April  10,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
315 
■keeping  by  the  man  who  is  himself  a  grower  and  whose  wife  or 
daughters  “  tend  store  ”  and  make  up  floral  designs.  The  great 
shopkeepers  in  the  large  cities  are  “  artists  ”  and  indulge  in  fads. 
They,  in  some  cases,  drop  their  first  names,  like  the  ladies’  tailors 
and  milliners.  Bht  the  development  of  that  branch  has  been 
wonderful.  Glass  delivery  waggons,  with  gold-mounted  harness 
and  something  suspiciously  like  a  crest  embossed  thereon,  have 
become  the  sign  manual  of  the  successful  floral  artist  in  the  large 
cities.  The  addition  of  “  ribbons  and  laces  to  set  off  the  faces  ” 
■of  pretty  flowers  seems  a  natural  accompaniment  to  the  style  of 
business  ;  but  it  seems  inconsisteiit  with  the  prevailing  “  natural  ” 
style  of  flower  arrangement.  It  is  positively  painful  to  see 
flowering  plants  swathed  in  ribbons  and  paper  or  tied  up  with 
bow  knots  like  a  poodle  dog,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  “  artists  ” 
will  abandon  it,  or  their  pa.trons  get  tired  of  it  very  soon. 
In  horticulture  as  in  everything  else,  the  men  who  originate 
either  methods  or  varieties  are  the  men  who  shape  the  business 
ends  and  all.  The  men  who  hybridise,  the  men  who  investigate, 
the  men  who  do  the  thinking,  are  the  men  who  supply  the  motive 
power  for  the  whole.  The  originators  of  the  new  varieties  of 
fruits,  flowers,  and  vegetables  have  not  only  conferred  a  benefit 
on  the  people  at  large,  but  have  made  it  possible  for  the  grower 
to  continue  in  a  profitable  business.  The  man  who  first  propa^ 
gated  Roses  in  summer  and  began  a  special  business  of  mailing 
them  showed  the  way  to  dozens  of  successful  imitators.  The  man 
who  developed  the  idea  of  the  shallow  bench  and  annual  plant¬ 
ing  of  Roses  for  cut  flow’ers  was  in  his  way  a  Columbus.  The  man 
who  first  used  large  glass  and  light  frames  in  greenhouses  made 
it  possible  to  produce  the  quality  of  flowers  in  evidence  to-day. 
The  man  who  built  big  greenhouses  to  grow  Lettuce,  Tomatoes, 
Cucumbers,  and  so  forth,  made  a  great  fonvard  stride.  The  man 
who  started  the  first  horticultural  journal  made  an  important 
innovation.  The  business  ends  of  horticulture  are  many  and 
various,  and  I  trust  enough  has  been  said  about  them  in  this 
paper  to  show  to  those  who  may  not  have  considered  the  matters 
covered,  that  they  are  interesting  and  important,  at  least  to 
those  engaged  in  them. 
Ether  in  Forcing  Plants. 
That  ether  may  in  time  Become  a  factor  of  importance  to 
market  and  private  gardeners  is  very  possible.  In  “  Le  Jardin,” 
M.  Albert  Maumene  summarises  the  results  of  experiments  under 
the  above  heading  at  the  exf)eriment  station  at  Dresden  as 
follows :  — “  In  the  early  forcing  of  shrubs  no  one  can  neglect 
the  advantages  resulting  from  the  use  of  ether.  The  commercial 
man  must  take  into  account  that  certain  species  can  not  only 
be  brought  into  flower  earlier,  and  thus  bring  an  advanced 
price,  but  that  they  occupy  the  houses  a  much  shorter  time,  and 
thus  the  expense  of  growing  is  greatly  reduced.  It  is  stated 
by  the  author,  as  a  proved  fact,  that  the  saving  in  time  required 
in  the  house  will  more  than  cover  the  additional  expense  of  the 
process,  having  the  advanced  price  obtained  by  being  first  in 
the  market  as  a  net  profit. 
