154 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



Jrn- 4, 1901. 



The Exposition crowds are handlea most 

 admirably and this adds greatly to the 

 comfort and iileasure of 'visit ois. 



TREES. 



1 would like to ask through the Re- 

 view if our native pines can be replanted 

 at this time of the year with safety? 



Also if it would be all right to trim 

 large maple and elm shade trees now? 

 W. E. H. 



Premising that the trees are of ordi- 

 naiy commercial size and in fair condi- 

 tion they can be successfully transplanted 

 by the use of the requisite skill and the 

 necessary precautions, but the chances 

 are largely against success in the hands 

 of the average tree planter. It would 

 be much safer to transplant in the early 

 siM-ing or late in the fall, preferably 

 spring. 



If it should be found absolutely neces- 

 sary to transplant young pines as late 

 as tins a good plan is to mix a thin 

 wash of blue clay and puddle the roots of 

 the pines in it before planting. 



In regard to trimming maple and elm 

 shade trees, dead wood can, of course, 

 hi cut out at any time. Elms should 

 never be trimmed if it can be avoided, 

 and no deciduous tree should be cut while 

 the bark is loose and full of sap, as in- 

 jury is almost certain to result. 



However, nature seems able to endure 

 a wonderful amount of rough usage. 

 Where soft maples are torn by storms in 

 summer they appear to recover in a very 

 short time. John Higgins. 



CINERARIAS. 



I have some cinerarias in two-inch 

 pots in the greenhouse. They have from 

 four to six leaves. Now, when I repot 

 them shall I put them outside under 

 shelter or keep them in the greenhouse 

 a little longer? Is tobacco the best pre- 

 ventive of insects? I shall be very 

 thankful to you for an answer in the 

 Florists' Review and for notes on the 

 general culture of the plant. L. A. G. 



In answer to the above would say 

 that the very best place for cinerarias 

 after they are shifted would be a cold 

 frame ; say a frame about one foot or 

 fifteen inches deep. The sashes should 

 bo shaded and then raised both back and 

 front so that a current of air is passing 

 over the plants. In this position they 

 will be cooler than any place you can 

 put them. On fine nights when there is 

 no danger of a storm if not too nuich 

 labor the sashes could be removed. Plunge 

 the pots in leaf mold, tan bark or spent 

 hops during the summer. The green fly 

 can be kept down by placing plenty of 

 tobacco stems on the surface among the 

 pots. 



The cineraria is almost too difficult a 

 plant to grow well for the value there is 

 in it. Its cliief point of culture is that 

 it wants at all times the very coolest 

 house you can give it without actual 

 frost. Forty degrees at night in winter 

 is suflicient at any rate. In flowering 

 time it wants the fullest light without 

 the midsummer sun. It wants rather a 

 strong loam with one-fourth of some 

 rotten manure, by no means sandy, and 

 firmly potted. It never wants to be over 

 watered. You can kill them easier by 

 an overdose of water than any plant I 

 knon of. At the same time if allowed to 

 get very dry they will wilt and lose their 



bcllom leaves. The next important thing 

 is to keep away green fly. They are not 

 much troubled in a frame in the sum- 

 mer, but as soon as removed to the 

 house in the fall constant and steady 

 fumigation is needed. 



These are the principal i)()inls in cul- 

 tivating the cineraria, whicli if will 

 grown is a very fine decorative plant, but 

 when poorly grown is an abomination 

 and I have come to the conclusion for 

 several years past that there is no money 

 in it foi- the conunercial florist. 



Wm. Scott. 



FERTILIZERS FOR ROSES. 



Will ]\Ir. Scott or some other gentle- 

 man tell me through the Florists' Re- 

 view the best conmiercial fertilizer to 

 produce the best blooms on roses planted 

 out in the Sunny South. I might say 

 the soil is almost all sand. It has been 

 fertilized with horse manure, which 

 does not seeni to give good results. Kind- 

 ly name quantity to be used on two-year- 

 old roses. Florida. 



"Florida" does not state what class 

 of roses he is cultivating. Neither am 

 I positive whether they are out of doors 

 or under glass, but as he is in Florida 

 it is to be reasonably supposed they are 

 planted out in the garden. 



Without going into a long chapter on 

 roses I would say that the best commer- 

 cial fertilizer for roses and many other 

 plants is pure bone dust, which can be 

 forked into the soil in the spring. For 

 a sandy soil the best manure would be 

 that from the cow stable. 



