190 



The Weekly Florists* Review^ 



Decejiber 23, 18y7 



more than repays the labor involved in 

 its preparation when compared with what 

 can be secured by importation through 

 the usual channels. 



For forcing the plants should be potted 

 up in the fall and may be placed outside 

 again in a bed of ashes, or better still in a 

 cold frame where they can have protection 

 if needed and be easily got at when wiinted. 

 It should not be submitted to hard forcing 

 however, or much of its Ijeauty will 

 otherwise be lost. I"ew plants respond 

 more readily to slight increase of temper- 

 ature, and forcing temperature for it need 



not be many degrees in excess of what is 

 normal for its outside growth. Krom 

 50° to 5,=;° will be found to suit it admir- 

 ably for night with a slight rise by day, 

 keeping the plants in a position exposed 

 to tile fullest light and giving abundance 

 i of water at the root. Well grown plants 

 should be furnished with foliage down to 

 their Ijase, the arching sprnys of blossom 

 well distributed all over, and .such a 

 specimen set in a jardiniere is one of the 

 prettiest room plants that the most fastid- 

 ious could desire. 



Madison, N. J. A. Herrington. 



WATERING. 



Proper ventilation and abundance of 

 fresh air will keep the plants in a healthy 

 condition: judicious watering and feeding 

 will make them .grow. We learn from 

 field cidture what effects too much and 

 not enough water will have on the plants. 

 X'nder glass, watering is more completely 

 under our control than is temperature, 

 an<l any harm arising to the plants from 

 this source deserves no other name than 

 neglect or ignorance; often when arising 

 from both causes we hear the excusing 

 self-satisfying phrase, "good enough." 

 Nothing is good enough unless done to 

 the best aliilitv with which it can be done. 



As nmch as the carnation delights in a 

 light, buoyant atmosphere, it likes a 

 moist soil, though not wet and soggy. To 

 attain and keep that proper degree of 

 moisture through the full depth of the 

 soil, the bench must have good drainage 

 to allow the surplus water to pass off. 

 Drainage is a safeguard, but should not 

 be misused, for too nmch water draining 

 through the soil will also wash and leach 

 out some of the nourishment contained 

 therein.: On the other hand w-hen not 

 enough, the lower strata of the soil are 

 left dry, and the roots passing through 

 this dry soil are rendered unable to sup- 

 port the plant. Such a condition is 

 generally shown by dry points on the 

 leaves. Again, one must learn to know 

 the retentiveness of his soil, and be 

 guided bv this, coujjled with a close ob- 

 servation and watchfulness "when" to 

 water. I would call it judicious watering 

 to give it when needed, and in the re- 

 quired quantity; and further the water 

 .should not be colder than the temperature 

 of the house; a little warmer will be of 

 marked benefit. 



It takes a practiced hand to give the re- 

 quired quantity at all times. I have the 

 watering done by two men exclusively. 

 Now with all the teaching and cautioning 

 they have fallen into the habit of pushing 

 the hose back and forth across the bench 

 at a certain gait. When told to water a 



little heavier or lighter, they observe it 

 for a short time but soon fall into their 

 usual gait again. Now singtdarly, one 

 waters a little heavier, the other a little 

 lighter, so when I make my rounds and 

 find that one bench or another needs 

 necessarily more or less water I send the 

 corresponding man. 



There is no worse practice than water- 

 ing at regular intervals. The amount of 

 water should ilepend on sunny or cloudy 

 weather, and the dryness or humidity of 

 the atmosphere. .-^ careful grower will go 

 through his houses every morning and e.x- 

 amine to ascertain where water is needed. 



The next important point is "how" to 

 water. Dr. .Arthur w'as the first in making 

 his investigations of rust and bacteriosis, 

 to caution against overhead watering, rec- 

 ommending keeping the foliage dry, as 

 much as pos.sible, as the best safeguard 

 against fungous and bacterial diseases. I 

 have practiced the policy and advocated 

 same ever since. .\t our place no water- 

 ing overhead is allowed from the time 

 the plants have become fully established 

 on the benches in the fall, until May -or 

 June the next year. 



