December. 1913 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



177 



which are apt to prove annoying to both 

 yourself and the seedsmen, proceed to 

 "check off" on the margin of the book 

 such varieties of vegetables or flowers as 

 you may require. 



Most catalogues have from six to a dozen 

 or more of the first pages devoted to novel- 

 ties. Whatever your regular order, test some 

 of these every year in a small separate bed. 

 It pays, for only in this way can you hope 

 to become acquainted with the progress of 

 horticulture as revealed in the seed cata- 

 logues. 



In making your selection you will prob- 

 ably be guided largely by illustrations 

 rather than descriptions, for apparently 

 the buying public will never outgrow the 

 picture book stage of development. 



Fortunately the increased use of photo- 

 graphic reproductions makes exaggeration 

 more difficult. Still, it is only natural 

 that seedsmen should use as illustrations 

 the very choicest specimens they can get. Of 

 course, theperson who buys on this basis and 

 expects under ordinary conditions to get pro- 

 ducts every bit as good as those shown in 

 the catalogue is in most cases disappointed. 



After checking the sorts wanted, trans- 

 fer the data to the order sheet supplied with 

 every catalogue. By utilizing such helps 

 as are offered by seedsmen you will aid 

 the house materially in filling your order 

 speedily and correctly. When a clerk 

 handles hundreds of orders every day, he 

 is bound to be more familiar with the 

 form of a regular order-sheet. 



In estimating quantities, remember that 

 it is wiser to order three packets of three 

 different varieties of beans, lettuce, rad- 

 ishes, etc., than a large quantity of just one 

 kind. Nearly every class of vegetable 

 offers early, mid-season and late sorts, 

 each especially adapted to its own season. 

 You might raise all the lettuce you wanted 

 out of one ounce of Early Curled Simpson, 

 but it would be wiser to order one packet 

 each of Early Curled Simpson for extra 

 early, one of All Season for mid-summer 

 use and one of Iceburg for late summer and 

 fall use. These would give you a perfect 

 succession and insure you more palatable 

 lettuce throughout the growing season, 

 while the difference in cost would be only 

 five cents. 



WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE 

 A Review of the Newer Florists' Roses and Carnations 



[Editor's Note. — Under this general heading we will publish, from time to time, 

 expert reviews of various newer plants, not necessarily awaiting the test of long extended 

 trial, but rather to call attention to the up-to-date introductions that seem worthy of notice. 

 "Novelty" unfortunately does not necessarily signify improvement also. This first article 

 deals with flowers that are now in season and seen in the recent exhibitions. The true 

 plantsman introducer or raiser of new things seeks criticism; he usually consults the 

 keen analytical judgment of his fellow craftsmen before placing the newcomer on the market. This precaution has not been taken by 

 every raiser, however, and the general public is not buying novelties as freely as formerly. Many in fc^i refuse to purchase until the 

 thing is thoroughly tested by some one else. But because each novelty does not measure up to our highest expectations is no reason 

 for the condemnation of all. Finally, let it be remembered that conditions of soil, climate, and locality have much to do with success, 

 let alone the actual treatment accorded; and nothing but an actual trial can prove how a certain thing will do with you.] 



I. The Latest in Roses 



T 



^HE very latest in 

 roses that is being 

 put on the mar- 

 ket early in 19 14 

 is Killarney Brilliant. More 

 advance orders have been 

 placed for this novelty than 

 for any of the earlier kinds. 

 This newcomer is from 

 Dickson, the famous Irish 

 rosarian, who also raised 

 the now well known original 

 Killarney. Killarney is to- 

 day perhaps the most prof- 

 itable of all commercial roses to grow, on 

 account of its free flowering qualities. It 

 has several faults, however; the flower has 

 too few petals and is too thin for a perfect 

 commercial rose. In summer the color is 

 all that can be desired; but in winter, 

 when subjected to forcing conditions and 

 dull sunless days, the color fades. 



The new Killarney Brilliant is a rose of 

 more substance, with more petals, and 

 better keeping qualities, a color that is 

 more brilliant and which does not fade. 

 It is just as free a producer as the original 

 sort, with a more robust habit. 



History does not have to carry us back 

 over five years to the time when the old 

 Bride and Bridesmaid were universally 

 grown in both private and commercial 

 greenhouses. Although Killarney had been 

 on the market for fifteen years, it had 



taken that length of time to convince the 

 conservative that it was a better thing 

 than Bridesmaid. Bridesmaid had a better 

 color and few faults and is still affectionately 

 remembered, but it lost out in quantity. 



We have now in Mrs. George Shawyer a 

 rose equal in color to Bridesmaid, and of 

 the same favorite form, but in its keeping 

 qualities and productiveness it is far ahead. 

 It has a rigid stem which Bridesmaid 

 lacked. The stem also is naturally twice 

 as long as either Bridesmaid or Killarney 

 and its behavior to date indicates that it is 

 wonderfully free. Mrs. George Shawyer 

 was widely distributed last winter and all 

 who are growing it speak of it in the highest 

 terms. If the amateur must have just 

 one pink rose in his greenhouse, let him 

 grow Mrs. Shawyer. 



Mrs. Charles Russell is another of this 

 year's introductions that occupies a place 

 all by itself. It comes from a race of mixed 

 progenitors and as a hybrid would be hard 

 to classify. In some ways it reminds us of 

 the old fashioned cabbage rose, particularly 

 its perfume. In size it equals the American 

 Beauty. The color is a constant double 

 pink and does not fade out to magenta as 

 does the American Beauty. It has a 

 perfectly rigid stem and naturally produces 

 more long stems than it does short ones. 

 (Many roses under forcing conditions pro- 

 duce a lot of short stemmed roses and only 

 once in a while give us a long exhibition 

 stem,unless they are cut back and pinched 

 for this purpose.) 



Mrs. Charles Russell will not produce 

 the quantity of flowers that Killarney or 

 Mrs. George Shawyer will, but on the other 

 hand it will produce three or four times as 

 many as American Beauty, and will fill 

 a place midway between, for it really be- 

 longs to the American Beauty class. Mrs. 

 Charles Russell can be successfully grown 

 along with Killarney and others in the 

 same house. 



Milady, another of this year's introduc- 

 tions, is fully meeting our expectations. It 

 is filling a long felt want in red roses. Up 

 to this time Richmond has been the stand- 

 by, with a few General McArthur grown 

 here and there. But Richmond, though a 

 fine color, lacks petals and has not been 

 really successfully grown except by a few 

 experts. Milady has not quite as good a 

 color as Richmond, but nevertheless it is a 

 good red, has a fine full flower with a stiff 

 stem and is very vigorous and productive. 

 It is a rose that can be very easily and 

 successfully grown by the amateur. 



Both Milady and Mrs. Russell are 

 American raised roses and both bid fair 

 to become welcome additions to our out- 

 door collections, as well as for indoor use. 



It may seem late to speak of Sunburst as 

 a novelty — it was well distributed as a 

 novelty last year, but the young stock was 

 principally grafted. Grafted stock of all 

 other sorts (excepting yellow roses) is con- 

 ceded the best for indoor purposes, and 

 very few growers are using anything else. 

 But Sunburst behaved very unsatisfac- 



