274 



The Weekly Florists* Review, 



jAXlAltY (1, 1898. 



TO SUCCEED THE RATS. 



\V. H. I. sends the follinving; "Rats 

 liaving unilermineil my smilax bed so my 

 whole' crop was destroyed before I knew 

 the cause, intend throwing it out; what 

 would be the most profitable thing to plant 

 in seed or bulb, shrub or vine, to bring 

 blooms for Easter? The bed is solid, pipes 

 running on each side and end of bed, and 

 as flowers are much more in demand at 

 Easter than green stuff, I would like to 

 know which or what will 1ie most prof- 

 itable to force for Easter?" 



What }-ou could make a profitable cro]i 

 for Easter in place of your smilax, would 

 depend quite a little on how much space 

 vou want to fill up and your market. It 

 is too late to buy lily i>ulbs and expect 

 them to flower at 'Ea.ster. You could still 

 get dormant lilac and bring them in 

 flower, but they w^ould need only four or 

 five weeks of your house and there is not 

 always a market for a large quantity of 

 same. Spirjea roots can be bought, 

 potted and started going and would be 

 just right. If you know where to get 

 some real good dormant roses of the 

 leading hvbrid perpetual sorts, pot them 

 and keep them quite cool till early in Feb- 

 ruary, then give them the smilax house. 

 You Would expect and get a good many 

 roses. But it is late for that and to be 

 satisfactorv roses should be well rooted 

 in their pots before now. If it were my 

 predicament and I did not have stock of 

 plants to spread out, I should buy a lot of 

 2-inch geraniums, or a month later a lot 

 of canna roots (dormant). At once I would 

 buy as many thousand Boston Market 

 lettuce plants as would fill the bed, six 

 inches apart. They would be cut and 

 sold at Easter, and then you could give a 

 fine place to your plants. But as .soon as 

 1 had written for the lettuce I should 

 catch the rats. Wm. ScoTT. 



MOSS ON SURFACE OF THE SOIL_ 



During the late fall and early winter 

 months we have a great deal of trouble 

 with a kind of green, scum-like moss 

 that gathers on the top of the soil in the 

 pots "to such an extent as to sometimes 

 entirely choke out the plant. What 

 causes this moss to grow so plenteously 

 and what can we do to prevent it ? Do not 

 think it can be from over-watering for we 

 have been particularly careful about that. 

 Of course the moss can be kept down by 

 handling over every plant and taking it 

 off with a stick but that is quite expen- 

 sive when there are several hundred 

 thousand plants to go over. We have 

 been recommended to u.se a small amount 

 of annuonia in the water when watering 

 the plants. Did anyone ever try that 

 and what proportion of anmionia can be 

 used without injuring the plant? Roses 

 and clematis, 2'i-inch stock, are what we 

 have especially in mind. Are there any 

 other remedies that could be used to ad- 

 vantage ? G. C. P. 



There are many species of these so- 

 called mosses or small cryptogamic plants 

 which are often seen to take possession of 

 the whole surface of the soil. Unlike 

 most of the fungi, which delight in a 

 warm temperature, the>- are often most 



troublesome in a cool house. If the roots 

 of a plant are inactive, such as the 

 clematis and 11. P. roses would be with a 

 rather low temperature, would be just 

 where you would find them most trouble- 

 some. Many a day has been .spent by 

 the writer in stirring up the soil to get 

 rid of these mosses, yet I have seen many 

 healthy plants exist, such as camellias, 

 with the surface of the soil green with 

 these primitive plants. I have never 

 seen any method u.sed to get rid of them 

 but stirring up the surface and removing 

 it. It is probable that what would 

 destroy the moss and their spores would 

 be injurious to the roots of your plants; 

 what would kill the moss would mo.st as- 

 suredly hurt the plants, but 1 should not 

 be afraid to try a watering of the am- 

 moniacal mixture. After all the visible 

 parts of the mo.ss were removed it might 

 destroy the spores, and one watering will 

 certainly not hurt the roses, etc., if not 

 used too strong. Formula: two quarts 

 liquid ammonia into which dissolve one lb, 

 sulphate of copper; use one pint of this 

 in thirty gallons of water. 



Wm. Scott. 



TEMPERATURE FOR LILIES. 