‘  Experiments  with  the  Lilac,  the  varieties  used  being  Marie 
Legraye,  Charles  X,  and  Leon  Simon,  showed  the  flowers  fully 
expanded  in  eighteen  days  after  being  brought  into  the  houses, 
Marie  Legraye  being  even  earlier  than  this.  In  the  forcing  of 
shrubs  for  a  very  early  date,  while  those  not  treated  have 
flowered  only  poorly,  the  treated  plants  have  produced  much 
better  flowers  eight  to  ten  days  earlier.  Etherised  plants  are 
even  found  to  force  at  a  much  lower  temperature  than  those  not 
so  treated.  In  addition  to  the  Lilacs,  Azalea  mollis  and  the 
Viburnums  responded  readily  to  the  treatment;  Prunus  triloba 
w'as  more  rebellious,  while  the  flowers  of  Deutzia  gracilis  wmre 
spoiled.  Lily  of  the  Valley,  etherised  and  placed  in  heat  (about 
75deg)  on  November  21,  flowered  40  per  cent.,  while  those  not 
etherised  flowered  only  2  per  cent.  _  For  much  later  forcing  the 
ethering  process  does  not  seem  advisable.  In  treating  Roses  so 
marked  a  success  has  not  been  shown,  although  the  flowers  were 
earlier.  Cut  branches  of  Azalea  mollis  flowered  in  twenty-three 
days,  while  branches  not  so  treated  were  twelve  days  late. 
Viburnum  plicatum,  etherised  and  placed  in  heat  December  2 
was  in  full  flower  on  the  14th,  while  the  plants  not  etherised 
flowered  very  poorly  a  long  time  later.  Azalea  mollis,  treated 
November  26  and  brought  into  the  house  November  28,  was 
covered  with  flowers  on  December  20,  although  the  untreated 
plants  were  only  poorly  flowered  in  early  January.  As  the 
normal  flowering  season  approaches,  the  action  of  ether  becomes 
less  and  less  marked,  so  that  its  use  is  especially  indicated  for 
the  months  of  November  and  December. 
“  The  application  of  this  process  requires,  of  course,  consider¬ 
able  care.  The  vapour  of  ether  is  very  inflammable,  and  the 
work  must  be  done  in  the  absence  of  fire  and  artificial  light. 
The  box  or  apartment  in  which  the  plants  are  treated  must  be 
absolutely  tight,  as  the  vapour  will  otherwise  escape,  for  they 
must  be  in  an  evenly  etherised  atmosphere  about  forty-eight 
hours.  Arrangements  must  also  be  made  for  rapid  and  complete 
ventilation  when  the  exposure  has  been  sufficiently  long.” 
Some  Chat  about  the  Fritillarias. 
I  feel  I  must  send  you  a  few  notes  of  w'elcome  about  the 
Fritillarias,  which  have  too  few  friends  among  the  fraternity 
of  gardeners.  They  are  just  what  Mr.  Arthur  Benson  calls  them 
in  one  of  his  poems,  “  Snakeheads  ” — “rare,  outlandish  things 
for  such  as  love  tliem,”  and  some  at  least  want  one  to  know  them 
before  one  can  appreciate  their  beauties;  for  such  they  have 
if  we  uplift  their  blooms,  and  examine  the  interior  of  even  those 
which  look  the  least  attractive  outside.  Some  which  are  dull 
and  unattractive  on  the  exterior  are  prettily  chequered  or 
marked  with  wonderfully  pretty  tints  inside,  while  many  are 
as  if  varnished  or  lacquered. 
I  have  known  these  flowers  almost  all  my  life,  and  I  can  yet 
recollect  the  pleasure  with  which  in  my  boyish  days  I  used  to 
turn  uj)  the  pendant  bells  of  Fritillaria  Meleagris  in  a  garden 
I  used  to  be  often  in  when  I  was  a  boy.  They  may  be 
Faint-tinted,  spotted  like  ;in  ocelot’s  skin, 
Streaked  like  the  banded  viper,  with  their  lean 
Sleek  stalks;  uncanny,  iiuleteiminate. 
but  they  have  a  singular  fascination  for  those  who  know  them 
best.  One  would  plead  for  our  native  F.  Meleagris,  of  which 
Matthew  Arnold  said  :  — 
I  know  what  white,  what  purple  Fritillaries 
The  grassy  harvesc  of  the  river  fields 
Above  by  Enshain,  down  by  Sandford,  yields. 
