August 27, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



423 



sails, the sulphate of potash has given by far the best results. 

 Bone black, in view of these tests, must be given the first 

 plaee in hastening the maturity of plant growth and in the pro- 

 duction of seed, while the nitrate of soda seems to be injurious 

 rather than beneficial. These, however, can be given only as 

 the results of a comparatively limited series of tests; and all 

 careful experimenters know how difficult it is to be sure that 

 all the conditions are fully understood and how unsafe it is to 

 draw conclusions from anything but a long series of experi- 

 ments; But having taken every precaution to fully under- 

 stand all the conditions and to make very careful and com- 

 plete records, and as the results confirm the opinions of some 

 of our best scientists, we feel warranted in recommending, as 

 special fertilizers for greenhouse crops, sulphate of ammonia, 

 sulphate of potash, ground bone and dissolved bone black". 



The fact that the nitrate of soda has a tendency to absorb 

 moisture is sufficient to account for the increased amount of 

 mildew and the poor growth of the Lettuce in one plot in both 

 experiments. Why the muriate and nitrate of potash have 

 given no better results must be explained by one who is more 

 of a chemist than I am. 



Dried blood and other animal nitrogenous substances are 

 very unsatisfactory in the greenhouse, because of the amount 

 of moisture and animal life they produce in the process of 

 decay. 



Potash and other salts must be carefully used and only in 

 small quantities at a time, as in the evaporation of the water 

 from the soil the salts arc deposi ted upon the surface, and, where 

 the tender leaves come in contact with it, they may be se- 

 riously injured. Many a batch of seedlings and cuttings has 

 been destroyed in this way, and conditions favorable for fun- 

 gus growths produced in the tissues of the injured foliage. 



Whatever may be your opinions of the results of these ex- 

 periments, 1 wish to urge you to give them careful considera- 

 tion, to repeat them, to verify them and to make other experi- 

 ments, carefully recording all conditions and results, and to 

 report them at future meetings or to your favorite paper. The 

 value of any new method of cultivation or fertilization must 

 be finally determined by the practical gardener, who is mak- 

 ing his living by his labor ; and he and the man of science 

 should work together — the one making known his needs, and 

 the other working, in the light of science, to present new truths 

 and to make the practice more easy and profitable. 



HELLEBORES FOR THE COMMERCIAL FLORIST. 



William Falconer, of Glen Cove, Long Island, read the pa- 

 per which follows on this subject : 



We have two sets of Hellebores — namely, Christmas Roses 

 and Lenten Roses. The Christmas Rose (Hellcborus nigcr) 

 and its varieties bear large white flowers in November and 

 December. The Lenten Roses are represented by Hellcborus 

 Olympicus, H. Colchicus and H. orientalis. They have purple 

 flowers, while some of their varieties and hybrids have white, 

 purple and spotted flowers, and they come into bloom between 

 January and April. 



Christmas Roses are useful as cut flowers, and in pots, if in 

 bloom, they are excellent for house decoration. The Lenten 

 Roses are only useful as pot plants; butboth would be classified 

 as "fancy" rather than as staple articles, Florists who have a 

 good local trade can use Hellebores to advantage, but it 

 would be hardly advisable for florists who grow flowers for the 

 wholesale market to handle them. 



For cid flowers Hellcborus niger maxiuius is the best, but the 

 blossoms must be cut just as wanted for use, for they have no 

 great lasting qualities. One of our leading Boston florists who 

 has handled these flowers writes: "I am a little in doubt 

 about their value as cut flowers. Those I had last winter did 

 not come up to my expectations in keeping qualities, being 

 inclined to hang and droop their heads too much. As pot 

 plants they will give much better satisfaction. The demand 

 at first will be limited and it will grow slowly; still the flower is 

 one that it will pay to grow as a desirable novelty." A New 

 York florist writes: "There is no doubt that Hellcborus niger 

 maxiuius and the larger-flowered varieties of //. nigcr would 

 be profitable for cut flowers if large established plants were 

 planted out in a cool greenhouse or a well protected cold 

 frame. The great difficulty, however, lies in the first cost of 

 these large plants, and secondly, in the fact that, as a rule, a 

 florist wants to get immediate return for his investment, and 

 will not wait four or five years or until his plants become large 

 enough to produce an abundance of blooms." 



My own opinion of these Christmas Roses is that they are a 

 most welcome addition to our cut flowers, and particularly 

 valuable as they come in at a lime when variety as well as 

 quantity is somewhat limited. 



