76 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



DBCEMBfiR ai, 1899. 



If the I'ose bed is troubled with 

 worms to the extent that they are in- 

 juring the roses, then a watering with 

 lime water would most quickly rid 

 the soil of them. A lump of lime, say 

 2 lbs., dissolved in 50 gallons of water, 

 will fix the worms. 



If it is not worms that are troubling 

 the bed, but the surface of the bed 

 gets dirty, then a sprinkling of air- 

 slaked lime just sufficient to whitta 

 the surface will be of benefit and not 

 the slightest harm to the roses. 



WM. SCOTT. 



COLD vs. WARM WATER. 



A note by Professor Craig, in the 

 issue of December 7, discussing the 

 influence of cold water on the growth 

 of plants, prompts me to give a brief 

 review of the work done at the Wis- 

 consin station, that readers of The 

 Review may be better able to compare 

 results. 



A variety of plants were watered 

 with ice water — among others, b:ans. 

 tomatoes, coleus, geraniums, and be- 

 gonias. Similar plants were watered 

 with water at 50 deg.. at 70 deg., and 

 at 100 deg. After trials covering two 

 years, it was concluded that: 



1. Water at as nearly the freezing 

 point as was possible to obtain pro- 

 duced short jointed and stocky plants, 

 but in no case affected the health or 

 vigor of the plants. Coleus plants 

 so treated were excellent in every re- 

 spect, with well developed colors and 

 healthy foliage. 



2. There was no discernible differ- 

 ence between the plants of coleus, 

 geraniums, etc., watered with water at 

 50 deg., and at 70 deg., but in the 

 case of the vegetables a slight dif- 

 ference was noted in the yields. 



3. Water at lOO deg. in many cases 

 caused a rather spindling growth in 

 the case of the coleus, etc.. but affect- 

 ed the yield of the tomatoes, etc., but 

 little. 



The above refers to plants grown in 

 pots and raised on benches. Similar 

 results were obtained with plants in 

 solid beds and in the open, ground. 



I fail to note that the results dif- 

 fer greatly from those obtained at the 

 Iowa Experiment Station, except In 

 the case of coleus. One point cited 

 by Professor Craig is worthy of care- 

 ful consideration by every greenhouse 

 man. viz.: "Tliere was practically no 

 difference in the results secured by 

 the use of water between 45 deg. and 

 75 deg." Similar results were ob- 

 tained at the Wisconsin station. 



This is really the important point, 

 and the one that affects the florist. 

 It is not expected that florists will 

 use water at 34 deg. nor at 100 deg.; 

 These points were selected, in our 

 work here, as the extremes, with in- 

 termediate temperatures that moie 

 nearly represent the temperature of 

 water used in greenhouses. 



If the temperature of water avail- 

 able for use in the greenhouse is 45 

 deg., will it pay to put in an expensive 

 tempering apparatus to raise it to 75 

 deg.? In the light of our pi-esent 

 knowledge of the subject, it Is rea- 



sonably safe to say that money might 

 be expended more profitably in other 

 directions. 



FREDERIC CRANEPIELD. 



AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. 



The preliminary list of premiums to 

 be awarded at the first exhibition of 

 the American Rose Society, to be held 

 at the Eden Musee. New York citv, 

 March 27, 28 and 29, 1900, has been 

 issued. It is certainly a very liberal 

 prize list and should bring out a fine 

 display. Class A is open to all, and 

 liberal first and second prizes are of- 

 fered in 31 named sorts, 25 blooms of 

 each. Class B covers about the same 

 varieties, but only 12 blooms are called 

 for and competition is limited to those 

 having not more than 20,000 feet of 

 glass devoted to the culture of roses. 

 Class C takes in pretty much the same 

 sorts, but is open to private garden- 

 ers and amateurs only. 



Class D calls for 16 sorts of hybrid 

 perpetuals, and is open to all, 12 

 blooms each and two prizes in each 

 case, and there are liberal special 

 premiums for 50 distinct named va- 

 rieties one of a kind; 20 varieties one 

 of a kind; and collection named varie- 

 ties, 12 blooms of each. Class E also 

 covers hybrid perpetuals, but is open 

 to private gardeners and amateurs 

 only, as are also Class P, devoted to 

 pot plants. Class H is devoted to 

 standard roses; and Class I devoted 

 to climbing roses in pots. Class G 

 covers climbing roses in pots and is 

 open to all. 



