79 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
signs of injury from the inundation. I 
learn also, from trustworthy sources, that 
President Taber has some fine specimens 
growing on his lawn. As Mr. Taber 
knows a good thing when he sees it and 
always secures his share of the good 
things as they come along, we should take 
a hint from his example. Specimens of 
this speicies are growing also on high, 
sandy land, which is ordinarily consider¬ 
ed to be very low in the elements necessary 
to plant food. In the pineapple belt of 
Florida we find these plants very frequent¬ 
ly used. It is probable, therefore, that 
there is no portion of the state in which 
they cannot be grown successfully and 
beautifully. 
Like all members of the palm family, it 
is particularly partial to locations with 
rich soil. When planted out it should be 
put in such a place that it can have a 
spread of at least thirty feet. Plants may 
be secured from nurserymen for twenty- 
five to fifty cents, each. These, when well 
treated, will soon be out of the way of the 
ordinary dangers that are apt to be met 
with on lawns or in front yards. The 
roots should be gil^en plenty of room to 
spread, and if the soil is not already fer¬ 
tile, an abundance of compost should be 
put in the hole before the tree is set out. 
After it has become thoroughly estab¬ 
lished, regular applications of a brand of 
good nursery fertilizer should be applied. 
. Report by George A* Purdy. 
Mr. President^ Ladies and Gentlemen: 
Having been requested to prepare a 
paper on Ornamentals fOr Florida, I 
have complied, though with some misgiv¬ 
ing as to my adequacy for a subject so 
wide in its scope and one which has al¬ 
ready been so ably treated in previous 
meetings. 
My actual horticultural education in 
this state having extended over but a 
few years and in one location, I shall 
not attempt to give any general account 
of ornamentals, but will only describe rny 
success or failure with a few shrubs and 
trees that I have experimented with on 
a very poor, sandy soil at Ormond Pe¬ 
ninsula. 
To you who have had years of experi¬ 
ence and success on fertile lands, these 
notes will sound trite and commonplace, 
but they may be suggestive to some 
who are wrestling with the problem of 
how to beautify their surroundings un¬ 
der adverse conditions. 
To' begin with roses: To make these 
grow with any vigor in such a location, 
I dig holes about four feet in diameter 
and two feet in depth. A floor of clayey, 
marsh mud is put down, building up on 
the sides with the same, giving the bush 
what may be described as a large clayey 
bowl to grow in. This is filled with a 
mixture of surface soil, marsh mud and 
well rotted barn or stable manure when 
available, or with any good all around 
fertilizer, the surrounding bowl keep¬ 
ing within reach of the roots much of 
what is apt to leach away on our light 
lands. Planted in this way and with 
