750 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Don't Let Your Fires out. 



I iloii't know of any more vahiablc 

 hint that I can give the average llorist 

 just now than to be sure and not let 

 your fires out. Many a hundred dollars 

 has been lost by a shortsiglited intention 

 of saving a few dollars in fuel. There 

 was a time when we thought we could 

 get along without artificial heat after 

 the first of May. For a good many years 

 of late we have been firing till the end 

 of May. 



When I say this it is with the idea 

 that you have a general variety of stock 

 in one house, and there are exceptions 

 to this. For instance, carnation houses 

 need no fire; all they want is plenty of 

 ventilation. If you had a house entirely 

 devoted to zonal geraniums and there 

 was no shade on it you could get along 

 without fire as long as the weather was 

 bright and plenty of air. But a whole 

 bouse of one thing is the great exception 

 with those engaged in growing bedding 

 plants. 



With shade on, which many will have 

 applied at this date, the tropical plants 

 which we grow so largely for our outsije 

 decoration will just stand still, and a 

 little worse than that. The Cannas, eala- 

 diums, above all coleus, and our helio- 

 trope, fuchsias, in fact, about everv- 

 thing, will suffer much. So keep up 

 your fires and ventilate freely. 



Cyclamen. 



This is the time that our houses are 

 rather more congested than any other in 

 the whole year, and it is also a time 

 when plants intended for next winter's 

 crop are likely to be neglected. The 

 most <areful and industrious one will do 

 it. II.. jiiif nc-lcct your young cyclamens. 

 "111. Ii -li. ul.l ii.nv be in 3-inch pots. If 

 >'"" -III" il"in soon into 4-inch use at 

 Ica-i ..iiitlm.l of good decayed leaf 

 mold. 



It is early yet to put them in a hot- 

 bed and they do not want much shade. 

 A light bench is best for two or three 

 weeks longer, and it will be of great ben- 

 efit to them to have the pots plunged in 

 some material; coal ashes will do, 

 but refuse hops is better, or even 

 ehopped-up tobacco stems, for it will 

 keep down the aphis. An attack 

 of greenfly is most injurious and almost 

 ruination to them, and what is quite as 

 bad is to let them get killing dry while 

 they are in active growth. Smoke often 

 and .syringe every fine 



Chrysanthemums. 



May is the month when we propagate 

 the main crop of chrysanthemums. In 

 addition to the cuttings from the old 

 plants you can take the tops off the 

 earlier rooted cuttings. They break 

 quickly and you get three or four shoots 

 and many of us grow them that way. 

 The propagating bed is now cool, but 

 these cuttings don't need heat. All they 

 want is shading from the bright sun, 

 and if your sand is coan-c a copious 

 watering twice a dav. 



Azaleas. 



.Vzalins tliat you cut back after Easter 

 should be in a light, warm house and be 

 kept well syringed. Some of the east- 

 ern growers do not believe in cutting 

 the.se azaleas back so hard as we used 

 to, but leave them about as they flow- 

 ered, only be sure and pick off the flow- 

 ers. I would say that if an azalea was 

 in a good, healthy state there would be 

 no need of trimming them back very 

 much and they make all the more grace- 

 ful plants. But if the plant is in poor 

 health through a drying out or neglect 

 then a severe cutting back will give 

 the best results. And for several years 

 the best Easter plants we have had have 

 been those we have carried over. 



While speaking of azaleas I made an 

 erroneous statement last fall and own up 

 to it. I said that the summered over 

 plants being established would force bet- 

 ter than those arriving from Europe. 

 You would think that would be the case, 

 but it is just the reverse. The newly 

 imported plants are much easier to bring 

 into flower. 



Hydrangeas, 



Don't neglect to shift your young spring 

 struck hydrangeas. Give them a 4-inch 

 and keep them under glass till the first 

 of June. Those for early forcing arc 

 best grown in pots plunged out in the 

 broad sun and given plenty of daylight 

 between them. Those for later flowering 

 can be planted out in some good, rich 

 soil, from which they will lift with all 

 their roots. 



Smilax. 



If you are going to renew your sniilax 

 bed this is about the time that the little 

 plants should go into a 3-inch pot and 

 be given a decent light bench, not nec- 

 essarily the best bench, but not under 

 the bench. A good, strong plant at the 

 beginning of July means one extra string 

 for the next year. William Scott. 



