320 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



jAXLAnv 7. 1904. 



STATICE. 



Thero is iisu:illy a yifiit want felt 

 .luring the winter niontlis in eommer- 

 ,-ial i)lac<'s, for a fjood, lively purple 

 or l)liie flower for made np work and 

 bouciuets. Some of the very best for 

 this purpose can he found in this nu- 

 merous family, the flowers of whieli 

 ear not be surpassed in eolor and keeji- 

 injj ,|ualities: in fact, they can be drie.l 

 and used as everlastings without losing 

 u particle of eolor and retain their fresh 

 appearance for a year if properly eared 

 for. 



The greenhouse varieties, which arc 

 mostly sub-shrubs, can be had in flower 

 more or less during the whole season, 

 are of easy culture and are very orna- 

 mental. They succeed well under onli- 

 nary greenhouse treatment in a temper- 

 ature ranging at night from 50 to 60 

 degrees with a day temperature rang- 

 ing from 70 to 75 degrees. 



Thev luxuriate in a good, turfy loam 

 vdth ' about one-sixth of well de- 

 composed manure and a little sand and 

 charcoal added. During their growing 

 season they require copious supplies of 

 water and consequently should have am- 

 ple drainage. They also require a lib- 

 eral use of the syringe. After the flow- 

 er spikes appear they do not require so 

 much water and syringing must be eutire- 

 Iv discontinued. 



Propagation is effected by cuttings 

 from wood, with a heel if possible whieli 

 root readily during March and Ainil. 

 These shouid be inserted in sand with a 

 bottom heat of 60 degrees and kept 

 rather close, shaded and moist, for the 

 first three weeks. As soon as the roots 

 begin to appear they should be potted 

 into 2-inch pots, well watered and 

 shaded. 



Where a partially exhausted hotl>ed is 

 available the young stock should be in 

 it, plunging the pots in sand or ashes to 

 keep the soil moist. Keep the atmos- 

 phere moist and shade lightly until the 

 young roots appear on the outside of the 

 ball, when thev can be gradually in- 

 ured to the light and air. During sum- 

 mer they can be jilunged outside in an 

 open frame, but the jiots must be pro- 

 tected from the sun. This is best ac- 

 complished by plunging them in either 

 moss or exhausted hops. 



They should be housed before there is 

 any danger of frost, and should be pro- 

 tected from the cold fall rains, as this 

 causes a discoloration of the foliage, and 

 is very detrimental to the health of the 

 plant. 



The best varieties for greenhouse cul- 

 ture will be found in the following list: 

 S. arborescens, blue: Bourgsi, purple 

 and white; brassica-folia, purple, the 

 liest; Halfordi. a garden hybrid, blue: 

 profusa, a variety with purjile calyx 

 and wliite corolla, a Halfordian hybrid. 

 The care and attention required by 

 these varieties does not exceed that re- 

 <(uired by ordinary bedding stock and 

 even if the plants do not prove a selling 

 item the returns from the cut blooms 

 will be amplv remunerative. They are 

 well worth a' trial in any retail estab- 

 lishment. T?IBF,S. 



tion of the florets and general bmid of 

 the flower is somewhat similar to F. b. 

 Vallis. The flower is of large size, and 

 very full. Tlie varictv will be distributed 

 by H. .1. Jones, fiyecroft Nurseries, 

 Hither Green, Lewisham, and will add 

 vet another to the number of first-class 

 chrysanthemums distributed from these 

 nurseries. 



CHICAGO. 



FROM OUR ENGLISH EXCHANGES. 



The Gardeners' Chronicle. 



CuRYSANTHEMrMS. — The new Japan- 

 ese chysanthemum, Mrs. ,.T. Dunn, is one 

 of the best novelties of the present sea- 

 son Tt is pure white, and in the disposi- 



The Week's Story. 



\ week ago Chicago wore her holiilay 

 garb; today it is a city of mourning. 

 The great disaster at the Iroquoi.-; has 

 brought sadness to every heart and for 

 days has occupied the thoughts and con- 

 vei-siition of the people almost to the ex- 

 elusion of other topics. It was a stun- 

 ning blow, the loss of the lives of 60n 

 pleasure seekers in an instant of wild 

 panic; the sight of wagon loads of 

 charred bodies carted to the morgues; 

 the long lines of tearful searchers tor 

 their dead; the processions of funerals. 

 The shock was so great, so swift, that 

 the full strength of the blow, the awtul- 

 ness, the horror of the disaster have 

 scarce been realized. It is beyond the 

 power of benumbed brains to grasp. The 

 victims were women and chiUlren. 

 Scarcely a block in the better neighbor- 

 hoods but what has had its funeral, niauy 

 times with two hearses, frequently with 

 three and several times with four, for 

 whole families were wijied out in many 

 instances. Six hundred dead! It jiasses 

 comprehension. A little girl was given 

 a partv and took seven little friends. 

 Not oiie returned. A family of twelve 

 had a reunion and not one reached home. 

 When the schools opened after the holi- 

 day vacation forty teachers were countea 

 dead. One does not meet anyone but 

 those who have lost friends. 



