446 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



MARCH 30, 1899. 



as to size of flower, stem, etc. At 

 Christmas their best flowers brought 

 $2.00 a dozen at wholesale, the others 

 going at $8.00 a hundred. Now the 

 best bring $10.00 a hundred and the 

 others $6.00. The variety makes a 

 small growth in the field and when 

 benched the plants are placed some- 

 what closer together than other sorts. 

 The plants now bearing .so freely were 

 housed about the middle of August 

 and stood still for three or tour weeks, 

 seeming as hard as a bone, but when 

 they took hold started off nicely. A 

 few short stemmed flowers were cut 

 in November, but no really good 

 blooms till December; there was a 

 grand crop for Christmas and they 

 have produced freely since, the variety 

 doing better with them this year than 

 last. The flowers of Bradt are very 

 full and they must be fully developed 

 to keep well; the greatest care is taken 

 to cut each flower at the right state 

 of ripeness and when so cut they are 

 fine keepers. Bradt maintains its 

 sportive character here; in addition to 

 the red sport they have a pure white 

 one and also a white with blush cen- 

 ter. Their soil is a rather heavy clay. 

 They consider White Cloud the best 

 white carnation ever disseminated and 

 will grow it largely. A house of this 

 sort was a beautiful sight, the splendid 

 blooms being carried erect on fine, 

 strong stems and the plants producing 

 with great freedom. 



But they will still retain Flora Hill, 

 feeling that there is a place for both 

 it and White Cloud. It is a grand 

 flower and an early and continuous 

 bloomer. The stem is all right up to 

 .January when it is apt to be too weak 

 to carry the heavy flower. With them 

 it blooms as freely as Daybreak and 

 the best flowers are classed as fancy. 

 The blooms are good keepers, too, and 

 the store men like it on this account. 



McGowan was dropped some time 

 since. They couldn't get a good plant 

 In the field and the blooms of Hill 

 were so superior they pushed it out of 

 the market. Edith Foster is a white 

 that will be dropped this year. White 

 Cloud and Hill forcing it out. They 

 have had some trouble with Hill from 

 bacteriosis and stem rot. but think 

 can partly ovarcome this through care- 

 ful selection of wood for cuttings. 

 They are convinced that the constitu- 

 tion of any variety can be improved 

 by this method. They feel it is unsafe 

 to pass judgment on a variety from 

 the first year's trial. The stock may 

 he weak, and they must have grown 

 plants propagated from their own 

 selection of wood before coming to a 

 decision. Last summer was very try- 

 ing on all plants in the field and they 

 have to bear this in mind in consider- 

 ing results this winter. 



They have regretfully abandoned 

 Evelina, which has been a fine bloom- 

 er, but sadly lacking in constitution 

 here. 



Alaska they still grow in limited 

 quantity, but merely because they have 

 a few benches that lack head room. 

 In crimsons they still grow Sebec. 



It has been discarded by most growers 

 on account of weak stem, but the stem 

 is all right here. The demand for 

 crimson flowers is limited but seems 

 to have increased somewhat of late 

 years. They are trying both Maceo 

 and Gomez, but have dropped Empress, 

 which with them has burst badly, 

 though the flower was large and the 

 stem excellent. 



Mrs. Frances .Joost will supplant 

 Victor here. It is a better flower and 

 does not fade as Victor does. 



This is their second year's expe- 

 rience with America and they are 

 much pleased with it. The flower is 

 large and the plants grow and bloom 

 well. They began cutting flowers in 

 November and it has produced contin- 

 uously ever since. The flowers sell 

 well and are classed with the fancies. 

 They are much taken with Cerise 

 Queen, the color making the blooms 

 good sellers. The fall crop flowers are 

 short stemmed, as with Tidal Wave, 

 but later the stems are all right. The 

 variety does not make a very large 

 plant in the field, but did better than 

 Bradt in that respect this season. 



Hector has been a great money- 

 maker with them and they will still 

 grow it in reduced quantity. They 

 have had benches of this where the 

 buds were as thick as heads of wheat. 

 They are looking for something bet- 

 ter though and think they will find it 

 in G. H. Crane, or America. 



Mars gives strong indications of se- 

 curing a position at the head of the 

 list of scarlets. It was with this vari- 

 ety they won the Cottage Gardens cup 

 at Philadelphia. 



