350 



I'he Weekly Florists^ Review. 



"KBUIARY 14, 1001. 



"Hybridizing the Carnation," by Peter 

 Fisher, Ellis, Mass. There will be tlis- 

 cassions upon "fteni rot," "sub-water- 

 ing" and other subjects of interest. The 

 question box will be a promiirent feature 

 and questions deposited in same will be 

 answered by those present having had ex- 

 perience in the matter inquired about. 



The society is a very live body, doing 

 splondi.l Nv.iik toi Ih. ,1.11:11... ■III. nt of the 

 best iiii.i.-i- .'I ill.- |ii < ii. --1..11. \\r pre- 

 sent 111 ilii- 1--I1. 1-: 11.111- ..1 111.- presi- 

 dent, Mrr invMil.iii aii.l Mvr.'laiy f»r the 

 current year. 'J'lic IrcaMUcr was unfor- 

 tunatclv" unable to s\ipplv an up-to-date 

 ph(.toi;i'apli in time for t'his issue. The 

 I)n-i.icnt ami vi.-.- pi . -i.l.nt are both Bal- 

 tiin.in^ men aii.l I In y will both be active 

 as li.isls as w.-ll ;i- .illi..rs of the society 

 and thoy will Ik- al.ly a-isted by the Bal- 

 timore craftsmen in general. We pre- 

 sent herewith portraits of a few of the 



active spirits in the trade, so you may 

 feel in a measure acquainted in advance 

 with ^.iiii.- ..I \i 111 111. -Is of next week. 



I'll. -ciiLii i.iiiii. 1- always prominent 

 at ill.- iii.-i 1 iii-j- ..i till- -iiciety, and as the 

 nil i-liii;;; i- tin- y.n L' I"' held in a south- 

 ern city famed for its hospitality, it is 

 certain that all who attend will be made 

 to feel thorovighly at home. 

 Baltimore Hotels. 



The headquarters will be at the Ren- 

 nert, Saratoga and Libert}' streets, the 

 rates on the European p'an being $1.50 

 to $2.00 per day. Other hotels are: Eu- 

 taw (American), Eutaw and Baltimore 

 streets, $2.50 to $3.00 a day; Carrolton 

 ( Am. ) , Light, near Baltimore, $2.50 to 

 $3.00; Ganzhorn, Am. $2.00 and Eu. 

 $1.00; Lexington, Am. $2.00 and Eu. 

 $1.00; St. James (Am.), $2.00 to $2.50 

 (choice and central): Altamont (Am.), 

 $2.50. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Smilax. 

 Smilax is not so important as it was 

 some years ago and yet it is always 

 found a use for, and those who do a re- 

 tail business at their greenhouses are put 

 to a good deal of bother unless they have 

 it on their place. It niifiht have been 

 sown a few weeks a^.i nn.l ii i-nl t.i.i late 

 now. I believe in r. |il:iiii imlj .\.iy sea- 

 son, or at the v.-i x l.,i-i .\.i\ other 

 season. The flats will not hurt hmcath a 

 warm bench for the first month after 

 sowing, as the little plants will be very 

 small, but after that they want the full 

 daylight. 



If you grow smilax at all, grow it 

 profitably, and one of the most essential 

 points is to get a good stocky plant by 

 the end of June. As soon as the plants 

 are large enough to handle they should 

 go into 2-inch and by May 1 be shifted 

 into 3-inch. They always make a feeble 

 fust attempt at making' strings, and this 

 they should do in the :i-in(-ir pot. Then 

 when they are put into the bed early in 

 July the first gi-owth is strong enough 

 to make a good string that can be cut bv 

 October 1. 



=miln\- in tnn cool a 

 1.1 11.1 111. -nil-, profit- 

 iL^lii 1- 111.- I. .west it 

 1 hiiik f..i a moment 

 in a ciiol house is 

 more hardy and durable. That grown in 

 a high temperature ripens the growth 

 better. I have tried several textures of 

 soil. The worst result was with a light 

 sandy loam and the best with a very 

 heavy clay loam with at least a fourth of 

 animal manure. 



Dahlias, 

 There seems to be a grc:it interest in 

 dahlias nowadays, and when well grown 

 they are a grandly decorative plant, but 

 except for some large decorations they 

 will never be popular as cut flowers. It 

 is as a border plant or in a bed in very 

 large grounds that the dahlia is at home. 

 In a visit to .Alontrcal last summer, dur- 

 ing the early part of August, I saw 



!Many plan 

 house and Ih 

 able; CO di-._'i 

 ought to be. 

 that smilax 



handsome flowers. I said: "You must 

 have kept these well watered." "Watered! 

 Why, we have been Hooded with rain 

 since spring." It i- n..l alwuys so with 

 us. Seldom then- i- i.iiii .ihii-jh during 

 the summer nionth- i . -^i- w .l.ihlias any- 

 thing like satisfael<.iil\. ,iii.l il you can't 



course, be propagated either from divi- 

 sions of the tubers or cuttings from them. 

 Early planting of dahlias is not favored 

 by the fanciers. They claim that they 

 are liable to get stunted in July, and 

 many of the expert growers do not plant 

 till the first or second week of July. 

 Dahlia roots can be kept beneath a cool 

 bench. The cooler the better, so long as 

 there i- in. .l.iii.j.r of actual frost. A 

 warm. .li\ |.l:i..- i-. nut suitable, because 

 the liil.i-i- -hunk. 



\\'lii-ie I hi -iij.ply of old stools is abun- 

 dant they are sometimes just replanted, 

 or the tubers can be divided and potted, 

 making sure there is an eye to make a 

 giowth. If you want to increase your 

 stock, then the propagation is quite sim- 

 ple. Spread an inch of earth on a bench 

 where the temperature of the house is 

 not less than 50 degrees at night and then 

 throw on some more soil, just about 

 enough to cover the tubers. From around 

 the base of the old stalk you will get lots 

 of young growth, and when they have 

 made a growth of three or four inches or 

 two or three joints, they can be cut oil 

 close to the tubers. Always make the 

 cutting close below the joint. 



These cuttings will root in any bed of 

 sand that is kept at GO degrees, and 

 should be potted off' as soon as the young 

 roots start, but a still better way is to 

 pot the cutting in a 2-inch and plunge 

 the pots in a warm bed. They wilt very 

 quickly and sometimes fatally if exposed 

 to sun or draughts or dryness. It is per- 

 haps too early to begin operations yet. 

 If you start the middle of March you 

 wi'.l be able to get good plants in plenty 

 of time. The dahlia delights in cool 

 weather, yet it will not endure the slight- 



William Weber, Vice-President American Carnation Society. 



water it is not much use trying to grow 

 them. 



The single are often raised from seed, 

 which can be sown now and will make 

 good flowering plants this summer. The 

 single make very showy beds and are 

 preferred by many for the purpose. The 

 named varieties of all the types must, of 



est frost and can never be planted out un- 

 til all danger is over. 



Lemon Verbena. 



There is a favorite plant wliii-h every- 

 mixed garden asks for — the lemon ver- 

 bena. Plants that were grown in pot» 



