222 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Jasoary 17, 1901. 



cheaper freight; has obtained valuable 

 legislation. It has created a trade press 

 which disseminates valuable information 

 and provides a medium whereby the)' can 

 buy and sell at an advantage unknown 

 before its establishment". They cannot af- 

 ford to stand by, idle; they may lose, 

 we all may lose, some of the advantages 

 gained unless we present a solid and 

 gradually extending front. With a 

 growth in membership our powers will 

 increase, our iirlluence widen. 



Don't forget your .state vice-presidents; 

 send tlieni report.s of what is being done 

 in horticulture in your neighborhood. 

 If your state legislature is I'ousidcring 

 measures bearing on your bnsine-s, get 

 j'our state vice-president to take the mat- 

 ter up and then support hiiu in his ef- 

 forts. If exijtiii'' state laws can be 



amended for your benefit, do likewise. 

 Send suggestions for the improvement of 

 the society to the secretary, who will 

 bring them before the executive com- 

 mittee in due season. Take a lively in- 

 terest in the society's affairs at all times; 

 it will pay you to do so. Become life 

 members; in this prosperous year, cele- 

 brate the opening of the new century in 

 that way. It is saving time and money 

 and establishing the society on a firmer 

 basis. 



Last but not least prepare to attend the 

 convention in Buffalo next August. The 

 horticultural department of the Pan- 

 American Exhibition will surpass any- 

 thing of the kind ever seen. Show by 

 your presence that you appreciate the ef- 

 fort. 



Wishing you all a happy and prosper- 

 ous New Year and soliciting your hearty 

 co-operation, we remain for success, 

 Fraternally y^ 



Patrick O'M.^ra, Pres. 



\\'.M. J. Stewart, Sec. 



ROSE NOTES. 



Grafting. 



Manetti stocks arrived in much better 

 condition this year than last and were 

 also of better quality and more uniform 

 in size. As soon as the root action has 

 conmicnced the stocks arc ready for 

 grafting. Use cmly l'odiI. well ripened 

 wood for scion-, h i- imi ,--,i,i!;il that 

 the graft aihl -i-^: i. . i , , , i ,„ l,„ess, 

 but the bark nm-i 1.. nil,. I . ., nily to- 

 gether at our Mill-, iui i.Mii- ue use 

 raffia. We potted 25,000 Manetti about 

 Dec. 22, and now have most of them 

 grafted. 



For the grafted plants we build a 

 frame on a bench, put one to one and 

 one-half inches of moss on the bottom 

 and cover this with sand. This is wa- 

 tered well and the plants set upon it. 

 We aim to keep a temperature of about 

 70 degrees. The frame is covered with 

 sash and kc-]it cln,r fi.r ^ilicuit ten days 

 or two week-. \>\ wlihli (iiHc tlic scion 

 will have t:iki II ImM. A I il I Ic air is now 

 given and tin- pknils L'r:iilii:illy hardened 

 off, which will take another two weeks. 

 If the stocks were watered before graft- 

 ing there will be no need of further wa- 

 tering for the first two or three weeks, 

 but if through some contingency it should 

 1)0 necessary it must be very carefully 

 done. If any water settles between the 

 stock and scion the latter will die off. 

 It is best to have partitions in the frame 

 for each batch, so they can be aired sep- 

 arately. 



When the plants are hardened they 

 should be taken out of the frame and 



placed on a light bench, but care must 

 be taken to avoid too much sun or 

 draughts, for a few days. As soon as 

 the plants are of a sufhcient height they 

 should be tied to a small stake to pre- 

 vent the graft from breaking off. 



Pruning. 



I do not believe in cutting out much 

 blind wood during the first part of the 

 rose season, but about the middle of Jan- 

 uarj', when the days begin to lengthen, 

 and the sun favors us moi'e, I think time 

 is well spent in cutting out some of the 

 old blind wood. It gives the plant more 

 air and light and makes room for the 

 strong shoots which we now expect to 

 start. 



