448 



HORTICULTURE 



April 7, 1906 



them. In this connection we think 

 the Government and various experi- 

 ment stations have done much, and 

 their publications are of value to the 

 rose grower. 



A word about nitrate of soda. We 

 often hear of too much being used, 

 and consider that one pound in a hun- 

 dred gallons is a very strong feed. We 

 think that one pound in two hundred 

 and fifty gallons, which is about one 

 part in two thousand, will do well for 

 a starter. 



In the use of lime in tanks for 

 sweetening, it is well to bear in mind 

 that never more than two pounds per 

 one hundred gallons will dissolve. If 

 a creamy mixture of lime and water 

 is desired, that is a different thing, 

 and its composition depends largely 

 on the character of the lime. 



We have said that the ordinary com- 

 mercial fertilizer is a step toward the 

 ideal one, but it lacks soluble ingredi- 

 ents, and often has harmful ones, and 

 has but small amounts of plant foods. 



An ideal soluble fertilizer should be 

 entirely soluble, entirely available, 

 non-acid, pleasant to use, of proper 

 balance, not expensive, and as con- 

 centrated with as little bulk as pos- 

 sible. Such are manufactured today, 

 having sixty per cent, plant foods (the 

 highest possible amount) with no in- 

 jurious ingredients nor any useless 

 ones. In short, we may consider these 

 pretty nearly a perfect soluble fertil- 

 izer. As time goes on and we have 

 more definite information concerning 

 the immediate needs of plant life, we 

 have no doubt but that the soluble 

 fertilizer will be up to date. Owing 

 to the lack of appreciation of their 

 very high percentages of plant foods 

 and their purity from cheap and often 

 injurious ingredients, their price may 

 appear high at first glance, but calcu- 

 lating their units of soluble plant food, 

 they compare favorably in price, es- 

 pecially with so-called natural fer- 

 tilizers. 



After all is said and done, the bald 

 fact remains that the only food that 

 is of any use to the plant roots is a 

 soluble fertilizer. 



THE RETAILER'S PART IN THE IN- 



TRODUCTION OF NEW ROSES. 



Before the American Rose Society at Boston. 



By George Asrous, Chicago. 



The writer is enthusiastic on any 

 subject in floriculture, whereby the 

 exchanging of ideas is possible; and 

 with that view firmly established at a 

 very early age became a member of our 

 noble Society of American Florists 

 and Ornamental Horticulturists. I 

 have become affiliated with local 

 florists' clubs, flower shows and two 

 of the great offsprings of the S. A. P., 

 namely the American Rose and Carna- 

 tion Societies. With that same feel- 

 ing pre-eminent I accepted the invita- 

 tion to read this paper before this 

 honorable body, to express the views 

 I have upon this subject. 



To handle my subject briefly and 

 clearly I have reduced the retailer's 

 part in the introduction of new roses 

 into what I shall term eight reasons; 



First. — He should become acquainted 

 with as many new roses as possible. 



Second. — He should acquaint himself 

 with the flowering habits of the new 

 rcses. 



Third. — He should display new varie- 

 ties prominently in show windows and 

 stores. 



Fourth.— He should arrange with 

 commission men or growers for regular 

 supply of new varieties. 



Fifth.— He should learn the parent- 

 age or source of new varieties. 



Sixth. — He should interest himself in 

 naming of new varieties. 



Seventh. — He should devote part of 

 his time to horticultural societies and 

 local florists' clubs to relate experiences 

 with new varieties. 



Eighth. — He should be one of a set of 

 judges, and his essays more frequent. 



I will now endeavor to answer the 

 first of above reasons why the retailer 

 should become acquainted with new 

 varieties. The American flower buyers 

 are principally composed of the edu- 

 cated classes who are desirous of 

 knowledge; more so when pertaining 

 to anything new. I will cite one In- 

 cident that occurred during my stay 

 here at the recent American Carnation 

 Society's meeting, one that struck me 

 very forcibly. With several gentlemen 

 I was visiting one of the prominent 

 florists of this city, when a lady en- 

 tered, evidently a customer, who hal 

 availed herself of the opportunity to 

 visit the beautiful display of carnations 

 staged in this same building by 

 America's best growers. She had with 

 her a bloom of a new carnation, and 

 being deeply interested in it wanted to 

 know more about the flower, but con- 

 trary to her expectations none of the 

 clerical force were able to give her 

 the desired information. Luckily one 

 of our party overheard the conversa- 

 tion and delighted the lady with the 

 knowledge she had troubled herself to 

 secure. This led me to inquire how 

 many of the sessions had the three 

 florists in that particular store at- 

 tended? I was surprised to hear that 

 neither one had been to the horticul- 

 tural hall at all; and was more sur- 

 prised when asked by one of the clerks 

 (who professed 15 years' experience) 

 "What kind of a show have they got 

 any way?" That to me who had 

 traveled 1,000 miles, was a revelation! 

