176 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



DECKMEEIt IT, 1003. 



gathered sprinkle heavily ivitU cold 

 water. Should there be delay in trim- 

 ming, cover the vase or basket with u 

 wet cloth. 



Do not try to see how many cuttings 

 vou can hold in your hand before do- 

 positing in the receptacle, as there is 

 liability of their becoming ci-ushed and, 

 worse than that, the heat of the hand 

 works a positive injury. It is surprising 

 what a difference there is in the hamis 

 of different persons. Some can handle 

 flowei-s with impunity while with others 

 the blooms seem to resent their very 

 touch, and this is equally true with the 

 handling of cuttings. You probably know 

 the marked difference in the ability ot 

 different persons to wear flowers a given 

 lime. 



The same rule will apply to the time o' 

 taking cuttings as to the cutting of 

 bldom; that is, early in the day or oa 

 cloudy days, when the sun is not play- 

 ing full on the plants. I made provision 

 above for delay in trimming, but let it 

 be of short duration and as soon as each 

 cutting is trimmed place in a vessel of 

 fresh, cool water in which has been 

 stirred a few drops to the quart of 

 ammonieal copper carbonate solution. 



I wish to lay particular stress on tlic 

 importance of ' keeping the cuttings in 

 water during the time between trim- 



VAN BOCHOVES' HOUSES. 



The ac-eompanying illustrations are 

 from recent photographs taken at the 

 establishment of G. Van Bochove & Bro., 

 Kalamazoo, Mich. The rose house shows 

 benches of Bride, Bridesmaid and Ivory. 

 The right center bench is Ivory, which 

 has done remarkably well with them, both 

 as a winter and a summer bloomer. 



The other picture shows the new carna- 

 tion range, photographed while the plants 

 were in preparation for a first crop and 

 with a view to showing the construction 

 of the houses. They are of the short- 

 roofed pattern, with tubular iron framing 

 and supports set in concrete. Each house 

 is 160 feet long and thirteen feet eight 

 inches wide, containing two walks and 

 two benches, the latter tile bottomed. 

 They are heated by steam and have thus 

 far proved in every way very satisfactory 

 houses. 



ROSES. 



Propagating American Beauties. 



The prupagntioii of Anieriran Beauty, 

 to be a .success, is in some ways quite 

 different from the methods which best 

 suit teas and their hybrids, and many ef 

 the failures attending the propagation 



Rose House of G. Van Bochove & Bro., Kalamazoo, Mich. 



of this queen of roses arises from the 

 fact that they are treated in the same 

 manner as Meteor, Brides, etc. 



As Mr. Scott has frequently pointe'l 

 out, a cutting is by no means a new 

 plant, sucli as we get from seed, but 

 merely a perpetuation of a branch of an 

 old plant, so we ought to exercise great 

 care not to perpetuate, along with this 

 branch, any of the diseases, weakness or 

 undesirable characteristics. Plants whidi 

 have a uniformly thrifty habit and have 

 proved free bloomers should be selected, 

 avoiding those which are of too rank n 

 growth, as these invariably are shy a)«'. 

 late in blooming. 



By a careful selection of well ripencl. 

 short jointed wood from free blooming 

 plants and persisting in this system 

 from year to year, the habit of the sti .-k 

 v>-ill become more uniform and tlieir pro 

 ductiveness, especially in medium lengili 

 stems, will be increased by twenty-five per 

 cent. This statement is deduced frnni 

 actual experiment and supported by re- 

 ords. 



By confining ourselves to short joint- 

 ed wood we are enabled to get our cui 

 tings of a like condition of ripeui— . 

 which insures a more uniform root foraiM- 

 tion than if we use long stems for cur 

 ting wood, as it is impossibh' that all 

 the eyes on a six-foot stem can in anv 

 way approach each other in this resp.it. 

 the consequence being that the rootin'^ 

 stage will be very uneven. 



A cutting nirii three or four eyes 1 

 have always preferred to a oue-eye<l cu' 

 ting, as I find they make a more thriftv 

 plant, alth-ongh possibly not of such rank 

 growth, and form a bush much quicker 

 when planted in the bench. 



The insertion of the cuttings in the 

 sand should immediately follow their 

 making, as they are very liable to wdr 

 if thev are much exposed. In order *■> 

 prevent the cuttings from shedding thetr 

 leaves, great care will be required not 

 to overcrowd them in the bench, giving 

 them sufficient room for a free eircul.T- 

 tion of air among the le.aves, so that thev 

 may dry out quickly. A temperature .if 

 62 degrees in the sand with a house tem- 

 perature of .55 degrees is about the ideal, 

 lint I have seen some fine batches of 

 stoi-k at a much higher temperature; 1. 

 however, find tl'.e cooler rooted prefer- 

 able. 



There is great danger to Beauty cnt- 



ming and inserting in sand. It is true 

 the time should not be long, but every 

 second a cutting lays out under full ex- 

 posure to the air, its vitality is ebbing 

 away. Kemember you are not dealing 

 with gei-aniums or cacti, which are said 

 to better resist damping off, especially 

 tBe latter, when the cut end is allowed a 

 few days to sear over by exposure to the 

 air. 



In trimming use a very shar]i knife, in- 

 suring a clean cut surface which nnll 

 callus much more quickly than when the 

 tissues are in any way torn cr mangled 

 bv the use of dull instruments. Plant 

 tissue is like human flesh; a cut from :; 

 sharp tool heals s<M)ner than when tear- 

 ing takes place. Another advantage in 

 trimming tlie heel is the increase of sur- 

 face from which roots will spring, the 

 result being a heavily rooted cutting 

 which takes hold quickly on transfer to 

 soil. 



Take care thr<t ro bits of leaves cu! 

 fron> the- tips of the grass, find their way 

 into the sard. They will decay t'nd cuse 

 trouble if alK wrd to remain. G. S. O. 



i 



New Range of Cirniticn Houses of G. Van Bochwe & Bro., Kalamazoo.'Mich, 



