FEBRUARY 10. 1S9S. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



467 



wonderful organ, and being situated 

 immediately in front of the column, 

 offered itself as an attraction and land- 

 ing place for insects. 



Mr. Atkins, in Ills remarks on or- 

 chid mimicry, exhibited drawings of 

 such popular [lowers as Peristeria ela- 

 ta (dove orchid), Odonto graiule i baby 

 orchid), Oncidiuni papilio (butterfly 

 orchid), Cycnoches ventricosum (swan 

 orchid), Aceras Anthropophora (man 

 orchid). Flowers of gongora look like 

 a swarm of sand wasps and emit a pow- 



erful odor of violets in ,the early 

 morning, when the sand wasps 

 are at work; this perfume entirely dis- 

 appears before noon, the sand wasps 

 going to rest before the middle of the 

 day. Heads, wings and a host of other 

 insect appendages being ably de- 

 scribed; and all had their significance 

 in attracting insects. These were not 

 fancied resemblances, all being so 

 faithfully depicted that even the most 

 casual observer distinguished them at 

 a glance. 



Sowing Seed. 



The time will soon be here when 

 many important flower seeds should 

 be sown. We will hope that you have 

 sown lobelia, petunia, verbena, cen- 

 taurea and a few other sorts that want 

 an early start. From the first to the 

 tenth of March is about as early as 

 the following can be sown. If sown 

 too early the young seedlings demand 

 more room than you can profitably 

 give them, and you will not have an 

 inch of space to spare before Easter 

 •(April 10th). Asters, for instance, if 

 sown early in March, will, if kept in 

 the full light and cool, do no harm in 

 the seed pans or flats till early April, 

 and then they will do finely in a mild 

 hotbed or even cold frame if protected 

 from frost and transplanted into other 

 flats. 



Sow asters. Phlox Drummondi. ten 

 week stocks, dianthus, balsams (end of 

 March), cosmos, nasturtiums, zinnias, 

 ■calendulas, marigolds, clirysanthe- 

 mums (the annual), mignonette, for 

 selling in pots. There are also mau- 

 randya, lophospermum and thunbergias 

 which you will want for baskets; no 

 harm to sow the three latter at once. 

 You may want to grow amarantus, pe- 

 rillas and celosias for the flower bor- 

 der; sow them early in March. Bal- 

 sams, nasturtiums, amarantus and ce- 

 losias are warm blooded plants, and 

 nothing like a frost must approach 

 them. 



Mignonette does not like its roots 

 ■disturbed and bears transplanting 

 poorly; so we sow it in 2-inch pots, 

 a few seeds in each. When two inches 

 high you can shift into a 3 or 4-inch, 

 and a hotbed is the place to make 



sturdy little plants. This favorite can 

 be sown out of doors in the border, 

 where it is to bloom, as you would 

 candytuft, nemophila and many other 

 annuals, but we find many customeis 

 who think nothing of their garden till 

 the end of May. and then they want a 

 show at once. So we find pots of mig- 

 nonette wanted just as much as we 

 do lemon verbena, or any other favor- 

 ite for the mixed border. 



The nasturtium, maurandya and lo- 

 phospermum we use for baskets and 

 vases, and when well up put into 2 or 

 2io-inch pots. The last two you want 

 to grow vigorously and attain a good 

 size. The nasturtium grows too ram- 

 pant, and if growing too strong is slow 

 to flower, so a poor soil, a warm, dry 

 situation, and a little thirst for water 

 will be best. 



Cobea scandens. there is always a 

 demand for a cheap summer climber, 

 sow the middle of March. When once 

 it begins to grow it is two feet long in 

 no time, falls down and gets entangled 

 and makes a lot of growth whicli is 

 unmanageable and a nuisance, so don't 

 be too early. The way to sow cobea, 

 to get too per cent of the seed to grow, 

 is to place the seed on end and press 

 mto the wet soil till it is almost out 

 of sight. If you don't know the right 

 end to put down you had better be 

 sate and place the seed on edge, pres- 

 sing the thin seed into the soil. Don't 

 keep the soil too wet or the seed may 

 rot. 



I sow all seed in our tulip flats which 

 are 2 ft. by 1 ft. and 3 in. deep. Two 

 inclies deep would do just as well if you 

 have them. Many a time an honest 

 seedsman gets abuse because his seeds 



did not germinate. I dare say many 

 of our leading seed houses could show 

 many a valued testimonial saying: 

 "Your chine oyster was no good." Sow- 

 ing seed, particularly very minute 

 seed, is a delicate operation, and. al- 

 though not mechanically difficult to 

 learn, wants great care, and so do 

 these flats or pans before and for a 

 week or two after germination require 

 great watchfulness. Most any green- 

 liorn can put cuttings in the sand if 

 he can draw a straight line, and if it 

 is not straight the cuttings will grow, 

 but yourself or your superior should 

 sow the seeds. 



A good plan to follow is this: Sup- 

 posing you use flats of 3 inches in 

 depth; put some coarse soil or manure 

 in bottom, then fill in with sifted soil 

 to within one-half an inch of the top, 

 press evenly and moderately firm and 

 see that the surface of the soil is about 

 level; if not, when watered, the low 

 spots will get a soaking at the expense 

 of the higher ones. Then with a rose 

 on the watering pot or hose, give ihe 

 flats a good soaking and let the water 

 drain away. In a few minutes the sur- 

 face will be in good condition to re- 

 ceive the seed. As a rule, thin sowing 

 has much to commend it. It takes 

 more room, but the plants are so much 

 benefited by having room to spread, 

 while if crowded, they draw up spind- 

 ling and weak, and if you should be 

 delayed in transplanting, or, as we call 

 it, "pricking out," will be well on the 

 road to ruin. 



How deep to cover seeds is a ques- 

 tion often disputed, and no infallible 

 rule can be laid down. The oft-quoted 

 rule to cover to the thickness of the 

 seed would undoubtedly be a good 

 enough rule, but impractical. For in- 

 stance, who would cover a sweet pea 

 with but an eighth of an inch or a cab- 

 bage with the sixty-fourth part of an 

 inch; and again, how is it possible to 

 cover calceolaria to the depth of its 

 own size? A mere press into the soil 

 for these very fine seeds is enough. If 

 asters, stocks and such seeds are cov- 

 ered evenly out of sight it will do. 



After covering evenly with sifted 

 soil of. a light texture and again pres- 

 sing down evenly, a very light water- 

 ing will do, as the soil has been al- 

 ready well wet. This is an important 

 point, for if you had to water sufflcient- 

 ly to wet the soil through, you would 

 likely have washed the seed to one 

 side or the other. Cover with newspa- 

 pers or some shade till the seeds have 

 started, but as soon as they are up 

 they want the full light. Never let the 

 seed boxes get parching dry, for you 

 may lose many young plants by so do- 

 ing No harm in starting any of the 

 seeds I have mentioned in a night tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees, but as soon as 

 above the ground remove to a temper- 

 ature that you know is congenial to 

 the plant while under glass, which, for 

 instance, with asters, stocks or dian- 

 thus is at least 10 degrees lower. 



WM. SCOTT. 



