APRIL 5, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



549 



Partial view of Mirror Decoration at Exhibition of American Rose Society, New York. 



much interested in the subject and 

 having experimented some along that 

 line, I thought the result of my experi- 

 ments might be of some benefit to 

 X. Y. Z., and perhaps to others. 



Having been troubled with stem-rot. 

 especially on Flora Hill, I concluded 

 that as we had been very careful with 

 the cuttings there must be something 

 in the soil to produce it. and decided 

 that it was lime I wanted to destroy 

 this fungus. Accordingly 1 sowed lime 

 on the soil before planting, with the 

 result that I had absolutely no stem- 

 rot in the field and no bacteria in the 

 house after planting in bench. 



That was in 1S9S. In 1S99 I changed 

 my location for planting and did not 

 sow lime, thinking I would not need 

 it. During the growing season I lost 

 a large per cent of my plants with 

 stem-rot, and even after they went 

 into the bench the disease continued 

 and the plants became badly affected 

 with bacteria. I resorted to lime about 

 November 1 and in less than ten days 

 I could see its beneficial effects. The 

 stem-rot ceased and the bacteria soon 

 began to decrease. 



On February 1. 1900, I gave the 

 benches another lime dressing and to- 

 day I wouldn't want better or more 

 healthy plants. For some time I have 

 been cutting three-inch Flora Hills, on 

 two-foot stems, and three-inch Tri- 

 umphs on thirty-inch stems. 



I believe, after testing it, that the 

 worst case of rust can be speedily 

 cured with lime, as well as a bad case 

 of bacteria. Mr. Herr, in his notes in 



"The Florist," has frequently recom- 

 mended lime, and it was his suggestion 

 that prompted me. I would like to 

 hear what some of the large growers 

 have to say on the subject. S. M. H. 

 Danville, Ky. 



"DICK" WITTERSTAETTER AND 

 HIS SEEDLINGS. 



There are but few in the trade whose 

 success at crossing the carnation can 

 be compared with that of the Cincin- 

 nati wizard. To speak or to think of 

 seedlings one necessarily takes flight 

 upon the wings of imagination to Se- 

 damsville, the picturesque suburb of 

 Cincinnati, where the Enquirer, the 

 Elinora, the Estelle, the Adonis and a 

 host of other most worthy aspirants 

 for future recognition and honors, can 

 be seen in all their splendor and glory. 

 Then there is the genial Witterstaetter 

 himself, the host of hosts, whose wine 

 is as exhilarating as his hospitality is 

 unbounded, or vice versa. But to re- 

 turn to his seedlings. 



It was not upon the wings of imagi- 

 nation, but on an Elberon avenue car 

 that your correspondent "took flight" 

 to Sedamsville. It was worth my 

 while and it proved a revelation as 

 well. There was the Enquirer, stately, 

 erect, grand, a veritable giant of its 

 kind. No wonder, I thought to myself, 

 that the Chicago judges declared it 

 "perfect," and gave it an even lOO 

 points accordingly. And the Elinora, 

 a fit and worthy companion of the 

 Enquirer, of the purest white, perfect 



in form, with a .stem and calyx thai are 

 truly ideal. 



Nor can I pass the Adonis without 

 being "smitten" by its charms. If ever 

 there was an ideal scarlet carnation 

 the Adonis is the one. To see it grow- 

 ing is a treat that no grower visiting 

 Cincinnati can afford to miss. That 

 it has already made its mark we all 

 know, that it will be received with 

 open arms when it makes its final de- 

 but is a foregone conclusion with the 

 writer. 



Nor must I overlook the Estelle, a 

 magnificent scarlet, small as compared 

 with the others, but sturdy and vigor- 

 ous withal. The limited quantity of 

 this seedling which Mr. Witterstaetter 

 has put on the marltct, has been all or 

 nearly exhausted. 



To speak of the other seedlings as 

 yet unnamed would require more space 

 than I could reasonably expect from 

 the Florists' Review. Suflice it to say 

 that there are several surprises in store 

 for the carnation growers and that the 

 coming exhibit at Baltimore will in 

 all likelihood surpass that held re- 

 cently at Buffalo. S. 



BLUE FLOWERS FOR JUNE. 



A reader asks: "What can you ad- 

 vise us to grow for blue flowers for de- 

 sign work for middle of June?" 



If this question had been asked a 

 month ago it would have been easier 

 to answer, and there would have been 

 more time to prepare. First, there is 

 the blue ageratum, which if the shade 

 of color answers would give you all 

 the flowers you want. The Browallia 

 elata and its improved forms is a much 

 better blue. You could sow them out 

 of doors, but I would rather sow under 

 glass and transplant. They should be 

 in good flower by middle of June. 



Best of all is the blue pansy, fine for 

 design work. Lord Beaconsfleld vari- 

 ety will give you the finest purples and 

 blues. Sow at once in flats and trans- 

 plant to very rich soil. To produce the 

 finest results you should have the bed 

 where you can water freely and shade 

 during the hot hours, as the middle of 

 June is getting warm for pansies, but 

 these plants will produce better flow- 

 ers than those wintered over. 



The Delphinium formosum and its 

 magnificent varieties would not be in 

 flower in time. WM. SCOTT. 



CYPERUS PAPYRUS. 



Though supposed to be an aquatic 

 this reed, the papyrus of the Egyp- 

 tians, grows to a great size in a bed 

 or border, if an abundance of water is 

 given. Last summer, two beds at Lin- 

 coln Park, Chicago, attracted much at- 

 tention, and were a very attractive fea- 

 ture of the bedding. 



And in this connection would say 

 that the plants had a good joke on 

 Head-Gardener Stromback. Not antici- 

 pating such a rampant growth he 

 planted some beds of alocasias with the 

 cyperus in between, thinking the latter 

 would grow only sufficiently to shade 