We have some longifionnns, 6 to N-inch 

 bulbs which were planted in 4-inch pots, 

 and now full of roots, and some 7 to 

 9-inch which were planted in 4 'i -inch 

 pots, now showing a growth of from four 

 to five inches. It is our intention to re- 

 pot them into 5 and 6-inch jiots and we 

 would like to know about what tempera- 

 ture to keep them in in order to bring 

 them into bloom for Piaster. ST. P-\ur,. 



I should advise inquirer to have the 

 lilies shifted into their flowering pots as 

 soon as possible. There may be no need 

 of shifting till the roots have pretty well 

 filled up the small jiot, but I am sure 

 they should be shifted before any of the 

 roots perish through crowding or want of 

 sustenance. This'starting lilies in 4-inch 

 and later shifting into 6 or 7-inch pots is 

 new with some of us, but I have tried it 

 on a couple of thousand seven to nine- 

 inch Bermudas this winter and the result 

 is fine. Those shifted six weeks ago show 

 not the slightest effect of the change, only 

 an increase of vigor in every way. Eas- 

 ter is April 10. By the titne you read 

 these lines it will be little more than 

 tv.-elve weeks. If they were a foot high 

 it would be better. You should keep 

 them in at least 55° at night, wath 15° to 

 20° higher in day time, with all the light 

 you can give them. I say light, because 

 they will certainl)^ stand more forcing 

 with plenty of light than if in a shaded 

 house. Be on the safe side; rush them 

 along, vou have no days to spare. 



Wm. Scott. 



started are not necessarily diseased. 

 They will start later. Why they don't, 

 if they are sound, is a my.stery, but these 

 mvsteries are occurring in the vegetable 

 and animal kingdom all around us. 

 Have patience. The humble lily bulb 

 has an individuality as well as a whale. 

 It will get a move on it some day soon. 

 Wm. Scott. 



LILIES NOT STARTING. 



Seven or eight years ago it was usual to 

 see a batch of lilies start and come away 

 all about even, but that day is past. If 

 "E. B. B." has two hundred and sixty 

 out of three hundred that are growing 

 well and free of disease he is doing well 

 and will lose a smaller percentage than 

 man)' growers. The bulbs that have not 



BALTIMORE. 



Trade During the Holidays. 



With the fury of a cyclone the Christ- 

 mas rush struck the florists the early 

 part of the week, and until late Saturday 

 afternoon they were in a continual whirl, 

 the season proving for the:n a busier one 

 than has been experienced in our city for 

 vears. If work were the sign of 

 financial prosperity there would be lots 

 of our craft at this moment on the 

 retired list. Unfortunately for us 

 though, the word work more often 

 implies worry than it does remunera- 

 tion, and such is the case this lime, 

 for we are still all in active service 

 with this happy day of retirement yet in 

 the far distance. 



The week opened with a complete 

 change of temperature and continued 

 cold throughout, the mercury dropping 

 from the fifties to ten degrees. A light 

 fall of snow also came at an opportune 

 time to make things look sea.sonable and 

 put life into trade. The frost, however, 

 played havoc with stuff that was any way 

 carelessly packed. Box after box arrived 

 from the' express companies' charge in a 

 frozen state, either from being poorly 

 packed or remaining too long en route. 

 The wrapping of local deliveries was 

 another important detail which consumed 

 much valuable time and made extra 

 labor for all parties concerned. 



Scarcity of Stock. 



Good stuff in general proved locally to 

 be very scarce and judging from the 

 quality of stock shipped from other cities 

 it was not confined to our localit\' alone. 

 Beauties were more than scarce for the 

 supply was bj' no means equal to the de- 

 mand. Roses of a more reasonable class 

 were procurable. Several days before 

 Christmas prices went up to the top 

 notch, but on Christmas eve the stored 

 stuff arrived as usual, causing a slight 

 drop on violets and carnations only. 

 Most of the growers disposed of their 

 prospective crops a week or so before 

 Christmas at best prices; consequently 

 the retailers were compelled to sell also at 

 top notch in order to get even. 



As our wholesale rates ranged about 

 the same as our neighbors of ^\"ashington 

 and Philadelphia it is useless to repeat 

 quotations. As stated above, the Christ- 

 mas trade was exceptionally good in 

 spite of the public's protest against pay- 

 ing $4 and I5 per dozen for roses and |3 

 and |4 per hundred for violets. 



Meeting of Gardeners' Club. 



Very little of importance occurred at 

 the Gardeners" Club meeting, Monday, 

 Dec. 27th. The attendance was very 

 slim, as the majority of the boys hadn't 



