DECEMBER 1-f, 1S99. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



55 



Physostegia Virginiana Alba. 



much has been done in that short 

 time. There are eight or nine houses, 

 mostly 100x20, and entirely devoted to 

 roses and carnations, well built, steam 

 heated and what is most gratifying to 

 the writer, there is not an ounce of 

 putty on the whole place. The next 

 time some presumptuous young man 

 slaps me on the back and says: "W. 

 S.. you ought to know better than talk 

 this butted glass fad," I hope to have 

 Mr. Guenther at my side. He will 

 shut him up if I can't. Mr. G. worked 

 in Germany, England and several of 

 the very best places in this country 

 and has seen for himself, and now he 

 says: "I would not dream of ever do- 

 ing anything but butt my glass." 



His roses. Brides, Bridesmaids and 

 Kaiserins, are in grand order. Most 

 of his carnation houses are looking 

 splendid. The exceptions are those 

 planted in solid beds in the spring. 

 They are by no means bad, but Mr. G. 

 says no more of it for him. He will 

 in future put them all in the field and 

 lift very early in August. 



What to grow in carnations is be- 

 ginning to be a puzzle, as it was with 

 muma a few years ago. Mr. G. says: 

 'T like Flora Hill; it is early and pro- 

 ductive," and I agree with him, al- 

 though his White Clouds are immense. 

 He likes Mrs. Joost and so do I: it Is 

 destined to entirely supersede Scott. 

 Mrs. Bradt with him is free and mag- 

 nificent. As he grows Armaaindy it is 



indispensable. Triumph will have to 

 go, but Victor is large, free and profit- 

 able. It is pleasant to see Genesee so 

 well done as it is here, but the great- 

 est revelation was a bench' of Red 

 Jacket, grand stem, fine flower, and 

 lots of them. My opinion of Red 

 Jacket was that it always looked prom- 

 ising but you never realized, but now 

 I am convinced that it can be grown 

 well and profitably. 



Sub-Watering. 



Mr. Guenther can show you his ex- 

 periment with sub-watering. He has 

 sixteen feet of bench about five feet 

 wide, beneath which is a galvanized 

 iron tray; on that are the bricks, and 

 then four inches of soil. It is Prof. 

 Arthur's plan carried out faithfully. 

 Excepting the first watering when 

 planted (three months ago), the bed 

 has only received water from below. 

 An adjoining sixteen feet is bricks 

 stood close together on the ordinary 

 bench and soil on top of them, and 

 watered, of course, on the surface. 

 Next comes the usual board bench. 

 All one variety. The sixteen feet of 

 true sub-watering looks slightly better 

 than any and the brick drainage a 

 trifle better than the ordinarj' bench. 

 But the difference between all is not 

 very marked. Mr. Guenther says rather 

 decisively tliat the expense of the 

 water-tight bench and bricks precludes 

 its commercial use. 



Before we left Mr. G. showed us the 

 use of the "Aphis Punk," which he 

 says destroys fly to a certainty, and 

 after repeated trials cannot see the 

 least harm that it has done to the 

 roses. It certainly emits nicotine 

 enough to make a Baggs or a cat 

 sneeze. The visit was profitable and 

 pleasant and on the ride home we 

 found ourselves singing the innocent 

 little refrain that wo remember from 

 our early musical education, "How 

 pleasant it i'' at the close of the day 

 no follljj 4..* ; lave to repent, but look 

 back on the past and be able to say, 

 my time has been properly spent." 



Plant and Flower Beggars. 



The most important club meeting in 

 some years occurred last Wednesday. 

 The begging and borrowing of palms 

 and flowers for church fairs, bazaars 

 and many other such affairs has grown 

 to be an intolerable nuisance; not one 

 beggar a day, but some of us get five 

 and six a day. Not only is it a great 

 tax on our business, but loaning out 

 palms has actually belittled the busi- 

 ness. A decoration of palms is no longer 

 thought good taste for they can be seen 

 every wiiere, even to a dog show; not 

 very long since we had some palms at 

 such an affair and they absorbed so 

 much of the flavor of doggie that for 

 months we had to say, when sending 

 out palms for a decoration: "Be sure 

 and don't take any of the dog palms." 



Why should we give away incessant- 

 ly a bunch of flowers to every fussy, 

 cheeky individual who wants to do 

 something for charity? So much could 

 be said on the subject, and doubtless 

 we are not the only ones; other cities 

 suffer likewise. It has come to a stop 

 here, and suddenly. We have all signed 

 an agreement that, after the 15th of 

 Dec. all solicitations for donations 

 will be refused. Every florist has de- 

 posited a sum of money with the pres- 

 ident of the club, which, on proof ot 

 violation of the agreement, will be for- 

 feited. 



A copy of the agreement will be giv- 

 en every one of us and we intend to 

 have it neatly framed, so when Mrs. 

 Chronic Sympathy wants a few palms 

 and a few flowers for the seventeenth 

 anniversary of the Cold Water Section 

 of the Daughters of Rebecca, we shall 

 show her in big type our agreement, 

 and if all will stick to it loyally this 

 scourge to our business is at an end, 

 and the earnestness of all in the busi- 

 ness portends its success. 



Of course, there are some fine people 

 who spend their money with you free- 

 ly and seldom or ever ask a favor, but 

 if they should, and then it would only 

 be for a public hospital, we have pro- 

 vided to meet such cases. The text of 

 the business agreement, as well as that 

 we have to show our customers, will 

 be gladly furnished you when you have 

 time to print it. There are a few 

 sweet souls in the world who have in 

 their hearts, or rather in their heads, 

 the feeling that was taught the early 

 Christians, "that it is better to give 