Watering. 



appearance ot (In -mi.,.. ,- ,,\\,:, ,\i-- 

 ceiving and our lini;'!- , nii i i! ,.i\s 

 penetrate deep cimugli lu a.-,-uir u^ of 

 its condition. jUways water the bed 

 thoroughly if it needs watering. Other- 

 wise you may have the upper half of the 

 soil wet while it may be as dry as pow- 

 der at the bottom, and this condition is 

 serious for the plants. 



M. STAUcn. 



RAISING THE TEMPERATURE. 



In llie Kkvikw of Dec. 13 M. Stanch 

 says: "In case of necessity (the tem- 

 perature can be raised) to G5 degrecs.on 

 the last few days." In the Review of 

 Dee. 20 he says: "Do not try to cook 

 out a few extra flowers for Christmas 

 by giving the plants all the heat you can. 

 It may mean an extra dollar "for you 

 now but by the middle of .January you 

 will wish vou had not done so." 



Will Mr. Stauch please explain what 

 he means? Clahence Upton. 



The word "cooking" is comimohly used 

 by growers to signify an excessive amount 

 of heat. Mr. Upton may regard 65 de- 

 grees as "cooking" and so would I should 

 it be kept up for any length of time. 

 What I had in mind was what I know 

 to be practiced by many of the smaller 

 growers or florists who conduct a general 

 retail establishment and have only a few 

 rose houses. They are very apt to keep 

 the temperature too high as Christmas 

 approaches. The orders start to come in 

 two weeks before Christmas and they 

 keep piling up. The florist does not wish 

 to buy any roses if he can possibly avoid 

 it and so the temperature of the houses 

 is raised in accordance with the pile of 

 orders. 



He knows well enough that it will 

 harm his plants but Christmas and high 

 prices are right in front of him and the 

 possible harm is some distance off in the 

 future and he guesses after all the dain- 

 age won't be so very serious, the dollars 

 in sight rather dulling his usual good 

 judgment. So he runs the houses up 

 to 05 and 70 and the ventilators kept 

 closed tight. In the daytime the houses 

 are syringed overhead, the boilers are 

 kept going in spite of the. sun which 

 would in itself keep the houses warmer 

 than they should be, and ventilation is 

 given at perhaps 80 or 85 degrees. 



Such treatment is what I call "cook- 

 ing," and a rose cannot endure it long. 

 New Year's follows close behind and a 

 little more "cooking" is indulged in to 

 help out on extra orders for that occa- 

 sion. And by the middle of January the 

 plants, even though they may look 

 healthy, are so exhausted they simply 

 can't move. They will start to break 

 and then stand still, and not till spring 

 can the\- be got into good shape again. 



Such mistreatment of roses may be 

 now to Mr. Upton, but it is unfortunately 

 not at all rare as I can testify to from 

 personal observation. M. Stauch. 



HOW TO GROW PERLE ROSES 

 SUCCESSFULLY. 



[Read before the St. Louis Florists' Club. Jau. lU. J 



I begin to propagate as soon after 

 New Year's :i- |.<.-vili|i-. Mud not later 

 than Feb. 1. as 1 tlmik that high time to 

 propagate sturk waiitrj i.u- planting on 

 benches by June 1, \\ kith is my time for 

 planting. 



In the selection of wood for cuttings 

 I usually take strong blind wood from 

 healthy plants, or when the market is 

 overstocked with blooms I sometimes use 

 blooming wood. The woo<l should be 

 well ripened, but not hard ; if blooming 

 wood is used I prefer it before the flower 

 is fully developed. Still I have used 

 some where the flower was fully devel- 

 oped with very good success. As to the 

 difference between blooming and blind 

 wood, I find none. Any good, healthy 

 wood will do. I usually cut two to 

 three eye cuttings, according to length 

 of joints. 



The propagating bed is prepared as 

 follows: The bench is made of wood, 

 six-inch fencing preferred, with a quar- 

 ter-inch crack between Ixiards for drain- 

 age. ■ The boards are thoroughly white- 

 washed with fresh lime and about three- 

 f mirths inch of screened cinders put in 

 the l>ottom for drainage. Then put in 



