File:The American florist - a weekly journal for the trade (1910) (17517447654).jpg

Title: The American florist : a weekly journal for the trade
Identifier: americanfloristw42amer (find matches)
Year: 1885 (1880s)
Authors: American Florists Company
Subjects: Floriculture; Florists
Publisher: Chicago : American Florist Company
Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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946 The American Florist. June II, nated the following year, that grand old Brenchleyensis, still the acknowl- edged leader of its class. Its origin Is a mystery. How it came into my father's possession is as follows: Some years previously he had in his employ W. Casey, foreman of the hard wooded department, a."nd traveling occasionally. He was later connected with Hugh Low & Co. On one of his journeys through Kent, he visited a small place called Brenchley. In a cottager's gar- den he noticed several flowers of this variety and after a great deal of per- suasion and what must have been a large sum to the owner (£25, roughly $125). he secured the stock. All the Information he could gather as to its origin was that a son who was a sailor had brought the bulbs home from some foreign country—Africa, it was believed at the time. How popular Brenchleyensis became is best at- tested by the fact that from 1860 to 1864 our sales averaged 300.000 yearly. Our nurseries were situated at Great Yarmouth (made famous by Charles Dickens in David Copperfleld), and less than 2,000 years ago the North sea flowed where the town now stands, so of course the soil was very sandy, and to that fact I attribute our success in cultivating the bulbs. The only thing used to enrich the soil was rotten brewers' hops, and disease was a thing unknown to us. I have always been and am still a very strong advocate of printer's ink and flower shows, both for educational and commercial purposes, and believe my past experience justifies me, as I shall show. Prior to 1860 we had sent large quantities of gladiolus blooms to the Crystal Palace for decorative pur- poses, free, and were assured that they were much finer than any exhibited for prizes. After much persuasion, my father consented to compete and had several large beds prepared and planted with the choicest kinds, to be raised for exhibition. The amount of the prizes was very small, for the best collec- tion, $12; best 24 spikes, $5; best 12 spikes. $2.50; not much of an in- ducement for three men to travel 140 miles, pay excess luggage and hotel bills for three days, and compete against such men as Standish. Turner, Paul, Cutbush and others. We went and conquered, not only the prizes, but all the London papers from the Times down; they gave us columns of the best possible advertising, and that was not all, for the two foremen and myself booked orders the first day for more than £300, besides distributing 5,000 catalogues in the two days. Did It pay? The method in vogue at that time for staging the flowers was to have green painted boards. 3 feet 6 inches long by 2 feet 6 inches wide; each board had 24 holes fitted with tin tubes to hold the water. Our boards sloped on an angle of 45°, which showed off the back row. We showed three spikes of each variety together with a little foliage mixed in. Some exhibitors used garden asparagus, others fern fronds, but I must say the effect of using the gladiolus foliage was by far the neatest and most ap- propriate. The London Times, speak- ing of our exhibit, said: "The flowers showed the highest cultivation and their staging was a finished and artis- tic piece of work and a revelation." Certain it is that our flowers were better colored and had far more sub- stance than those grown around Lon- don or even in France, which I at- tribute to the salt air and our sandy soil. Before concluding this paper, I trust I ehall be pardoned if I make a few statements relative to that beauti- ful old flower, the fuchsia. There are very few today who can recall the old style, the flowers of which were very small, the tube not larger round than a lead pencil. It was in 1838 that my father sent out the first one of the present type and he named it Touelli. On introducing myself, some years ago. to the late W. Harris for a long time in charge of H. H. Hunnewell's es-
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H. Youell, Syracuse, N. Y. tate at Wellesley, Mass., he recalled the fact that the first fuchsia sent out, as we know it today, was known as Touelli. In 1856 we sent out the first striped one. Lord Clive, and in 1858 the first double one, Sir Colin Camp- bell. I might go on indefinitely with recollections of the business in my early days, but do not wish to ex- haust your patience, and in closing, beg to thank you for the privilege of addressing you on this subject. A Relic Of the Beagfle. Amongst other interesting relics dis- played by the Japan Society at the Japan-British exhibition, is a piece of H. M. S. Beagle, in which Charles Darwin made his celebrated voyage, and which was afterwards purchased by the Japanese navy and renamed Kenke Kwan. It was on this ship that many of Japan's most distinguished naval officers received their early train- ing. The painting on this relic is a copy of a picture of the Beagle and the signatures are those of Baron Admiral Saite, the Japanese naval minister, and Admiral Togo,—Gar- deners' Chronicle. CHRYSANTHEMUMS Chrysanthemums In the South. i OUTDOOR CULTUBE. The growing of chrysanthemums in the open ground is in the main satis- factory and much less laborious than growing them under glass. The piece of ground selected should be well ex- posed and high enough to drain well after heavy rains. After applying a good coating of cow manure the ground should be dug deeply at least twice. Beds four feet wide with a walk of 18 inches or two feet between them are generally accepted as the easiest to work. The walks are dug out and thrown on the middle of the beds, giving them a slope on each side, and providing a quick outlet for the rainfall. More chrysanthemums are ruined every year for want of this precaution than from any other cause. After working in a good dressing of bone meal with a rake, the beds are ready for planting. The young plants should be well watered an hour or so before setting out: one foot apart between the rows is the standard distance, and if only one flower is desired nine inches be- tween the plants is sufficient. If each plant has to carry three flowers, one foot apart each way is about right. If the ground is dry leave a hollow around each plant so that the bed can be thoroughly watered. It is not nec- essary to syringe the plants every day. but during a dry spell the beds should have frequent soakings All weeds must be kept down and the surface of the beds worked occasionally to keep in good growing condition. The best method of tying is to use a stake to each plant tied to an overhead wire. July and August are generally very trying to the plants. Thunderstorms are frequent and the hot sun immedi- ately following wilts the plants badly. The best remedy for this is not to syringe but to stir up the surface of the soil as soon as it can be worked. About September 1 is the proper time to take the bud on most varie- ties. The flower from a bud taken earlier rarely develops into anything salable, especially in the extreme south, hence very early varieties are not worth growing. If the ground has been properly enriched at plant- ing time very little more fertilizer is needed, but a topdressing of vegetable fertilizer, dried blood or tankage ap- plied after the bud is taken will In- crease the size and help the finish of the flower. As soon as the flowers show the first sign of color it is time to cover the beds. A light skeleton frame is raised over the beds and covered either with sash or clean cot- ton cloth. This protects the flowers from the heavy dews and gives them a finish but little inferior to those grown entirely under glass. A few tobacco stems in the walks hung around on the wires after the cover is on will minimize the dan- ger of an attack from thrips. Green- fly is never troublesome under the open air culture but occasionally the corythuca does quite a lot of damage before its presence is discovered. This attacks the under side of the leaves and is hard to reach. Coal oil emul-

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