OUR CACTUS COLLECTION 
We have added considerably to our collection of rare 
Cacti and Succulents in the past few years. Collectors in 
Mexico, Central and South America and in South Africa 
have been finding new plants or sending in new supplies 
of long-lost or little known species. Unfortunately, some- 
times only a single specimen may be received which always 
poses the question of propagation which may prove very 
slow. One may receive plants from several sources which 
turn out to be different, or plants under different names 
which prove to be the same. The phase of botany known 
as taxonomy (the naming of plants) is not an exact science. 
There are rules which govern the precedence of names, 
etc., but none which more than guide a man’s judgment as 
to what is a species or a genus. Botanists are highly indi- 
vidualistic and no two have ever been known to wholly 
agree! Thus one man may see small differences which sep- 
arate plants and so describe a new species, while to another 
these differences do not constitute even a variety but only 
local forms. Just which is right is a matter of opinion. In 
our catalog we do not try to settle these questions, but if 
from the collector’s or grower’s standpoint there is a valid 
difference, we accept the most commonly known name. We 
do not want to confuse our patrons by continually chang- 
ing names. Thus we retain genera such as Chilenia which 
are not valid but which constitute from the collector’s 
standpoint an entity of similar plants different in habit 
: from the rest of the Neoporterias. This is of course arbi- 
_ ; trary and does not at all coincide with my own personal 
views. When one is offering plants for sale one must draw 
a line somewhere between the common convenience of all 
and the hair-splitting of the specialist. While my own re- 
action is that there is far too much hair-splitting (which 
the collector in the field can easily detect) and am more 
inclined to agree with the so-called ‘‘lumpers,” yet to fol- 
low either course to the bitter end brings confusion. 
This year we have some very fine plants to offer, with 
many blooming sizes for those patrons who enjoy seeing 
their plants in bloom. Last year we were very pleased at 
LOS great number of plants we were able to send in bud or 
ower. 
Es . ee 
VIEW IN SEEDLING GREENHOUSE 
Young cacti from the time the seed is sown until they are ready for 
their first “pricking off” or transplanting require far more moisture and 
care than at any other time during their lives. After the seed is germi- 
nated it is brought into this drier house and when ready transplanted 
into boxes called “‘flats’’ which you see on the benches. The plants in the 
foreground are Espostoas (Peruvian Old Man) and Snowball Cactus. The 
climbing cacti are Selenicereus and Weberocereus. 
1876-1951 
This year completes our 75th year as a 
nursery and 30 years since I first gingerly 
took over the reins. Our first exhibit was 
in the International Exposition, 1876, where 
we were given a Certificate of Award for a 
DIAMOND JUBILEE 
CACTUS HANDBOOK 
To celebrate our 75th year we are pub- 
lishing a more complete listing of rare and 
one. he ae 
display of aquatics. Our first large catalog 
was published in 1881 and dealt with aqua- 
tics and greenhouse subjects. The nursery 
was at this time in Bordentown, N. J. In 
1894 it was moved to Hollywood, California, 
which then consisted principally of orange 
and lemon groves. The old nursery, situ- 
ated at the mouth of the Fern Dell in what 
is now Griffith Park, was a favorite rendez- 
vous of such plant lovers as Paul de Long- 
pre, the famous flower painter; Judge Silent 
and Ernest Braunton. In 1921 we moved to 
Hynes, now renamed Paramount, to have 
more room for expansion. During the past 
30 years we have continued to develop our 
two specialties, Water Lilies and Cacti. It 
would be hard to find two plant groups 
more antipathetic. 
The fascinating thing about working with 
plants is that there is always more to learn. 
Even about the simple things that one per- 
haps has done a thousand times. Every year 
one learns how to do something better, 
some new angle on propagating a refrac- 
tory plant, some way to get certain seeds 
to germinate, some way to coax a plant to 
bloom. If plants could be hammered out 
like rivets, all the fun would be gone and 
such satisfaction is just about the greatest 
dividend the plantsman can receive. 
unusual plants. The catalog also contains 
more articles on culture, nomenclature, on 
plants in the wilds, etc. 48 pages well illus- 
trated in color and with many photographs. 
Price 50c. 
TERMS 
I guarantee safe delivery anywhere in 
the United States or Canada. 
FREE DELIVERY of all orders amount- 
ing to $2 or more. Canadian minimum $5. 
BONUS. Since our break-even point is 
almost $3 we gladly give a 10 per cent plant 
bonus on all plant orders of $3 or more. 
50 cents packing charge on all orders of 
less than $2. 
December shipments only by express at 
customer’s expense except the Pacific Coast 
States and also Utah, Nevada, Arizona, 
New Mexico and Texas, where shipments 
by parcel post can go through. 
OUR GUARANTEE is for safe delivery 
only. We cannot undertake to make good 
plants lost by improper care. If for any 
reason plants are not received in good con- 
dition we will give credit for the damaged 
items if notified at once. Satisfied custom- 
ers are our greatest asset. 
At left: Our gardens are 
open to the public from 
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through- 
out the year. As we have 
-some 25,000 square feet 
of glass, together with 
lathhouses and thousands 
of flats outside, there is 
considerable for the fan- 
cier to see. Also from 
March till October the 
Water Lily pools are 
ablaze with blossoms. The 
greatest number of Cacti 
are in bloom during the 
spring months when the 
Orchid Cacti, the Easter 
Lily Cacti, Echinocereus, 
Trichocereus, Notocactus, 
Parodias and the brilliant 
Lobivias are at their best. 
However, at every season 
the fancier will find much 
to interest him. 
OUTDOOR CACTI 
One of our “flat yards’ where larger 
plants are grown for flowering. Here they 
grow under as near natural conditions as 
possible, developing sturdy root systems 
and having a good winter’s rest, thus get- 
ting a fine start for the spring and summer 
flowering. We have many thousands of 
these plants, all more than three years old. 
CACTUS COLD FRAMES 
The plants shown here are the bright 
spined Peruvocereus and Haageocereus. 
When the plants have reached a degree of 
size and hardiness in the seedling houses, 
they are moved to these frames where they 
get a greater degree of heat and light and 
air. Clean, bright spined, strong rooted 
plants result. 
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