604 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



October 



1902. 



only staminate flowers which are rather 

 ill-smelling. The seed-bearing flowers 

 are not so malodorous. 



Ailanthns can be easily propagated 

 by slips of the root. Nurserymen ad- 

 A'ertise to supply the female or seed- 

 bearing tree for about one-fourth more 

 than staminate or seedling kind. Ailan- 

 thus seems to grow readilj' from seed 

 and is not select as to soil, doing well 

 in almost any situation. In a light, humid 

 soil and somewhat sheltered location it 

 will make very rapid growth. 



If intended for sale it would be ad- 

 visable to propagate from roots of seed- 

 producing trees for the reason given 

 above, though the odor of the flowers 

 does not cause any inconvenience in the 

 parks of this city. 



Chicago. John Higgins. 



BULBS FOR WINDOW BOXES. 



Please advise me what kind of early 

 spring flowering bulbs will do best in 

 window boxes, and whether the boxes can 

 be left in the windows all winter. They 

 are on west side of building, second 

 story, and have no protection whatever. 

 Party wants tulips, Dutch hyacinths, 

 narcissus, etc. Southern Indiana. 



I know of no early spring flowering 

 bulbs tliat will be at all satisfactory un- 

 der such conditions as the above. Free- 

 sias might do fairly well planted in the 

 boxes, but if "Party" wants to have 

 tulips, hyacinths and narcissus in Feb- 

 ruary, March and April they must be 

 given seven or eight weeks' time in 

 which to root, either out of doors or in 

 a cool, dark cellar. 



We presume that Southern Indiana 

 knows how to treat the bulbs for his 

 own use, and he must persuade his 

 customer to borrow a small corner out 

 of doors somewhere in which to keep the 

 boxes while the bulbs are forming roots. 

 Without it the bulbs will send up small, 

 premature flowers. They should not be 

 brought into the room before the early 

 part of February. 



Any of the Dutch hyacinths will be 

 satisfactory, so will the narcissus. The 

 tulips should be the varieties that are 

 often named in these pages as the best 

 for forcing. If desired to have some 

 tulips in the month of April, then sev- 

 eral double varieties might be added. 

 Murillo, La Candeur, Tournesol, Rex Eu- 

 brorum or any of the varieties sold as 

 early double. Roman hyacinths, paper 

 white narcissus, the polyanthus narcissus 

 and the gay early little crocus will flower 

 in the window providing there is a com- 

 fortable temperature and the bulbs are 

 rooted before being brought in. 



William Scott. 



PALMS. 



My palms are opening their leaves too 

 near to the heart of the plant, and with 

 little or no stem. What is the matter 

 and what is the remedy? 



How may plants in a greenhouse be 

 watered without soiling the blooms and 

 at the same time cleansing the foliage? 



A. B. P. 



Without knowing what species of 

 palms are referred to, it is somewhat dif- 

 ficult to answer this query intelligently, 

 but speaking in a general way such a 

 condition is likely to arise from a cheek 

 to the growth, and this may be due to 

 starvation at the roots, either from the 

 use of poor soil or from allowing thiet 



plants to remain in the same pots for too 

 long a time. An insufficient supply of 

 water during tlie summer may also 

 cause this short-stemmed growth, and is 

 in fact the cause of many failures in 

 palm growing. 



If the plants are very much rooted I 

 should repot them as soon as possible, so 

 that they may become established before 

 winter sets in; keep them fairly moist, 

 and place them in a house where a night 

 temperature of 65 degrees is kept during 

 the winter, this temperature being a suit- 

 able one for most of the palms in common 

 use. 



In regard to the watering of plants 

 that are in bloom, it may be said that 

 they cannot well be watered overhead to 

 any great extent without more or less in- 

 jury to the flowers, and unless one is ex- 

 pert in handling the hose it is the safest 

 plan to do tlie watering of such plants 

 with a watering can, the cleansing of the 

 foliage being a part of the culture that 

 should more properly be done before the 

 flowers begin to open. 



W. H. Taplin. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY OF 

 AMERICA. 



The November Show and Meeting in 

 Chicago. 



