Akctotis Gkandis. 



ARABIS (Rock Cress). 



1211 Alpina. A hardy perennial and one of Ihe earliest and prettiest 

 spring flowers. The spreading tufts are. covered with a sheet of pure 

 white flowers as soon as the snow disappears. Unequalled for rockeries 

 or edging; withstands the drought, and is always neat; 6 inches. \ oz., 

 25 cts ' 5 



ARCTOTIS (African Daisyl. 



1216 Grandis. A remarlcably handsome annual from .Southwest Africa. It 

 forms much-branched bushes 2 to 3 feet high; its flowers are large and 

 showy, being pure white on the upper surface, the reverse of petals pale 

 lilac-blue. There are few annual flowers grown in the garden more 

 valuable for cut flower work than the Arctotis. It is easily grown from 

 seed, and may be started in hotbed, in the house, or in the open ground, 

 the seed germinating in about five days, and the plants may be expected 

 to come into bloom early in July and continue until quite hard frost. It 

 delights in a sunny situation. As a cut flower it is especially valuable, 

 the blooms lasting a week or ten days in water, and if undeveloped buds 

 are cut and placed in a sunny window, every one will open and produce 

 as fine flowers as though left on the plant. J oz., 30 cts 10 



ARMERIA Sea Pink or Thrift). 

 1221 Formosa. A very pretty edging plant, bearing rosy-pink flowers; 



hardy perennial. J oz., 30 cts IQ 



ASPARAGITS. 



1231 PlumosUS Nanus. This graceful Asparagus is an excellent hou.se 



plant. $1.00 per 100 seeds 25 



ANTHEHIS (Hardy Marguerite). 



PER PKT. 



1150 Tinctoria Kelwayi. A most satisfactory hardy 

 perennial, bearing all summer daisy-like golden yellow 



blossoms; excellent for cutting; 2 ft. } oz., 25 cts. . 



10 



1232 Sprengeri (Emertdd Fe/ither). One of the best 

 plants to grow in suspended baskets, window boxes, 

 vases, etc., for the greenhouse in winter and outdoors 

 in the summer. 50 cts. per 100 seeds . 10 



DREER'S SUPERB ASTERS. 



Offered on Pages 65 to 67, also on Pages 52 and 53. 



ASTERS are one of the most important summer and autumn 

 flowers, and receive special care at our hands. Yearly 

 exhaustive tests of both home-grown and imported stocks 

 are made with a view to offering only the choicest kinds, 

 regardless of cost. As a result of this care our list comprises 

 only such sorts as can be planted with perfect confidence that 

 nothing better is procurable, no matter at what price or from 

 what source. 



The early sorts, such as Early Wonder, Queen of the Market, 

 Lavender Gem and White Fleece, begin blooming in July, fol- 

 lowed by the mid-season varieties, which are usually at their best 

 during August, and which include such splendid American sorts 

 as Daybreak, Purity, Pink Beauty, Mikado, Electric and the im- 

 ported Ostrich Feather, Paeony Perfection and Victorias. Then 

 come the late flowering kinds, which bloom from the end of Au- 

 gust on through September into October. This class furnishes 

 the finest flowers of all and is well represented in our list by our 

 Superb Late Branching in eight beautiful colors, our Peerless 

 Pink, the finest pink Aster grown, Crego's Giant, Crimson 

 Giant, Violet King and a number of other fine sorts. It is 

 quite easy, therefore, with a little care in the selection of the 

 varieties, to have Asters in bloom from the first days in July 

 until hard frost. 



Culture. — Asters will thrive in any good soil, prepared in 

 the same way as you would for a crop of vegetables, but it is 

 well to remember that any extra care taken in the preparation 

 of the soil is repaid by finer plants, larger blooms, with longer 

 stems and more profuse flowering. They should have an open, 

 sunny position, and prefer a good, heavy, loamy soil, enriched 

 with a liberal quantity of bone meal or other good commercial 



fertilizer, and the addition of wood ashes or air-slaked lime, and 

 we do not advise growing them on the same ground year after 

 year; it is better to change each season. 



For early flowering the seed should be started in the house, 

 hotbed or cold-frame in April, transferring them to their flower- 

 ing quarters as soon as danger from frost is past. For August 

 and later flowering it is just as well to sow them in the open in 

 May, preferably in a prepared seed bed, transplanting them 

 when two or three inches high to where they are to bloom, 

 although they may be sown where they are to flower with 

 almost as good results. 



The main essentials to insure fine Asters are a rich soil, fre- 

 quent cultivation, no check to their growth from start to finish, 

 and ample room to develop. When wanted for cutting with 

 long stems, they should be set out not closer than twelve inches 

 apart in the rows and two feet between the rows. When wanted 

 for mass effects in beds they may be planted nine inches to a 

 foot apart each way. 



Asters are sometimes attacked by an aphis at their roots; also 

 by stem rot, a fungous disease, which causes the stem to decay 

 just at the point it emerges from the ground. Both of these 

 troubles are rarely met with if the plants are grown on good 

 soil and are not checked in their growth. The addition of wood 

 ashes or air-slaked lime at the time of the preparation of the 

 bed also helps to prevent these troubles. 



The Aster or Black Beetle, which devours the flowers, can 

 only be destroyed by hand-picking or by knocking them into a 

 basin or receptacle in which there is some water and kerosene 

 oil. As a rule, these beetles come in August, and by growing 

 only the early and late-flowering kinds can be avoided. 



We offer an attractive list of Novelties and Specialties in Flower Seeds tnis season. See pages 51 to 60. 



