OCTOBER 11, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



549 



and not with others while in other 

 cases the matter was entirely reversed. 

 He has one customer that keeps a 

 fern dish in good condition for a full 

 year, but with the majority they rarely 

 last over six weeks and many have 

 them refilled every month. 



Mr. McAdams noted the necessity 

 for having small, compact plants in 

 small pots and that there was great 

 difficulty in keeping a stock of plants 

 in proper size. He tried to keep them 

 as small and hard as possible. But 

 it won't do to keep the temperature 

 too low as the foliage will turn yellow. 



TULIPS AND HYACINTHS. 



In response to questions asked him 

 at the last meeting of the Chicago 

 Florists' Club, Mr. August Jurgens 

 gave a good deal of interesting in- 

 formation regarding bulbs. 



For a very early tulip he grows the 

 scarlet Due Van Thol, more especially 

 for pans of blooming bulbs for Christ- 

 mas. But Prosperine is the earliest 

 good tulip, though delicate. It must 

 be given heat to make a stem, but 

 when the flowers are developed, if not 

 at once removed to a cool temperature 

 it will not have a good color and the 



It is better to keep for later and have 

 it bloom by Feb. 15. 



For red, he has Belle Alliance, 

 though the shade of red is rather too 

 dark to make the flowers good sell- 

 ers. Red Pottebakker and Crimson 

 King are good, but red is not a good 

 selling color. Montresor he consid- 

 ers the best of all yellows, but the 

 blooms must command a good price 

 to be profitable, as the bulbs are ex- 

 pensive. The Holland growers claim 

 it can be brought in for Christmas, 

 but he has so far failed to accomplish 

 this, though trying every year. It is 



Decoration of store front with Autumn Foliage, Evergreens and \^beat. 



Mr. John Reardon mentioned Poly- 

 Btichums falcatum, prolferum and 

 angulare as ferns that he had found 

 very desirable for dishes. 



STORE FRONT DECORATION. 



We present herewith an engraving 

 from a photograph of a recent store 

 front decoration by the Geo. Wittbold 

 Co., Chicago. Autumn foliage, ever- 

 greens and wheat on the stalk were 

 the materials and they were certainly 

 •very appropriate for a "fall opening." 

 The picture shows the details so 

 plainly that further description is 

 unnecessary. The merchants are 

 yearly paying greater attention to 

 the matter of suitable decorations 

 for special occasions, and it is 

 a department of the business that 

 can be materially developed by 

 the live florist. While the business 

 men generally figure closely on the 

 expense of such decorations they are 

 nearly always ready to pay a good 

 price for something really novel and 

 striking. And often material can be 

 very profitably used up in such deco- 

 rations that would be of little use 

 otherwise. 



tips of the petals will turn black. 

 Yellow Prince can be had in satis- 

 factory shape by Jan. 10, and with a 

 good 15-inch stem, if given heat and 

 then kept cool after the stem is made. 



He notes a great difference in 

 bulbs which cannot be discovered un- 

 til put through the process of forc- 

 ing. He has had stock from three 

 different growers, of which one lot 

 is coming finely, another a mixture 

 of good and indifferent, and the third 

 is not coming at all. He attributes 

 this to influences of weather, cli- 

 mate and culture, upon the bulbs 

 when being grown. The grower of 

 the bulb must know his business, as, 

 unless his work is properly done, the 

 most expert forcer in the world can 

 not get good results. 



For earliest forcing, he starts those 

 that move first, and this can be easily 

 determined after three days inside. 

 La Reine can be had for Christmas, 

 but the stem will be too short, though 

 useful for funeral work at a time 

 when roses are high priced. Keizers- 

 kroon comes after Yellow Prince and 

 can rarely be got in by Jan. 15 and be 

 profitable, as there are sometimes only 

 a few blooms from a hundred bulbs. 



i an improvement on Chrysolora. For- 

 early pink he grows La Reine, and 

 Cottage Maid for Easter. 



In Dutch hyacinths, for early he 

 grows Grand Frederick, blue, and 

 Vainquer, pink. They can be had In 

 bloom by Jan. 6. but the bulbs are 

 hard to get from the growers. By 

 Jan. 20 we can have Alba Superb- 

 issima. La Grandesse and Czar Peter, 

 and Charles Dickens for later. He 

 never attempts to force them earlier 

 than the dates given, as the bulbs 

 simply won't grow. The above refers 

 to the miniature Dutch hyacinths for 

 cutting. 



For the pot hyacinths tor Christ- 

 mas or later, he grows Homerus, red- 

 dish pink, and Norma, pink. All 

 pinks, to have good color, must be 

 kept cool after the stem is secured 

 by the application of heat. Gertrude, 

 pink, makes a good, big spike, but 

 the variety is not a good seller. For 

 blue, he likes Grand Maitre, and 

 Charles Dickens, a darker shade. But 

 the bulbs of the latter are small and 

 don't make as fine spikes. King of 

 the Blues is too dark. For later. 

 Queen of the Blues is a good light 

 blue. La Grandesse is the best white, 



