178 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Cocos Weddeliana, Kentias Belmore- 

 ana and Forsteriana, Livistona )Otun- 

 difolia aud Ficus elastica, all in quan- 

 tity. Mr. Ball's aim is to send out 

 sturdy, cool grown plants that will 

 stand well. No heat is used in summer 

 except in the seed house. 



Lemon oil is considered the best in- 

 secticide, the plants being looked over 

 three or l;our times a year. Indurine, 

 a cold water paint, is considered the- 

 best shading, the only trouble being it 

 sometimes gets through on the plants 

 when being applied to the roof. W. H. 

 Taplin. the manager, finds it will scale 

 off kentias and latanias. but it rjives 

 so much trouble to remove it from 

 arecas that he suggests using some cov- 

 ering on the plants when applying the 

 shading. Water proof muslin is also 

 used for shading to some extent. A 

 meter is found to save one half the cost 

 of taxes for city water. The stock is 

 shipped to florists all over the United 

 States and Canada, as well as being 

 sent to the city stores. 



John Burton's. 



John Burton has 90,0(X> feet of glass 

 at Chestnut Hill devoted almost ex- 

 clusively to roses. Fully one half of 

 this glass is planted with American 

 Beauties. Meteors, Maids, a few 

 Brides and one house each of American 

 Belle, Brunner and Carnot and Kais- 

 erin are also grown. There are two 

 houses of Mr. Burton's seedling carna- 

 tion. Alba Superba, and one house each 

 of Asparagus plumosus, Asp.iragus 

 Sprengerii, Cypripedium insigne and 

 Areca lustescens. 



The Beauties, with the exception of 

 one house, are all grown on benches in 

 houses three-quarter span to the south 

 and mostly with front ventilation. The 

 aim is to grow rather short, sturdy 

 Beauties, which are thought more like- 

 ly to yield flowering shoots when want- 

 ed than very tall plants. 



Grafted Maids are being tried ex- 

 tensively. The Kaiserins are also 

 grafted and are bearing freely. Carnot 

 is being carried over in a ground bed. 

 This rose seems to make but one 

 break from a shoot after a bud is cut, 

 instead of three or fOiur. 



Alba Superba has been planted in- 

 doors a week or so. Asparagus plum- 

 osus is grown in a ground bed, but A. 

 Sprengerii is on benches for cutting 

 sprays. Cypripedium insigne is under 

 cover outside. 



Mr. Burton considers Beauty his best 

 rose. Nearly all the planting is fin- 

 ished, the stock being large and vigor- 

 ous. The output goes partly to Phila- 

 delphia florists and partly to regular 

 customers in other cities. 



Robert Craig & Son's. 



Robert Craig & Son have 200,000 

 feet of glass at 40th and Market sts., 

 West Philadelphia, and 2.5,000 more 

 at the place formerly run by Smith & 

 Cliffe, a little further out of to.vn. 



The latter part of their place will 

 be devoted pretty much to caroations. 



They have 75,000, planted out last 

 April, which are now nearly equal to 

 a usual fall lifting size. Evelina, 

 Gold Nugget, Flora Hill and Victor 

 will be largely grown, a bench of May- 

 or Pingree I.jO feet long, and a full 

 house, same length, of Mr. Heacock's 

 pink seedling that took the Craig cup 

 last fall, also all the novelties of prom- 

 ise. 



These carnation houses are now fill- 

 ed with decorative plants, planted out 

 on the benches, the idea being that 

 they will make quicker growth through 

 the summer and can be potted in the 

 fall before the carnations require 

 housing. Livistona rotundifolia does 

 well in this way, also they have Panda- 

 nus Veitchii, Dracaena terminaiis and 

 Boston fern. Mr. Craig has G,000 

 Dracaena terminaiis, 1,200 planted in 

 benches and 4,800 in pots, that he is 

 growing for Christmas. His idea is 

 that red is always in active demand 

 for the holidays and that these dracae- 

 nas, nicely colored, will be just the 

 thing to catch the popular fancy. 



Two year old Crimson Ramblers in 

 quantity are making strong canes in 

 the field. They also have the white 

 sport of Maman Cochet, the parent be- 

 ing considered the best outdoor rose 

 for florists to date. 



At their old place are ten houses 

 each of arecas and kentias, four of 

 the latter planted out on the benches. 

