422 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



Febbuaey 20. 1902. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



jGeraniums. 



The weeks remaining now till Easter 

 are likely to find plantmen very crowd- 

 ed, but there are a good many very nec- 

 essary operations to be done without 

 filling up much additional space. I will 

 suppose that you have been taking off 

 the tops of your 3-inch zonal geraniums. 

 If you have not, even up to this time, 

 it is not too late. There is lots of time 

 for the plants to break out and make 

 good, branchy plants and plenty of time 

 for the cuttings now potted up to make 

 useful bedding plants. I say potted up 

 because the zonal geranium should never 

 go into the sand. It's a waste of la- 

 bor and they really do not make as good 

 plants as when potted at once into a 2 

 or 2J-inch pot — only pot firmly, don't 

 do a lot of thumbing on the surface and 

 leave the soil loose around base of cut- 

 ting, but get your fingers down into the 

 soil and they will act as a wedge and 

 tighten up every particle of soil, and 

 with these unrooted cuttings and freshly 

 potted off cuttings that have roots, and 

 seedlings that you are transplanting, it 

 is most essential that the soil should be 

 compact around the roots. 



Seeds. 



It will soon be time to sow the earliest 

 asters. Sow also petunias unless you 

 want some particular strain of petunia. 

 Buy only what is advertised as double; 

 about 40 per cent will come double and 

 the remainder will be good single. 



All buyers of a few petunias in the 

 month of May look for the double flow- 

 ers and as an individual flower many of 

 them are beautiful. But they don't be- 

 gin to make as showy or nearly as sat- 

 isfactory a bed as the single flowers; in 

 fact, the double petunias are all right 

 as a pot plant but for every other pur- 

 pose the single is ahead. 



Petunia is a very minute seed and 

 must be carefully sown. Water the sur- 

 face of soil in pot or pan before you sow 

 ■ and when the water has soaked in and 

 the soil dry enough not to be sticky sow 

 the seed and then with a clean piece of 

 wood or bottom of a pot go over the 

 surface with a slight pressure. This 

 will put ihe little seeds into the soil 

 and no more covering is needed. A 

 damp cloth laid on the surface is all you 

 want, but that must be removed di- 

 rectly the seed begins to germinate. The 

 most critical time with these delicate 

 seedlings is the first week of their young 

 life. A severe dryness would be fatal 

 to them, and if allowed to draw up 

 spindling they would be about worthless 

 and very apt to damp off; so watch them 

 closely after they once show growth 

 and see that they have light but not 

 bright sun and no extremes of wet or 

 dryness. 



I have always considered the raising 

 of many of our plants from seed as the 

 most delicate, and needing a sort of 

 watchful skill more than any of our 

 other gardening operations, and what I 

 have said about the common little petu- 



nia will apply more or less to all our 

 small seeds. 



Camus. 



If you grow many cannas it's about 

 time to get them ,up and divide and clean, 

 ready to start. When we knew less than 

 we do now we used to pot the roots at 

 once into 4-inch pots or whatever size 

 they were to be grown, and sold few. 

 That was a great waste of valuable 

 space when it was of the greatest value 

 and not by any means as good for the 

 dormant roots as starting them in moss. 



When you have cut up the roots into 

 small pieces, leaving one good eye, which 

 is enough, place them thick on an inch 

 or so of sphagnum moss on a bench in 

 some warm house. If the moss is damp, 

 which of course it should be, the roots 

 will soon put out a growth and they 

 can remain on this bed of sphagnum for 

 several weeks before being potted, and 

 when they are potted tliey have such 

 active root growth that they start right 

 off. Another advantage is that from 

 one cause or another a small percentage 

 may not start at all ; in that case you 

 have not wasted either space or mate- 

 rial. 



The canna is bounil to be as popular 

 the coming year as it has been in the 

 immediate past. It is a grand and beau- 

 tiful plant and flower, and seems per- 

 fectly adapted to our climate. A bed 

 of scarlet geraniums may be all right 

 in its place, but the eye tires of them 

 quickly and turns with pleasure and 

 relief to the luxurious green or bronze 

 of the tropical leaves, whose flowers, 

 however brilliant in color, are never 

 overpowering in quantity, but always re- 

 lieved by its tropical foliage. 