The tea and noisette classes do very 

 well in sandy soil if it is not worn out, 

 but the hybrid perpetuals, the most im- 

 portant class with us for garden culture, 

 do much better and produce the finest 

 flowers in a heavy loam. There is noth- 

 ing equal to a fresh soil for all roses. 

 A garden that has been cultivated for 

 years, no matter how much manure and 

 fertilizer has been applied, is not equal 

 to a sod from land that has been a pas- 

 ture for years. Never has this been bet- 

 ter illustrated than on the grounds of 

 the Pan-American Exposition this spring. 

 The top four inches of a clay farm which 

 was all meadow was mixed with about a 

 fourth of cow manure, and it has grown 

 roses such as I have not seen since child- 

 hood's days, and perhaps I have an ex- 

 aggerated opinion of those because 'Dis- 

 tance lends enchantment to the view.' 

 Wm. Scott. 



BOSTON. 



Trade Conditions. 



The last week of June, and indeed the 

 last week of the season, was a peculiar 

 one in some respects. Weddings and 

 school exercises made considerable of a 

 floral movement, but all necessary mate- 

 rial w'as easily and cheaply supplied by 

 the difl'erent wholesale establishments. 

 The revival of the old idea of the pres- 

 entation of school bouquets by the city 

 of Boston also called unexpectedly for 

 the material for about 4,000 of them 

 without causing a ripple. 



During the first part of the week an 

 enormous supply of outdoor Jacks came 

 in, many of them being very fine ones. 

 But the supply diminished very quickly, 

 leaving but few of any value toward 

 the enii of the week. American Beauties, 

 Meteors and Liberties are coming stead- 



ily and in plenty, as well as pink and 

 white ones; K:ii-ri in- inming freely to 

 cover the I:m i ili;,i |;,i,l,.s are not "now 

 very good. \.iil,.i aiv Bridesmaids 



very good j- ,. i.il tliing.'and there 



Is no acciiiiiiMMiLii iiij liliissom stepping 

 u[i to take ii- |il,M r 11 -iirli a thing were 

 ni-c(lful. ll -u, |,.il,;i|,s more of the 

 growers would li\ .\lr. F. W. Fletcher's 

 experiment with the ilaman Cochet. He 

 is cutting quite a few good ones from 

 the small amount of glass utilized. There 

 are now but few real good pinks, but 

 til pre are enough of the poorer grades. 



Sweet peas are getting very plentiful 

 and prices upon them have gone down 

 materially during the past few days. 

 They were about the only thing in the 

 business upon which the "figure could be 

 reduced, too. 



Meeting a schoolmaster friend a few 

 days ago, he remarked that after grad- 

 uation exercises he would be "on the 

 loose pulley!" This is a pretty good ex- 

 pression and will probably apply to the 

 floral situation for the next two or three 

 months very aptly: just going, but not 

 doing anything. 



How has the closing season used you? 

 My private opinion is that there has been 

 more money made than during any past 

 season for six or eight years, both by 

 growers and retailers, but it has not 

 been distributed so evenly, the most of 

 the gain being in comparatively few 

 hands. But of course this is debatable. 

 I am afraid this is particularly true 

 about our friends, the carnation grow- 

 ers, since their wares have averaged 

 poorly for the season, haven't they? 

 Their plants seemed never to get over 

 the effects of the hot autumn until "ev- 

 erlastingly too late." J. S. Manter. 



Qub Meeting. 



The Florists' and Gardeners' Club held 

 a special meeting Thursday, June 27, to 

 consider the effect of our flower show of 

 the week before and settle all matters 

 connected with its business details. 

 Everyone was delighted with the show 

 and it was unanimously pronounced a 

 decided success. Then every bill and in- 

 cidental expense in connection with it 

 was presented and paid and we still have 

 money in the treasury. 



Something was said about a chrysan- 

 themum show in the fall, but in view of 

 the big exhibitions of those flowers got- 

 ten up by the Allegheny and Pittsburg 

 parks and the private conservatories, 

 and that October and November are 

 very busy months the autumn show was 

 not pressed. 



A Picnic. 



But the boys were feeling in a very 

 good humor and as Fred Burki hadn't 

 been seen in at the rose show — he sent 

 lots of splendid flowers there, though — 

 he is so busy building and fixing up 

 his new place at Bakerstown, it was de- 

 cided to have a picnic out there at Fred's 

 place, and together with our mves and 

 our sweethearts, and our sisters and our 

 cousins and our aunts, we are going to 

 Bakerstown on July the 16th. 



'Various Items. 



John Bader sails for Europe on the 

 11th and E. C. Reineman a fortnight 

 later. 



A severe hailstorm passed over the 



