410 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



MARCH S, 1900. 



opinion of their merits; and he is, I 

 assure Buffalo, fully awake. He is a 

 fossilist but not a fossil. 



Buffalo must not assume that be- 

 cause a man does not dwell on the 

 classic banks of Conjockety Creek or 



does not enthuse over the antics of 

 Steve Brody's Undines — but that won't 

 do; Undine was a water nymph. 



W. T. BELL. 

 Franklin, Pa., March 3, 1900. 



Seed Sowing. 



It will soon be time to sow the main 

 crop of all our so-called hardy an- 

 nuals, such as asters, zinnias. Phlox 

 Drummondii, Ten-week stocks, French 

 and African marigold, calendula, dian- 

 thus (under which name we know the 

 different China pinks). 



Cobea should also now be sown. In 

 sowing Cobea there is a right and 

 wrong end to press in the soil, but it is 

 not easy to explain which is the proper 

 end to insert in the soil, and you will 

 do very well by squeezing each seed in 

 edgeways. Don't cover with soil; by 

 pressing the seed into the soft soil it 

 needs no covering, and if kept in a 

 night temperature of 60 degrees and 

 moderately moist it will all germinate, 

 for the seed we get nowadays is mostly 

 all good. 



The annuals mentioned above are 

 best sown in fiats, or if smaller quan- 

 tities, in pans. In flats 3 inches deep 

 (they are the same that we use for 

 forcing bulbs) we put IVz inches of 

 the sittings of our potting soil, and 

 then one inch of .sifted loam and leaf 

 mould, about equal parts. When the 

 surface has been pressed down slight- 

 ly firm and with even surface, give 

 them a good soaking, and when the 

 water has soaked clear away sow the 

 seed and then cover with the same 

 compost finely and evenly, and then 

 the slightest watering will suffice. 

 They will hardly need a heavy water- 

 ing before the seed is up. 



Florists know generally how much 

 of a covering of soil is needed. A bal- 

 sam seed would push up through sev- 

 eral inches of soil, but in our opera- 

 tions just soil enough to cover the 

 seed out of sight is sufficient. About 

 50 degrees at night will suit all these 

 seeds, and light is of no importance 

 till they are up, when a full exposure 

 is of the greatest importance. If you 

 don't have these little seedlings well in 

 the light they will immediately get 

 drawn up and spindling, and with 

 seedlings it is most essential that they 

 should start right. Seeds sown the 

 middle of this month will be in good 



shape to transplant into other flats and 

 be placed in a cold-frame or very mild 

 hotbed by the middle of April; utiliz- 

 ing space economically is the great 

 effort in greenhouse management, and 

 it would never do to occupy much 

 bench room with these cheap annuals. 



Ivy Geraniums. 



There should be no time lost now 

 with the propagating bench. Ivy gera- 

 niums can be put in now, and if grown 

 on in good, rich soil, will make very 

 acceptable plants for baskets and 

 vases. These beautiful geraniums are 

 often inclined to flower early and pro- 

 fusely; if you want them to grow, 

 which you certainly do, you should 

 keep all buds picked off. The ivy gera- 

 nium requires entirely different treat- 

 ment from the zonal type. If not 

 droopers they are trailers, and for our 

 vase work we have to grow them on 

 shelves, where the growths can hang 

 down and receive fresh air; but when 

 tied up with a couple of stakes they 

 make a fine plant for Decoration Day 

 and answer the desired purpose just as 

 well as a zonal, for of the thousands 

 of plants in pots taken to the ceme- 

 teries, there is but a small proportion 

 expected to last more than a few days. 

 Where a permanent summer effect is 

 wanted, the ivy geraniums should not 

 be planted, for they quickly go out of 

 flower. But, again, where the roots 

 are confined, as in a vase, they con- 

 tinue to bloom quite satisfactorily. 



Propagating. 



No part of your sand should be va- 

 cant a day now, for spring will soon 

 be here, and the conditions for propa- 

 gating many things is then less favor- 

 able, Acalypha, .salvia, achyranthes, 

 coleus, ageratum. feverfew and all the 

 ordinary bedding plants should be 

 multiplied as fast as possible. And 

 don't forget lobelia and the double- 

 fiowered sweet alyssum. two of the 

 most useful plants for veranda boxes. 



Vincas, Etc. 

 The vinca. both variegated and the 

 faintly striped, which I believe is Har- 

 risoni, that were propagated in Octo- 



ber, should now be soon shifted into 

 3 or 3'/^-inch pots. They will soon 

 make shoots from the bottom, and if 

 given the edge of a bed, where they 

 can hang over, will make splendid 

 plants by middle of May, and they are 

 so convenient to use, as they are in 

 small pots. I might add that the soil 

 for these should be of the richest, as it 

 is growth you want. 



The Abutilon vexillarium should also 

 be treated the same way, but a 3-in-h 

 pot is always large enough for them, 

 and never let them get rooted into any 

 bed, or they make a rank growth, but 

 suffer badly when used. 



WM. SCOTT. 



BALTIMORE. 



Club Exhibition. 



The carnation show of the Garden- 

 ers' Club, February 26th, was success- 

 ful, so far as heavy attendance of vis- 

 itors ■went, as seems usual here with 

 free shows, though the exhibits were 

 far behind those of a year ago. But 

 for the handsome collection of cine- 

 rarias and cyclamens brought in by 

 Mr. B. Holden, gardener to Mrs. Rob- 

 ert Garrett, and the well grown group 

 of foliage plants staged by Halliday 

 Bros., there would have been a pau- 

 city of material. The aecorative pieces 

 of S. Feast & Sons, which gave dis- 

 tinction and graceful effect to the ex- 

 hibition of 18ii!). were not replaced. 

 Nor were the carnations up to the 

 high water mark of the preceding 

 year, and there were, indeed ( although 

 several exhibitors had each some good 

 ones), no such notably well bloomed 

 collections. 



Mr. John Cook's white seedling from 

 Mrs. Bradt was immense in size, 

 handsome in form, well built up, and 

 of good color and foliage. It was rated 

 superior to any white yet shown, 

 though H. Weber & Son's unnamed 

 seedling was a close and promising 

 second.. This firm had also, of course, 

 a vase of their Genevieve Lord, up- 

 right of growth, bright of color, and 

 with perfect calyx. Isaac H. Moss 

 showed Mrs. Bradt and White Cloud, 

 well done, and Halliday Bros, a col- 

 lection of standard sorts and good ex- 

 amples of their Mack Raymond, red, 

 introduced to the public this season. 



The gem of the show was a vase of 

 .Tubilee staged by Lenr Bros., which 

 left nothing to be demanded in form, 

 stem, brilliance of hue and fine finish. 

 Fredk. A. Bauer entered good Day- 

 breaks, and H. F. Michel], of Phila- 

 delphia, the new candidate for favor, 

 Mrs. Bertram Lippincott. Some were 

 disappointed that The Marquis and 

 Olympia were not seen on the tables. 



The varieties originated by Charles 

 M. Wagner were exhibited by Halliday 

 Bros; one of these is a cerise pink, 

 3Vj! to 3% inches; another a maroon 

 with 3-inch flower, perfect calyx, and 

 good, strong grower; and a striped 

 pink or clear white, with stiff stem 

 and good calyx. 



.lohn Crook's new rose "Baltimore," 



