734 



The Weekly Rorists' Review* 



MARCH 31, 1898. 



having then numerous buds. 



The plants have since been thrown 

 out; but were healthy and vigorous, 



and would undoubtedly have flowered 

 tor some time longer. 



W. T. BELL. 



Easter Suggestions. 



Just a few words more about the big 

 Meek that is before us, and where we 

 expect to make a little fortune, if it 

 doesn't freeze liard. Last year with 

 MS. the Saturday liefore Easter was 

 I amy. The two previous years it was 

 freezing. This is such an exception to 

 all other years in our memory that we 

 announce with confidence that wintrr 

 is past and gone, and tight p-ickin,^ 

 casfs, heated wagons, wrapping paper, 

 warped tempeis and twisted figures of 

 speech will be entirely absent during 

 our rush. With many of ns it is a 

 great rush and a trying time, even if 

 we have the most favorable weather 

 on our side. The more faithfully you 

 endeavor to fill your orders, both as to 

 quality, neatness and punctuality, the 

 greater is the mental strain, and if 

 you don't worry over these things, you 

 are likely to have many a call-down 

 and give serious offense in some places. 



Therefore, to help out with filling 

 your orders for the two days before 

 Kaster. which is often thirty days' 

 work crowded into two, put off noth- 

 ing for tomorrow that can be done to- 

 day. You should cle;tr off a space in 

 one house or more. Over the sand or 

 ashes that is on the bench spread 

 heavy, coarse paper. Any number of 

 plants will be bought early in th" 

 week, to be delivered "wi:h this card 

 attached, please." on the Saturday or 

 Sunday. All those can have their pots 

 well cleaned, the card attached, and 

 address tag. and be put away ready for 

 delivery. It is well to have a space set 

 aside for Friday's delivery, another for 

 Saturday, and for Sunday. Stood on 

 this paper, the pots will be clean and 

 pleasant to handle. You can then say 

 to most any boy, "Get the Azalea In 

 Saturdays orders labeled 'Mrs. Isidore 

 He Blanco.' " You are also sure that 

 most all of your good lilies, cytisus, 

 mignonette, hyancinths and other 

 plants will be wanted. Don't wait ti 1 

 the end of the we;k, and then have two 

 or three men scrubbing pots and rais- 

 ing a great muss, and be in every- 

 body's way. Have it all done before 

 the real rush begins. 



Crepe Paper. 

 Crepe paper will be used largely this 

 year, and you cannot blame a cus- 



tomer for wishing the pot covered. 

 Many a fine lO-inrh pan of Dutch hya- 

 cinths was sold last year because they 

 were tastefully fixed up with crepe, 

 and lots of this work you can do ahead 

 of time, particularly can you have the 

 crepe paper — lots of it; cut into differ- 

 ent sizes and of different shades, s-izes 

 to suit pots and pans from 4 to 12 

 inches. 



1 have no advice to give you about 

 packing plants except this: If you 

 have a lot of lilies to cart to town, 

 don't stand them in the wagon, where 

 they can swing about and jam their 

 heads together. Tie half a dozen or 

 more together, so when they swing 

 I hey all go together, and no bruising 

 occurs. 



Shifting Geraniums. 



If possible, don't delay in getting 

 their pots in which they will be sold — 

 your o-inch geraniums shifted into 

 a 4-inch. It takes some time to do 

 this, where there are many thousands, 

 and don't ute too rich and light a soi . 

 If it is a little heavy, so much the bet- 

 ter. A rather heavy loam with a fitth 

 of old hotbed manure will do them 

 finely, lot firmly and solid. It is 

 Howers you want, and this condition 

 will produce them. I have made a 

 point of saying htavy soil and potting 

 firmly, because sometimes we have to 

 buy these geraniums, and often find 

 them grown in almost pure rotten ma- 

 nure and leaf mould, the very opposite 

 of what they want. They grow and 

 produce leaves, and sometimes flowers, 

 but fall about at the surface of the soil, 

 and are poor things to plant out of 

 doors in the sun and wind. The ivy 

 leaf class is now very important. The 

 soil for them can be a little richer, but 

 pot firmly. 



Much as hanging shelves or any sort 

 of shelves are to be condemned, for in 

 many respects they are a nuisance, it 

 is difficult to find a place that wi 1 

 grow these ivy leaf geraniums and 

 other droopers as well as the shelves. 

 If you don't let them hang over the 

 edge of a shelf, you must tie them up, 

 which is much more trouble and not 

 their natural way to grow. It is al- 

 most impossible to grow fine lobelias 

 without the aid of shelves. 



Transplanting Annuals. 



As soon as the annuals, such as as- 

 ters. Zinnias, phlox, etc., are up an incli 

 high, and Ijefoie they smother each 

 other, they should be transplanted into 

 flats one inch or more apart. I lik^' 

 them in Hats best, uhless you grow 

 tens of thousands, because you can 

 keep them in the greenhouse a week 

 or two before removing to a cohJ 

 frame, where they will do first rate 

 after the middle of April. If you are 

 not an expert in this handling of small 

 seedlings, learn to be. You can and 

 must plant them deep enough, so that 

 their leaves are almost touching the 

 surface of the soil. Som? people are 

 very careful to squeeze the soil close 

 to the plant at the surface, and leave 

 the root very loose. The reverse is 

 just what is wanted. The surface will 

 close up with a good watering, but s 'e 

 that you get your dibl)le away down 

 and pack the soil well around the 

 roots. This seems almost unnecessary 

 to write about, simple little operation 

 as it is, yet I have seen hundreds of 

 asters just perish because their roots 

 were left dangling in a cavity. 



Ventilation Heating. 



This extraordinarily mild weather 

 may tempt some of you to let your 

 fires out, and if you did on your car- 

 nation houses no harm, but on plant 

 houses it would be poor economy, and 

 more particularly would it be injurious 

 to roses. If the thermometer stood at 

 HO degrees outside all night, and you 

 were to close up the house tightly, 

 with no fire, and were to repeat this a 

 few nights, you would most assured y 

 be attacked with that fungus (I don't 

 know its name, but I know well its 

 effect), and every leaf would drop, and 

 even the young, tender growths would 

 perish. When you enter the house in 

 the morning and see the pretty dew- 

 drops on the edges of the leaves, look 

 out: three such mornings and the tri< k 

 is done. This every rose grower has 

 seen, both in fall and spring. It is 

 not likely that you will let your flres 

 out, but if you do. then leave on air 

 and this trouble will not occur. Of 

 course, the ideal conditions on mild 

 nights are a little fire and a little venti- 

 lation. 



A remarkably vigorous growth is 

 noticeable the past tew weeks on both 

 roses and carnations. It is simply the 

 abundance of fresh air we have been 

 able to give them, approaching in a 

 measure the conditions they would get 

 outside. It is a lesson for us. Soil, 

 water, and ventilation, or fresh air, are 

 inseparable, and we can't grow flowers 

 without a proper quantity or observ- 

 ance of all of them, but I really think 

 that if either wants the closest watch- 

 ing and demands the greatest exercise 

 of brains more than the others, it is 

 reutflation. w. S. 



PLATEAU OF NARCISSUS. 



The engraving is from a photograph 

 taken especially for The Review of a 

 plateau of narcissus arranged by Mr. 

 Geo. JI. Stumpp, of New York, for the 