As pot plants the Lenten Roses are very desirable, but they 

 need to be strong plants and well grown. Neither die Christ- 

 mas Roses nor Lenten Roses can he grown profitably as out- 

 door hardy perennials. They need cool greenhouses or 

 frames. The Christmas Roses should be planted out perma- 

 nently, and for this reason I prefer growing them in cold 

 frames. As the Lenten Roses are pot plants they may be 

 plunged outside in cold frames in summer, and brought in- 

 doors in winter, or, if wanted for late work, kept out in the 

 frame till they show signs of blooming, and then brought in- 

 doors. They all prefer a well drained loamy soil, with a loose 

 surface and a somewhat shad)* place in summer. A frame up 

 against a north or north-west facing- wall of a building- is a 

 good place for them ; or they can be grown under a high- 

 raised lath or brush-shading, such as is used over forest-tree 

 seed-beds. The ground about them should be mulched with 

 half-rotted leaves ami finely chopped sphagnum mots, and 

 this keeps it cool, loose and moist all summer. 



A Baltimore delegate explained the workings of a florists' 

 exchange in that city which was organized last year under the 

 State laws, and is governed by seven directors — four growers 

 and three dealers. The prices are set by the officials of the 

 exchange, unsold flowers are destroyed and the losses are 

 borne by the exchange members in proportion to the amount 

 of stock they hold. The commission the exchange makes 

 pays the salary of the manager and necessary expenses. The 

 system is said to work well and to give an opportunity for 

 growers^to dispose of small lots which a commission merchant 

 would hardly care to be troubled with. 



In response to the inquiry " What twenty native plants are 

 the best for florists' use," Mr. A. Gilchrist, of Toronto, Ontario, 

 submitted the following list: Trillium grandiflorum, Cypri- 

 pedium spectabile, C. parviflorum, C. pubescens, Asclcpias 

 luberosa, A. incarnata, Euphorbia corollata, Coreopsis lancc- 

 olata, Hcliantlius s/rumosus, Spiraa lobata, Nymphcca odora/a, 

 Thalictrum Cornuti, Rudbcckia laciniata, Rudbcckia hirta, 

 FAtpatorium ageraloides, Sol/dago Canadensis, Aquilcgia 

 Canadensis, Lobelia cardinalis, ftlonarda didyina. 



In reply to the question, What are the twelve best hardy 

 shrubs for florists' use ? Mr. Jackson Dawson gave the follow- 

 ing list as the best among those that are rarely or never forced 

 for market : Andromeda speciosa, Cytisus scoparius. Viburnum 

 plicatum, Staphylea Colchica, Dcutzia Sieboldii, Exocliorda 

 grandiflora, Pyrus baccata floribunda, Rubus rosijlcrus, 

 fl. pi., Weigcla candidissima, PJiiladelphus lalifolius, Spircra 

 Cantoniensis, fi. pi., Kalmia lalifolia. 



The following officers were elected for the ensuing yeai : 

 President, M. H. Norton, Boston; Vice-President, John Cham- 

 bers, Toronto ; Secretary, W. J. Stewart, Boston ; Treasurer, 

 M. A. Hunt, Terre Haute, Indiana. It was voted to hold the 

 next annual meeting at Toronto. 



Exhibitions. 



The Horticultural Show at Boston. 



/_ pHE annual exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 -*- Society, held while the Convention of the Society of Ameri- 

 can Florists was in session, was conspicuously good in all its de- 

 tails, and was considered by many of those whose judgment 

 is of value in such mallei's as the best display of the kind 

 which has been seen in this country for years. The exhibition 

 was held in the large Music Hall, and yet the collections occu- 

 pied so much of the floor space, including stage and galleries, 

 that the throng of visitors had extreme difficulty in moving 

 about without injuring (he specimens which skirted the va- 

 rious groups, and even then it was found necessary to pack 

 many of the plants so closely together that large numbers of 

 the very finest of them could not be seen to good advantage. 



The exhibition began outside the doorway with a collection 

 of conifers, containing fifty-six species and varieties, from Mr. 

 J. W. Manning, and with similar groups within the vestibule 

 "from the Messrs. Temple & Beard and Wm. C. Strong. 

 Some fine specimens of Hydrangea with blue flowers, from 

 Mr. John L. Gardiner, added interest to these outside groups. 

 The view from the stage was almost bewildering-. The ample 

 balustrades in front of tin' balconies were festooned with green- 

 ery, with large specimens of Nepenthes hanging beneath. 

 Masses of cut flowers made a brilliant appearance in the lower 

 balcony, while in room-like apartments below die balcony and 

 opposite the stage were a number of elegant table and mantle 

 decorations. Under the shade of some immense Palms in 

 the centre of the room was a blaze of bloom from gorgeous 



