September 1C 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



633 



A Floral Urn and Bouquet of Roses, Valley and Adiantum. 



with wild flowers anil many of the 

 shrubs and vines which grow on the 

 usual florists' establishment. 



Values usually vary according to the 

 locality or to the customer. There are 

 hardly two firms whose system of valuat- 

 ing is the same, though it is generally 

 understood that the retailer adds 100 

 per cent to what the goods cost him. In 

 some cases this amount is satisfactory 

 and in others it is too little or too much, 

 as the case may be. At seasons when 

 the wholesalers charge their highest 

 prices there are few stores which get the 

 recognized 100 per cent. Often on high- 

 priced stock 50 per cent is sufficient, 

 while there are, again, times when 400, 

 500 or even 1,000 per cent are realized 

 on the cost of the goods. The best value 

 for flowers is usually derived from 

 made-up work. By this I mean designs, 

 bouquets and decorations. Here it is 

 that the artist has a proper place to dis- 

 play his talent and the. fewer flowers he 

 uses in getting the effect desired, helps 

 to add to the profits. 



Where more than one clerk is employed 

 better satisfaction can be given and bet- 

 ter prices obtained by having a stated 

 clerk look after certain patrons who are 

 accustomed to coming regularly to the 

 store. The best artist is not always the 



best salesman, for he often carries a 

 look of superiority with him which is 

 quite necessary when an order is being 

 given for an elaborate decoration, but 

 which is often out of place when it 

 comes down to a mere dozen carnations. 

 Too many of the smaller retail stores 

 are run in a haphazard way. There are 

 many flowers and plants handled in 

 which there are no profit. You should 

 know in dollars and cents which of the 

 specialties are making or losing money. 

 With this knowledge we would be able 

 to drop our unprofitable branches. 



TROUBLE WITH ROSES. 



I see by the Review that all the boys 

 in the rose line that get into trouble 

 come to you for advice, so you can add 

 another victim to the procession. I 

 took charge of this place on March 24. 

 My stock was small and weak, yet I 

 1 1: i \ i • M'en and handled stuff just as poor 

 before. I planted some in May, then in 

 June, and some in July, and it has not 

 behaved at all well. The soil is a good 

 day loam, with one-fifth cow manure. I 

 feel it is not the soil to blame, as a 

 neighbor has good stuff in exactlj the 

 same soil and same compost. 1 have 

 six houses 26x125. Four of these are 



the continuous house, without walls. In 

 the north house I have Beauty and 

 Perie, which have done very nicely, yet 

 the Beauty is not as strong as might be. 

 The next two houses are Bride and Maid, 

 which have not done at all well. They 

 grow weak and puny, don 't make the 

 strong healthy wood they should. The 

 next house is Gate and Ivory, which have 

 done fairly well. Then comes glass in 

 that wall south. Then comes a house 

 with Carnot and Kaiserin, which we call 

 the summer house. It was planted May 

 5 and has done splendidly. Everything 

 was planted out of ' ' threes, ' ' except 

 Beauty, all or practically so in the same 

 soil. 



Now what I want to know, is it the 

 fault of the houses, or my fault? I 

 have had charge and grown roses for the 

 past twelve or fourteen years, but have 

 never had such luck before. The houses 

 have been built three years, good and 

 clean, and every facility to do good 

 work. I am the third man in charge, and 

 my predecessors have had the same ex- 

 perience. I never had roses in this style 



of house before, but have grown g I 



carnations in this style. The sixth house 

 is in Meteor, same soil, but closed like 

 No. 5, and they have done excellently. 

 That is what makes me ask if it is the 

 houses. In your writing you have said, 

 "A good man will adapt himself to his 

 houses." Well, I have done everything 

 I know how, but I cannot start the 

 Brides and Maids. 



If there is anything in the world I 

 can do to get something out of this stuff. 

 I wish you would tell me how to go 

 about it. I know you can tell me if 

 anybody can. Allow me to take this op- 

 portunity to thank you for the rose notes 

 each week in the Review, as I think they 

 are fine for both the old and young grow- 

 ers. N. G. 



After a careful perusal of this letter, 

 I cannot find wherein he has gone astray 

 in his general treatment of his stock, 

 and as he has been successful using the 

 same methods in former years, we must 

 look for some other cause for the failure. 

 From his description of the houses, they 

 appear to be in every way suited for 

 rose growing. I do not think the fault 

 is there. The soil also appears to be all 

 right, seeing that his neighbors use the 

 same kind with success. 



Judging from the way the stock be- 

 haves, the only feasible cause appears to 

 lie in having used weak and degenerate 

 stock, and we all know how difficult it is 

 to get such stock to produce strong, vig- 

 orous wood in time for fall or early win- 

 ter cutting. 



So long as the foliage retains its color 

 and freshness, as it appears to do in 

 this case, the best method of treatment 

 would be to stimulate root action by ner- 

 sistent cultivation, using a slight top- 

 dressing of air-slaked lime before ruf- 

 fling, alternating this every two weeks 

 with a light sprinkling of bone, but 

 never using the two in combination. As 

 the plants are weakly, it is better not to 

 attempt any other kind of feeding until 

 they become stronger. 



If the blooms are not required very 

 badly, it would be advisable to continue 

 disbudding for some time, but if the 

 flowers are needed, cut more with a view 

 to the welfare of the plant than with 

 the object of securing a long stem. It 

 would also be well to start night firing, 

 as the majority of nights are now too 

 cold to admit of ventilating freely with- 



