March 24, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



903 



Some varieties that make rather hard 

 growth take longer to root than others. 

 W. R. Church being an especially not- 

 able one in that respect. This variety, 

 while a gem for exhibition, is not a 

 very easy variety to handle, as it al- 

 most invariably runs to bud as soon as 

 it begins to grow. The best way to 

 treat iti is the way we used to do the old 

 Morel: Keep it in small pots and keep 

 the buds closely picked off. It will, in 

 the course of time, throw up a good 

 sucker and then the old plant can be 

 cut .away and the sucker left to make 

 the growth. 



After the cuttings are rooted do iii>t 

 make the mistake of putting them into 

 rich soil to make them grow good. They 

 do not need it, in fact, are far better 

 without it. Some good new loam, with 

 a little leaf soil added, if you have it, 

 is all the plant needs in its early stages. 



Novelties. 



The novelties are generally pretty 

 well disseminated this month and. while 

 they will stand some increasing, do not 

 propagate them to death and then kick 

 about the constitution of new varieties. 

 Some of the new ones, notably F. A. 

 Cobbold, W. Duekham and Ben Wells, 

 are particularly strong growers and these 

 will stand more in the line of increas- 

 ing than the average new kind. Donald 

 McLeod and Cheltoni are such dwarf, 

 sturdy little fellows that they cannot be 

 increased to any great extent. 



Mildred Ware is showing a little of 

 the leaf trouble that is characteristic of 

 its parent, Madame Carnot, but it is 

 vigorous enough and will grow out of 

 it when the weather gets warmer. 



There are some older varieties, that, 

 now they can be bought cheaply should 

 be grown by everyone, for they are 

 grand. Mrs. Thirkell, Lord Salisburv, 

 F. S. Vallis and C. J. Salter are all 

 splendid kinds. While the average flor- 

 ist may not have much surplus cash, 

 after such a winter as this, with which 

 to buy many new things, he will find 

 it a profitable investment to try either 

 of these four varieties. 



Brian Boku. 



POMPON CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



For Business and Pleasure. 



To those who have been in the habit 

 of looking at the pompon chrysanthemum 

 as a thing of beauty only, and have not 

 thought of it as a profitable investment, 

 perhaps it may be a surprise to know 

 that there is more money in them, to 

 a certain extent, than in the large flow- 

 ering varieties, simply because better 

 results can be obtained at less expense, 

 as they do not need the attention which 

 must be given the large flowers to bring 

 them to a high state of perfection. 



First, good commercial varieties must 

 be selected, suitable to meet the several 

 different wants they are to fill. It is not 

 necessarj' to have a large number of 

 varieties. To cover the ground in a 

 general way not more than twenty to 

 twenty-five are required, divided in, say, 

 two or three good whites, both early ancl 

 late; the same of yellow and pink and 

 one or two red or bronze. Care should 

 be taken to select varieties suitable for 

 sprays and bunching, of the admirable 

 large flowering or aster type, such as 

 make flowers from two to two and one- 

 half inches in diameter. Among the 



A Plant of Nephrolepis Exaltata Scottii in a 14-inch Pot. 



varieties of recent introduction there is 

 a great diversity of color and beautiful 

 form of flowers, from those as single as 

 a daisy to others, that are densely 

 double, some with petals as curled and 

 twisted as a cactus dahlia, until it seems 

 as if every possible diversity Oi variety 

 has been obtained. 



Several of the long-sprayed varieties 

 should be selected for decorations, and 

 a few of the small or button types for 

 the finishing up of bunches of the large 

 flowers, as there is nothing which gives 

 a bunch a more perfect finish than a 

 few of the tiny ones of the same color 

 about the stems, or of the exquisite, deli- 

 cate shaded singles. And in making up 

 a box they are fine beyond description, 

 far superior to carnations, violets, etc., 

 and make a delightful contrast. 



Where the florist has a retail or job- 

 bing trade, especially in the suburbs of 

 large cities or in country towns, thei'e 

 should be some of the very dwarf varie- 

 ties grown in pots, such varieties as 

 Globe d 'Or, Rosinante, etc. They .ire 

 only from twelve to fifteen inches high 

 if grown in 3-inch pots until the first or 

 middle of August, then shifted to 4 or 

 5-inch pots and plunged in a frame or 

 some position where they can be watered 

 and fed to some extent. They will make 

 better plants .for the critical customer 

 than the large flowering varieties, grown 

 either in bush form or to single stem. 

 They are more natural looking, ea.sier to 

 handle, more catchy, look more in keep- 

 ing with the season and, in fact, seem 

 to fill a long felt want better than any- 

 thing else just at a time when they can, 

 or at least should, be seen blooming in 

 every garden, shrubbery and hedge along 

 the highways and by-ways, in the mag- 

 nificent and well-kept grounds of the 

 wealthy or cheering the cottage of the 



poor, at a time when all other blooms 

 are gone and everything looks dreary 

 and when there is no more of the ' ' good 

 old summer time. ' ' 



While they are supposed to be hardy, 

 and a good many people think able to 

 take care of themselves, there is noth- 

 ing that will pay more interest on good 

 comjnon sense treatment. Plant them 

 once and let them take care of them- 

 selves and you will be surprised at the 

 amount of flowers they will produce ; plant 

 good young plants every spring, give 

 them good attention and you will be 

 more than surjjrised at the amount of 

 bloom and what good blooms you can 

 cut. There are some few but not many 

 autumns when the aster varieties will 

 come to perfecliou in the open ground 

 throughout the northern states, for 

 which these notes are intended. The 

 smaller varieties make a splendid ap- 

 pearance if planted where they are pro- 

 tected from the driving winds and rains. 



Our practice is, for what we want to 

 cut for market, to plant in the field eigh- 

 teen inches apart in rows wide enough 

 to work with a horse, topping occasion- 

 ally to get good bushy plants. We com- 

 mence lifting them the first week in 

 September, then some every week untiv 

 frost, using a cold frame at first, or any 

 place where they can be kept from hard 

 frost, and later putting them in a house 

 where a little heat can be turned on when 

 it is very cold. In this way we have a 

 succession of crops from early October 

 until about Christmas. As a general 

 thing we cut from ten to twelve good 

 sprays from a plant, with stems fifteen 

 to eighteen inches long and four to six 

 flowers to the spray. For this we con- 

 sider Prince of Wales the best white. 

 Grown in the field they make good plants 

 for filling beds in lawns, parks, ceme- 



