FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
75 
is the royal palm. On account of its use¬ 
fulness, we plant more of the cocoanut 
palm, and are beginning to grow the 
date. 
DISCUSSION. 
Mr. Hubbard—It may be of interest 
to the Society to know of those palms 
which withstand our freezes. What ap¬ 
pears to be the best of all is the Cocos 
australis. The foliage is similar to that 
of the cocoanut. During the 1894 and 
1895 freezes it was not injured at all. The 
Sabal palmetto would show frozen spots 
on the leaves, which was also the case 
with the Phoenix sylvestris and the 
Phoenix canariensis. It is also interest¬ 
ing to note the California palms. A 
Washingtonia robusta on Mr. E. H. 
Hart’s place, the trunk of which was 
twenty or thirty feet high, was killed out 
entirely in the 1899 freeze, and the Fili- 
fera filamentosa escaped. The fan 
palm I was speaking of is a Latonia 
borbonica, a Chinese fan palm. This 
was not killed out in the freeze, but the 
leaves were all killed back. The needle 
palm, Chamaerops hystrix seen on the 
stairs, is said to be the only one of the 
Chamaerops, the European fan palms, 
found in America. Botanists first dis¬ 
covered it near Savannah. You will no¬ 
tice the needles about the base are six 
or eight inches long. 
Mr. Phelps—It is the most brilliant 
green of all the palms, and its stem 
sometimes grows up four feet before it 
spreads out in the dark green leaves. 
Question—What fertilizers are gener¬ 
ally used to make such a success of big- 
nonias? 
Mr. Phelps—I used a fertilizer very 
much the same as I used on my orange 
trees, only I don’t want one that has too 
much ammonia. The one that I use has 
5 per cent of ammonia and 7 per cent, 
of phosphoric acid. This vine stands 
the sun very readily and does not re¬ 
quire as much water as others. I do not 
use on any of these things any fertilizer 
that has organic substances; I use only 
chemicals. I do not put it into the soil; 
I put it on top of the soil, so that the rain 
will wash it in. I don’t think I have 
stirred the soil at all during the past ten 
years among my bignonias. 
Mr. Parmenter—I want to say a few 
words in a general way as to the great 
advisability of having in ornamentals as 
many as you can. From time to time I 
have studied Mr. P. J. Berckmans’ cata¬ 
logue, with the idea that what will grow 
in his vicinity will grow here, and I have 
noted down a few that have grown very 
nicely. One is the sycamore, and of all 
shade trees I think the sycamore is the 
best. I carried one home in my hand 
from San Mateo several years ago. I 
think it must be now sixty feet high. 
I have a Texas cottonwood which is ten 
years old, and it must be thirty feet high. 
It is recommended for a quick shade and 
for a quick shade it certainly fills the bill. 
I have a Japanese varnish tree. It is 
perhaps twenty feet high and has with¬ 
stood all the cold and is perfectly hardy. 
The Carolina poplar is another very fine 
tree. These I speak of in particular; 
those that have succeeded and been very 
satisfactory. The Australian linden, I 
think, would succeed very well in Flor¬ 
ida. 
