Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-07
sUNFLowERs AND LILIES.
The Demand for shem ~ the ElOxisel
ind their Use and Beauty.

From the n. z. Sun.
"Have the hower-seed sellers reaped an out.
ward and visible result Of the inward and spirit
uai esthetic love for sunhowezs and lilies3'' two
OF the most prominent dealers In flower seeds
were asked.
"Sirl" both calculated.
Have the florists made money by selling sun
flower seeds and lily bulbs since the coming oil
Oscar Wilder"
1--WE have sold about i've times as many sun.
flower seeds this year as we did last year." an
swered one Of the dealers. ''FOr several wears
there has been general movement to re-estab
lish in public favor such old flowers as used tl
grow Observation-Disclosures they are the com
mon daisies, you know. The demand for sun
flower seeds came on US quite suddenly. The
sales have been made mostly over the counter
this spring to persons who live in the suburbs o.
New York. or in good-sized cities on princfpa
railroads. Next year the demand will come in
from as far west as the Mississippi river. and moi
until two years from now will the rage get tt
the Rocky mountains"
"Who buy them?"
"Wealthy persons almost entirely who OWL
pretty little villas with lawns and gardens
about them. When the sales first began to in
crease the purchasers would laugh and get a
little red in the face and look guilty when ask
ing for them; but now, bless you, they are quite
brazen about talking over the different species
OF the flower"
(which of the species is most affected"
1.-The flower Is native of Peru, and six va
rieties are known-the Californian sunflower.
five feet high, with blossoms extra large and
double; the COLOSSUS fstulosus six feet high.
with flowers very large and globular in shape
and the petals of bright rich saffron color; the
MdcrOphyl!us gigdnteass six feet high pyramidal
In growth; the OcmLatis ui,'idis, five feet high:
with a densely double flower with green
center; the Oscar Wilde, the botanical name OF
which is Hetsan1hus pyran,idais tloribundus
nanus. l will translate that. Helianitus means
sunflOwer, pyrdn,ida;is stands for pyramidal in
growth, fO,ibundus signifies Astounding in
flowers. and fadfsus denotes dwarf. So you
have the name, dwarf sunfl0wer, pyramidal in
growth and Astounding i'm flowers. 1t is a n.y.
brid, and Newport florist discovered it in his
garden last summer. where other varieties of
the annual were growing. The flower is quite
small, only three or four inches in diameter.
and single bloom has been and is now very
fashionable at Newport for corsage flower.
That is the moot fashionable sunflOwer. The
name made it sell like hot cakes. It's q pretty
flower, too, for a sunfiower.
Ihe least fashionable sunfOwer Is that which
Is the most useful. one have not named, the
mammoth Russian variety, and it will be fash
ionable in farmers back gardens after fashion
able persons have given them the go-by. 1t is
profitable plant, for it yields so to 100 bushels
OF seed to an acre, and for poultry it makes the
best feed known. In the laying season feed
your hens three times a week on sunfiower
seeds and you will see the best of results in
eggs. In cold weather the oil in which the
seeds abound keep up animal heat in fowls.
For show birds at country fairs a short diet of
sunf1ower seeds gives the feathers an extra
glossy coat, and a clean, bright look to the
combs and gills. Another thing. I've no doubt
that when grown extensively in a marshy dis
trct they 60 far to ward off malaria. as they
grow rapidly and absorb moisture which other
wise would evapOrate and poison the air.
"Is there any truth in the popular SUPPOSE
ton that the sunflower turns itself continually
toward the sum-
ut is an erroneous notion"
'The popular demand for the flower is that it
makes show, is it?"
Entirely SO; lady the other day bought a
large quantity through her gardener and in
tends to plant them between her house and the
street In one of the suburbs Of New York, and
the plants will form hedge 800 feet long"
is the demand for Gala lilies so noticeable
as that for sunfiOwers?"
ut is not so noticeable, but the demand Is
large. But very beautiful new Gala that has
Just been brought from England is to be popu-
lar. 1t is called the Richardia hastala on &C.
count OF It's shape. It is long and slender, like
a spear head, is of q soft yellow color, is I'M.
dersized, and has delicate purple throat down
in the center of the bell"