March 19, i910 



HORTICULTU RE 



437 



SEASONABLE NOTES ON CUL- 

 TURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK. 

 Cobaea. 



As a very fast growing climber for 

 covering the exterior of dwellings, 

 summer houses, stumps of trees, and 

 the weather-beaten sides of old houses, 

 there is nothing better tor quick effect 

 than Cobaea scandens. Seed can be 

 sown any time now. Sow in flats of 

 light sandy soil and keep in a warm 

 house, say about 60 degrees. Place the ■ 

 seeds edgewise in the flat, just so the 

 edge of the seed is even with the sur- 

 face. When they show their true 

 leaves they can be potted off into 2 

 or 2%-inch pots, and in a short time 

 they will be ready for a shift into 4- 

 inch pots. Put a stake about two feet 

 high to each one so they will not get 

 entangled with one another. 

 Time to Propagate. 

 Those who wisely manage their 

 propagation already have the largest 

 and main part of this work done. As 

 the season advances the reverse of 

 favorable conditions for propagation of 

 most pUnts will confront you. There 

 is ample time for the growing of good 

 plants of most varieties, and if you 

 nave not the required number, or are 

 in doubt, get another batch of cuttings 

 in as soon as possible of such plants 

 as chrysanthemums, coleus, ageratum, 

 achyranthes, santolina, lemon verbena, 

 heliotrope, lantana, German ivy, and 

 petunias— in fact, all that class of 

 plants they may enter into your spring 

 trade. They will not need to be han- 

 dled till after the Easter rush, when 

 you will have bench room available. 



Handling of Seedlings. 

 Good ventilation is the chief essen- 

 tial in promoting and maintaining 

 healthy growth of young seedlings. 

 .\ir must be admitted with caution. AH 

 cold currents sweeping over the young 

 plants must be eliminated by proper 

 regulation. When the seedlings show 

 above the ground — which will be from 

 two to twenty days with most varie- 

 ties, although there are a few that take 

 three or four weeks to germinate— they 

 should be exposed to all the light pos- 

 sible. They will need constant watch- 

 ing and careful watering to guard 

 against any excess of dry or too wet, 

 which may mean the loss of some val- 

 uable stock. As soon as seedlings show 

 the character leaf they should be trans- 

 planted into flats. Give them plenty of 

 room; you will have stouter and better 

 stock that can remain in the boxes un- 

 til they are of a suitable size for small 

 pots, hot-beds, or frames. Sow seeds 

 of asters, balsams, browallias, celosias. 

 coreopsis, marigolds, petunias, ricinus, 

 l)hloxes, scabiosas, stocks of all kinds, 

 tropaeolum and zinnias and many 

 others. 



Plants for Vases. 

 The florist who does a general re- 

 tail plant business, adjacent to town 

 or near some leading cemetery, will 

 have many vases to fill. Much depends 

 upon the plants used. Vases are some- 

 times in an exposed situation, while 

 others are in a shady position, and for 

 this reason you should select plants 

 that will not suffer in either. Where 

 the vases are to be exposed to the sun 

 the following named plants will be 

 found veiT satisfactory. For the cen- 



ter, Dracaena indivisa, Chamaerops 

 huinilis, or any of the Phoenix fam- 

 ily: to fill the remainder of the vase, 

 geraniums, coleus, Centaurea gymno- 

 carpa, Begonia Vernon, petunias, agera- 

 tums and achyranthes will give a fine 

 color combination; for trailers Vinca 

 major variegata, Solanum jasminoides, 

 Abutilon vexillariura. nasturtiums, 

 verbenas, German ivy, and ivy-leaved 

 geraniums and many others. If the 

 vases are required for a shaded situa- 

 tion, the centers can be made up of 

 any of the following: Latania bor- 

 bonica, Areca lutescens, kentis or 

 Ficus elastica and for the remainder 

 use fuchsias, begonias, small plants of 

 Ficus elastica. aspidistras and ferns. 

