, and Mr. Henry 

 A. Dreer, of Philadelphia, Robert Craig and Edwin Lons- 

 dale had exhibitions of their stock in trade in plants in fine 

 health and grouped with much taste. The Messrs. Pitcher 



& Manda also showed a large exhibit of Cypripediums and 

 other Orchids, including many choice hybrids and a plant 

 of Licuala grandis, which is probably the best specimen of 

 its kind in existence. The exhibits of bulbs, seeds and 

 florists' supplies by F. R. Pierson, Joseph Breck & Sons, 

 F. E. McAllister and others were most attractively arranged, 

 and the display of heating apparatus and other greenhouse 

 requisites in Bumstead Hall was unusually complete and 

 instructive. 



Abstracts of some of the more important papers are given 

 below : 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



The address of Mr. Jordan was largely devoted to the needs 

 of a higher horticultural education both for the benefit of the 

 florists and of the public. He insisted that the mission of the 

 Society was not only to instruct members in the daily practice 

 of their business, but to increase the general interest in hor- 

 ticulture and to develop a taste for it among the people. To 

 this end all persons interested in the various departments of 

 horticulture, as well as those engaged in researches in any 

 science connected with it, should be invited to assist in this 

 work. 



Large fortunes have been bequeathed to religious institu- 

 tions by persons who, of course, cannot foretell what may be 

 the specific teachings of any sect a century hence. Libraries 

 have been established and schools endowed to carry out some 

 wish of their donors, and yet it must be acknowledged that 

 comparatively few receive the benefit of these endowments 

 when compared with the masses of people, young and old, 

 rich and poor, learned and illiterate, who can take object les- 

 sons from parks and gardens. These were no doubt the sen- 

 timents which inspired Mr. Henry Shaw to bequeath his im- 

 mense fortune for the purpose of instructing the people in an 

 ever-growing knowledge of horticulture. By his will a botan- 

 ical garden is given to the public with means to insure its 

 constant and effective maintenance for the cultivation and prop- 

 agation of plants and flowers, fruits and trees, together with a 

 museum and a library devoted to the service of botany, horti- 

 culture and allied subjects. A school has already been estab- 

 lished under the direction of Professor Trelease for young 

 men who are to be trained in the science and art of horticul- 

 ture. The income of the estate already realizes hundreds of 

 thousands of dollars, and will soon reach the magnificent sum 

 of $1,000,000 a year. The world can safely be challenged to 

 show a like donation from any one individual. 



Mr. Jordan also spoke of the advantages offered by the ex- 

 periment stations, which are to make a regular business of 

 discovery, to promote investigation and to diffuse the knowl- 

 edge which improves horticultural practice. The United 

 States Department of Agriculture has arranged to condense 

 the bulletins from the various stations, and they are delivered 

 free to all who see fit to ask for them, so that every one en- 

 gaged in horticultural pursuits has it in his power to "gain use- 

 ful knowledge by consulting them. He counseled each 

 member of this Society to make the acquaintance of the Di- 

 rector of the nearest experiment station, to furnish him with 

 plants and trees for testing, and to report such facts as may 

 have been learned by him in his business practice. By such 

 an interchange of knowledge the profession will advance to a 

 higher plane, where less drudgery will be needed and where 

 work will be done in accordance with the established laws of 

 science. 



The speaker argued that there should be established some 

 standard of qualification for young men entering into the em- 

 ployment of florists to learn the business. The time will soon 

 come when many of our institutions of learning may graduate 

 students prepared to become florists' apprentices. He added 

 that suitable books should be prepared for use in schools 

 which give instruction in the fundamental principles of hor- 

 ticulture, and insisted that even common schools should teach 

 the rudiments of the art. 



EXPERIENCE IX CROSSING PLANTS. 



Mr. E. S. Carman, editor of the Rural New Yorker, read a 

 paper recounting some of the failures he had met ami the suc- 

 cesses won in this field during seventeen years past. The 

 record of failures is omitted here for the lack of space, although 

 it was quite as interesting as the remainder of the paper, from 

 which we make the following extracts : 



In my practice a sharp pair of scissors, a pointed piece of 

 wood (or even a wooden toothpick-), a box for the flowers or 

 pollen, sheets of firm tissue paper and a little strong yarn 

 answer every purpose, so far as tools and mechanical outfit are 



