44 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



December 4, 1902. 



things may be dififerent, though I don't 

 know. Of course there is always a mar- 

 ket either early or late for flowers of an 

 exhibition grade, but such flowers are 

 seldom produced by the purely commer- 

 cial grower. I believe that if more of 

 our growers kept a strict account of the 

 expense attending the raising of every 

 crop and the profits arising from the 

 sale of the same that fewer mums would 

 be grown. Some men that I know grow 

 mums just because they provide a little 

 ready cash to buy the winter's coal for 

 the other stock. Every man works out 

 his own salvation in his own way and aa 

 this is a free country every man is 

 given that privilege. 



Care of Stock. 



It is a gieat mistake to throw the 

 stock plants under the bench and leave 

 them there for a month or two until 

 room is found somewhere or other. Such 

 a, process is very weakening to the con- 

 stitution of your future stock. Either 

 put your plants into a box and set them 

 at the cold end of a house somewhere, 

 or take some of the finest cuttings and 

 root them right away and use them for 

 stock plants in the spring. The way 

 things are run at most establishments, 

 possibly the best way, is to retain the 

 old plants, though such is not our prac- 

 tice. Brian Bobu. 



ROSES. 



Seasonable Hints. 



The selection of wood for propagating 

 tea roses and their hybrids is a duty 

 that should never be entrusted to any 

 but the most experienced and critical. 

 The proper method of making a cutting 

 can easily be acquired by the ordinary 

 help after a few lessons, but it requires 

 the practical and discriminating eye of 

 the grower to pick out the wood that is 

 suitable and of the proper condition of 

 ripeness for this purpose, and the care 

 exercised in selection will be amply re- 

 paid by the superior and uniform grade 

 of the stock produced. 



The continual forcing year after year 

 having a tendency to weaken the vital- 

 ity of stock must be overcome as much 

 as possible by perpetuating nothing but 

 the best wood from the most vigorous 

 growing plants. Some authorities have 

 advocated that in order to preserve the 

 vitality and vigor of stock, flower stems 

 only should be used; but after many 

 years' experimenting with flower stems 

 and strong blind wood side by side the 

 difference was so infinitesimal as to be 

 hardly perceptible, with all the difference 

 in favor of the blind wood cutting in 

 point of cost. By using flower stems at 

 that season the loss in cut blooms would 

 be such that few growers would care 

 to experiment along such expensive lines. 



The wood which grows high upon the 

 plant and which is exposed to free air 

 and sunshine is preferable to that which 

 is lower or hidden in the heart of the 

 bush, and should be in such a condition 

 of ripeness that it cannot be bruised by 

 pinching; the leaves should all be per- 

 fect and of a rich green color: all plants 

 with foliage the least off color should be 

 avoided; although cuttings from such 

 will root readily enough they never at- 

 tain as plants that robustness and vigor 

 so essential in ideal stock. 



As soon as the wood is cut the stems 

 should be immersed in water, and the 

 leaves sprinkled to keep thent fresh and 

 crisp until they are put in the sand. Al- 

 lowing the wood to stand too long in 



water is very detrimental to the health 

 of the cuttings, giving them what is 

 called "the water heart," which weakens 

 the eyes and materially prolongs the pe- 

 riod of root formation. 



There are many different opinions re- 

 garding the best style of cutting, some 

 favoring one eye and others two and 

 three eyes. I do not think there is much 

 choice between the styles in point of 

 merit, the after treatment of the cutting 

 being of much more importance. With 

 such varieties as Meteor and Liberty, 

 where canes from the bottom are de- 

 sirable, a three-eyed cutting ought to be 

 the best. This gives two eyes above the 

 sand and one at the base of the cutting, 

 ■which invariably sends up a strong stem 

 even in 2-inch pots. A well sharpened 

 knife is indispensable so that a short 

 clean cut can be made, as the smaller 

 and cleaner the cut so liuch quicker will 

 the callous form, and the arrangement of 

 the rootlets be the more perfect. 



The cuttings should be inserted in the 

 sand without delay and at an equal 

 depth of about one and a half inches, 

 and the sand pressed firmly around them, 

 thoroughly watered, and shaded if neces- 

 sary. Tlie leaves should be kept moist- 

 ened twice a day during bright weather, 

 but never syringed so late in the day 

 that they will not dry before sundown. 



With proper regulation of tempera- 

 ture, care in watering, shading and syr- 

 inging, they will be ready for potting in 

 about thirty days. Ribes. 



TROUBLE WITH PERLE. 



Wliat causes Perle roses to drop their 

 buds when just about formed? It seems 

 to be a sort of rot. Or is it caused by 

 a biting insect which after bruising the 

 shoot causes the bud to drop off. I have 

 several varieties in the same house, but 

 only the Perle is affected, and this is the 

 third .season I have had this trouble with 

 this variety. J. F. A. 



