J 84 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



December 25, 1902. 



men would tliiiik of forming a partner- 

 ship and starting a Hour mill without 

 securing tlie services of a miller, or of 

 starting a drug store w-ithout a phar- 

 macist? So in a park it is just as es- 

 sential to have a park man for superin- 

 tendent, and do not put in a man who 

 cannot tell a conifer from quercus, or a 

 a deciduous from an herbaceous plant. 



Then, next in order comes the gar- 

 dener, who should he a gardener in fact, 

 as well as a man to plant the garden. 

 He should be a propagator as well as a 

 grower, and indeed he needs must be an 

 all around llorist. 



After h.iui is (ho foreman, and under 

 the latter the men wlio do the general 

 park work, such as keeping the drives 

 and -walks edged and rolled, and the 

 lawns mowed. All trimming of slirub- 

 berv and trees should be in the hands 

 of the gardener. 



All Ihe men abtmt this ideal park 

 should be trentlemen at all times and 

 under all circumstances, for tliey are in 

 a position where there will be ladies 

 and children within sight and hearing 

 distance at all times. 



MIGNONETTE. 



For well grown spikes of this fragrant 

 favorite there is still a good demand. 

 The supply of such, especially in the 

 western markets, is very limited. No 

 doubt there is a lot of it grown, par- 

 ticularly by those who combine grow- 

 ing and retailing, but the quality is 

 usually very inferior. This can be made 

 a very profitable crop if the grower 

 would bestow as much care and fore- 

 thought on it as he usually gives to 

 crops of mums, etc. 



The first condition necessary for the 

 successful culture of this plant is to 

 have a light and airy house, with ample 

 means to ventilate. The house should 

 have the least amount of shade possi- 

 ble, as this is essentially a sun loving 

 jjlant. Some growers prefer growing it 

 on a solid bench, indeed so much was 

 tliis method advocated in books and 

 trade journals a few years ago that few 

 growers ever thought of trying any 

 other way. Eight or ten years ago 

 circumstances compelled me, much to 

 my regret, to use table benches for this 

 crop. My florist friends comforted me 

 with the assurance that I would raise 

 some nice four or six-incli spikes. Being 

 a new experiment I naturally gave the 

 house a deal of attention and care with 

 the result that this was the finest and 

 most uniform crop I had grown up to 

 that time. Since then, for many reasons, 

 I have favored the table bench. 



The bench should be at least five inches 

 <leep, and as the plants at certain stages 

 require copious supplies of water, the 

 drainage should be ample, just about 

 the same as for roses. For soil a rich 

 compost of tlbry loam and well decom- 

 posed manure in the proportions of four 

 of loam to one of manure, not too finely 

 broken, will suit it. Tlie bench should 

 be filled flush and made moderately firm. 



To encourage a quick and imiform 

 germination of the seed the lines where 

 the seed is to be sown should be de- 

 pressed about half an inch by having 

 a straight edged board pressed firmly 

 down. These grooves should then be 

 filled with soil which has been passed 

 through a 3 -inch screen. The lines 

 should be about 18 inches apart. Sow 

 rather thinly, but evenly and give the 

 house a light shading until the young 

 plants have acquired the first four 



leaves, when they should have llieir 

 first thinning. As the plants when 

 grown will require to be about one foot 

 apart in the lines, the thinning should 

 be made with this end in view. Ue- 

 fore they begin to crowd each other the 

 final thinning should be made. 



For early winter flowering the first 

 sowing should be made early in July 

 and for a succession of crops a sowing 

 sliould be made every ten days up till 

 February. As evaporation is very rapid 

 at this season the young plants will re- 

 quire the utmost care, as they are very 

 easily checked and rarely fully recover 

 from being over dry. As soon as the 

 plants are fairly established the shad- 

 ing should be removed and the glass 

 made as clean as possible. 



To keep the plants stocky and hardy 

 they should have full ventilation both 

 night and day, and as cool weather ap- 

 proaches the night temperature should 

 be kept at 45 degrees, with a day tem- 

 ))erature of 58 or l!0 degrees. A higher 

 temperature induces a soft, spongy 

 growth which produces spikes that are 

 hard to put into any sort of sha]* for 

 shipment. When the buds begin to ap- 

 pear an application of weak manure 

 water will aid materially in developing 

 the (lower. 



Whatever system of supporting the 

 stqms is adopted, it should be put into 

 practice early, as to secure fine straight 

 stems the plants should never be al- 

 lowed to fall or lay over. Tying and 

 training should be attended to once a 

 week and to secure a large fully devel- 

 oped spike all the laterals should Xte re- 

 moved so as to direct all the strength 

 of the plant into the llower stem. As the 

 crop approaches maturity the supply of 

 water ought to be slightly diminished; 

 this tends to harden both stem and 

 foliage and makes them less liable to 

 wilt when cut. Cutting shiuild be done 

 in the morning, and the cut allowed to 

 stand in the cool room for eight or ten 

 hours before being shipped. 



