440 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



FEBnuAnT 12. 1903 



■waters, we decided to give this new 

 paint a trial. After the work was com- 

 pleted it was discovered that the painter 

 had evidently run "shy" of graphite 

 and had substituted asphalt paint en- 

 tirely on part of the pipes and used it 

 as a second coat over the graphite on the 

 others. When the heavy firing season 

 came on the gas began to give serious 

 trouble and the results were most 

 •marked on active growing plants of all 

 kinds. The asphalt readily succumbed 

 to the corrosive action of the potash, 

 but when applied to the graphite as- 

 phalt mixture the action was very slow. 

 After eight or ten applications the pipes 

 seem to be about free from asphalt, 

 though the graphite remains intact. 



It was since learned that creosote oil 

 or oil of wood tar was used in the 

 graphite paint. Creosote oil is a dan- 

 gerous compound to plant life and maj- 

 have aggravated the trouble. At any 

 rate, we advise the commercial florist 

 to steer shy of graphite paint for. heat- 

 ing pipes until more is known regarding 

 its effect upon plant life. 



A. T. Ebwin. 



Iowa Experiment Station. 



PITTSBURG. 



Club Meeting;. 



The Florists' Club held its regular 

 monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, 

 February 3. Although it was a wet and 

 disagreeable night, there was a big at- 

 tendance. It was election night, and 

 all of the officers of the preceding year 

 were unanimously re-elected for 1903. 



E. C. Ludwig has some grievances 

 against the express companies, and two 

 months ago brought the matter before the 

 club. I was referred to a committee 

 which is still at work on the matter, and 

 the sense is that they work in conjunction 

 with the committee appointed by the S. 

 A. F. During the discussion of the subject 

 the Cut Flower Co. stated that it had no 

 kick to make, as its flowers were given 

 preference over other express matter, and 

 when anything went wrong by delay 

 or damage, the company wrote out a 

 plain statement of facts and submitted 

 it to the express company, which imme- 

 diately paid the claim. 



The Cut Flower Co. urged that these 

 claims must be very clear and without a 

 shadow of exaggeration or overcharge. 

 Mr. Randolph, of Randolph & McClem- 

 ents, testified in the same vein. The 

 moment flowers or plants addressed to 

 them reach the .railroad station, the ex- 

 press company loads and delivers them 

 or it telephones to their oflice. When 

 anything goes wrong the express com- 

 pany makes good the damage. Be sure 

 you are absolutely correct, be moderate 

 and just in your claim, and use common 

 sense and discrimination in your actions, 

 and then when you make a claim be pre- 

 pared to enforce it. Several members 

 called attention to the article by Wil- 

 liam Scott in a recent issue of the Re- 

 view, and all declared it was the best 

 and most common-sense thing on the sub- 

 ject they had ever seen in print. 



It was Rose night at the club, and the 

 tables were laden with many beautiful 

 blossoms from home and distant florists. 

 From the Pittsburg Rose & Carnation 

 Co. (Fred Burki) great bunches of car- 

 nations and magnificent Brides and 

 Bridesmaids; grand flowers of the same 

 were shown by Ernest Fisher, of Castle 

 Shannon. About the best Franz Deegen 

 roses yet seen in Pittsburg were shown 

 by Heller Brothers, New Castle, Ind. 



Through E. C. Ludwig the Floral Ex- 

 change of Philadelphia showed a fine lot 

 of Brides, Bridesmaids, Golden Gates, 

 Helen Gould, Meteors and Queen of 

 Edgely. Ernst G. Asmus, of West Ho- 

 boken, N. J., sent a number of novelties, 

 both of foreign and home production. 



Wlien the president read a letter from 

 John N. May, of Summit, N. J., saying 

 that he had shipped some roses to the 

 club on Monday, and another from F. E. 

 Pierson, of Tarrytown, N. Y., saying 

 that he also had shipped some fern fronds 

 and white cannas for our club meeting, 

 and that neither of these consignments 

 had yet arrived, our indignation against 

 the express companies was rather pro^ 

 nounced. Mr. Pierson. writing since 

 then, says he'll know why his parcel 

 was delayed in transit. 



Fred Burki told us how he grew such 

 fine roses. They are from home-grafted 

 plants. Whip-grafted them on Manetti 

 in February, planted them out on 

 benches last July, in 5 inches of soil, and 

 15 inches apart each way, and this is 

 the third crop from them. Temperature 

 56 — 58 degrees; gives ventilation on 

 every favorable opportunity, opening 

 gradually and shutting gradually ; he be- 

 lieves in and gives more ventilation than 

 most growers. Soil four parts one-year 

 rotted field sod and one part well rotted 

 manure — cow and horse mixed. Besides 

 the young plants he replanted a good 

 many of last year's stock and both are 

 doing equally well. 



Brides and Bridesmaids were spoken 

 of as the best 'and most remunerative 

 general-purpose roses. Golden Gate was 

 beautiful, but we cannot get it good in 

 Avinter. Helen Gould would pass, but 

 no one enthused over its color. The 

 supply of Meteor in winter is nothing 

 like equal to the demand. Liberty made 

 our mouths water. It eclipses every- 

 thing in its line. Madame Cusin is a 

 great favorite, but as Mr. Randolph ex- 

 pressed himself, "Wliat's the use, we 

 can't get it." Tliat is, it seems to be 

 impossible to get enough of it for use 

 in large decorations. 



