The Weekly Florists' Review. 



1023 



casket sash. This design calls for about 

 a yard of sash ribbon with a cluster of 

 flowers on each end. Lay the sash 

 along the top of the casket or across, with 

 the clusters hanging. This design is 

 illustrated herewith. An ordinary .dus- 

 ter of small Bowers may be mounted on 



ends of the ribbon and let the foliage 

 reach the fringe. 



Another use of ribbon or silk fabric 

 is that of both tie and background, as 

 seen in the illustration of the wreath. Us 

 ing a plain, unfilled win' wreath frame. 

 secure one end of the silk to the frame 

 anywhere by a hard knot, and begin 

 to wrap the frame. After a round or two 

 of 4 the wrapping begin to insert the 

 stems of tin' dowers. As the wrapping 

 progresses, catch in more flowers, singly 

 or in groups, with extra foliage, as in 

 ordinary arrangements. When finished 

 the piece shows the flowers growing 

 from the drapery folds. With the re- 

 maining end of the silk make a fluffy 

 bow. Wide soft ribbon, such as Lib- 

 erty satin, or silk by the yard, is pre- 

 ferable for this arrangement. Where 

 silk is used, it will require from two lo 

 three yards, according to the size of 

 the wreath. Cut the silk in two length- 

 wise and gain the advantage of more 

 wrapping. Gertrude Blair. 



VIOLETS. 



Seasonable Notes. 



In growing violets, as in growing all 



other kinds of plants, so much depends 



on the houses, on their location and 

 posure, on the soil, moisture, air. 



tering, ventilation and other details, both 

 great and small, but too numerous to 

 mention, that no grower, no matter how 

 expert, can lay down any hard and fast 

 cultural rules. After making a thor- 

 ough study of this subject and follow- 

 ing general principles the grower who is 

 observing will find that he will be con- 

 stantly learning new things, little items 

 of one kind or another, all of which, 

 closely observed, tend to produce the 

 well-grown house of violets. The ex- 

 perience that he gets in this way leads 

 the grower intuitively to know the needs 

 of a house when he enters same and 

 knows how it has been treated. And 

 yet this may all be hard to express in 

 words or on paper, as instruction for 

 others to follow. 



Value of Records. 

 In addition to the above mentioned 

 things, while it means labor, the more 

 complete, written records (don't trust 

 to memory), regarding soil, fertilizers, 

 size of clumps or crowns, time of plant- 

 ing, weather, comparison oi houses 

 treated differently, etc., etc., the grower 

 makes, the more he learns that is not 

 guess work, and the better prepared he 

 is for the next season's labor. And 

 I would add that he will be astonished 

 often, in more than one way, on con- 

 sulting these same records. 



One thing we are thoroughly con- 

 vinced of is that the atmosphere has 

 much to do with successful violet grow- 

 ing, despite all our care. Now, if you 

 keep a daily record of blooms cut, also 

 of each kind, and if possible of each 

 house separately, you will probably find, 

 on looking it over at the end of the 

 season, that it would pay you better to 

 grow more of one kind and less of an- 

 other. You will find that the one kind 

 viii's you more flowers than the other; 

 tli.it il likes your soil and general treat- 

 ment better; that you succeeded in 

 Inning a larger crop on at holidays, when 

 you i specially wanted them. All these 

 things are little items an. 1 , often seem 

 like too much bother, and yet it is 

 just these things, properly done, that 

 may keep you from earing for a house 

 from year 'to year that is yielding little 

 or no profit, but which with corrections 

 could be made to pay handsomely. 

 Soft Growth. 



Of course there are always some con- 

 ditions that cannot be entirely overcome, 

 only modified as far as possible. Take 

 our weather lately, for instance; while 

 it was delightful and good in many ways, 

 yet do your best and you could not keep 

 your violet houses as cool as you would 

 ke, with the result that it brought on 

 the blooms fast when you did not wish 

 many, and also caused the plants to push 

 out a new, soft growth, at the expense 

 of later buds, growth that will not be 



operly hardened up when it is sud- 



nly overtaken by cold, wet, stormy 

 fall and winter weather, checking it 

 quickly and making it extremely sus- 

 ceptible to disease, if so be there is 

 anv lurking around. Naturally spot, 

 etc., is much less liable to be about and 

 able to spread if, as I have before men- 

 tioned, the houses are kept scrupulously 

 clean and well dusted with air-slaked 



Sow Bugs. 



It is likely that you have been attend- 

 ing to the poison for the sow bugs. How- 

 ever, because you have lowered their 

 census, do not flatter yourself that you 



have exterminated them, tor if you look 

 carefully you will probably find a few 

 left, enough in a comparatively short 

 time to make a good showing again. So 

 it is desirable to hunt up here and there 

 the spots where t here are some sow bugs 



and spread another banquet for their 

 benefit. It also costs less to feast a few 

 than it does to have to set a large table. 



Inspect the Piping. 



It might not be amiss to suggest, if 

 you have not already attended to it, that 

 'it is well, while this nice weather lasts,, 

 to look over your heating arrangements 

 which yon will have to use later and avoid 

 finding out when you have to fire up that 

 the boiler and pipes need some repairs 

 which may then prove much more ex- 

 pensive t.'i make. It is well, if the 

 water has become lowered in the system, 

 to first fill it full, then go regularly over 

 every joint in the pipes and boiler and 

 see that they are perfectly tight and se- 

 nile in every respect, that there are no 

 sags or breaks in the supports that have 

 thus tin-own a strain on joints which, if 

 they] have not yet yielded, may be 

 nearly ready to' do so. Take par- 

 ticular care, if the pipes go through 

 walls or floors, for here you will 