 A lot of Araucaria excelsa imported in 

 the spring and Cocos Weddeliana in 

 enormous quantities are also there. 



This place is famous for its crotons. 

 Mr. Craig introduces this plant to the 

 city florists thus: "Drop them into a 

 bowl or jardiniere and they will last a 

 month, giving far more for the money 

 than cut flowers." It is a good way 

 of putting it. The propagating is done 

 by mossing the cutting on the plant 

 as in Ficus elastica. 



There are two houses of grafted 

 Kaiserins planted after Easter which 

 are 4 feet high and bushy. Mr. Craig 

 considers these more profitable than 

 winter roses. 



Asparagus plumosus is grown on side 

 benches near the glass for sprays. This 

 is at variance with the accepted idea 

 that the roots of this plant require the 

 cool depth of soil of a ground bed. 



In Hydrangeas, monstrosa is grown 

 chiefly, Otaksa and Thos. Hogg beirg 

 seen in smaller quantities. To color 

 hydrangeas blue a couple of lumps of 

 alum about the size of a hickory nut 

 are put in the soil when the plant 

 goes into a O-inch pot. This colo.-s the 

 foliage a deep green as well as giving 

 a pretty shade of blue to the flowers. 

 Applying alum water is more laborious 

 and if overlooked the flower is ipt to 

 come poorly colored. This firm does a 

 local and out-of-town business. 



J. W. Y. 

 (To be continued.) 



IF YOU HAVE anything to sell to 

 the trade, offer it in an adv. in The 

 Review. 



...THE... 



Society of 

 American Florists 



WILL HOLD ITS 



Fourteenth Annual Meeting 



...AT... 



Omaha, Neb., August 16, 17, 18 and 19. 



OFFICBRS. 



Pres.. WM F. GUDE. Washington. D. C. 



VicePres.. A. DONAGHUE. Omaha. Neb. 

 Sec"y. WM. J. STEWART. 67 Bromfield St.. Boston. 

 Treas.. H. B. BEATTY. Oil City. Pa. 



Members may remit their annual dues in ad- 

 vance to the Secretary, who will mail receipt and 

 badge lor 1898. 



For space in the trade exhibition address S. B. 

 Stew.^rt, Supt., 119 North IBth Street. Omaha, 

 Neb. 



OMAHA HOTELS. 



Below is given full information 

 about the hotels of Omaha that are 

 convenient to the convention hall: 



Hotel. 

 The Millard, 



13th and Douglas, 100 $3.00 up. ?1.50 up. 



Arcade Hotel, 



13th and Douglas, 100 2.00 



Hotel Dellone. 



14th and Capitol av. 450 2.00 up. 1.00 up. 

 The New Mercer, 



12th and Howard, 300 2.00-2.50 1.00-1.50 



Hotel Barker, 



13th and Jones, 100 1.50 1.00 



The Midland, 



16th and Chicago, 150 1.50-2.00 ..iO-LOO 



Drexel Hotel. 



16th and Webster, 100 .75 up. 



Murray Hotel. 



14th and Harney, 100 2.50 up. 



Victoria Hotel, 



Dodge St., nr. 13th, 50 1.50 up. 

 Dodge European (gentlemen only), 



101-111 So. 13th. 40 1.00 



Hotel Vendome, 



414 So. 13th, 40 1.00-1.50 



The Windsor, 



10th and Jackson, 50 2.00 



Hotel Garfield, 



1515 Howard, 200 .25 up. 



The Brunswick, 



16th and Jackson. 200 2.00-3.00 1.00 up. 



THE OMAHA PARKS. 



I send you some scenes in the parks 

 of Omaha. Florists everywhere who 

 intend visiting the convention cannot 

 but be interested, and many will doubt- 

 less enjoy a drive, while here, through 

 all of them. 



There are seven parks in and around 

 the city. Hanscom, Elmwood, River- 

 view, Fontenelle, Miller, Bemis and 

 Himebaugh are their names, and they 

 all give promise of a perfect system 

 when completed. 



William R. Adams is and has been 

 for years the able superintendent, and 

 under his care they have developed 

 rapidly. They represent an outlay of a 

 million and a half, and include a total 

 of about 600 acres. Hanscom park has 

 a fine greenhouse and some good spec- 

 imens of palms that now grace the 

 Fine Arts building at the Exposition. 



