814 



TheWeekdy Florists' Review. 



the weed and grass seeds wliich consti- 

 tute more or less of a nuisance in a 

 house. The difference between a heated 

 bed and one that is not heated is very 

 marked indeed in this respect. In the , 

 beds which were healed at 204 degrees 

 F. there were no weeds or grass seeds to 

 trouble us and the only things appearing 

 were one or two clover plants. The seeds 

 of the clover appear to be more resistant 

 tlian other seeds and their presence can 

 be accounted for probably by the fact 

 that the temperature at certain points 

 did not quite reach 204 degrees F. In the 

 beds that were not heated we hoed under 

 a number of crops of weeds as the horse 

 manure which was mixed with our soil 

 was largely contaminated with seeds. 



Notes From Other Stations. 



Florists should not be led by the 

 article on sterilization of soil in your 

 issue of May 2 to believe that sterilizing 

 the soil will keep it entirely free of 

 nematodes and other soil pests, such as 

 fungi and some species of insects. Some 

 plants, such as begonias, ferns and some 

 geraniums, have their stems and leaves 

 infested with nematodes, and heating the 

 soil would have no effect whatever upon 

 these, even though the cuttings were 

 started in the sterilized soil. In the case 

 of plants which have simply their roots 

 Infested with nematodes care must be 

 exercised to grow these, if propagated 

 fiom cuttings, in sterilized soil. Trans- 

 ])lanting tliem from infested soil to ster- 

 ilized siiil will not help matters. In the 

 case of insects, as well as with nematodes, 

 they are liable to be carried from the 

 field to the benches upon plants grown 

 out of doors. All the above conditions 

 apply to fungi as well, hence heating the 

 soil with the idea of keeping the plants 

 free from insects and fungous troubles is 

 applicable only to plants grown from 

 seed. 



The statement that heating the soil 

 will thoroughly renovate it must be con- 

 sidered merely an assumption and should 



lir ll j'il> li-ti-.l before being put into 



geiM ! -! [ii.'i- It is undoubtedly trfte 

 ili.ii Mi Ml tlip soil by means of 



>lr;ini iMiLi- lih- plant food contained in 

 rlic M,il iiii.rr -nluble; at the same time it 

 puts the jilant food into condition to be 

 carried nwav more rapidly by means of 

 w:iici' Kiirtliennnre, it has long been 

 ii.ii-i.ln r.l :( Inl practice to grow plants 

 a li'irj iiiiM in I lie Same soil, no matter 

 \vli:it 11- I' II III lull as to fertility. 



XntNvitli-l.iiHliiiL' till- fii.t ll.iit steriliz- 

 ing the soil li\- 11 II ll 11^ '<i -I I Mill I us proven 

 itself an <■■:■ rllint umIIhiI n-i only of 

 keeping plants L;roHii t'nim i-ci'd free 

 from nematodes, but also free of "damp- 

 ing off" fungi and "stem-rot," it should 

 be remembered that this does not apply 

 to plants grown from cuttings, or grown 

 in the open field, nor does it prevent the 

 winged adults of cutworms, white grubs 

 and wireworms migrating into the houses 

 and making their headquarters in the 

 sterilized soil. Furthermore, the expense 

 of treating large quantities of soil must 

 not be overlooked. F. A. Sirrine. 

 New York Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, Jamaica, N. Y. 



Your clipping upon "Sterilized Soil" 

 is received. It seems to me that every 

 word of it is trtie and wholesome advice. 

 While not carrying out any experiments 

 on a large scale, from lack of opportunity 

 I feel confident that all those who have 



much glass and serious troubles with root 

 galls caused by nematodes, should give 

 the matter of soil sterilization most seri- 

 ous attention. Byron D. Halsted. 

 Xew Jersey Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, New Brunswick, N. J. 



Replying to your request for my views 

 concerning the sterilization of soil, I 

 would say that I consider the subject 

 well worthy the attention of the com- 

 mercial grower of greenhouse products. 

 Its feasibility and economical applica- 

 tion depends largely upon the equipment 

 of the .establishment. In those where 

 steam heat' is employed the cost of ap- 

 plication would not be so great as in 

 those where hot water is used for heat- 

 ing purposes, as in the latter it would 

 necessitate the purchase of a steam 

 boiler. So far as I am able to learn, 

 wherever the soil has- been thoroughly 

 sterilized there has been a decrease of 

 fungous troubles, as well as injury from 

 all worms or nematodes, and, in con- 

 sequence, a much more vigorous growth 

 of the plants has been obtained. 



The sterilization of soil in a box, as 

 mentioned by Mr. W. W. Rawson in a 

 previous issue of your paper, is not an 

 economical method if one has much of it 

 to do. His proposed plan of piping his 

 beds with perforated steam pipes, while 

 perfectly feasible and more economical 

 of labor, is not, in my opinion, as de- 

 sirable a method as that of using ordi- 

 nary porous 2 or 3-inch tile. The latter 

 met-hod was first employed by Galloway 

 (Am. Gard., 18, 127, 1897), and later en- 

 larged upon by Messrs. Stone and Smith 

 (Bull., .55, Mass. Agr. Coll. Hatch. Exp. 

