December 12. lUOl. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



77 



_^ I. i„uii nj »""P'^«*^^^' 



A Display of Ribbon Bows. 



though fresh sand is used for each hatch 

 of cuttings I wash the bench and spray 

 with ammonia and copperas mixture as 

 soon as the old sand lias been removed 

 from the bench. J. W. C. 



RIBBON BOWS. 



The aeompanying engraving is from 

 a photograph of a display of ribbon bows 

 made in front of their store by Messrs. 

 C. L. Brunson & Co., Paducah, Ky. This 

 seems an unusual display for a florist 

 to make, but we understand it attracted 

 much favorable comment and drew trade, 

 which is the main point in any special 

 display. 



At our request Messrs. Brunson & Co. 

 have favored us with the following re- 

 garding their experience in the n.-^e of 

 ribbon and bows: 



We have entirely dispensed with the 

 sale of ribbon by the yard and now 

 keep in stock bows of different sizes, col- 

 ors and widths, displaying them, rather 

 than the bolt, in which we come in com- 

 petition with the cheap ribbon counter 

 sales. The bows seen in the cut are 

 made of Hunt's "Holly" and "Orchid" 

 brands, Kos. 16 and "22. The latter 

 width we use in our general work, and 

 it retails for 25 cents a yard, but in the 

 bows we use 1* yt^rds and get 50 cents 

 for the bow, this being the smallest bow 

 we make, and start it with three loops 

 and one short streamer, and from that 

 we run to the whole bolt for something 

 "swell." 



V¥« find that the use of a well-made 

 bow draws trade, and instead of our or- 

 ders reading "Eibon furnished," it is 

 "One of your fancy bows." We have 

 also foimd since we have introduced the 

 bows that our ribbon sales have in- 

 creased tenfold. We have used at one 



time six bolts of ribbon, while previous- 

 ly that amount would have run us as 

 many months, as formerly two-third? of 

 all the ribbon used was furnished, and 

 often of such poor quality, and coming 

 direct from us, with the flowers, recip- 

 ients would think we furnished it, and 

 often to our embarrassment. Now we 

 use our own brands and have a uniform 

 appearance to all our work. 



Not only has the ribbon increased In 

 the sale but in the demand for it on 

 sprays, baskets, wheat, designs; in fact, 

 wherever a finished effect is desired, and 

 a profit is attached to it at the same 

 time. We never use the old "shoe- 

 string" tie of a double bow knot and 

 let the ends come where they will, but 

 beginning with the three loops try in an 

 order of a dozen not to have any two 

 alike, using more or less loops, longer 

 or shorter loops, streamers of different 

 length, and coming out at the top, sides 

 or bottom, or a fancy puff kjiot. 



C. L. Bkunson & VO. 



SOW BUGS. 



By Joseph Coenex. 



[Read before the Kentucky Society of Florists, 

 Louisville.] 



It has been quite a while since we 

 had a paper on any subject so I thought 

 I would write something on bugs. 



Cellar bugs or wood lice, or better 

 known here as sowbugs, have of late 

 years become very troublesome and as 

 greenhouses get older they seem to in- 

 crease wonderfully. The method of de- 

 stroying them generally is with paris 

 sreen. It is not to any new remedy that 

 I wish to call your attention but to 

 a better way of applying the paris green. 

 Paris green is, as you know, a strong 

 poison and should be handled very care- 



fully and not be allowed to lay around 

 the shed or greenhouses. 



The way we used to use paris green 

 was to mix it with bran, corn meal, 

 sugar, oat meal, etc., but these sub- 

 stances are all more or less troublesome 

 to apply and take too much time to 

 distribute around. Another reason why 

 we were not always successful in de- 

 stroying the bugs is that we used too 

 much paris green. These sowbugs are 

 very smart and when they see the stuff 

 yoii use is too green by putting too 

 much poison in it they can taste it and 

 leave it alone and seem to say "I am 

 not so green as your stuff." It takes 

 but very little paris green to kill a 

 good many bugs. The principal thing to 

 do is to rnix the substance used with the 

 poison so thoroughly that they can not 

 be separated, no matter how little is 

 taken. 



Paris green is, as you know, a povpder 

 that can be mixed in all proportions 

 with any other powdered substance so as 

 to be inseparable. The best substance that 

 I have found and use at present is ordi- 

 narv wheat flour. The way I use it is 

 this: Take one quart of very dry flour, 

 sift well on a stiff piece of paper, take 

 one spoonful of pure paris green and 

 mix till the flour and paris green are 

 well incorporated. This will give you a 

 verv pale green powder, the green hard- 

 Iv noticeable when dry, but darker when 

 wet. What you don't use right away 

 put in tin can in dry place and label 

 poison. It -will keep for a long time and 

 is ready for use. 



Now take a tin can with a tight fitting 

 lid. an empty pound can of quick yeast 

 is the best, on the bottom of can make 

 about four or five little holes with a 

 sharp nail, fill can nearly full of the 

 powder, put on the lid tight, and you 

 are ready for the picnic. Go to the 

 house voii want to destroy the bugs in 

 and hold the can with holes down over 

 the edge of the front side board of the 

 bench and give a gentle shake as you 

 go. distributing the powder as evenly and 

 thinly as you can. You will soon learn 

 to do it right. Don't think that you 

 put on too little; better a little at a time 

 spread all along than in little patches. 

 Use powder two or three weeks in suc- 

 cession and spread it in all the houses 

 the same day so that the bugs can not 

 no from one house to the other, for if 

 you kill them in one house and not 

 in the other they soon will be all over 

 them again. The best time to put on 

 the poison is just before dark, for the 

 bugs only feed at night. Also put the 

 poison on only where the boards are dry. 

 Water the houses in the early morning 

 and put the poison on at night and 

 don't water for a day or two if possible. 

 Do not put any of the poisoned flour 

 on the leaves of the plants, for if the 

 leaves are anyway damp when powder 

 is put on it will stick. Water will not 

 wash it off and the leaves look bad. 

 Don't give up" if you see a few bugs alive 

 a few days after putting on the poison. 

 All the bugs don't go to the free lunch 

 the same day. 



Pulaski, Tenn.— A stock company 

 has been organized here, to be known as 

 the Giles County Nursery Company, and 

 is composed of the following citizens : P>. 

 V. Brannan, E. E. Eslick, E. O. Lamar, 

 J. D. Towner, F. G. McCord and E. G. 

 Hickman. The nursery will be located 

 near Lynnville, Tenn., and has been cap- 

 italized at $10,000. 



