FEBRUARY 24. 1S9S. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



545 



slissolved. slake three pounds of quick 

 lime with the liquid, and then put I he 

 whole into forty gallons of water. Fos- 

 tite is about as good as the dry Bor- 

 deaux mixture: instead of quick lime, 

 in Fostite the copper is mixed with 

 French chalk. 



When the lime has settled at the 

 bottom of the barrel the mixture is fit 

 to use. The under side of the leaf is 

 the part you want to get at. and a good 

 hand syringe is the thing with which 

 to apply it. A syringing once a week 

 will do on chrysanthemums. Begin 

 early on any that you apprehend rust 

 will appear. It will not restore chrvc- 

 anthemums to perfect health if they 

 are once affected with rust, but it will 

 arrest and prevent its spread. 



I am not in the celery business at 

 present, and when I was Bordeaux mix- 

 ture was like the vitascope — not so 

 well known. If it's rust on the celery 

 you are after, the most expeditious 

 way would be to take the young plants 

 by the roots, a handful at a time, and 

 clip them in the mixture just before 

 planting. This is a most thorough way. 

 and a plan I have pursued with young 

 carnations before they go into the sand, 

 and when they come out; by this meth- 

 od, every portion of the leaves is wet, 

 and if there is any efficacy in these 

 mixtures, thev get the full benefit of it. 



W. S. 



A CONVENIENT SOIL TRAY. 



Many florists have the soil necessary 

 for potting and re-potting plants 

 placed on the potting bench where it 

 is to be used, while others prefer to use 

 it from a box or tray. A wooden box 

 is elieap and convenient, but it is apt 

 to shrink so that the fine soil works 

 through tlie cracks, and the end be- 

 comes worn in time by knocking the 

 pots against it to turn the plants out. 

 For several years we have been using 

 trays made of galvanized iron, of the 

 form shown by the illustration. They 

 are tight, have good handles, and are 

 durable. They were made for us by a 

 tinner here, and cost $1.25 each. They 

 are 2 feet long. 15 inches wide, and 5 

 inches deep, are made wider at top 

 than bottom, and have plenty of wire 

 around the rim to stifen them. The 

 projection at one corner is a block of 

 wood half an inch thick, extending an 

 inch above the rim, to knock the pots 

 against in re-potting. This tray can 

 be used on the ordinary potting bench, 

 or may be taken into the plant liouse, 

 saving the labor of carrying the plants 

 out and back when re-potting. If a 

 piece of shading muslin or heavy paper 

 is spread on the bench where the work 

 is done it will keep the sand clean, or 

 the soil tray may be set on a box of 

 suitable height standing on the walk. 

 W. T. BELL. 



''-RAPES CRACKING. 



"W. M." writes: "Will W. Scott or 

 any of your correspondents inform me 

 how to grow Mandresfield Court 

 grapes without having them crack? I 

 grow them with Muscat and Barba- 



rossa, but as soon as weather comes 

 they crack when beginning to color." 



I have not grown the fine variety 

 mentioned above, and, strange to say. 

 in looking through a high authority on 

 grapes, this trouble of cracking is not 

 mentioned. But the writer is well ac- 

 quainted with this serious cultural de- 

 fect, and when growing Golden Ham- 

 burg and some others, lost many 

 bunches by their cracking. I must 

 have learned or heard from some one 

 at the time the following remedy: Just 

 before coloring, or. as they say tech- 

 nically, after they have "stoned," and 

 during their last swelling, take a sharp 

 penknife, split the stem of the bunch 

 an inch or two above the bunch, and 

 insert a very small piece of wood to 

 keep the incision from closing. It 

 worked satisfactorily with me, and no 



more cracking occurred. This burst- 

 ing of tlie skin of the grape appears to 

 be caused by too great a flow of sap to 

 the berry, the skin of which does not 

 expand fast enough or is not elastic 

 enough to bear It. I don't think tem- 

 perature, ventilation, soil, or water has 

 anything to do with it, or that modifi- 

 cation of these conditions would pre- 

 vent it. W. S. 



