The Weekly Florists' Review. 



223 



A Giant Caladium. 



clean fresh sand, which, after well beat- 

 en down with a brick, will be about two 

 or two and one-half inches deep. 



The bench is then ready for the cut- 

 tings, which are put in the sand to the 

 depth of about one inch, placed one inch 

 apart in the row, and two and one-half 

 inches between rows. The cuttings are 

 then thoroughly watered and shaded, for 

 the latter purpose we use muslin 

 stretched along the sash bars. An occa- 

 sional sprinkling during the day, and 

 when needed a thorough watering is giv- 

 en. After they have formed a callous 

 the shading is removed. The tempera- 

 ture is kept as near as possible to 58 de- 

 grees above, with 10 degrees higher un- 

 der the bench. When the weather is clear 

 a crack of air is constantly left on the 

 house, but all drafts are avoided. 



In potting, I usually pot from sand 

 into two and one-half inch pots. I pre- 

 fer this size to the two-inch. I shade 

 them a few days with newspapers and 

 soak well after planting. From two and 

 one-half inch pots I plant into three and 

 one-half inch, and from the latter size 

 to the bench. I much prefer this size for 

 bench planting to four-inch. I do not 

 believe in forcing young stock as soon 

 as they are well started in two and one- 

 half inch pots. I reduce the tempera- 

 ture a few degrees and keep them on the 

 dry side as much as possible, being very 

 careful never to get them overwatered, 

 as that materially weakens them. You 

 can get a strong, sturdy plant only by 

 keeping it somewhat on the dry side. 

 For potting I use the same soil used for 

 the benches, which is run through a 

 coarse screen and about one-fifth of 

 screened, well-rotted cow manure added 

 for small po'ts. Very little sand is used, 

 as our soil is a sandy loam. 



In preparing for the bench planting, 

 we give rafters and gutters a coat of 

 paint every two years, and thoroughly 

 clean under the benches and give all the 

 walls, etc., a whitewash of fresh lime 

 every season. The benches are construct- 

 ed of wood, six-inch cypress fencing pre- 

 ferred, and a space of one-half inch is 

 left between boards for drainage. Same 



is used i"! -iilr. Ir:i\iiig the bench about 

 four aiiJ .>nrli;ili inches deep in the 

 clear. I In Ihim h i^ :;iven a heavy coat 

 of fresh liiijc .iiid lillcd level full of soil, 

 which after being packed and watered 

 will leave about three and one-half to 

 four inches of soil. New soil is used 

 each vi:m, wliicli i^ hauled from an old 

 |Ki-iuir .11 -Mini' ,iiliri- place that I know 

 li:i- II. ii l.,.,j, . iilinntfd for years. This 

 is ii-ii;illy j.iir.l iij. 11 year previous. The 

 mixing is done as the soil is put in witli 

 about one-fourth of well-rotted cow ma- 

 nure and a sprinkling of bone meal. 

 Planting is then done from three and 

 one-half inch pots and as near June 1 

 as possible. 1 believe in some shading, 

 but I am satisfied good roses can be 

 grown without it. 



Supports are put in and tying is done 

 as soon after planting as needeu. About 

 Aug. 15 a light mulch of Avell-rotted cow 

 manure is given, wliuh i- irpeated the 

 latter part of S.j.i . mli. i . il i..|uircd. As 

 soon as cool am:.iIi. i --i- m li.|uid ma- 

 nure is applied iii 1i,l;IiI 1. .iiii about once 

 every two weeks, which is increased later 

 on to once every week, depending a great 

 deal on the growth the plants are mak- 

 ing, and also the weather. 



There is one thing you must bear in 

 mind, that the Perle rose is a good feed- 

 er and enjoys an occasional mulch or 

 liquid watering about as well as the 

 writer does one of those old time florists' 

 smokers. All buds are cut off with from 

 one to two eyes, up to about Aug. 15, 

 when the strongest shoots are allowed to 

 come to flower and which produce first- 

 class flowers. The weak growth should 

 be disbudded continually through the 

 whole season, and only good, strong wood 

 allowed to flower. You must remember 

 that if you want quality you can't al- 

 ways expect quantity. 