"When the hurly-burly's done, when 

 the battle's fought and won," among our 

 eastern growers in their several cities, 

 there comes the great show in Chicago, 

 November 11 to 15, and the convention 

 of the C. S. A. The time is fast ap- 

 proaching and the moment is opportune 

 for reminding all growers of this impor- 

 tant occasion. There are now so many 

 chrysanthemum shows held each year 

 that our individual interest and support 

 usually centers in the show of our own 

 immediate locality, but a national im- 

 portance attaches to the Chicago Horti- 

 cultural Society's show this year. Chrys- 

 anthemum growers, therefore, through- 

 out the country should make a united 

 efl'ort both by exhibiting and by their 

 presence, first to make the largest apd 

 most complete exhibition of this flower 

 we have ever seen, and next to swell the 

 ranks of membership in the national 

 society and launch it safely on a pro- 

 longed voyage, with every important 

 city scheduled as a future port of call. 



A great show in Chicago is already an 

 assured fact, thanks to the comprehen- 

 sive and liberal schedule drawn up and 

 distributed several months ago. But out- 

 side of the actual competitive classes 

 there are ways and means by which we 

 may amplify the show and materially en- 

 hance its scope. If limitations of dis- 

 tance debar some of us iu the east from 

 entering in competition, we can at least 

 contribute an exhibit, and small though 

 it might be, the aggregate of a number 

 of growers would be considerable. We 

 want representation from every possible 

 district. It is almost needless to point 

 out what a golden opportimity is here 

 presented for a great assemblage of new 

 varieties present and prospective, and 

 all who have them should make a timely 

 note of the fact and endeavor to show 

 them at Chicago. 



Last, but by no means least, we want 

 attendance from every section, and an 

 early intimation of intention to attend, 

 so that reduced rates of travel may be 

 secured. An invitation has already been 

 extended to the writer and will be ten- 

 dered to the C. S. A. at the proper time 

 and place for a chrysanthemum conven- 



tion in an eastern city next year, but 

 sufficient for the present is the coming 

 convention, and it is "up to us" to make 

 this new departure in the policy of the 

 C. S. A. all that it should be. A suc- 

 cessful November meeting is essential to 

 the life of the C. S. A. in the future. 

 Let us combine to make the first one it 

 holds command attention and merit sup- 

 port hereafter. A. Herrington, 

 Madison. N. J. President C. S. A. 



PACKING AND SHIPPING LETTUCE. 



Please advise in the columns of your 

 valuable paper as to the best modern 

 methods employed in packing and ship- 

 ping lettuce to market. Market is with- 

 in twenty miles of forcing houses. We 

 wish to ship Grand Rapids and head 

 lettuce. Plants are grown in benches 

 and not in pots. No. 404. 



The first thing for your correspondent 

 to do is to hunt up his prospective agent 

 and find out from him what style of 

 box or barrel is generally used in ship- 

 ping lettuce to that market. It is not a 

 wise policy to ship in any different re- 

 ceptacle than the market is accustomed 

 to handling. It may seem that anything 

 would do to ship iu as long as the goods 

 were first class, but it is a fact that 

 dealers greatly prefer to stick to what 

 they are accustomed. 



Boxes holding three or four dozen are 

 used in Boston, while New York runs to 

 barrels. The lettuce should be taken up 

 with the roots left on but cleaned of 

 soil. In packing a bariel, which is per- 

 haps the most generally used for :ship- 

 ping, begin at one side and work around, 

 laying the heads on their side and pack- 

 ing iu layers. There is not much art in 

 the operation. Simply fill up all the 

 spaces and pack fairly tight without ab- 

 solutely jamming and the lettuce will 

 travel safely for a far greater distance 

 than your correspondent has to ship. 



C. H. TOTTY. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The usual market report will be found 

 adjacent to tlie cut flower quotations 

 elsewhere in this issue. 



The Flower Market. 

 The latest development in the plans 

 for the new market is a very important 

 one, and yet it was not a surprise. For 

 while this piece of news is only just out 

 officially, still it is known all over town, 

 for everyone has been saying to everyone 

 he meets: "Did you know Charlie Mee- 

 han is to be the market's manager ?" and 

 the answer is always something like this: 

 "Oh, yes; so and so told me. He is just 

 the right man to make it a go." 



Charles E. Meehan is a young man 

 who is admirably equipped for the re- 

 sponsible position he has accepted. He 

 is the son of Joseph Meehan, whose won- 

 derful knowledge of trees and shrubs has 

 made him a recognized authority on 

 arboriculture. His training has, how- 

 ever, always been that of a fiorist, rather 

 than the nurseryman. 



He worked for several years, as a boy, 

 under the late Louis C. Baumann, the 

 training school for many of our promi- 

 nent florists of today, and also under the 

 late David Cliff'e. Mr. Meehan then 

 became salesman for John Burton, and 

 in this position he earned a reputation 

 for integrity, ability and judgment that 

 placed him' in the front ranlc of rising 

 young men in our business. 