Franz Deegen was much admired and 

 commented upon as being less subject to 

 bull-nose than Perle; still our large dec- 

 orating florists didn't seem to have room 

 for it; their trade wants larger and 

 brighter flowers. 



I took home the Deegen roses which 

 Mr. Asmus sent, and they opened out 

 and kept in fine form for five days. It 

 certainly is a good keeper and withal a 

 fine rose. The Queen of Edgely flowers 

 were superb and would sell on sight at 

 a big price. But it was the general opin- 

 ion of the members that nothing has 

 yet arrived to displace the real Amer- 

 ican Beauty rose. Tlie people know it 

 and want it, and will pay the highest 

 price in the market for it, and when they 

 want or ask for it, they'll accept of no 

 substitute, no matter how splendid it 

 may be. 



Here I may remark, talking about 

 the prices of flowers, it was the sense of 

 the club that every effort should be made 

 to stop the newspaper nonsense of big or 

 extortionate prices for Beauty roses or 

 other flowers. Always tell the reporters 

 the plain truth and never overdraw the 

 matter, and if you cannot trust the re- 

 porter's fancy or memory, just write 

 down the prices and hand the bit of 

 paper to him. The more you can con- 

 vince the people that flowers cost only a 

 very moderate price, the more customers 

 you will gather and the more flowers 

 you will sell. 



Ernst Asmus' letter accompanying his 

 flowers is so interesting that I enclose 

 it herewith. ' He sent the flowers as "an 

 object lesson for your members." And it 

 was a lesson. One by one we took up 

 those flowers and discussed them. One 

 of our largest growers had planted some 

 of No. 1, and when he saw Mr. Asmus' 

 blossoms and heard his description, he 

 looked blue enough to exclaim: "Oh, 

 that I had seen this flower and known 

 these truths a year ago, how many good 

 dollars I would have saved!" And when 

 it was over Howard Childs remarked, 

 "Why, a meeting Hkc this and the in- 

 formation in fact obtained here are 

 worth ten times our membership dues." 



Some very fine frcesias were shown by 

 Ernest Fisher. He plants them out in 

 benches after early chrysanthemums, and 

 after they are cut he uses the bench 

 room for bedding plants. 



From D. Fraser came some pretty blos- 

 soms of cinerarias and fancy flowers of 

 named Chinese primroses; also most 

 beautiful flowers of the giant new cy- 

 clamen. He says he paid $1.25 a dozen 

 for the seeds of these cyclamen. He 

 also showed some lily of the valley in 

 pots and Azalea Mollis in full bloom. 



About a dozen of the members ex- 

 pressed their intention of attending the 

 carnation meeting in Brooklyn this 

 month. The railroad company offers our 

 florists a trip to and from New York, at 

 one and one-third fare, on the certifi- 

 cate plan, and good for a week. Any 

 neighboring or western florists who wish 

 to take advantage of this cheap rate 

 from Pittsburg should communicate with 

 Mr. Langhans, of the Cut Flower Co., 

 504 Liberty street, Pittsburg, Pa. 



As our March club meeting is to be a 

 carnation one those members who will 

 attend the Brooklyn convention have been 

 commissioned to get loaded with infor- 

 mation on this flower, for our edifica- 

 tion, and to make arrangements for an 

 exhibition here of new flowers. 



About noon on Wednesday a boy 

 brought me two boxes from the Cut 

 Flower Co. "Tliese came to us by ex- 

 press this morning," said the boy! They 

 were the two missing boxes. The one 

 from Mr. May contained a lot of Mrs. 

 Oliver Ames rose, a lot of a very heavy 

 Souv. de la Malmaison-like rose, a red 

 rose, evidently the same as the one Mr. 

 Asmus showed, and a splendid compound 

 panicle of a white rose, in get-up almost 

 identical with Crimson Rambler. It was 

 namfti Snowball, and as soon as we saw 

 it we ordered some of it. 



Mr. Pierson's box contained many 

 fronds of their new fern and a number 

 of fine spikes of their new canna Mont 

 Blanc, the whitest of all cannas. The 

 spikes were full, strong, clean and 

 thrifty, and as soon as our foreman saw 

 them he insisted "first time you go east 

 I wish you'd go up there and see how he 

 gets such fine flowers as these, at this 

 time of year." And so I will. The color 

 is not pure white, rather a very pale 

 canary color; but the color is distinct 

 and the head good. 



Mr. Asmus' Letter. 



I send you with this a few novelties in 

 roses, such as I have in bloom at present. 

 Tliese roses I only send as an object les- 

 son for your members, as to which varie- 

 ties to avoid, providing they buy Euro- 

 pean novelties. I get a good assortment 

 over most every year, and it is very, very 

 seldom that I find among them one rose 

 that suits our trade. The most of them 

 are nothing but a lot of rubbish, which 