Class J provides for the award of 

 certificates to new varieties not yet 

 in commerce and of cash prizes to 

 blooms of varieties of recent intro- 

 duction. Class K contains eight 

 splendid special prizes for blooms of 

 various sorts, and it is stated that 

 additions to this class will be an- 

 nounced later. 



Copies of the list may be had by 

 addressing Paul M. Pierson, Secre- 

 tary. Scarborough, N. Y. 



Announcement is also made of an- 

 other exhibition of roses to be held 

 in New York next June. 



GOVERNMENT SEEDS, 



Secretary Wilson is giving the 

 proper turn to the free seed distri- 

 bution carried on by the government 

 through his department. In a recent 

 interview he said: 



"Congressmen can never be con- 

 vinced that it is not for the good of 

 the country for them to distribute free 

 seeds. No. you will never abolish 

 free seed distribution; but I will tell 

 you what can be done. The distribu- 

 tion of a new seed which will be of 

 actual benefit to the farmer for an 

 experiment can be substituted in 

 place of sending him a package of 

 breakfast radishes every year. There 

 is not a farming section in the United 

 States that knows it all — that cannot 

 be improved by the introduction of 

 new crops; but it will be a gradual 

 matter to get farmers and congress- 

 men to look at the matter in this light 



and to substitute free good seed for 

 common ones. I tried to get some of 

 the Virginia members to send out 

 Vicia villosa seeds last year; they 

 wouldn't touch it. I sent out some 

 to Virginia farmers and they are de- 

 lighted witlr it as a forage, feeding on 

 it way up into the winter. Next year 

 Virginia congressmen will get de- 

 mands for Vicia villosa. 



"This sort of plan would be a sci- 

 entific distribution of seeds. We 

 could send Turkestan alfalfa all 

 through the northwest where the or- 

 dinary alfalfa winter kills. We have 

 found a rice in Japan which may 

 mean millions of dollars to the south; 

 we will find crops for the rich, moist 

 savanna country and we will find crops 

 for the arid, sandy stretches. But yet 

 congress has never yet directly appro- 

 priated a cent for this work, and we 

 have to shave and pare to make seed 

 distribution a thing of benefit to the 

 country." 



The sort of distribution advocated 

 by Secretary Wilson is only what was 

 contemplated by the law that first au- 

 thorized free distribution. If he can 

 succeed in carrying out the law as in- 

 tended by its framers and prevent its 

 further distortion by congress, the 

 seed trade will make no complaint 

 and free seed distribution will be of 

 some real value to the farmers of the 

 country. 



FLOWER SHOWS. 



Can a flower show be made to pay 

 on its merits from the box office stand- 

 point? W'e are pretty well convinced 

 that it cannot where a heavy rental 

 has to be paid in addition to the premi- 

 ums and other expenses. But flower 

 shows can be given, and the heavy ex- 

 penses provided for if the right people 

 are interested. 



It is, however, very difficult for a 

 purely trade organization to secure the 

 financial assistance necessary. This 

 is much more easily obtained by a so- 

 ciety officered and controlled by men 

 who are merely lovers of flowers and 

 without any trade associations. In 

 such societies the major part of the 

 work must still be done by those in 

 the trade, but the powerful assistance 

 of men of wealth is brought to bear 

 upon the financial problem which in 

 purely trade organizations is so diffi- 

 cult to solve. 



A horticultural society with a large 

 membership would be the ideal solu- 

 tion of the question. The principal 

 attraction to possible members would 

 be the annual free pass to the exhibi- 

 tions, and with a membership suffici- 

 ently large the importance of fair 

 weather during the exhibition week 

 would be considerably lessened. In 

 other words, the management has sold 

 a large number of season tickets for 

 which the money is already in the 

 treasury regardless of what the 

 weather may be. 



If the right people are interested at 

 the start it is comparatively easy to 

 secure the co-operation of others. 

 Many will contribute liberally to the 