Daybreak is still a great standby 

 with them and it does not show any 

 weakness here. 



They will still grow Scott. It Is yet 

 the freest bloomer they have and there 

 is always a certain trade that won't 

 pay fancy prices and for which Scott 

 fills the bill. 



They are discouraged with Triumph, 

 a fine carnation, but badly diseased 

 here. They will try a few plants once 

 more. 



They like Mrs. James Dean, but it 

 is not very free and they find it has to 

 bring a good price to be profitable, 

 though a fine flower of beautiful color. 

 Salmon Gem is a grand color, but 

 it is the "star burster" during the win- 

 ter months, fully 90 per cent of the 

 flowers being split. 



They have dropped Jubilee. During 

 the midwinter season the flowers were 

 good, but after that there was too 

 large a proportion of poor semi-double 

 flowers. 



They have also dropped C. A. Dana 

 on account of lack of size and sub- 

 stance. Morello was very unsatisfac- 

 tory here, being a poor bloomer and 

 the flowers bursting. 



In yellows Eldorado is still their 

 main reliance. Though it bursts a good 

 deal and is very rusty they feel they 

 must have it in addition to Pingree. 



Pingree has been about .50 per cent 

 better this year than last with them, 

 but while it is a fine flower, with won- 

 derful stem, and a great keeper, it 



ought to bring not less than $4.00 a 

 hundred to be profitable. 



They think well of J. Whitcomb Ri- 

 ley as a white variegated. It is a large 

 fiower with fine stem and the blooms 

 find ready sale. 



They are still hunting for a means 

 of keeping their plants entirely clear 

 of green fly without injuring the flow- 

 ers or plants. The hardened veterans 

 that come in with the plants from the 

 field are difficult to kill even by severe 

 and repeated fumigations, and they 

 flnd that the plants are apt to be in- 

 jured by fumigations severe enough to 

 kill all the flies. And of course fumi- 

 gation is out of the question as soon as 

 flowers are opening, as the smell 

 would render the blooms unsalable. 

 Pingree is especially subject to green 

 fly, and Bradt also to a less degree. 

 Laying tobacco stems on the heating 

 pipes is the most effective preventive 

 they have used, but they find this 

 keeps the heat down to a very appre- 

 ciable degree, so they scatter the stems 

 around under the benches and renew 

 them three or four times during the 

 season. In one house they are try- 

 ing the experiment of painting the 

 heating pipes every two weeks with 

 the Rose Leaf extract of tobacco. 



While they apply water direct to the 

 soil as a general rule they still water 

 overhead occasionally and find this 

 necessary to keep down insects. They 

 give all their carnations a night tem- 

 perature of 55 degrees. They use t-O 

 Model carnation support largely, but 

 also use a system of their own which 

 consists of two or three tiers of wire 

 stretched lengthwise of the beds be- 

 tween the rows and string run cross- 

 wise. But this has a disadvantage in 

 that it is rather unhandy to weed the 

 beds and stir the soil under the lower 

 wires. Where there are side benches 

 chicken netting is tacked to the bars 

 to prevent the flowers being injured by 

 laying over against the side glass. 



Some time ago they imported a num- 

 ber of English varieties of carnations. 

 There were some wonderful colors 

 among them, but they proved value- 

 less as winter bloomers. They have 

 crossed them with American sorts, but 

 have got nothing of any value as yet. 

 Mignonette was formerly a profit- 

 able crop with them and they still 

 grow it, though in lessened quantity. 

 Their best spikes are a foot long and 

 21/^ inches in diameter with another 

 foot of stem. These extras bring $1.50 

 a dozen now and sold at $2.00 a dozen 

 at Christmas, but in former years they 

 went as high as $5.00 a dozen at 

 Christmas. Ordinary spikes go now 

 at 25 cents per dozen. The extras are 

 packed as individual spikes, but the 

 others are put up in bunches of a 

 dozen spikes each. In addition to the 

 lowering of prices the strain, which 

 was a selection of their own. has de- 

 teriorated of late years and they have 

 been unable to bring it up to the 

 former standard, though they have 

 tried several experiments, including 

 outdoor culture. Some of their mi- 

 gnonette houses, from which they have 



