The Weekly Florists' Review, 



509 



Cross by O. J. Friedman, Chicago, for the President's Funeral. 



The open book of Golden roses was 

 significant of the life of the president, 

 which was surely an open book of gold- 

 en pages, each page filled with the rec- 

 ord of glorious deeds of patriotism, do- 

 mestic purity and the truest piety, at 

 the same time the book 1h4< k.-ii.^.l the 

 craft who laid the ofteiiivj .n In- I'ifr. 



The four wreaths photn- i i p'" '1 m the 

 window of W. J. Palmer \ >mii. Ilullalo. 

 were all arranged by tlial limi. Une 

 was ordered bv Mrs. Mark Hauna, one 

 by the people of Cuba and the other 

 two by Mrs. Harry Hamlin and Mrs. 

 Wra. Hamlin, of Buffalo. 



The wreath of eattleyas and valley, 

 by John Mangel, Chicago (.Andrew Mil- 

 ler, artist), was ordered by the Unoin 

 League Club of that city. It was three 

 feet in diameter and contained 40 eat- 

 tleyas, 275 valley and considerable 

 adiantum. The price was $125.00. 



VALUES. 



Replying to the inquiry 

 in my opinion the smilax 

 be valued at 20 cents cu. 1 

 mum plajits at 12 cents, m-r- ,.■ ci-ut? 

 per plarit, . carnation plants 20 cents 

 each. It is rather a hard nut to crack 



St. Joseph, Mo. L. J. Stuppy. 



.4. N., 



• hnuld 

 sirm 



ROSE NOTES. 



In this series of papers which I sub- 

 mit to you on rose culture under glass, 

 I intend to address more particularly 

 the rising generation of growers, and 

 in order to make them clear and plain 

 shall use as irw l,'i'hnir:il terms as pos- 

 sible, .advocal iiiu II" llir.iiiis and giving 

 only those iiio,|,- ,f . iilnire which I 

 have used with mi.v,--. or seen sue- 

 ces^ully practised by other growers. 



One of the most essential things in 

 rose culture is to start right. To have 

 good healthy bushes that will give good 

 fiowers during the winter months, care 

 must be taken to plant nothing but the 

 very best stock and that is none too 

 good, and in order to have good stock 

 great care must be exercised in propa- 

 gating. 



Many of the diseases which in after 

 life affect the rose are contracted in 

 the cutting bench, either through lack 

 of knowledne of the requirements of a 

 cutting or through carelessness. 



Opinions regarding the best style of a 

 cutting are almost as numerous _ as 

 growers, some persistently advocating 

 one-eyed cuttings, while others as ear- 

 nestly advocate two and three eyes. 



Some again recommend that cuttings 

 be taken from flower stems, while others 

 are content to use blind wood entirely. . 

 In such varieties as Meteor, Liberty 

 and Beauty, where canes from the bot- 

 tom are desirable, cuttings may be taken 

 with three eyes, leaving two eyes above 

 the sand and one at the base of the cut- 

 ting. Many growers have condemned 

 this practice, but as it has worked well 

 with me, I give it for what it is worth, 

 and recommend the young grower to 

 give it a trial. 



Such varieties as Bridesmaid and 

 Bride do well with one or two eyes. 



After many years experimenting, I 

 do not think it makes much difference 

 whether flowering stems or good strong 

 blind wood be used, the after treatment 

 of the cutting being of more importance. 

 We must also take into consideration 

 the expense attending propagating from 

 flower stems. Few modern growers 

 would care to denude their plants of 

 buds when by reason of dark and short 

 days roses are scarce and command their 

 best price. 



But whatever kind of wood is used, 

 it ought to be carefully selected, reject- 

 ing all weak and sprawly wood, and 

 taking only that which is in a half 

 ripened condition and growing on the 

 most vigorous and healthy plants, tak- 

 ing special care to pass by all those 

 plants which have foliage the least shade 

 off color. 



In making the cuttings use a well 

 sharpened knife. Make a clean, short 

 cut, avoiding a long slicing. It is well 

 to keep the wood immersed in water, 

 and to sprinkle the cutting after it is 

 made and previous to putting it in the 

 sand. 



By middle of December see that the 

 cutting bench is in good repair, wash 

 clean and give a coating of hot lime 

 wash; remove all rubbish, as cleanliness 

 is absolutely necessary to health. 



Clean sharp river or pit sand, not too 

 fine, is a good propagating medium. 

 Put it on the bench to a depth of five 

 inches, water well, then pound firmly 

 with a brick. With a common butcher 

 knife draw a straight line across the 

 bench at a depth of one and a half 

 inches; do not go deeper, as it is bet- 

 ter to have every cutting touch bottom 

 than to hang. Put the cuttings in neat- 

 ly at from one to two inches apart, ac- 

 cording to the size of the cutting ( Beau- 

 ties will require more room), press the 

 sand firmly along the line, then proceed 

 with another parallel to the first at two 

 inches distance, water well and never 

 allow the sand to become dry, as wilting 

 at this stage is ruin. Syringe lightly, so 

 as not to disturb the cutting, as often 

 as necessary. 



In shading, a very thin cheese cloth 

 answers the purpose very well. This 

 ought to be arranged in such a way as 

 not to be too near the cutting and be 

 easily removed in cloudy weather or 

 just as soon as the sun ceases to shine 

 on the bench, as cuttings will root much 

 quicker by having all available light, 

 and come out of the sand in much bet- 

 ter shape than if grown in the dark. 

 Temperature of the sand ought to be 

 kept as near 60 degrees as possible, with 

 a house temperature of 48 to 50 degrees. 

 By careful attention to these rules the 

 cutting will be in a fit condition to pot 

 in from twenty-eight to thirty days. 



RIBE.S. 