The water is applied with the hose, 

 pushing the same across the bench be- 

 tween the rows. We use a sprinkler at- 

 tached to the ho,se, which distributes the 

 water over the soil without spraying up 

 into the foliage. This mode of watering 

 requires more time, for to jirevent wash- 

 ing we cannot make use of the full stream 

 of water at our disposal, as otherwise we 

 could with the full stream sprinkled over 

 the plants. But we consider this time well 

 spent for the very satisfactory' results ob- 

 tained as regards health and growth of 

 the plants, not to mention that no flowers 

 will be spoiled b\- the water. 



But here some will sa}-, if we do not 

 svringe the plants (and the flowers in the 

 bargain, ) they will be spoiled by red .spider. 

 To those I will say that my experience, 

 where proper temperature, good venti- 

 lation and judicious watering and feeding 

 are observed, no red spider will appear. 

 Every measure that promotes health and 



growth is a measure to prevent insects 

 and disease. 



In connection with this, it is worth 

 mentioning the importance of the fact 

 that the bluish bloom, that lustre of 

 healthfulness and vitality spread over the 

 plants, is washed off with a rough syring- 

 ing. If we examine sufficientU' careful 

 we find that it feels like grease; we find 

 it a substance impervious to water. For 

 what is it there ? This question can be 

 answered bv observing the effects of con- 

 tinued heavy summer rains on the field 

 plants; an experience that to their sorrow 

 mo.st every grower has met with. This 

 substance washed off. the water has a 

 better chance to lodge on the leaves; the 

 plants are kept wet, and the door is open 

 for the return of fungous diseases. If we 

 have to contend with injurious climatic 

 influences which we cannot control, why 

 not avoid them, where they are under our 

 control. 



When watered underneath we can do 

 it any time during the day, there is no 

 anxiety to water early in the day, so 

 the plants will have a chance to dry off 

 before night, a half-way admittance of 

 the advisability of keeping the foliage 

 drv. Fred Dorner. 



A BASKET OF ORCHIDS. 



The accompanying engraving is from a 

 photograph of a basket, which was one of 

 the many beautiful creations of the flor- 

 ist's art seen at a reception given re- 

 cently in Washington, it being the occa- 

 sion of the debut of the youngest daughter 

 of the Leiter family. 



The basket was about four feet in 

 diameter, handle about five feet high. 

 The center was filled with beautiful speci- 

 mens of Cattleya Trianie and on each side 

 a fine bunch of Vanda crerulea inter- 

 mixed with Farleyense ferns. The 

 handle was trimmed with .\sparagus 

 plunuisus and was literally covered with 

 fine specimens of Calanthe Veitchii, C. 

 vestita alba oculata, Dendrobium Phal- 

 ienopsisin variety, Zygopetalum Mackayi, 

 oncidium sprays and large quantities of 

 cvpripediums, making a most effective 

 dis])lav and one seldom seen. .\n idea of 

 the quantity of orchids used and expense 

 of the basket can best be judged when 

 one reads what were used in its makeup: 



hii spikes C. Veslita alba oculata. 



7.n spikes Calanthe Veitchii. 



sii large sprays Vanda ca^rulea. 



l-M) cypriptdiiims. 



.nO Ezeka Petlium Moccaii. 



•in Phala'iiopsis Chiliranum. 



75 Dendrohunii formosum giganleum. 



2.S spikes oucitiiuins 

 ■Jnn sprays Farleyense terns, asparagus, etc. 



THE STORY OF AN EMIGRANT 

 FLORIST. 



II. 

 The gardens and pleasure grounds 

 proper were only thirty acres, surrounded 

 with a light iron fence, but only here and 

 there was the fence visible, and nowhere 

 an objection to the eye. In walking back 

 to the flower garden and back to w-here 

 were situated the many hothouses, green- 

 houses and houses used for forcing fruit, 

 we will have passed many beautiful bits 

 of landscape gardening, here and there 

 an open glade surrounded with fine ever- 

 greens, here a sunken walk, but not 