\ week ago the retailers were well 

 supplied with orders for decorations; 

 twenty-four hours later they had none; 

 practically all were canceled. On some 

 few orders work was already unocr way. 

 Not many were permitted to be liii- 

 ished. When Harry Kowe went into Hec- 

 tor 's with nearly a hundred table center- 

 pieces and stock to decorate the restau- 

 rant for New Year's eve, he was told 

 to deliver the flowers to the hospitals. 

 Everywhere New Year's eve festivities 

 were' stilled and 1904 was born without 

 a note of the glad acclaim with which 

 the new year is ordinarily welcomcl. 



Then came the rush of funer; 1 ord. is. 

 It caught the market unawares. White 

 stock was scarce. The first few sales 

 Saturday morning cleaned things up and 

 then ensued such a scramble as iias sel- 

 dom been seen. With very little left to 

 sell there was nothing which lOuKI be 

 called a market price; it all depended 

 on how batUy the buyer needed the goods 

 and how hard the wholesaler cared to 

 stick him. There are tales of 20-ceut 

 roses, 10-cent white carnations and S- 

 eent valley, but such prices were paid 

 i„ not many cases, had little effeet_ on 

 growers' averages and were ill advised 

 Xt best for when the retailers, who had 

 not foreseen the situation, realized the 

 condition, they at once raised their own 

 prices, to the point where people stopped 

 buying. Bv the time the growers go. 

 stock to town on the wholesalers calls, 

 the market was dead and the growers 

 areativ disappointed, for there hasn t 

 been "anything doing since. Th.. great 

 majority of fire victims were buried with 

 few flowers. 



On Monday the market was very easy. 

 Local trade had practically stopped. All 

 the retailers reported cancelhiti.uis on 

 orders for weddings, receptions, dinners 

 aud other social afi:airs. It locks as 

 though the market will have to dejiend 

 on out-of-town orders for some time. 

 The Heauty niark-?t iias cased up in com- 

 mon with" e.erytliin;; elsi . Tea loses 

 hold their own better than ether iiems 

 for the reason thai cuts just on for 

 Christmas are now u;oin,J off. Carnal ions 

 have become very plentiful, with good 

 crops in sight. Monday prices were 

 weak and Tuesday the buyer was very 

 critical of quality. Violets are still in 

 the dumps; even when funeral stock was 

 scarcest they could not be moved. Some 

 magnificent bunches are still coming 

 from the east. Bulbous stock is plenti- 

 ful. 



Various Notes. 

 The weather is still making the grow- 

 ers' profits vanish up the chimney. Bas- 

 sett & Washburn's coal bill for Decem- 

 ber was a little more than *5,S00, an.( 

 they have no more coal in the shed than 

 they had when they began. 



John Sterrett surprised his friends in 

 the market by taking unto himself a wife 

 on New Year's eve. 



Andrew ifcAdams was down town Sat- 

 urday for the first time after an illness 

 of several weeks. 



The Florists' Club met at Handel hall 

 last night to discuss the holiday trade. 



The Flower Growers' Company had its 

 annual meeting last Saturday, the only 

 business being the election of Alex. Hen- 

 derson and Walter Tonner as directors to 

 succeed Frank Beu and Mrs. Schaffer. 



Joseph Ziska, the old-time wire work 

 manufacturer, is moving down town, to 

 the Atlas block. 



O. P. Bassett, Mrs. Bassett and her 

 motiier, Mrs. Andrews, leave January 13 

 to spend three months in California. 



W. K. Lynch, at E. H. Hunt's, agrees 

 with the proposition that the eastern vio- 

 lets will soon drive the local stock clear 

 out of this market. _ . 



C. Pniner, of E. F. Winterson s. is 

 again laid up with his bad foot. He is 

 fearful of the consequences. 



Harry Rowe made six pieces yester- 

 day for the funeral of Mr. Reed, of 

 Rand, McNally & Co., for which the- 

 total was $'200. 



Anton Then is bringing in a very fine 

 crop of carnations. 



Chas. McKellar is fitting his new pla.e 

 with fine new fixtures to earn- his light 

 supplies. „ , . , T,i 



Visitors: J. W. Lyon, Belvidere. III.: 

 W Rayner, gardener for J. H. Eckels. 

 Oconomowoe, Wis.; Harry Venn, gard- 

 ener for U. G. Orendorflf, Canton. III. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



Club Meeting. 



The Florists' Club had a fin,> meeting 

 on Tuesday evening. Alfred Burton was 

 on the program to read a paper on the 

 benefits of the horticultural course at the 

 State Agricultural College, and others 

 discussed the subject. It was carna- 

 tion night. C. W. Waru, oi v^ueens, L. 

 I w.is presput aud spoke on new carna- 

 tions. He brought along a grand col- 

 lection of some twenty-five varieties. 1 he 

 Chicago Carnation Co.. Joliet, 111., sent 

 Crusader. scarlet, and Harhnvarden, 

 crimson. U E. ilarquisee, Syracuse, N. 

 Y sent A.lbatross, white, and I-lamingo. 