With more data such as the quality of 

 compost, drainage, frequency of liquid 

 feeding, etc., I would have been able to 

 give a more definite reply. 



Conditions like this are usually the 

 result of overfeeding, either by having 

 too much, manure in the compost, or too 

 frequent use of liquid food when the 

 bench is in an unfit condition, or from 

 imperfect drainage, and frequently from 

 both combined. 



Several cases similar to this have come 

 under my observation, but none of them 

 after careful investigation could be 

 traced to insect depredations. 



Abstinence from liquid feeding, care 

 in watering during the short days, ac- 

 companied by free ventilation, should in 

 a short time effect a cure. 



Tlie night temperature in such a case 

 should be 60 degrees, rising to 75 de- 

 grees during sunshine. Ribes. 



HYBRIDIZING CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



BY ELMER D. SMITH. 



[Presented to the Chryaanthemum Society of 

 America at the Chicago convention.] 



Before entering into the details of this 

 subject, let us consider some of the nat- 

 ural conditions which have more or less 

 influence upon our results. Dame Na- 

 ture says the chrysanthemum shall be 

 single and reproduce itself from seed; so 

 in producing these marvelous flowers, 

 with almost countless petals, we are 

 working in direct opposition to her laws. 



In some of our improved varieties, we 

 are prevented from making further im- 



provements, owing to the pistils or styles 

 being abortive; and in other varieties the 

 staminate florets provide little or no 

 pollen. As you are aware, hybrids result 

 from the crossing of species; and as this 

 has not been attempted to any extent 

 with chrysanthemums, it seems wise to 

 confine ourselves to cross-fertilization. 



In cross-fertilization, the operator's 

 desire is to improve the chief character- 

 istics, such as color, size, form and full- 

 ness. It is beyond human power to state 

 exact results in uniting or mixing the 

 colors of petals. Pollen from a white 

 flower applied to a red may give red, 

 white, or any of the intermediate shades, 

 which would be the many varieties of 

 pink. Mrs. Alpheus Hardy, white, and 

 E. Molyneaux, red, gave Lkdy Playfair, 

 pink. The union of red and yellow gives 

 similar results — producing red, yellow 

 and all the intermediate shades of brown 

 and tan. We have more assurance when 

 varieties of the same color are crossed. 

 Improvements in color can only be at- 

 tained by the union of colors, bearing in 

 mind the laws of nature in making these 

 unions. 



The chrysanthemum, like the carna- 

 tion, has a great tendency to revert to 

 its antecedents. Hence it is we get many 

 strange colors when two of the same 

 color are crossed. The variety Mrs. J. J. 

 Glessner came from Edward Hatch and 

 Mrs. Jerome Jones, both of which are 

 white or nearly so. This seedling partook 

 of the parentage of Edward Hatch, which 

 was Gloriosum X Ada Spaulding. 



Form, size and fullness are improved 

 only by careful consideration of these 

 qualifications in the varieties at our dis- 

 posal. We are more certain of advance- 

 ment in the style of growth, securing 

 those which are dwarf and sturdy by 

 confining our operations to such varieties 

 as possess these qualities. Large and 

 small foliage can be produced by using 

 those which have these peculiarities. 

 What governs the potency of the pistilate 

 and staminate parent, we cannot deter- 

 mine. We are dealing with minute af- 

 fairs. The stigma may scarcely have 

 reached maturity when the pollen is ap- 

 plied — or the pollen may be past its 

 prime, with the stigma at the height of 

 development. These varied conditions 

 may have their influence upon establish- 

 ing the character of the seedling. 



In selecting varieties for this work, 

 the two great classes for consideration 

 are those for exhibition and those for 

 the commercial grower. In the former, 

 size is the most important factor, if the 

 other qualifications are up to the aver- 

 age. 'The commercial grower requires 

 staple colors, and the purer the color the 

 better. Size, form, fullness and style of 

 growth are important and should be 

 taken into consideration. 



Plants intended for seed raising should 

 be staged in a dry, light house, and ex- 

 cessive moisture at the roots or in the 

 atmosphere should be avoided. June and 

 July struck cuttings grown to single 

 stems in 4-inch pots are the most con- 

 venient. Such flowers, if given but little 

 feed, are more natural, furnish an abund- 

 ance of pollen and are easier to trim 

 than the massive exhibition blooms. 



The operation begins when the flowers 

 are half open, by cutting the petals off 

 close to the base with a pair of scissors 

 until the styles are exposed. When the 

 styles are fully grown, the upper surface 

 or stigma is in condition to receive the 

 pollen. Select the desired flower for pol- 

 len, push aside the ray florets or petals 



