DECKMBEU 7. 189'J. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



29 



Cattleya Labiata, stown by Frank Bros. 



the soda. Have heard others say it 

 should be always used in solution; 1 

 lb. to 50 gallons of water is safe and 

 beneficial, and at this strength you 

 could apply it at every alternate wat- 

 ering. 



For a top dressing to a carnation 

 bed a sprinkling of wood ashes is 

 beneficial, but I would prefer bone 

 meal. Wood ashes, one of the very 

 best of all fertilizers, should be mixed 

 with the soil before planting; 1 peck 

 to a yard of soil is about right. 



WM. SCOTT. 



CATTLEYA LABIATA. 



We present herewith an engraving 

 of a plant of Cattleya labiata as grown 

 by Messrs. Frank Bros., Beardstown, 

 111. The plant bears nine flowers on 

 two leads. 



It is interesting as showing what 

 can be done by a commercial florist 

 having a general stock and with no 

 special facilities for orchid growing. 



In response to an inquiry Messrs. 

 Frank Bros, write: "We grow the 

 cattleyas in a fern house, a lean-to 

 with eastern aspect. Day temperature 

 SO. to 85 degrees, and 60 to 65 degrees 

 at night. No artificial shading is re- 

 quired as the house is glazed with 



heavy ribbed glass. Bottom and top 

 ventilators are kept open day and 

 night as long as weather permits. 



"The floor aud benches are damped 

 down three times a day, and once a 

 week with liquid manure to produce 

 sufncient ammonia. The orchids are 

 watered with settled rain water. 



"As soon as growth is finished we 

 remove them to the rose house, ex- 

 posed to the full sunlight to ripen off 

 the pseudo-bulbs, which is the main 

 essential to induce the plants to bloom. 



"We have about 25 cattleyas. mainly 

 Trianae, Percivaliana, Gigas and labi- 

 ata; also Laelia anceps, Coelogyne 

 cristata, Sophronites grandiflora and a 

 few cypripediums. All are doing fine- 

 ly with us. We grow these orchids 

 more for pleasure than for profit." 



COLD vs. WARM WATER. 



The results secured at this station 

 last winter in using water of differ- 

 ent temperatures in watering plants 

 do not agree in all particulars with 

 those reported by the Wisconsin Ex- 

 periment Station. Plants under glass 

 were used only. The results of our 

 experiments may be summarized as 

 follows; 



1 There was practically no differ- 



ence in the results secured by the use 

 of water between 45 and 75 degrees. 



2. Water at temperatures between 

 32 and 34 degrees had a distinct 

 dwarfing effect upon all plants treated. 



S. Water at temperatures between 

 75 and lOO degrees caused a weak and 

 somewhat spindling growth. 



4. Hardy plants like geraniums were 

 less influenced by cold water than ten- 

 der plants like coleus. 



5. The best geranium plants were 

 grown by the use of water near the 

 freezing point, while the poorest co- 

 leus were produced by the same tem- 

 perature. 



I am not prepared to say that there 

 is "nothing in" this watering busi- 

 ness. JOHN CRAIG. 



Towa .Agricultural College. 



AMONG BROOKLYN GROWERS. 



What They Will Have for Christmas. 



Brooklyn and Bay Ridge are now 

 part of Greater New York, but it will 

 be many years yet before their peculiar 

 localisms, especially floriculturally 

 speaking, shall be obliterated. Getting 

 off the cars at Sixty-fifth street, the 

 "old timer" may stand in a wreath of 

 memories as he watches horses browse 

 over the dilapidated spot where "once 

 upon a time" the finest of plants were 

 grown and yonder stood James Dean's 

 house of generosity and countless 

 friendships. 



Across the lots is J. M. Keller's ex- 

 tensive range of greenhouses, and here 

 as usual there is. an abundance of stock 

 in the best of condition. It is our mo- 

 tive to see what Is being grown for 

 Christmas. Here we saw a lovely liv- 

 ing picture in the form of a batch of 

 begonia Gloire de Lorraine. Small or- 

 ange trees are well fruited and richly 

 colored. Ardisias are grand. Ericas, 

 daisies, azaleas, poinsettias, cypripe- 

 diums and dendrobiums are promising 

 well. Among azaleas Simon Mardner 

 will be the best one for Christmas. The 

 immense amount of stock intended for 

 Easter is in the best of shape. Mr. Kel- 

 ler has stopped growing small ferns 

 because they didn't pay for the trouble. 



Just a block away is one of the old 

 homesteads of New York floriculture, 

 James Weir's Sons' place. Here were 

 grown some of the first roses (Bon Si- 

 lene and Safrano) for the New York 

 market, aye, and tuberoses, too, when 

 to cut a stalk full of bloom was a sa- 

 cfed ceremony, and single florets 

 brought as high as 4 and 5 cents whole- 

 sale. Camellias also were worth their 

 weight in precious metal. These very 

 same plants are full of bloom today; 

 having passed through the era of 

 scorn, they are again destined to shine 

 in popularity. Plants and flowers of 

 every kind suitable for the retail mar- 

 ket are extensively grown here. Spe- 

 cially grown mums have not been so 

 large a feature as in former years, but 

 several houses have been devoted to 

 these flowers, grown in bush form, for 

 funeral work and decorative purposes. 

 A section of Newitt. a large white va- 



