30 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 19 13 



IT OFTEN happens that you want something extra 

 choice in Asters, Pansies, Petunias, Sweet Peas 

 or other Flower Seeds or a special variety of 

 vegetable. You may be looking for a fine Rose 

 which you noted last summer or some out-of-the- 

 ordinary, old-fashioned perennial or garden plant 

 which is not known or kept in stock by the average 

 dealer. If your inquiry as to where you will most 

 likely find what you are looking for, be made to a 

 thoroughly posted professional or amateur, the 

 answer nine times out of ten will be: 



"You Can Get Them at Dreer's" 



The Diamond Jubilee edition of Dreer's Garden Book describes 

 and offers nearly 5000 species and varieties of Seeds, Plants and 

 Bulbs, which include really everything worth growing in this coun- 

 try. Many of the sorts are illustrated, and practical cultural notes 

 on flowers and vegetables make this book of greater value than 

 any half dozen books on gardening. 



Mailed free to anyone mentioning this publication 



DREER'S CARDINAL CLIMBER is the most beautiful, brilliant 

 and distinct annual climber ever introduced. It is a strong, rapid 

 grower, with deeply lacinated foliage and covered with brilliant 

 red flowers, which make it a blaze of glory from mid-July til] 

 frost. 25c per packet. Dreer's Garden Book free with each order. 



HenryA.DieerK;X t eE 



Keeping Flowers and Plants 

 Indoors 



MANY people imagine that there is some method 

 known only to the trade, by which flowers can 

 be kept for days and even weeks and then sold to 

 the public. This belief is strengthened when flowers 

 fade quickly after being purchased. The florist 

 is always blamed. The real truth is that flowers 

 can be kept in good condition for two or three days 

 only, and there is no magic known to the trade or 

 to anyone outside the trade, that will ensure fresh- 

 ness, from a commercial standpoint, beyond this 

 period. Flowers that have been kept for a long 

 time in a florist's ice chest will " go to pieces " at 

 once when brought into a warm living room; and 

 flowers that have been but a few hours in a 

 florist's store will also speedily wither when 

 brought into the house and neglected. 



When flowers in a greenhouse are cut they are 

 first placed in jars of water, after having been sorted 

 as to size and maturity, and then put into an ice 

 chest, which is the only preserving treatment 

 resorted to, or known of by the florist, for keeping 

 them. Purchasers of flowers, roses in particular, 

 are very fanciful; some people can see no beauty 

 in roses before they are well unfolded, while others 

 want tight buds. For immediate effect the well 

 developed flowers are recommended but for lasting 

 qualities the tight buds are the better. A rose 

 partially opened with a firm body and good color 

 can be kept looking well in a room for a week, if, 

 of course, the heat is not excessive. In purchasing, 

 where there is any doubt about the age of a rose, 

 it would be well to test the firmness of the flower 

 by pressing it, very gently but firmly, between two 

 fingers. If the flowers feel solid to the touch they 

 are fresh and can be purchased with safety. This 

 test becomes surer by practice, but never should one 

 try to give a demonstration of strength when 

 doing it! 



Much depends on the care of flowers after they 

 have been brought into the house. Change the 

 water every day; fresh water one day and foul the 

 next means quickly fading blooms. 



Cutting off a little of the stems is to be recom- 

 mended; a sharp 

 knife is much better 

 than scissors. Cut 

 the stems without 

 bruising them, which 

 would check the cir- 

 culation and shorten 

 the life of the flower. 

 Many people put 

 chemicals in the 

 water to increase 

 their lasting qual- 

 ities but it is no 

 improvement on the 

 cutting method and 

 I greatly doubt its 

 efficiency. 



Avoid crowding 

 flowers in a vase. 

 No matter how fresh 

 the flowers may be 

 they will quickly 

 fade because the 

 crowding bruises 

 and crushes the 

 A fresh flower has a solid stems and thereby 

 feeling checks circulation. 



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