The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-09-13
Floral Culture in Boston.

The ChuTchmGn
A recent exhibition of orchids in Horti-
cultural Hall was said to be the finest and
rarest of any that has ever taken place in
this country. Many of them were from
the wonderful greenhouses of Ex-Governor
Ames, at Amesbury, where he has expend-
ed 100000 on the growth of orchids
alone 1t is impossible TO describe these
alf-birdlike, halfbutterfy blossoms, with
their unique forms and exquisite colorings.
Ladies and gentlemen fingered over them
in admiration and visited them again and
again. The regular Saturday exhibit is
enlivened by the talk of the growers of
flowers who are learned in their profession,
and who make these occasions kind of
interchange of thought on horticulture
Strangers in Boston at this season ever
remark the loveliness of the Public Garden,
an addition quite distinct from the. Com
mon. It is huge lawn, some twenty
acres in extent, dotted with patches Of
bright-colored flowers, single kind in a
bed Of oblong, round, square, or some &C.
centric shape. The effect of such coloring
in the midst of smooth, Felvety green is
very charming, from the contrast as well
as the beauty of the blossoms. The ewhole
atmosphere is pervaded with these sweets.
A lake, ornamental bridges, shrubbery, and
great shade trees at intervals along the
winding pathways make this spot a kind
of elysium. As the season advances the
flowers are changed, and so the place is
ever harmonious in its beauty and purpose
All through the year flowers are hawked
in the business streets of Boston at every
hour of the day and evening. Great roses
and pansies and Glove pinks seem to take
the lead in this street trade, while the
florists windows have an embarrassment
of riches in the rarest and most costly
flowers from their great Conservatives. In
no city are flowers and foliage plants more
extensively used for decorative purposes.
The bordering of table cloth made of
roses for dinner party is not uncommon,
or the ornamentation of the wall of a di-
ming room or parlor with the choicest
cuttings from the greenhouse. A pretty
fashion in calling is the leaving of a bouquet
with visiting card. The roses cultivated
near Boston have long been accepted as the
finest grown in this country. About 500
are sent to New York daily, and as many
more in other directions.
One florist grows nothing but Glove pinks
in his largest Conservatives. Another cut
10000 violets in one day in a single green
house. The most famous rose-houses in
the vicinity are those at Natick, belonging
to Mr.. Wood, some twenty-five in number,
each over 100 feet in length by thirty-two
in width, and all so connected with under
ground passages that the workmen can pass
from one to another without going out
DOORS The roses are trained on wires and
are exceedingly vigorous. The buds are
cut every hour and carried to an icehouse
lined with zinc and having three air cham
bers, until packed in air-tight boxes for
the home market, or to be sent to New
York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago,
Canada, and as far as Kansas City. In
February there were 1000 Marechal Mel
roses cut in one of these houses, and 20,-
900 Jacqueminots in another, to say moth
ing of the thousands of Cornelia Cooks,
Baroness Rothschilds, Catherine Mermetts,
and all the varieties of roses that are SO
eagerly sought for at the present time.
One house has tea roses alone. These rose
houses cover four acres, and require an
army of workmen to take care Of them.
The very height of floral culture of all va
rietes in the neighborhood of Boston is,
however, reached in the famous Hunnewell
Gardens, or the Italian Gardens, as they
are popularity called. They are owned by
gentleman named Hunnewell, and are
open to all who care to visit them. There
are fifty acres under cultivation.