78 



D. M. FERRY & CO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



leaves and foot stalks, which close and droop at the slightest 

 touch, or in cloudy, damp weather, and during the night. 

 Tender annual ; height one and a-half feet. 

 Mimosa pudica 5 



SMILAX. 



No twining plant in cultivation surpasses this for the 

 graceful beauty of its foliage. In cut flowers, and for 

 wreaths, etc., it is indispensable to florists. Its hard texture 

 enables it to be kept several days after being cut, without 

 wilting. Nothing is finer for clothing statuettes, vases, etc. 

 The seed germinates very sloivly, sometimes requiring three 

 or four months. Tender perennial climber ; ten feet high. 

 Myrsiphyllum asparagoides (Smilax) 15 



SNAPDRAGON— (Antirrhinum). 



An old, favorite, border plant, with dark and glossy leaves, 

 and large, curiously shaped flowers with finely marked 

 throats. They have been much improved of late years by 

 careful selection. They blossom the first season from seed 

 sown in spring. Tender perennial; one and one-half to two 

 feet high. 



Antirrhinum majus album, pure white 5 



" majus, brilliant, crimson, white throat 5 



" " Delila, white throat 5 



" fine mixed, all the best colors 5 



SOLANUM. 



Ornamental fruit bearing plants, useful for conservatory 

 decoration, and present a beautiful appearance in the draw- 

 ing room. The foliage is handsome and the fruit is very 

 attractive in appearance, but not edible. 



SOLANUM PsEUDO CAPSICUM. 



Solanum pseudo capsicum, covered with a profusion 

 of miniature, pepper shaped, scarlet fruit 10 



STIPA.— (See Feather Grass.) 



STOCK.1 



The stock as now grown, is indispensable where a fine 

 display of flowers is wanted. To such perfection has selec- 

 tion brought them, that good seed will give a large proportion 

 of flowers as double and large as the named sorts grown 

 from cuttings. 



Stock, double German Ten "Weeks, mixed, fine 10 



Stock, dwarf German Ten Weeks, pure white, large 

 flowering 15 



INTERMEDIATE OR AUTUMNAL. 



The intermediate stocks, if sown at the same time as the 

 "Ten Weeks, 11 will succeed them in bloom, thus affording 

 continuous bloom until late in the fall. If sown in pots, late 

 in the summer, they will bloom the following spring. 

 Stock, Intermediate, white 15 



" " scarlet 15 



BROMPTON AND EMPEROR. 



These Stocks should have the same treatment as the inter- 

 mediate. They cannot endure our winters unless protected. 

 Stock, Brompton, mixed, blooms well in winter; flowers 

 very fragrant. Half hardy biennial ; one and a-half 

 feet high 10 



Stock, Emperor, or Perpetual, mixed, the magnificent 

 spikes of bloom are very rich and attractive, and 

 for individual specimens are unequaled. Tender 

 perennial; one and a-half feet high 15 



SUMMER CYPRESS.— (See Belvidere.) 



SUNFLOWER- (Helianthus). 



Adapted by its stately growth for a background to a lawn, 

 or a screen to hide unsightly places. It is also raised as an 

 absorbant of miasma in damp or ill-drained situations, thus 

 preventing fevers. Hardy annual; five feet high. 

 Sunflower, double (Helianthus Californicus fl. pi.). . 5 

 " Large Russian, tall growing, single variety, often 

 fifteen to twenty feet high; the stalks are some- 

 times used for fuel 5 



SWAN RIVER DAISY.— (See Brachycome.) 



SWEE'FPEAS. 



(Xathyrus Odoratus.) 



Few flowers are more deservedly popular than these showy, 

 free flowering climbers. The purity and brilliancy of their 

 coloring and their peculiar and graceful form make them 

 universal favorites. We have carefully tested most of the 

 named varieties, and present our collection as the finest in 

 cultivation. 



Culture.— Sweet peas should be sown in drills, as early as 

 possible in spring, in rich, friable soil. Prepare the bed by 

 thoroughly working in a large quantity of well rotted manure. 

 Make a trench six inches deep. In this sow the seed and 

 cover two inches deep. As soon as the plants begin to show 

 through, fill in the trench. This will secure a deep planting 

 without the bad effect of deep covering of the seed at first, 

 and so enable the plant to bloom continually through the 

 heat of summer. As fast as the flowers come into full bloom 

 or fade, they should be cut off, for if the pods are allowed to 

 form, the plants will stop blooming. 



A MAGNIFICENT SWEET PEA. 



PISS BLANCHE FERKY. 



This is undoubtedly the most popular floral [novelty of 

 recent introduction. We sent it out in 1889 in packets only. 

 The Detroit florists were so pleased with it as they saw it 

 growing on our trial grounds that they bought it in quanti- 

 ties, even at packet rates, and were so well satisfied with the 

 results and so impressed with its many good qualities that 

 they planted it largely under glass, where it proved to be, 

 beyond doubt, the best sweet pea in existence for forcing. 

 Our claims for this splendid pea are these: 



It is of dwarf and very compact growth, requiring no 

 support. 



It is hardier than other varieties, which with its dwarf 

 and extremely compact habit makes it especially desira- 

 ble for forcing. 



It produces earlier flowers than any other variety— fully 

 ten days earlier. 



It produces more flowers than any other variety. The 

 vines are completely covered with them. 



The flowers have longer stems than other varieties, a 

 point very important to the florist. 



It produces finer flowers than any other variety— immense 

 pink and white flowers, of perfect form. 



It holds longer in bloom than other varieties. 



Compared with Painted Lady— the most popular sort, on 

 the whole, hitherto— the flowers have a far deeper, richer 

 coloring and greater fragrance. Their color when massed 

 presents such a gorgeous picture as to stop the passer by and 

 elicit expressions of admiration, while their fragrance is so 

 far reaching as to be phenomenal. 



Extensive trials for three years justify our assertions and 

 prove this pea to be all that we claim for it. The Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society, hundreds of florists, and thousands 

 of amateurs who plant it and demand it in preference to 

 any other variety, all unite in giving it words of unstinted 

 praise. 



Sweet Pea, Miss Blanche Ferry, packet 5 cents; twelve 

 packets 50 cents; ounce 40 cents. 