HEATING. 



What is the best system for heating 

 three houses, each ISxT."), in a locality 

 where tlio ..iit-^i.le (ompernture goes as 

 low a- ■;:. .i.Li..- l..I.i» zero and the 

 inside t.iiip. I, .1111.- -I1..11I.I 1... from 55 to 

 60 dr;;u.~ l|..« iiijii\ pipes would it 

 require and of what size'; H. C. G. 



For the heating of the three green- 

 houses as described by H. C. G. I would 

 advise a >(iaiii sy>lcm. 111,. M,-.\ui to Ije 



iKiilcr i.f al I H\,aLl\ li..,>,. power 



placed bLlciw Uic Hour ' level uf green 

 houses, and an arrangement of heating 

 pipes which would be partly over anJ 

 partly under the benches in the sev- 

 eral houses, proportioning the pipes at 

 about one foot of heating surface to 

 every four feet of glass. If your cor- 

 respondent will send a roug"h sketch 

 showing the arrangement of benches 

 he intends to use, the heights of side 

 of houses, and how much of them is 



nected or separate, I would be pleased 

 to furnish you with a diagram show- 

 ing the best arrangement of pipes. 

 HENRY W. GIBBON'S. 

 Xew York. 



HARDY PLANTS. 



Till' i-on.stantly expanding demand for 

 liardy plants has brought to many flor- 

 ists orders that they find it diUicult to 

 execute in a satisfactory manner, and 

 several inquiries that have recently 

 reached the editor of the Review indi- 

 cate a rather widespread desire among 

 members of the craft for information 

 that will be really helpful to them. 



As one correspondent puts it : "Xearly 

 all the plans I have seen published are 

 for an acre or more of ground, and when 

 I get an order to embellish the grounds 

 around an average city residence with 

 hardy plants I have nothing but my own 

 very limited experience to help me. Can 

 hardy plants be u.sed in a satisfactory 

 manner on the average city lot, and, if 

 so, how? If practicable, I wish the Re- 

 view would give us a variety of plans 

 suitable for different aspects. We have 

 frequent orders to plant a corner with 

 hardy plants. Please give us a few ex- 

 amples." 



In response to this and other requests 

 we have arranged for a series of such 

 plans from Mr. John Higgins, who is in 

 charge of the hardy plants at Lincoln 

 Park, Chicago, and present the first of 

 the series in this issue. At our request 

 Mr. Higgins has made this first plan for 

 as small an area as the florist would 

 probably ever be called upon to plant, 

 making the planting as full and rich as 

 possible on the limited space. These 

 plans are of an existing place, and to ful- 

 ly carry out the idea the place will be 

 planted in accordance with these plans, 

 and we will, therefore, be later in the 

 season able to publish a picture showing 

 the effect produced and at what cost in 

 material and labor. 



It will be noticed that native ferns are 

 used in one corner of the front plat, and 

 the reason for this is that the steps of 

 the house adjoining at the south shade 

 this corner. In the street there are sev- 

 eral large elm trees that shade the front 

 plat from 2 to 4 p. m., after which hour 

 the sun reaches it somewhat under the 

 trees. The house shades the plat till 

 toward noon. The entrance to the front 

 door of the house is at the north side of 

 the plat and is not shown in the plan. 

 What does appear is a curve in the walk 

 and the steps leading down to the base- 

 ment door. It will be noticed that a 

 spirea is placed here to partially screen 

 this door. The plat is separated from 

 the street and adjoining plats by a low 



III th.' 11:11 jilat all except the bed 

 lyiiiu :il..ii^! till' siiuth fence is exposed to 

 tlie ui.ji iiiii^' f-un and part of it has some 

 of the afternoon sun. At the east is an 

 alley and the plat is surrounded by a 

 5-foot close board fence. Along the 

 south fence the earth is shaded all day 

 long. 



Mr. Higgins' notes follow: 



Beautify Your Homes. 



The ac-tliclii- ciusade now being ex- 

 ploited in tlic city press is very laudable, 

 but the movement to be effective should, 

 like charity, begin at home. The small 

 front yards and back yards of city resi- 

 dences are a far more important "factor 