You may not be able to afford the 

 purchase of quantities of the newer vari- 

 eties, but you should certainly buy a 

 dozen or two of them now and plant out 

 for your own stock. Black Beauty gives 

 no flower, but it is incomparably the 

 finest of its class for sub-tropical gar- 

 dening; McKinley is a splendid, bright 

 scarlet with green foliage; Tarrytown is 

 the greatest bloomer of all, a splendid 

 spike of dark scarlet and a dwarf, com- 

 pact grower; it is indispensable; Kate 

 Gray is a tall, gorgeous grower with a 

 grand flower; Souvenir de Antoine Crozy 

 is the best of its class. Of the newer 

 varieties, David Harum is a beautiful 

 orange-scarlet with bronze foliage; But- 

 tercup is a pure vcllow of the Florence 

 Vaughan type. J. C. Vaughan last year 

 had a large bed at the Pan-American 

 which he called Dwarf Florence 

 Vaughan: it was a most constant and 

 prolific bloomer and a decided improve- 

 ment. But I would like to have more 

 to say about cannas at some future date. 

 William Scott. 



FLORISTS' CLUBS. 



The secretary of a florists' club 

 would like a few pointers in regard to 

 the best methods for him to pursue 

 in order to enlist and hold the interest 

 of the florists in the club. 



INJEANNY. 



(Response by Mr. J. A. E. Haugh to the 

 toast "Indiana" at the banquet to the Amer- 

 ican Carnation Society at Indianapolis.) 



Some folks say Injeanny is small taters in 



the hill. 

 I arg>'. that sech silly talk comes only from 



ill will. 

 Ef 'stead of throwin' mud at us, they'd stop 



an" 'vestigate. 

 They'd purty soon make change of tune, want 



us fer runnln' mate. 



Some say we air so small. So's dimuns. Surely 



you'll admit 

 To swap one fer a load of hay, would show 



but leetle wit. 

 Most oft you'll find the melon that's the 



larges' in the store. 

 Has, where the sweetes' part should be, jes' 



a big holler core. 



An' jes' to show the reasons why us Hoosurs 



air so sure. 

 That cur's about the only state. I'll now upon 



this floor 

 Give you some fac's to think about, an" then 



I bet you'll say, 

 Ef you could only pull up stakes, you'd come 



right here an' stay. 



A fertile sile on ev'ry side, yields bounteous 



craps each fall. 

 An' happear homes cannot be foun' on this 



tureschual ball. 

 Each kounty seat's a huslin* town, with fac- 



fr^'S rushed pellmell; 

 And not a spot but you can hear a janglin' 



enjine bell. 



.^n' we air proud as proud can be of many a 



fav'rite son. 

 Whose made by some great deed, a name good 



nuff for anyone. 

 An' Morton. Colfax, Hendericks, air honored 



o'er the Ian', 

 But first of all is Harrison in this immortal 



ban'. 



Jes" give Jim Riley pen an" Ink an' set him 



down to write. 

 True nater's pitcher then you'll see put down 



In black an' white. 

 You'll smell the blossoms' fragrance, see the 



ruslin' of the pines. 

 An' hear the bees a hummln' in the sprawlln* 



punkin* vines. 



An' Where's anuther Wallace, with a book 

 like his Ben Hur? 



A Chan sets down to read it. by gum, he can- 

 not stir. 



Booth Tarkintun, an* Egglestun, air churist 

 by all han'P. 



With Thompson, he who writ the book "Ole 

 Alice of VInsans." 



To bring this balky dunky leetle nearer to 



his cart, 

 I'll tech now on a subjec' lying closes' to my 



heart ; 

 That is. In raisin* posies, what air strictly up 



to date. 

 You'll hunt a long time 'fore you'll find the 



ekwill of this state. 



Big Sandy Grau, our florist, sez. with one 



of his slow winks. 

 That, "We beat all creation when It comes 



to gTowin* pinks." 

 "Khamations." what he calls 'em; sez, "For 



that there Is to blame 

 "A collige edycation which has shamed the 



good ole name." 



Sez, "Right here in Injeanny an' nourished 



in our sile. 

 "Has 'riginated more than half that's made 



the florist pile; 

 "An' some air red. an* some air white, an' 



pink and striped too; 

 "With fragrunce like a clover flel' all wet with 



mornin' dew," 



. " 'Way up along the Wabash lives a great 



an' noble soul. 

 "As modest as a woman, as pure as finest 



gole. 

 "He'll ne'er admit the honor that his tireless 



labors bring. 

 "We hail thee, gentle Dorner, as the worl's 



Khamatlon King." 



"Of three score of his seedlln's." said Sandy. 



"on the spot 

 "I 'member of the famous ones the great an' 



only Scott, 

 "An' Alberteeny', Mary Wood, an' Crane, an* 



Missus Bradt', 

 "With White Cloud. Dazzle. I^rna. knocks 



the other florists flat.'* 



"Of quite another pattern Is the joval Gur- 



ney Hill. 

 "A tale of his will make you lafC tU you air 



almos' 111. 

 "He'll ask. 'How's trade, an" how's the wife 



an' folks you left this day,* 

 "Take such an intrus* In your 'fairs, 'twill 



drive your care away." 



i 