The grub of the small yellow but- 

 tcrlly i* the worst enemy we have to con- 

 tend with. .\ dusting of pyrethrum pow- 

 der once a week during August will us- 

 ually keep the house clear of these pests. 

 Woodlice or sowbugs are also rather fond 

 of the young, juicy leaves. The usual 

 arsenical poisons will easily keep them 

 in check. 



There is also a fungoid disease, which 

 frequently attacks this crop: it is very 

 contagious and spreads rapidly. When 

 a licet ed the leaves have the appearance 

 of having Iwen scalded with hot water; 

 these spots dry quickly and give the 

 plant a very sickly appearance. I know 

 of no efTective remedy for this trouble. 

 Lifting and removing both soil and plant 

 is the quickest and surest way of stamp- 

 ing it out. 



In a future paper I will treat of its 

 successful culture as a pot plant. 



RiBES. 



NEW YORK. 



Christmas Trade. 



Some reference to market conditions 

 will be foimd below the quotations else- 

 where in this issue. One thing may be 

 depended upon : Good red roses and 

 carnations will command almost any 

 price the seller may sec fit to demand 

 and there will not be enough to go 

 around. Special Beauties will command 

 from $1 each upwards and Edgely the 

 same. Doubtless spe^'ial Bridesmaids 



and Liberties will soar to 25 cents and 

 up. A few may even reach the high water 

 mark of last year. Carnations are very 

 independent and novelties feel quite as 

 large as roses. 



The w'eek past must have been made 

 to order for the jjlantsmen; even the 

 rain arranged things so as to come on 

 Sunday. It was a flood and left clean 

 streets and clear, warm weather and 

 sunshine at the opening of the festive 

 week. Should the delightful weather of 

 Monday ■ continue it will be the grand- 

 est plant Christmas on record. Al- 

 ready every- retail store is filled with 

 the finest array of blooming plants I 

 have ever seen in New York. It has 

 been a cleaning out of the wholesalers 

 in earnest. Not a good plant remains 

 unsold. And such a season for Christ- 

 mas greens of every kind. Tlie supply 

 men have been overwhelmed with work 

 without an exception. Holly seems to 

 be abundant, though there is, as usual, 

 much in the market that is only an 

 apology. The best commands a good 

 price anil there is too litU* of it. 



Items. 



Mr. Noe, of JIadison. who has been ill, 

 was convalescing at last accounts. 



The "spring weather" has again given 

 the "coal agony" a breathing spell with 

 opportunity to lay in for the ine^-itable. 

 The crucial hour will come with the 

 zero weather <if next month and the Feb- 

 ruary blizzards. Tlieres plenty of coal 

 over in Jersey. Tlie yards of the rail- 

 roads are full of it, but the cost of the 

 strike must be covered, and New York- 

 ers are helping to do it with a ven- 

 geance. 



Someone has been "stringing" the 

 New York Herald again. Last Sunday 

 it boldly staled that "lioUy and cver- 

 •svcon roping are out of date" and that 

 "the latest fad for the 400 is "a tree 

 trimmed with roses for the center of the 

 table." Someone evidently "has it in' 

 for the green gooils man. 



The new store of Waicndord's in the 

 .\nsonia — the finest apartment house in 

 the world — opened on schedule time. 

 Saturday. December 20. and it is certain 

 ly a beauty. The ice box with its gold 

 trimmings, electric lights and massive 

 marble lonstrnction is ccrtainlj- un- 

 equalled anywhere. The mirror efTects 

 are unique, .\ltogclher it's up to wliat 

 was promised, and will undoubtedly lie 

 a great success. 



One of the prettiest stores on Coluni 

 bus avenue is Xo. "400." which indicate^ 

 a bon ton patronage. Mr. Chas. 11. 

 Brown, the proprietor, was with Thorley 

 twelve years, and in thirteen months has 

 established a fine trade, making an en- 

 largement of the stJire a necessity. 



Tn your excellent photos of the Briar- 

 clilT flreenhouses this week you will see 

 the cheerful countenances of Mr. May 

 and ilr. Plumb, whose names were in- 

 advertently omitted from the list of 

 guests some weeks ago. 



John Scott, the Boston fern man of 

 Brooklyn, has been expecting a Christ- 

 mas present that arrived on the 23ril 

 instead of the 25th. but it was a girl and 

 he is "perfectly satisfied." 



Chas. F. Meyer, of Hagemann & Meyer, 

 will open his office at 10 Barclay street. 

 .Tanuary 1. at which time the partnership 

 existing between Messrs. Hagemann and 

 !\reyer ceases. Mr. IMeyer will be rep- 

 resented by Mr. Chas. Schwake. and will 

 deal in bulbs, valley, nursery stock, aza- 

 leas, palms, etc. The calendar issued by 