BALTIMORE. 



Increased Trade on Valentine's Day. 



The past week proved an eventful 

 and busy one for ail concerned in the 

 florist Ime. The retailers have been 

 especially busy, owing to the unusual 

 number of social events, which have 

 now practically wound up the season. 

 Vnlentine's day was more than usu- 

 ally observed in a floral way. Violets, 

 as usual, were the most popular, whiie 

 myosotis. carnations, orchids, tulips, 

 hyacinths, valley, mignonette, jonquils, 

 etc., found favor accordingly. Roses 

 had a steady sale. Azaleas, cinerarias 

 and potted arrangements of bulbous 

 stuff also sold well. Besides Cupid's 

 Valentine dances, there were innumer- 

 able teas, luncheons and recepcions, 

 while the Hunt ball (one of the sea- 

 son's most brilliant affairs) created 

 quite a large demand for bouquets, 

 handsome boutonnieres, etc. 



Stock at the commission houses has 

 been plentiful, with the exception 

 of roses, Beauties and Maids being 



especially scarce. Orchids, which are 

 becoming more and more popular, are 

 by no means equal to the demand. 

 They could be made to pay if grown in 

 larger quantities. 



Gardeners' Club. 



At the last regular meeting of the 

 Gardeners' Club, Monday, February 14, 

 the roll call showed an unusual attend- 

 ance of over seventy-five members, the 

 attraction being carnation night, be- 

 sides including several other interest- 

 ing events. Despite the fact that the 

 full list of our carnation growers did 

 not exhibit, the show was a decided 

 success, quality having atoned for lack 

 of quantity. 



In Messrs. Halliday Bros', exhibit 

 was seen an exceptionally fine vase of 

 Scotts. which were awarded a cer- 

 tificate of merit; also McGowans SVi 

 inches in diameter, Victor, Daybreak, 

 Tidal Wave, and other unusually well 

 grown varieties were shown. A red 

 seedling of Messrs. Woodfall Bros, waa 

 next in order, while a white seedling 

 of Mr. C. M. Wagner, and a sport 

 shown by Mr. I. H. Moss, also received 

 the committee's special mention. 

 Among other exhibits which caused 

 general admiration was a vase of very 

 fine FarQuhar violets, grown by I. H. 

 Moss, and a specimen of cineraria, 

 grown by C. M. Wagner. Messrs. John 

 M. Rider, P. C. Erdman, Cook Bros, 

 and Thomas E. Stevenson also made 

 very creditable displays. 



Mr. 'Woodfall next entertained us 

 by his essay on "Cross Fertiliza- 

 tion," which proved a clear, cogent and 

 businesslike paper. In his remarks Mr. 

 Woodfall reminded us that "fools often 

 step where angels fear to tread, anj 

 tills proved an excellent simile to de- 

 monstrate his theory that the best re- 

 sults of fertilization are more often due 

 to "chance shots" than to the guidance 

 of scientific rules. 



Question Box. 



What is the best white carnation? 

 General opinion was in favor of Flora 

 Hill. Glory of the Pacific was decided 

 the best outdoor pink chrysanthemum. 

 Does Spiraea japonica require regular 

 feeding? Not if first planted in rich 

 soil. 



What is the best keeping carnation? 

 Mr. Erdman cons ders McGowan. In 

 what night temperature should carna- 

 tions be grown? Answered 50 to 55 de- 

 grees. Name six best azaleas for flor- 

 ists' use. Mr. Feast answered. Ver- 

 vaeneana. Empress of India, Deutsche 

 perle, Simon Mardner, Bernard And- 

 reas Alba and Mme. Van der Cruyssen. 

 What will kill short-tailed mice? As 

 this question caused general merri- 

 ment. Mr. Rider reminded us that he 

 had made the inquiry, and the subject 

 was "not at all funny." Mr. Wagner 

 recommended "Rough on Rats" and 

 raw eggs. The writer, however, begs 

 to call Mr. Rider's attention to the ar- 

 ticle upon "Rats and Mice." issue No. 

 11 of The Florists' Review. 



