The Weekly Florists' Review, 



7n 



Wm. Duckham's First Prize 25 Blooms arranged for effect at the New York Show. 



pulled out. While in this ooiiditioii the 

 soil can be packed firm by treading 

 the surface evenly all over, taking care 

 not to tread so near the plant as to 

 injure the stem. On benches when there 

 is not enough headroom for this ia 

 brick can be used ; the surface should 

 then be stirred all over to the depth 

 of an inch and given a good watering. 

 Plants in a growing condition at this 

 season of the year require copious sup- 

 plies of water. To encourage evapora- 

 tion and insure rapid growth the benches 

 should be stirred at least once a week. 



Staking and tying are the next opera- 

 tions to be attended to. This should be 

 done while the plants are yet small. If 

 they are allowed to grow and scramble 

 all over the bench the wood gets sprawly 

 and the eyes break weak. Spider will 

 also find shelter from which it will be 

 almost impossible to dislodge it. The 

 most up-to-date support is galvanized 

 wire, both for stakes and horizontals. 

 A very neat way of arranging the sup- 

 ports is to make an upright frame of 

 inch piping, consisting of two upriglijts 

 and a crossbar, joined with elbows, the 

 crossbar to be four or six inches nar- 

 rower than the bench and to stand 

 28 inches above the side boards, 

 the uprights to be sunk in the ground 

 six inches. One placed at each end of 

 the bench and No. 16 galvanized wire 

 stretched over each line of plants, to 

 keep the wires from sagging, a support 

 made of |-inch gas piping, same shape 

 as the end frames, and placed at dis- 

 tance of 12 feet apart and tied to the 

 horizontal wire, makes the thing com- 

 plete. 



To improve the appearance of the 

 frames they ought to have a coat of 

 white paint. This, while more costly 

 than the old cane stakes and wooden 



frames is much easier to remove, and 

 put up again after planting and is 

 practically indestructible. Stakes of 

 galvanized No. 6 wire 3 feet 3 inches 

 long are then placed by each plant and 

 tied to the horizontal wire. For Beau- 

 ties there should be a double tier of 

 wires, one at 2S inches above the bench 

 and one at 7 feet. 



Tying should never be neglected and 

 ought to be done in a tidy and sensible 

 way, each stem tied separatelj-, so that 

 the air can circulate freely among the 

 leaves and not tied around the stake 

 broom fashion. 



To keep the plants in a good growing 

 condition cultivate regularly, and tying 

 properly attended to is now the grower's 

 principal work. Disbudding will also 

 claim attention. Until the plants are 

 strong enough to bear a crop the buds 

 formed during the summer should be 

 taken oflF as soon as they are showing 

 color. This should be done with a sharp 

 knife or pair of scissors, cutting oflT 

 along with the bud abont one-half of 

 the stem; this leaves those eyes only 

 which are strong and nearer the plant 

 to break. By treating the young plants 

 in this way they will make less blind 

 wood and more strong flowering stems 

 for first crop. Rises. 



THE CHICAGO EXHIBITION. 



The annual exhibition of the Horti- 

 cultural Society was opened at the Audi- 

 torium last Tuesday. The display of 

 chrysanthemum blooms is a grand one, 

 containing many remarkable flowers. 

 The bush chrysanthemwrn plants arc 

 rarely in good shape, the date being evi- 

 dently a week too early for the varieties. 

 The single stem plants are more nearly 

 in condition and as a rule they are equal 

 to those of former years. 



A feature of the large foyer is a spe- 

 cial display by Walter Retzer & Co., 

 covering considerable space. There is an 

 arbor covered with wild srailax from the 

 outside of which water falls from the 

 greenery which is interspersed with col- 

 ored electric lights and the effect is 

 heightened by a lime light which reflects 

 a glow upon it. In front of this is an 

 arrangement of various decorative plants 

 set upon a field of tan bark. The efTect 

 is attractive and decidedly novel. The 

 rest of the fo3'er is devoted to the dis- 

 Iilay of posters and to two decorated 

 l)ooths at which bevies of young society 

 Indies dispense cakes and other souvenirs 

 for sweet charity's sake. 



The arrangement of the Auditorium 

 [uoper is much the same as last year, 

 the large Pullman group of palms, etc., 

 occupying a central position. There are 

 not so many decorative plants this year 

 as last and one misses the special dis- 

 plays by retail florists which have been 

 so strong a feature of recent years. 

 There are two good groups of fine 

 geraniums in pots and a fine bed of 

 Begonia Gloire de Lorraine from S. Muir 

 (grown by Jos. Reeve), that attracts 

 much attention. John Reardon shows 

 some fine cosmos in pots. Mr. Uihlein 

 makes an interesting display of orchid 

 flowers frozen in a cake of ice and an- 

 other of plants in bloom protected by a 

 glass case. There are some good col- 

 lections of primroses and cyclamen and 

 miscellaneous . plants, a well bloomed 

 grafted chrysanthemum and some oddi- 

 ties in the way of tomatoes in variety 

 grafted on the potato, also egg plant on 

 the same stock. 



Chrysanthemum Blooms. 



The main interest professionally cen- 

 tered in the chrysanthemum blooms and 

 the quality averaged very high indeed. 

 In. the International competition Poehl- 

 raann Bros, were first in Illinois, their 

 varieties bein? Col. D. Applctnn. Mrs. 

 0. P. Bassetl. \ ivian.lM.inl. M. Wana- 

 maker. Bomii.ii1"ii I„mI\ I 1,i iihiim. Tim- 

 othv Eaton. Mm.. I'miii. \li-. \lurdock, 

 Golden Wedding, Airs. itubin.,un and 

 Pennsylvania. 



E. G. Hill & Co. were first in Indiana 

 with Fee du Champsaur, Caseo, H. L. 

 Sunderbruch, Brutus, Mrs. E. D. Smith, 

 Orizaba, Morel, Merza. Appleton, Eaton, 

 Nyanza and F. Rey Jouvin. 



Nathan Smith & Son \\ere first in 

 Michigan and also w.ii ihr - a r, p. takes, 

 with Mrs. F. A. Cnii-inMr \1,-, K. D. 

 Smith, Yanariva. M:i\,iii. iiii ili. Lady 

 Anglesly, lora. 'Tim<.th\ j;.anii, Kate 

 Broomhead, Col. Appletou, Chito and 

 Mrs. Coombes. 



A. Herrington was first in New Jersey 

 with Bonnaflfon, Mme. Deis. Kate Broom- 

 head, Jeannie Falconer, Mme. Carnot, 

 Yellow Mme. Carnot, Chenon de Leche, 

 Timothy Eaton, Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. T. 

 L. Park, Col. Appleton and Mrs. 

 Coombes. 



Theo. Bock was first in Ohio and Otto 

 Speidel, gardener to Mrs. P. D. Armour, 

 Jr., Oconomowoc, was first in Wisconsin, 

 both with good lots of blooms. 



Timothy Eaton is very much in evi- 

 dciirr ai.ic.iii: llir cut blooms this year 



and - ildwns are truly enormous. 



(hi. Ml \h . Ilill- lilooms of Eaton meas- 

 \iri'il J.'il iiiilics in circumference and 

 17 inches over. Several other blooms of 

 this variety were measured that ranged 

 from 20 to 21J inches in circumference 

 and from 13 to 1.5 inches over the top. 

 A Mme. Carnot in ilr. Herrington's lot 



