MAY u, ista 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



595 



to place them in heat, but I find that 

 forcing is considerably facilitated by 

 plunging the pots in a fermenting bed 

 ot leaves, sufficiently deep enough to 

 just cover the crowns; they must, 

 however, be lifted out before thfy be- 

 come drawn. Forced in this way they 

 can be had in flower in from three to 

 four weeks from the time of starting. 



The flowers last in good condition for 

 some time if the plants are moved to 

 the greenhouse or conservatory just 

 as they begin to open, and a few speci- 

 mens will be found to be extremely 

 useful for either of the structures 

 named in the dull winter months. — A. 

 Waid. in Gardeners' Magazine. 



Hanging Baskets. 



It will soon be time to fill hanging 

 baskets. They have of late years 

 largely given way to a better style of 

 ornamental gardening. They entail 

 great labor and care and are suitable 

 only for verandas of moderate sized 

 houses. You frequently see a string 

 of them hanging around the veranda 

 of some public resort and as the result 

 of wind, dust and neglect they are oft- 

 en as ornamental as a last year's bird's 

 nest. But in spite of all this abuse 

 there is sure to be some wanted and 

 somehow or other what you have are 

 sure to be cleaned up and gone before 

 the season is over. 



The wire baskets lined with green 

 moss are the most satisfactory. The 

 soil used in filling them should be of 

 the richest; even if there is some bone- 

 meal used it is no crime, for the num- 

 ber of plants you are expected to use 

 in a 12-inch basket is enough to fill a 

 flower-bed five feet in diameter, and 

 this mass of roots has to secure nour- 

 ishment from half a peck of soil. Still 

 with faithful attention to watering 

 and not too much exposure to the sun 

 and wind they remain quite respect- 

 able in appearance throughout the 

 summer. The chief beauty of a hang- 

 ing basket is undoubtedly the so called 

 vines, for the baskets are always In 

 such a position that you get a view of 

 the sides and bottom. The only time 

 the top is much noticed is when you 

 lift the basket off the hook and place 

 it on the walk for the gaze of the 

 prospective buyer, and say: "There's 

 a beauty, Ma'm." 



The center plants always look well 

 in the greenhouse. The stimulus of 

 the good rich earth, and the free cir- 

 culation of air around them induces a 

 free growth on the geraniums and be- 

 gonias you have used in the center. 

 But the drooping vines are the real 

 essential part of the hanging basket. 

 There is not a great variety of choice 

 vines that will stand the ordeal but 

 there are plenty of free-growing com- 



mon plants and plants are none the 

 less beautiful because familiar and 

 easy to grow. The great popularity of 

 the zonale geranium at the present day 

 is proof of that. So be sure to use 

 free growing vines, and don't put all 

 the shorter growing kinds on one side 

 of the basket, and the more rampant 

 growing ones on the other. 



Among the plants we use for vines 

 are the ivy geraniums, green and var- 

 iegated vincas, Abutilon vexillarium, 

 double sweet alyssum, nasturtium, 

 senecio, variegated glecoma, lobelia, 

 lysimachia, nierembergia, English ivy, 

 sedum. When the soil is well filled 

 with roots these baskets need a great 

 deal of water and they should be in a 

 shaded lijouse or they will get ex- 

 hausted. 



Vases. 



The same class of plants of a larger 

 size are used in our rustic baskets and 

 iron vases, so many thousands of which 

 are now used in our cemeteries. 

 Perhaps some of my readers are in 

 this laborious business. There is real- 

 ly not a great margin in the vase busi- 

 ness, but when you get a fair price for 

 the "care" or watering and you have 

 a good number, there is a good remun- 

 eration for your work providing you 

 have enough of it to do. 



We have one style of filling that we 

 call "good mixed." That means that 

 we use a variety of plants and use our 

 own taste. There is generally a Dra- 

 caena indivisa, a small phoenix or can- 

 na in the center. All palms, except- 

 ing the phoenix burn with us when 

 exposed to cast iron vase conditions. 

 Besides the edge, or drooping plants, 

 we use double zonale geraniums, silr 

 ver leaf geraniums, distinct coleus like 

 Verschaffelti and Golden Bedder, 

 achyranthes, centaurea, and if in a 

 shady position under trees. Rex be- 

 gonias and fuchsias. Don't put pelar- 

 goniums or feverfew into a vase; for 

 that purpose they are a fraud. For 

 large vase's the English ivy is the best 

 of all droopers. 



Many people are tired of a mixture 

 of plants and want their vase filled 

 with a solid color of geraniums, or 

 perhaps Begonia Vernon. They are 

 the most satisfactory vases, and the 

 most satisfactory people that order 

 them, for your profit is double that on 

 the mixed assortment, so you should 

 1)6 very civil to your customer and fill 

 the vase well. 



I have not kept posted on the new- 

 er geraniums, or have not tried them 

 for this purpose, but what we want in 

 a vase geranium are freedom of bloom 

 and a cast iron constitution. When 

 they want pink everyone asks for 

 Emile de Girardin, and it is a good 

 one, but no better than the fine Beaute 

 Poitevine. S. A. Nutt cant be beat 

 for a dark red (or is it a crimson?), 

 and in its color Ernest Lauth is fine. 

 La Favorite is a white that will grow 

 and flower all summer. 



People ask for all sorts of combina- 

 tions, and you must please them. 

 There is no business that doesn't have 

 its drawbacks. But when the weeping 

 widow or maiden aunt says she wants 

 to select the plants for her vase and 

 is very particular about the blending 

 of the shades, then you will wish you 

 had passed away during t)ie stone age, 

 or were a policeman. WM. SCOTT. 



JADOO. 



"What are the latest facts about 

 Jadoo?" was one of the questions dis- 

 cussed at the last meeting of the Phil- 

 adelphia Florists' Club, held May 2. 



Mr. John Hobson, gardener to E. A. 

 Schmidt, Esq., Radnor, Pa., exhibited 

 a fine specimen calceolaria grown in 

 a mixture of one-third Jadoo fiber and 

 two-thirds soil, and a magnificent spe- 

 cimen of bougainvillea in pure Jadoo 

 fiber, and was called upon by the pres- 

 ident for some remarks. 



Mr. Hobson responded: "I would say 

 that I find I can grow my plants better 

 in Jadoo than in the old compost. The 

 foliage is better, and the culture much 

 easier. In the summer time so much 

 less water is required. I have found 

 Jadoo to give greater satisfaction each 

 year, and the more I have tried it the 

 better I have liked it. 



"The Calceolaria hybrida, which was 

 grown partly in Jadoo fiber and partly 

 in soil, is much better than any I have 

 ever grown. Last year I grew them 

 in the ordinary compost, but my plants 

 this year are far superior. In fact, I 

 have better plants at home than the 

 one I have brought in, this being real- 

 ly a small plant. As one becomes 

 better acquainted with Jadoo he is 

 more successful with it, and I have 

 found there is a great deal in under- 

 standing how to use it properly." 



Mr. Michell asked if Mr. Hobson had 

 sown the seeds of the calceolarias ia 

 Jadoo. 



Mr. Hobson replied: "I have not yet, 

 but I intend doing so this year. I 

 mean to use Jadoo more and more. I 

 may say that once you know it you 

 will not give it up." 



Secretary Lonsdale: "I would ask 



