MARCH 3, 1S9S. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



577 



or twenty feet in the carnation house. 

 We were soon rid of the rats and mice. 

 When watering, he careful not to wet 

 the mixture, as it must be eaten dry 

 to secure results. 



GREENE & UNDERHILL. 

 Watertown, N. Y. 



GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 



Please tell me the best way to build 

 a rose house on a lot 00x200 feet, with 

 a drop of 8 feet in the 200 feet, sloping 

 toward the south. Give length of sash 

 bars, height of walls, width of house 

 and best bench arrangements. 



SUBSCRIBER. 



I would advise an even span house, 

 as shown in sketch below. The width 



way to attach the names to the design 

 would be to send them unattached. By 

 this I mean to advise against fasten- 

 ing cards to flowers unless requested 

 by the sender, or in the case of de- 

 signs coming from military or Are 

 companies, or from lodges, when it 

 seems to be expected that a card shall 

 appear on their contribution. 



In this case, the names should have 

 been neatly and plainly written with 

 pen and ink on a plain white blank 

 card of sufficient size to contain them 

 when placed under each other, the 

 card then placed in a plain white un- 

 marked envelope just large enough to 

 take it in, which should be inclosed in 

 the package with the flowers, so as to 

 be readily seen when opened. If the 



Section o) Even Spafi Kost House. 



being 16 feet 10 inches outside of the 

 posts, and the length to suit his re- 

 quirements, say 150 or 200 feet. The 

 potting shed and boiler cellar will 

 necessarily be at the south end, that 

 being the lowest, but if it be placed at 

 the west side at the south end the ob- 

 jectionable shade thrown by the shed 

 will be slight, as it will not develop 

 until the afternoon. For the heating 

 I would use thirteen lines of 2-inch 

 wrought iron pipes, arranged as shown, 

 and if the house be 200 feet long, a 

 boiler having a grate surface of seven 

 square feet, or if the house be only 150 

 feet lonf, a grate surface of five feet. 

 HENRY W. GIBBONS. 

 New York. 



SIMPLE FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS. 



Suggestions on the Use of Cards. 



"H. H. C." asks: "What would have 

 been considered the correct manner of 

 sending, or attaching to a floral de- 

 sign the names of the givers, who 

 were the sister members of a small 

 reading club to which the deceased 

 had belonged, and for whose funeral 

 the design was intended?" 



If I had been born near Killarney, I 

 would perhaps say that the correct 



club had a name, and the surv.ving 

 members all joined in sending the trib- 

 ute, the name of the club on the card 

 would have been sufficient, and best. 



In our own practice, we furnish and 

 mark most of the cards we use, and 

 keep a stock of plain white visiting 

 cards in two or three sizes, with en- 

 velopes to match, all of the best qual- 

 ity we can procure. The card is placed 

 directly on the flowers, avoiding moist- 

 ure, and not outside of the folded 

 waxed paper lining of the box, where 

 it might be displaced and overlooked 

 in opening. 



When it is necessary to attach a 

 card to the work, we make a hole in 

 the upper left-hand corner of the card 

 with a punch, through which about 

 half a yard of narrow, plain-edged rib- 

 bon ("baby ribbon") is drawn, which 

 may be tied to the handle of a basket, 

 or to a flower stem at the base of a 

 cluster, first making a double knot in 

 the ribbon, about an inch from the 

 card. If to go on a wreath or similar 

 design, the ribbon is tied in a double 

 bow knot, leaving sufficient play for 

 the card, a piece of stemming wire is 

 run through the loop and fastened to 

 a toothpick which is inserted in the 



piece as a flower would be, but near 

 the edge where it will be seen. 



If your patron leaves a card to be 

 sent with flowers, you may send it 

 even if soiled or unsuitable, without 

 being considered as lacking in taste 

 yourself; but do not use ordinary pa- 

 per instead of a card, do not fasten it 

 with a piece of wire or white cotton 

 cord, and do not use your business 

 card, for lack of a blank one, nor i.i- 

 close it with a proper card, thinking 

 this enterprise; and do not send the 

 card in your business envelope, or you 

 may be taken for a "crape-puller," a 

 reputation which I trust will never be 

 given deservedly to any subscriber to 

 The Review. W. T. BELL. 



COELOGYNE CRISTATA. 



C. Cristata. when well grown, is, 

 without exception, the most handsome 

 species in this genus, and just now 

 should be conspicuously in flower, and 

 if kept in a cool, dry atmosphere th ? 

 flowers will retain their beauty fcr a 

 considerable time. The plant will not 

 be injured should it not receive any 

 water while the flowers last, but pre- 

 vious to the opening of the flowers 

 and after they are cut, just sufficient 

 moisture to keep the pseudo-bulbs 

 from shriveling will be all that is nec- 

 essary. 



After the flowers are cut is a good 

 time to attend to any top dressing or 

 repotting that may be necessary. A 

 compost of peat filler and sphagnum 

 moss suits this species. It may b5 

 grown in a hanging basket, but shal- 

 low pans with good drainage are pref- 

 erable. If grown in the latter way th5 

 plants should be raised upon a moder- 

 ate sized cone above the rim of the 

 pan, and firmly fixed down with 

 barbed wooden pegs. 



Water sparingly until the plant has 

 a good hold of the compost, when it 

 enjoys a copious supply of water and 

 frequent applications of liqu'd ma- 

 nure, which should be continued until 

 the new bulbs are finished, when 

 water should be withheld to the point 

 advised above. When growing this 

 species does not require a high tem- 

 perature; 60 degrees will suit it, and 

 10 degrees lower when resting. 



J. ROBERTSON. 



CANNAS. 



"How should cannas be divided?" 

 The old clumps of roots, if properly 

 cared for during the winter, can be 

 cut up into several heads or eyes, 

 which are easily detected. One eye, 

 with root a few inches long, is suf- 

 ficient to make a good plant. Divide 

 at once. You can pot each in a 4-inch 

 pot, or place a number of them in a flat 

 close together in 3 or 4 inches of sand 

 or light soil. Place the flat on your 

 hot water pipes, and when they have 

 made a leaf growth of 6 inches, place 

 in 4 or 5-inch pots and give them a 

 light bench. W. S. 