 Sta., 51. 1898). In both instances sat- 

 isfactory results were obtained. The 

 drain tiles are laid in the bench or bed in 

 parallel lines, connected at the ends, a 

 foot to 18 inches apart, and at a depth 

 of from 6 to 12 inches, the latter being 

 dependent upon the depth of soil to ster- 

 ilize. 



One advantage of the tile over that of 

 the perforated steam pipes, claimed by 

 Messrs. Stone and Smith, was that the 

 tile could be used for sub-irrigating pur- 

 poses and thus made to serve a double 

 purpose. To this I would add that the 

 tile will also serve as conductors of air 

 through the soil, and' thus afford better 

 root aeration of the plants, a factor in 

 sub-irrigation of about equal importance 

 to that of the application of water. Hence 

 for this reason and the ease with which 

 the tile may be laid. I prefer the use of 

 tile to that of the steam pipes. 



William Stuart. 

 Indiana Experiment Station, Lafayette, 

 Ind. 



ENGLISH FLORAL WORK. 



Last week we gave a group of floral 

 arrani.'iiiHiil- pirpmod for the funeral of 

 the lull iiiii. II \ ii i.iiia, but they were 

 reprodih I iiiii^ ii.nii rntjravings which had 

 been niinli idlinra from the original 

 photographs and there was but little de- 

 tail, though giving a general idea of the 

 style of arrangement prevailing among 

 London florists as to funeral designs. 



This week we present two plates en- 

 graved from photographs we have se- 

 cured from London at some little trouble 

 and expense, showing two arrangements 

 sent to Her Majesty's funeral by Ameri- 

 cans, though of course arranged by Lon- 

 don florists. 



The first is a wreath sent by the widow 

 of former President Garfield, and it is 



truly a beautiful arrangement. The way 

 in which the calla lilies are delicately 

 veiled by the asparagus, the use of the 

 croton foliage and smiliix sprays and the 

 loose placing of the violets all appeal to 

 us as excellent. 



The second engraving is from a large 

 photograph of the huge cross sent by 

 United States Ambassador Choate, re- 

 garding which much has been said in the 

 daily press. It certainly contains an im- 

 mense amount of choice material, but it 

 surely is, not representative of American 

 floral art, at least as it exists today. It 

 might serve for a model of what was 

 considered the proper thing twenty years 

 ago. However, the picture is interesting 

 and we have reproduced it with as much 

 detail as possible so the florists of Amer- 

 ica could judge for themselves as to the 

 merits of this design. The English pa- 

 pers, by the way, refer to all such ar- 

 rangements as "wreaths," even including 

 this cross under that title. 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING AS A 



PART OF THE FLORISTS' 



BUSINESS. 



[ Read before the PhiladelpliWi Floi-ists^Chib. 

 May 7. 1'ML] 



When accepting the honor which your 

 committee conferred in assigning a 

 subject on which to prepare and read a 

 paper before this club, I realized to a de- 

 gree the difficulty of writing from a 

 business point of view in disregard to 

 those talents that make the "gardening 

 art" a profession rather than a commer- 

 cial enterprise. Therefore, in hopes of 

 making a more interesting paper, have 

 taken greater latitude than the title im- 

 plies. 



The desire of people to beautify their 

 surroundings has become more general 

 here within recent years than at any 

 other period. We have awakened from 

 the old stereotyped methods, to realize 

 the possibility of design in the adjust- 

 ment of the house, roads, paths and other 

 adjuncts necessary to the convenience 

 and comforts of the home. We may have 

 utility without sacrificing beauty; every 

 feature is considered as to its particular 

 fitness, and each arranged with regard 

 for the whole. 



The house site is selected with con- 

 sideration for health and beauty: ex- 

 posure must be briirbt iiii'l smiiiy, the 

 ground properly cliniiinl anil (lie water 

 supply good, rinvp,.,! ami a-jn'ct. the 

 views to tliiiM. >viiliiii iml iliM-,. without 

 must be well |ili,i-i!ij in iln' i'M'- 15<iads 

 must be a- mii'i i |M..-iliii'. ainl eon- 

 form to ilir ■ SI viiiiiiN ; -li.Milil the 

 grailis lir i.illiiij II ll -ir.p, a circuitous 

 (lri\i' will ill I - 111 1 1 III a I tain an easy 

 aseciil. I!" in;. ii. apply to paths; 

 when, liuuiMi, tlu linnnid is compara- 

 tively level, long winding roads or paths, 

 with sharp reverses, are in bad taste, 

 and we should not condemn anvone who 

 takes to the linf «1i. iv -inh .sisl. The 

 entrance gair- ai. al-.i in In . mi^idered. 



These slioiiM l- -iiii]ili' i iline and 



broad in ellV.i ; ilir pin- -ri al right 

 angles to the drive, and where discrep- 

 ancies of distance from hi<ihwav to niers 

 occur the same should be made up in 

 the wing-walls. 



The designing of the grounds as re- 

 gards planting requires considerable 

 thought. Sometimes an entire new scene 

 must be created, while at others it is 

 onlv necessary to embellish that wbieli 



