SEPTEMBER 22, 1898. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



437 



The Big Carnation Hotise at Bassett & Wasliburn's, Hinsdale, 111. 



rower houses into this wide, freely 

 ventilated one, the difference in the 

 atmosphere is very noticeable. 



The house illustrated was not built 

 by Bassett & Washburn. It was erect- 

 ed by a neighbor who first devoted it to 

 vegetables and later to roses, neither 

 of which were very satisfactory. The 

 house and land was purchased this 

 spring by the present owners and has 

 been completely overhauled. Pipe sup- 

 ports were substituted for the former 

 heavy wooden ones, more ventilation 

 added, a now heating system put in 

 and tile bottom benches erected. It is 

 now a good deal more like a com- 

 mercial greenhouse and under the 

 present management will undoubtedly 

 produce crops equal to any. 



DISEASED GERANIUMS. 



From Milton, Pa., comes the follow- 

 ing: "For the first time in many years 

 our large geranium beds are in very 

 bad condition, caused by foliage being 

 affected as per sample leaf inclosed. 

 Kindly tell us what it is, and give 

 remedy through The Florists' Review. 



To answer this without a remedy 

 will not be hardly satisfactory, yet it 

 is a subject worth some discussion. 

 The leaf when it reached me was quite 

 dry, but the spots or the result of the 

 disease were very visible. We have 

 seen this before, but fortunately sel- 

 dom. The leaf is thickly spotted with 

 small fungous spots something like the 

 spots that trouble the leaf of the vio- 

 let, and both caused by a fungus. 



A leaf of the affected geranium 

 should be sent to Prof. Arthur, or some 

 other good microscopist, who may be i 

 able to define what the particular 

 fungus is that is troubling the gera- 

 niums. There is never an effect with- 

 out a cause; so there is some specific 

 cause for this. The geranium is such 



a free growing, hardy, every-day plant 

 that few scientists have had reason to 

 study its unfrequent maladies, but 

 should from any cause the geranium 

 be a general failure, they would be 

 greatly missed. W. S. 



LETTUCE AND CUCUMBERS. 



From "Lettuce" comes the following 

 questions: 



No. 1. When to sow lettuce of the 

 Grand Rapids variety to cut at Christ- 

 mas. 



No. 2. Will a heavy soil and plenty 

 of manure grow it? 



No. 3. What is the highest heat it 

 will grow healthy in? 



No. 4. Would like to know how to 

 use nitrate of soda? 



No. 5. Will a night temperature of 50 

 degrees grow cucumbers planted Jan. 

 1st. 



No. 1. In the dark days of winter 

 growth is slow and the first day of 

 October is iate enough to sow to have 

 good lettuce at Christmas. A sowing 

 earlier than that is to be preferred. 



No. 2. A heavy soil if properly hand- 

 led with a good admixture of rotted 

 manure will grow the best of lettuce, 

 but a light loam for many reasons is to 

 be preferred. 



No. 3. A night temperature of 50 de- 

 grees is about as high as desirable on 

 fine days with plenty of ventilation. 

 Of course a much higher temperature 

 can be sustained with good results. 



No. 4. The only safe way to use this 

 valuable manure is in solution. The 

 writer has had some sad experience 

 otherwise. Nitrate of soda does not 

 contain eveiy ingredient that fully de- 

 velops a vegetable individual from 

 its birth to its maturity, but it adds 

 greatly to its vigor and growth, espe- 



cially to its tissue forming age, so to 

 lettuce it is a valuable manure. One 

 quart in thirty gallons of water, ap- 

 plied once a week, will be a great help. 

 No. 5. No. The very lowest that a 

 cucumber siiould be at any time would 

 be 60 degrees, and to be profitable 65 

 to 70 degrees is the proper night tem- 

 perature, although we grow cucumb- 

 ers and melons in our g.irdens in sum- 

 mer in our semi-tropical mid-summer 

 temperature and to imitate this in 

 winter requires a high temperature. 

 W. S. 



THE "AVERAGE" FLORIST. 



In the Florists' Exchange of Aug- 

 ust 6th is an article written by Mr. 

 Grove P. Rawson and containing one 

 or two statements which are not at 

 all complimentary to the "average" 

 florist. Here is one statement quoted 

 verbatim: "All things considered, it 

 is little wonder that commercial re- 

 ports class the average florist as 'poor 

 pay and unbusinesslike.' " Will Mr. 

 Rawson kindly inform us which of the 

 trade reports classes the "average" 

 florist in that light in its publications. 

 I have been a florist for thirty years 

 and my experience is that the trade 

 of the "average" florist is more sought 

 after by the wholesale trade generally 

 than that of many of the larger es- 

 tablishments, the "average" florist 

 being considered a better buyer and 

 better pay. 



Again he says, "It seems rather dif- 

 ficult to select 'salaried' good manage- 

 ment." Does Mr. Rawson mean to im- 

 ply that there are no men among the 

 working fiorists of America who pos- 

 sess business ability enough to take 

 charge of and properly run a large 

 commercial establishment? I can as- 

 sure Mr. Rawson that one advertise- 

 ment in any of our trade papers will 



