Mav 1-2. 1;mi4. 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



1315 



Jeaf-mold. How long will they last in such 

 material? Is it worth while spending 

 <?xtra time on snch plants if they i-an be 

 grown as well in fern fibre? We are 

 watehing with interest one or two eoUec- 

 tions where leaf soil is being used and we 

 find most of the roots are in the surfac- 

 ing of moss, very few in the nudd. 



We are aware that leaves contain a 

 small proportion of available nitrogen 

 and that they are to a considerable ex- 

 tent' • nature's own food." We may be, 

 furthermore, told that fern fibre is lack- 

 ing in jdant food. We are of the opin- 

 ion, however, that orchids require some- 

 thing more than half-decayed leaves and 

 clear water to sustain them and this 

 sonu^thing lacking should be given in the 

 form of liquid manure or other stimu- 

 lants. As, however, this opens up quite 

 another field we will leave a discussion 

 of it for some future occasion. 



W. N. Crak;. 



HYDRANGEA HORTENSIS ROSEA 



At many of the spring shows and club 

 meetings at Easter time Julius Koehrs, 

 of Eutherford, N. J., exhibited a new 

 liyihangea of very pleasing pink color 

 and which he considers the finest flower- 

 ing novelty of recent years. It has cer- 

 tainly mafle a very favorable impression 

 wherever seen and Mr. Roehers has 

 worked up a large stock for distribution 

 to the trade this season. 



VIOLETS. 



About the Specialist. 



For several years we have written, at 

 irregular intervals, a little about the 

 care, etc., of violets and in one way and 

 another and by direct invitation tried to 

 get other growers to discuss methods of 

 culture, etc., but have not been success- 

 ful in calling them out. But just see 

 how easily " "t'e Editor" does it, by sim- 

 ply heading i ur article April 28 with one 

 little line of four words, "Decline of the 

 Specialist. 



It dill kind of take my breath away 

 when 1 saw tnat, for as a rule, I, myself, 

 thoroughly believe in a person making a 

 specialty of one or two things, and did 

 not thiiik. and do not, that what I wrote 

 applied to spec-ialists. As a whole I am 

 astonished that a specialist .should take 

 the time to penise my notes, for, as I 

 have before stated, 1 do not presume to 

 give them any pointers, but have hoped 

 that I might "help those who had not de- 

 voted much time to violets. 



Brother Sim takes issue with my state- 

 ment that there is not the good money in 

 violets that there formerly was. Will he 

 kindly look up his back numbers and see 

 what the reports were last winter at holi- 

 day times'? Then go back a number of 

 years and again make comparison. 



He says ' ' that there is as much money 

 in growing violets as there ever was." 

 Well, I am glad if he finds it so, but we 

 have been growing them for about 

 twenty years and do not find it that way, 

 quality, etc., all being equal. 



He "also says that he "believes that 

 the one who thoroughly understands vio- 

 let growing can have the same or better 

 success each vear. ' ' T think he is the 

 first grower that I ever heard make such 

 an assertion. If he can do so, the out- 

 look is certainly poor for some of the rest 

 of we poor growers. He also thinks chance 

 played a great part in the success of the 

 "plungers." I agree with him, but I 

 also think that, as a rule, chance is more 

 Vind to violet plungers in their first year 



\ 



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"^^ 1 



»^^^>r 



Hydrangea Hortensis Rosea. 



in- so, than to other plungers, providing, 

 of course, that they have a reasonable 

 knowledge of growing plants. 



One more statement; he says that "the 

 modern violet house, when properly 

 handled, should control the atmospheric 

 condition. ' ' This I will also admit par- 

 tially, but not entirely, as you cannot 

 make clear, bright, growing days of dark, 

 damp days, chilly and raw, which are not 

 conducive to growing good flowers, with 

 the best of houses, and if the soil and at- 

 mosphere do not have something to do 

 with good violets why is it that the violets 

 from the Hudson river valley have a repu- 

 tation that none others'attain? 



Preparing the SoiL 



After having gotten your border ready 

 for the soil, the question of the soil it- 

 self comes next and, assuming that you 

 had not planned to grow a house of vio- 

 lets until a short time since, of course you 

 did not prepare soil for filling same. In 

 this case we would ad\'ise your using a 

 part of the soil that you prepared for 

 your carnations, this probably coming 

 the nearest to what you want, unless your 

 soil is very sandy, when your rose pile 

 might come nearer the mark, for violets 

 like a moderately heavy loam, with 

 plenty of good sod fibre in it. 



You can work over your soil two or 

 three times yet before spreading it in the 

 border in the house, and if you had not 

 already mixed vour fertilizer with it, so 

 much " the be"tter. Well rotted cow 

 manure we think is best or all. However, 

 if you cannot procure this, thoroughly 

 rotted horse manure, free from straw and 

 litter, will answer fairly well. We would 

 consider it wisdom to let commercial fer- 

 tilizers alone, unless you are an expert in 

 their use. and even then we would much 

 rather have the cow manure. 



Do I hear you inquire about bone? 

 Well, I like it very much in many places, 

 but would advise' trying it in very lim- 

 ited quantities on violets, and I really 

 have mv doubts about its being good for 



them as a whole. In working over the 

 soil use about one-fifth of the manure, 

 S]ireading it out in thin layers, in the 

 orclinan- way of making up soil piles, 

 also add a little fresh air slaked lime. 



Above all, when handling soil at all 

 times be careful not to work when too 

 wet, as it is ruinous to do so, and yet 

 vou will see men doing it who ought to 

 know better, and who, if spoken to about 

 it, trv to apologize by saying that it was 

 late and that they had to do it, or some 

 similar excuse. Don't do it; wait a few 

 days. If after working over the first 

 time it looks as if you were going to have 

 bad weather that would delay you too 

 long before vou would have an oppor- 

 tunity to work it again, cover the pile 

 with "canvas, old boards or something, 

 so that you may work it as soon as ready, 

 which should be in about a week as a 

 rule E. E. Shuphelt. 



BOSTON. 



The Market. 



The advent of warmer weather, with 

 its consequent heavy production of flow- 

 ers, has caused a lieavy slump in prices 

 all around. Roses are coming of poor 

 quality. Carnations continue extra fine, 

 ordinary grades selling as low as .50 cents 

 per 100. Violets are now practically 

 over. They have lasted remarkably this 

 season. Antirrhinum and stocks are 

 plentiful. Spanish iris sells, well and a 

 few lots of dahlias are seen. Lily of the 

 valley is dr^iggv. Outdoor supplies will 

 lie iii flower wi"tliin a few days, "iellow 

 trumpet dafl:'odils and Narcissus poeticus 

 are very abundant from open ground. 



The May Exhibitioa. 

 The regular ilav exhibition of the 

 Massachusetts Hort"icultural Society on 

 May 7 while not a large one contained 

 sonie very meritorious exhibits. The dis- 

 play of herbaceous calceolarias was a re- 

 markable one. James Stuart gardener 

 to Geo F. Fabyan won for six plants 