It  was  more  cherished  in  the  olden  days  than  now,  when  we 
have  Snakeshead  Lilies  of  more  showy  colours,  though  there  is 
none  prettier  than  the  white  F.  Meleagris  alba,  often  called 
prtecox.  This  same  F.  Meleagris  is  Gerard’s  “  Ginnie-hen  flower,” 
because  of  its  chequering,  and  Parkinson  speaks  of  its  chess¬ 
board  markings,  and  of  its  being  called  ‘  in  errore  ”  the 
“checkered  Daffodil.”  It  seems  curious  that  its  existence  as  a 
native  plant  was  unknown  to  Gerard,  for  he  tells  that  “  the 
curious  and  painful  herbarist  of  Paris,  John  Robin,  sent  me 
many  plants  for  my  garden,  where  they  prospered  as  in  their 
ow'n  native  country,  and  were  greatly  esteemed  for  the  beautify¬ 
ing  of  our  gardens  and  the  bosoms  of  the  beautiful.”  Who  ever 
sees  a  Fi'itillaria  “  beautifying  the  bosoms  of  the  beautiful  ”  now¬ 
adays  .P  And  who  would  call  such  a  good  friend  as,  say,  Mr. 
Edward  Whittall  a  “  painful  herbarist  ”  ? 
As  by  means  of  books  we  can  sui'round  ourselves  with  friends 
of  kindred  tastes,  even  if  they  have  long  left  for  the  Elysian 
fields,  so  among  one’s  garden  friends  are  many  men  of  the  olden 
days  who  cared  for  the  Fritillaria.  Among  these  was  Justice, 
who  tells  us  in  his  “  Gardiner’s  Director  ”  of  his  collection  of 
these  flowers,  and  of  how  he  raised  them  from  seeds;  and  also 
thoughtfully  gives  us  a  list  of  those  offered  in  the  catalogue 
of  “my  good  Friends  the  Voorhelms  at  Harlem,”  with  whom 
he  seems  to  have  had  much  communication,  doubtless  to  the 
mutual  advantage  of  Scot  and  Hollanders.  This  list  of  1754 
is  very  interesting  to'  a  Snakeshead  lover,  and  comprises  some 
three  dozen  varieties,  among  which  is  one  named  “  La  Belle 
d’Ecossej”  and  what  must  be  the  curious  double  form  of  the 
Fritillaria,  catalogued  as  “  Dubbelde.”  And  now,  when  both 
Justice  and  the  Voorhelms  are  long  passed  over  to  the  majority, 
their  names  are  dear  to  some  of  us,  and  we  look  upon  them  as 
familiar  friends. 
But  the  admirer  of  the  Fritillaria  need  not  confine  himself 
to  F.  Meleagris,  and  may  find  among  the  many  Snakesheads 
from  other  lands  some  which  will  please  our  natural  liking  for 
briglit  things,  as  well  as  for  the  curious  and  fantastic  in  colour¬ 
ing.  There  is  the  chaiming,  yet  difficult  to  estabhsh,  F.  recurva, 
of  which  a  new  form  called  major,  said  to  be  easier  to  grow, 
has  just  been  brought  before  us.  There  is  the  curious  little 
F.  armena,  which  I  hope  the  Editor  will  favour  us  with  a  cut 
of  some  day,  and  which  can  be  had  in  red,  yellow,  and  green, 
but  which  the  slugs  have  an  unhappy  fondness  for  cropping. 
Citrina  is  a  pretty  thing  in  its  way,  and  hked  by  the  ladies, 
though  one  of  my  friends  thinks  that  is  sufficient  to  prove  that 
this  is  a  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  his  opinion  that  it  is  not 
worth  growing.  I  hope  I  am  not  so  ungallant  as  all  that,  and 
am  content  to  abide  by  what  I  have  said  about  this  far  from 
showy  plant.  More  attractive  is  the  pretty  yellow  F.  aurea, 
while  we  have  a  host  of  others  of  which  I  may  tell  more  at  flower¬ 
ing  time.  Meanwhile,  the  Editor  will  think  he  did  wrong  in 
opening  the  floodgates  of  the  zeal  of  a  lover  of  the  Snakesheads. 
— S.  Aenott. 
