A Defense of the Canna 
Having been one of those who at the President's meeting in 
Philadelphia last autumn joined in the hue and cry against 
C annas, I wish to make a public confession of my conversion. 
After seeing on every terrace, piazza and entrance the ever- 
present Hydrangea and wondering for the hundredth time why 
Americans were reputed so original, I came upon a terrace whose 
tubs contained the most wonderful plants, three to four feet 
high, masses of leaves of a clear, bright green, and stalks of 
flowers resembling Orchids, only instead of mauves there 
were pinks, whites and pale yellows. Could this be the despised 
Canna of railroad stations and poorly planted park fame? It 
was, and none other ! 
This metamorphosis was produced by Mr. Antoine Wintzer, 
of the firm of Conard & Jones, West Grove, Pa., who has spent 
his life changing one of our public scourges into one of the most 
beautiful of flowers. 
Perhaps some of the Bulletin readers in motoring from 
AVashington to Philadelphia have suddenly come upon the 
dazzling fields of this nursery, filled with row upon row of the 
new large-flowered, low-growing sorts, giving a stretch of color 
only equalled by the Tulips of Holland; perhaps some of you 
have stopped long enough at the office to chat with Mr. Wintzer, 
that veteran hybridizer, never too busy to talk with the 
interested visitor about these lovely blooms, the result of his life- 
long labor of scientific crossing and ruthless discarding of .any 
but the best seedlings. 
It is delightful to hear him tell of the constant effort for new 
and clearer colors, larger and more symmetrical blooms, petals 
of firmer substance, etc., and then to stroll with him along those 
exciting rows of ' ■ this year 's seedlings ' ' seeing his eager interest 
to learn which of his children — all of whom he loves — the public 
will like best. 
The new Cannas have flowers from five to ten inches across, 
of firm texture and beautiful coloring. American Beauty, Mrs. 
Pierre du Pont and Cupid are among the best of the pinks, and 
Edward W. Boh, Palm Beach, No. 6372 and Apricot are lovely 
shades of peach; No. 20, No. 39 and Mrs. Antoine Wintzer are 
the best of the yellows, while Snow Queen and No. 6345 are an 
exquisite cream and if one wishes to have a red, President is very 
fine. 
The charm of the tantalizing art of gardening lies in trying to 
place each flower as perfectly as possible in an effort to make a 
growing picture. One learns to despise no flower while striving 
to fill space with color and green for three of our varying seasons. 
The Canna has been the long-suffering victim of the crime of 
thoughtless planting. Consider how valuable the unusual form 
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