5J0 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



OCIOBER 13. llbSS. 



also your dried stuff. The habit of 

 hanging tin foiled wire designs in the 

 window is abominable and is inexcus- 

 able in the worst hovel of a florist's 

 store, and as for metal designs — well.- 

 Americans love natural flowers, and 

 no florist who considers himself or 

 herself an artist or up-to-date in this 

 business will have them in the store. 



Baskets are going to have higher 

 handles. They look very tall when 

 empty, but when you fill them with 

 long stem roses or plants they are 

 just the thing. We will talk about 

 baskets again. Whatever you have or 

 do about the store avoid artificiality 

 as much as possible. Advocate flow- 

 ers and plants and plants and flowers 

 and lots of them, and wrap them up 

 and handle them and ship them with 

 the greatest amount of taste and care. 



Have your flowers delivered in the 

 condition in which they leave the 

 store, and be prompt. Find out if 



possible the exact time the flowers are 

 wanted and get them there at that 

 time. Often flowers are ordered to be 

 fixed on the table at .5:30 for an 8 

 o'clock dinner, with the result that 

 the flowers are withered at the time 

 they are most wanted to appear fresh, 

 and the consequence is you may lose 

 the customer. All this comes from 

 people being nervous about the flor- 

 ist being on time. Reason with 

 these people and let them have confi- 

 dence in you. Flowers should be fixed 

 on the table at the latest fifteen min- 

 utes before the guests sit down to 

 dinner and when you put them on 

 don't forget the little finishing touches 

 that hide a stick or a piece of moss or 

 stick a flower where most wanted. 



Chrysanthemums are on hand but 

 only in small quantities as yet. When 

 you are putting them up don't forgi-r 

 the nice spray of well-colored autumn 

 leaves. 



The newest wreath is made of Bou- 

 vardia llumboldti, with Farleyeuse 

 fringe and a cluster of valley and 

 cattleyas and bow of broad white 

 gauze ribbon. IVERA. 



ROSE NOTES. 



A few cold nights during the past 

 week brings to mind the necessity ot 

 getting your boilers in readiness for 

 their winter's work. In many respects 

 this has been a remarkable fall for 

 this section; usually we look for a good 

 frost any time after the first week in 

 September, but at this writing (Oct. 

 8) we are still in the midst of summer 

 weather, with now and then a slight 

 threat of a fall in the temperature, 

 just to remind us of the approaching 

 winter. 



These warm sultry days are very 

 disastrous in the way they affect the 

 growth of roses, forcing them into a 

 soft growth, and bringing on a full 

 trop of buds at a time when there is 

 little sale for them. Many growers 

 make a mistake of cutting and send- 

 ing all this stock into the market, 

 causing a general demoralization of 

 trade. How much better it would be 

 to pick off about two-thirds of these 

 buds now: this would throw the main 

 crop four to six weeks later at a time 

 when the market would be in better 

 condition to take care of them. 



During October and November, while 

 the chrysanthemum is in its glory, 

 very often we see the rose houses ne- 

 glected. Keep a man constantly at 

 work in them, and insist on his going 

 over every house about once in a week 

 or ten days. Never allow a yellow leaf 

 to remain on the plant or lay on the 

 benches. If this work is done regu- 

 larly, you will be surprised to see 

 how little time it takes to keep a rose 

 house in good condition. 



Roses that have been planted in June 

 and July will now stand a light mulch 

 of well rotted manure spread evenly 

 over the bench, not over one-half inch 

 deep. I prefer rubbing the manure 

 through a three-fourths inch wire 

 screen before applying. In this way 

 it can be spread better and makes a 

 much neater job. This mulch should 

 be gone over and loosened up about 

 once a week, otherwise it will become 

 sour and do more harm than good. 

 Some growers claim a mulch of ma- 

 nure tends to sour the soil, which may 

 be true when not properly done, bur 

 if applied as suggested and kept open 

 it is certainly a great benefit to the 

 plants . S. A. BAUR. 



ROSE HOUSES. 



In building a rose house about 20 

 feet wide, which is the best wa.v to ar- 



range the benches and paths? We 

 would like a path next lo the north 

 wall to provide for freer circulation 

 of air and room for watering. Also 

 wish the walks to be wide enough to 

 admit wheeling the soil in the barrow. 

 All the walks do not need to be wide 

 enough for the barrow, but. say two in 

 different parts of the house, most con- 

 venient to use in filling benches. Please 

 give width of house, paths and 

 benches. R. M. 



There is considerable difference of 

 opinion among rose growers regard- 

 ing the style of house best adapted for 

 rose culture. Some advocate the even 

 span, others claim a short span to the 

 south is the thing, while tne more con- 

 servative still cling to the regulation 

 three-quarter span, long span to the 

 south rose house, claiming It Is best 

 adapted for growing high grade stock 

 and producing it at a lime when roses 

 are in demand and consequently 

 bringing good prices, a claim that has 

 never been successfully disputed by 

 the advocates of any other form of 

 construction. 



The writer has had experience with 

 many kinds of greenhouses and while 

 it may be said that a good grower usu- 

 ally produces good stock in about any 

 kind of a greenhouse, he certainly can 

 do better when placed in an up-to-date 

 rose house, where he can depend on 

 getting the full benefit of the sun for 

 twelve months ot the year, and this 

 means a regulation three-quarter span 

 house, long slope to the south. 



Having decided on the form of 

 house, which we will suppose to be 2U 

 feet wide, we next come to the ar- 

 rangement of the benches. Here again 

 we find a variety of opinions: some 

 prefer two side benches and a large 

 6 to 7-foot bench in the middle, leav- 

 ing enough space for two wide walks 

 for wheeling soil, etc.: others again 

 claim there should be a free circulatiori 

 of air all around the benches and sug- 

 gest having a walk around the side ot 

 the house, dividing the space some- 

 thing like this: Allowing twice 6 inch- 

 es for gutters leaves us 19 feet to be 

 divided between walks and benches, we 

 begin at the south wall with an IS-inch 

 walk, bench 4 feet wide and 2% feet 

 high, 2-foot walk, bench 4 feet wide. 

 3% feet high. 2-foot walk, bench 4 feet 

 wide, 4'/2 feet high, ending with an 

 IS-inch walk for the north wall, thus 

 we have 12 feet bench room and 7 feet 

 used for walks: as will be seen the 

 walks are not wide enough for a 

 wheelbarrow, and emptying out soil 

 and refilling is done by simply wheel- 

 ing on the benches: it is advisable to 

 lay a line of boards on the bench while 

 wheeling, thus avoiding the danger ot 

 breaking through weak places, especi- 

 ally where the bottoms of benches are 

 made of 1-inch lumber. 



Another arrangement of benches is 

 as follows: Beginning at the south 

 wall with a bench 3 feet wide, making 

 it low enough to allow from 2i/^ to 3 