The temperature I prefer for Perle 

 roses is 60 degrees at night, with 10 to 

 15 degrees higher in the daytime. In 

 conclusion, I wish to state that my soil 

 is a light, sandy loam, which readily 

 drains itself and can therefore stand 

 more water than ordinary soil. To this 

 I attribute to some extent mv success in 



J'crU> roses, but the principal key to suc- 

 cess is careful attention and renewed 

 cncigy, the same as is required to grow 

 any other plant under glass success- 

 fully. I thank you for your kind atten- 

 tion" and I hope'tliese few words will be 

 of as much benefit to some of you, at 

 least, as other essays have been to me 

 in tlic past. 



A GIANT CALADIUM. 

 We present herewith an engraving 

 from a photograph of a Caladium escu- 

 lentum, a single plant from one bulb, 

 that was seen last summer on the 

 grounds of Mrs. R. L. Higginbotham, 

 Delphi, Ind. Tlie plant was eight feet 

 bigh and had a spread of fifteen feet. The 

 l<.ii.^'..-t livif inen-iired 48 inches. Reply- 

 ing I.. :in in.|niiy as to how the plant 

 W.I ii.:ii..i \li-. Higginbotham writes: 

 I \\r hi.lc \\;i> .ji feet in diameter and 

 li ic'cL deep. It was filled with 6 inches 

 of half rotted cow manure, C inches of 

 rich compost. inches of half rotted cow 

 manure, finishing off with 6 inches of 

 well rotted compost into which the bulb 

 was placed. We watered sparingly until 

 the plant was well started, as otherwise 

 there is danger of rotting the bulb. 

 After the plant was well started the 

 amount of water was gradually increased 

 as the growth advanced, adding about 

 twice a week one to two gallons of liquid 

 from half rotted cow manure with a 

 small quantity of bone meal added. 

 When the plant has attained full size 

 you can scarcely give it too much water." 



PHILADELPHIA. 

 The Market. 



A decided and unmistakable lull set 

 in by the middle of last week. By 

 Wednesday the bright hopes that this 

 season there would be no let up in busi- 

 ness before Lent had vanished. It seems 

 likely that the dark, rainy weather of 

 the next two days really helped more 

 than it hurt the cut flower market. 

 Transient trade fell ott', but the supply 

 was decreased probably in much greater 

 proportion. Prices fell. The best Beau- 

 ties, a scarce commodity, bring $6, $7.50 

 and $9 a dozen. Brides and Maids, $8 

 to $12 per 100. Some Meteors brought 

 a little more. Carnations, $1.50 to $3 

 per 100, a few fancies being held at $5. 

 Single violets, 50 to 75 cents per 100, 

 doubles, $1, to $1.50. Romans are not 

 popular just now; very few white flow- 

 ers are in midwinter. Possibly the next 

 two weeks may prove a further ex- 

 ception to this general rule, as we are 

 promised an unusually large number of 

 January weddings. 



French daffodils are in and bring $4 a 

 100; the blooms appear uirripe. Tulips 

 and Von Sion are expected shortly. 



Various Items. 



The club meeting was held on Tues- 

 day night. Ernest Hemming, of Thos. 

 Meehan & Sons, read a paper on herba- 

 ceous plants for cut flowers. 



Tuesday of this week will be devoted 

 to the Farmers' Institute meeting for 

 Philadelphia county, which will be held 

 in Horticultural Hall. A very interest- 

 ing program has been arranged for the 

 occasion. 



Ladies' night at the Florists' Club will 

 be held on Wednesday evening of next 

 week, Jan. 23. A varied program full 

 of attractions has been arranged. It is 



