MARVELS OF MODERN FLOWER CULTURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 193, 18 September 1909, Page 3

MARVELS OF MODERN FLOWER CULTURE.

BUTTONHOLES AT £IO,OOO EACH. . "It is lieyond price. If I said £IO,OOO, ' I should not 'be far wrong." Thus a member of a well-known firm of florists to the writer when he asked the price , of the baby orchid they were exhibiting | at the Horticultural Society's flower show a few days ago. This baby orchid was the gem of the show, and represented weeks of unwearying attention on the part of the growers, who hope they will be repaid for their trouble bv founding through it a new family of "priceless blossoms. j NOT MUCH FOR £SOO. I Altogether the value of the orchids exhibited at the aforementioned show amounted to £50,000, there being several flowers worth between £250 and £IOOO. 1 And talking of costly orchids, one I might mention that at the White City I last year a flower barely an inch in cirI conference was exhibited which was | worth £SOO. It formed part of the col- ■ lection of Sir Jeremiah Colman, of Gatton Park.. The flower was like a tiny , bunch of black grapes which had been , split open, and showed under the niicro- ; scope a delicate tongue. CARNATIONS AND DAFFODILS. Apart from orchids, however, there I have been some big prices paid for • tulips, carnations, and daffodils. Last j year, for instance, 12 guineas a bulb was being paid for Peter Barr, the kin» of j white trumpet daffodils. In I'JOG it"was j worth £3O. For Corallina, a beautiful • new daffodil with a rose-colored crown, ; one must pay 15 guineas, while a Cicorg c . Philip Haydon is cheap at 12 guineas. Four years ago the prices were con- , siderably more. Twelve or 15 guineas j may seem an enormous price to pay for one root, but then it must be remembered that it takes about ten years to ! evolve and fix a new variety. 1 Early in the eighteenth century £CSO | was paid for a single bulb of the then new tulip, Citadel of Antwerp. Prio-is j are not quite so high nowadays, but one requires a long purse to buy soma of I the best varieties. I Then, again, there has been a boom in carnations since the American varieties were introduced into this country. The two chief varieties of the Anglo'-Ameri- | can carnation are tho Enchantress and i Mrs. J. Lawson. The latter derived its title in a rather peculiar manner. The first plant of the kind was bought by an American millionaire for £IOOO. But it proved a profitable investment, and so pleased was he with the result that he named the flower after his wife, and by the name of Mrs. J. Lawson it will probably always be known. —Home paper. |