A- GREENH0U5E CULTURE 



CULTURE. ''oKlltt 



ALlFORNIftfi^ 



house plants require extra care in 

 sowing, as the seeds are very fine 

 and delicate. The pans must be 

 well drained, say half filled with 

 cracks, and on "this a layer of 

 rough, fibrous peat or tuff, and 

 filled up with acompostof the fol- 

 lowing proportions: Two-thirds 

 light, rich loam, one-third peat, 

 silver sand and thoroughly de- 

 cayed cow manure, the whole 

 thoroughly well mixed together. 

 Make the surface as smooth as 



possible, and sprinkle a little silver sand over it: water with a fine hose. Af ter the pans have thorough- 

 lydrainedthe seed must be very evenly and thoroughly sown. It will require no covering. Aftersow- 

 ing place the pans under glass in a close frame, (it will require no artificial heat) keep shaded as expos- 

 ure for short time to the sun's rays is often enough to scorch the delicate leaves and rootlets of the seedlings. 



^ Directly the plants are large enough to handle they must be pricked into other pans which have been prepared in 



S^T the same manner as for seed sowing, and allowed to grow until they touch each other, then shifted into small 

 ~'' pots and replaced in the close frame. As soon as the roots fill these pots it will be necessary to repot in larger 

 sizes. Will not do well if replaced in frames or put on shelves in greenhouse near the glass: water regularly, re- 

 pot and shake when required. It troubled with green fly, select a quiet erening and fumigate with tobacco. 



The satisfaction derived from the cultivation of House Plants Is not alone in seeing them bloom. There is joy in seeing them grow and develop day 

 by day, and the one who starts a plant from seed and rears it up to bloom gets all the pleasure there is in the plant culture. 



Begonias, Carnations, Clirysanthemums, Coleus, Cyclamen, Ferns, Gloxinias, 



Heliotropes, Primroses, Rhodochiton, Etc., 



Are easily grown from seed, and it is really fascinating to raise them in this way, watching each plant as it unfolds its first bloom, noting its form, 

 color and other characteristics, and when occasionally we discover an immensely fine one much superior to any we have ever before seen or 

 heard of, the highest pleasure and satisfaction possible to get from plants and flowers is ours. It is from seed that all new 

 varieties of house plants are produced, and it is not uncommon for a seedling Chrysanthemum or Carnation to be worth 

 more than a thousand dollars. Our strains of all these seeds are much finer than are usually sold. 

 They are the choicest that can possibly be grown. 



ABUTILON. 



Often called •• Flowering Maple" or Chin- 

 ese Bell Flower."' As indispensable for the 

 windovr or greenhouse as the Petunia is for 

 the flower garden. Will stand more abuse 

 and neglect than almost any other house 

 plant. Grows rapidly from seed and is soon 

 in bloom. Leaves are very ornamental, and 

 are often beautifully variegated. Lovely 

 bell-shaped flowers, borne the year around, in 

 all colors — white, pink, yellow, orange, red, 

 etc. Perennial. Blooms .soon after planting. 

 New Fancy California Seedlings. Mixed. All 

 colors, pkt. 25 seeds Sc. 



BEGONIAS. 



Are among the most beautiful window plants ; of 

 exceedingly easy culture, producing a profusion of 

 elegant flowers. The seed is fine, and will need great 

 care in sowing. Plants often bloom in six or eight 

 months from time of sowing. It makes a valuable 



bedder for 



CALCEOLARIA. 



Not one in ten of our customers have seen 

 a Calceolaria in bloom, yet it is one of the 

 handsomest and most striking of all pot 

 plants we know of. The seeds are fine and 

 must be sown with care, but after they are 

 fairly up they grow finely and will bloom 

 next winter. Each plant bears hundreds of 

 pocket-like flowers spotted and marked in 

 the most curious manner. Exceptionally fine 

 for growing in pots in the conservatory and 

 in the greenhouse and garden. Perennial. 

 Finest Hybrids Mixed, pkt. 100 seeds 10c. 



CACTUS. 



CYCLAMEN. 



CALCEOLARIA. 



out-doors in summer. 



FEX— 3 — A beautiful class of Begonias with 

 elegantly variegated leaves. Delicate 

 and beautiful flowers borne in great pro- 

 fusion. Choice mixed, pkt. 40 seeds 15c, 



VERNON — This variety is distinguished 

 from the rest by the splendid coloring of 

 its foliage and flowers. "When young its 

 foliage is a very dark green. It has 

 bright orange carmine flowers, which 

 contrast beautifully with the foliage. 

 Covered with bloom from May untU late 

 in the fall. Will give you unbounded 

 sasisfattion. Pkt. 50 seeds 5c. 



TUBEROUS ROOTED. SINGLE MIXED— 1— 

 Flowers are of immense size and of rare 

 and vivid coloring, being so strikingly 

 handsome that they command the admir- 

 ing attention and unstinted praise of all 

 who see them. They are very profuse 

 Woomers. Pkt. 75 seeds 12c. 



TUBEROUS ROOTED, DOUBLE MIXED— 2 — 

 Flowers of unusual size and exceptionally 

 beautiful in coloring, single florets often 

 measuring from 6 to 9 inches in circum- 

 ference. Perfectly double and of extreme- 

 ly rare beauty. Pkt. 75 seeds ISc. 



96 



Latest craze in flowers. Very curious and odd- 

 looking species of plants, which wUl thrive anywhere 

 with little or no care. Butlittle watering is required. 

 Flowers are of the most exquisite beauty and are de- 

 liciously f ? agrant. The wonder and attraction of aU. 

 Don't fail to try this greatest of all curiosities — the 

 Cactus. Choicest Mixed, pkt. only Sc. 



CACTUS. 