 Had he availed himself of the oppor- 

 tunity to become better posted on new- 

 varieties by attending the meeting, he 

 would have been able to creditably 

 answer the lady's questions. Surely 

 our art is one to be proud of, and this 

 hall this evening ought to be packed 

 with local retailers filled with ambition 

 and pride in their calling. The press 

 of the whole country is evidently 

 awakening to the great desire of the 

 public on anything pertaining to 

 horticulture; and we are on the eve of 

 a great and prosperous future. There- 

 fore it behooves the retailer as the 

 great medium, he who meets the buyer 

 direct, to acquaint himself with the 

 new roses and distribute that informa- 

 tion truly and accurately to the trade. 



My second reason is: Why the re- 

 tailer should acquaint himself with 

 the flowering habits of new roses. Be- 

 cause the flowering habits regulate 

 the supply; and the supply very often 

 the price. He would also know when 

 to expect the largest cut, and thus be 

 able to obtain blossoms in quantity 

 for all occasions, as for instance, a 

 regular purchaser of a certain variety 

 intends to entertain, and wants to 

 know if she can obtain her favorite 

 roses for that date. The confidence 

 of the person would be strengthened 

 by immediate knowledge. 



Regarding my third reason: Why 

 the retailer should display prominent- 



ly new varieties. This is very im- 

 portant, and bears more than ordinary 

 interest to his business. As I said be- 

 fore, the public is constantly looking 

 for something new, and it is a fact 

 also that people who are undecided as 

 to the nature of the article they in- 

 tend to purchase are often attracted 

 by a particularly fine vase of new 

 roses or anything new in our line, 

 thereby causing many sales that would 

 not otherwise have been made. There- 

 fore, if it is the good fortune of the 

 retailer to have at his disposal the 

 crop of some grower who has spent 

 his time and skill, and has blessed 

 floriculture with the fruits of his labor, 

 the retailer should do his part, and I 

 will venture to say that if he made a 

 proper display and worded the infor- 

 mation he is constantly besieged for, 

 he would begin to understand why his 

 business was so dull. I saw displayed 

 by a prominent florist in a very large 

 window a vase of Catherine Mermet, 

 at that time being new, and to the 

 right and left not quite so prominent- 

 ly, its two sports, Bride and Brides- 

 maid. Making inquiries about results, 

 I found that by being advertised, many 

 sales were made, owing to proper dis- 

 play. This goes to show that very of- 

 ten we have cooped up in our ice boxes 

 novelties that should be continually 

 before the public. 



Reason the fourth. Why the re- 

 tailer should arrange for a regular sup- 

 ply of new roses, particularly varieties 

 he displays. This was brought to my 

 personal attention during our flower 

 show last fall, when as manager I was 

 on the lookout for material that the 

 press would use, if we were to expect 

 help to promote our interests in the 

 lc cal papers. One of our growers had 

 a new rose which he intended naming, 

 and as he had had some unsatisfactory 

 experience in the past owing to names 

 given to roses he was very desirous of 

 getting the right name for this parti- 

 cular variety, and finally decided upon 

 naming it after the bride of one of 

 Chicago's prominent business men. 

 The press immediately took hold of 

 this subject and gave it much promin- 

 ence by displaying cuts of the rose and 

 the lady it was named after, also 

 mentioning the grower and publishing 

 information given by him. Previous 

 to this press talk a few retailers in our 

 city had this same rose in stock in 

 such quantities as were available; but 

 reports did not show that there was a 

 notable demand for it. Now, however, 

 note the change! The statement of the 

 manager of the establishment where 

 the rose was grown was that from 3u 

 to 40 telephone calls a day was a 

 moderate estimate, to say nothing of 

 the calls at the local retail stores by 

 people wishing to know where the 

 rise could be seen and purchased. 

 Naturally there was a scarcity owing 

 to the demand, also owing to the 

 usual methods employed by the grower 

 in securing all the wood available for 

 cuttings as soon as he found out he 

 had a winner. The retailer is very 

 apt to think that the variety has been 

 exterminated were it not for the glit- 

 tering advertisements in the trade 

 papers. I sometimes think there are 

 growers who do not sleep nights but 

 go prowling around with a lantern in 

 their greenhouses looking for new 

 cuttings; therefore the retailers had 

 better arrange for a regular supply of 

 new roses before advertising too 