 Among the trailing plants are trades- 

 cantias, selaginellas. Kenilworth ivy 

 and German ivy. Where you have 

 such a trade it would be wise to work 

 up such stock as you will need in this 

 line. 



the season. They require an abun- 

 dance of potash, in order to produce 

 strong vigorous stems, and I think un- 

 leached hard wood ashes affords the 

 best and cheapest form in which to 

 supply this element of plant food. 

 Fine ground bone is an excellent 

 source of nitrogen and phosphoric 

 acid, which is needed to enlarge and 

 perfect the flowers. The rows, if pos- 

 sible, should run north and south and 

 be at least four feet apart. Scatter 

 the seeds somewhat broadly in fur- 

 rows from 6 to 8 inches deep and 

 cover with two inches of fine soil. 

 After the plants have come to the sur- 

 face, hoe or cultivate about them fre- 

 quently and use small amounts of 

 nitrate of soda to stimulate early de- 

 velopment and floweriug. Keep grad- 

 ually drawing in the soil until the 

 trenches are filled. A mulch of partly 

 decayed manure will prevent rapid 

 drving about the roots. 



JOHN J. M. FARRELL. 



Mr. Farrell's next iiute-s will lie on As 

 paragu.'s plumosus nanus, Calanthes. Dra- 

 caena mdivlsa. Euphorbia fulgcns, ShadlnR, 

 Swainsouas. 



OBITUARY. 



Edward Hatch. 



Caladlum esculentum. 



You can start roots of this subtrop- 

 ical plant any time during the month 

 of March. To make them break well 

 a moist brisk heat is desired. Place 

 them on a bench where there is bot- 

 tom heat and pack closely between 

 the roots with moss, leaf-mold or 

 sand. You can keep them much more 

 moist than cannas. They can also be 

 started in flats 3 inches deep; placing 

 the bulbs quite close, almost touching 

 and filling all around the same as if 

 placed on a bench and after watering 

 place them on the hot water pipes. 

 When they have made a growth of 

 four or five inches they can be pot- 

 ted into five or six-inch pots using any 

 good soil. 



Sweet Peas for Outside. 

 The grower who prepared his land 

 last fall by heavily manuring and deep 

 plowing has the advantage over others 

 who have this yet to do. Early sow- 

 ing is of the utmost importance. 

 Sweet peas should be the first thing 

 to go into the open ground. As soon 

 as the upper six or eight inches of the 

 surface can be worked they should be 

 sown. It is very important that most 

 of the growth may be made in the 

 cool, damp weather of the first part of 



Edward Hatch. 

 Edward Hatch, beloved treasurer of 

 the Gardeners' and Florists' Club of 

 Boston, and prince of good fellows, has 

 passed on into the great beyond. The 

 news will bring a pang of protoundest 

 sorrow to many hearts, for few there 

 .ire, or have been, among us who have 

 given so much time and thought in 

 the effort to make others happy as 

 generous-hearted Ed Hatch has been 

 continuously doing for the past thirty 

 years. A business man in the strict- 

 est sense of the word, he has been a 

 bulwark of strength to the Gardeners' 

 and Florists' Club of Boston, conserv- 

 ing its resources with wisdom and un- 

 tiring zeal, and ready at all times to 

 give encouragement and substantial 

 aid towards any of its philanthropic 

 efforts, notably the landscape gar- 

 dening class. He was passionately 

 fond of flowers and it only needed the 

 Incident of his being called upon to 

 officiate as plant auctioneer in the 

 early days of that industry to kindle 

 within him a love for the society of 

 florists and gardeners and cause him 

 to open bis heart to the active spirits 

 in that profession with a cordiality ex- 

 ceeding even that extended to his di- 

 rect business associates. 



Mr. Hatch has been in failing health 

 for a year and a half and his death 

 took place on Friday, March 10, at 

 Columbia, S. C, whither he had gone 

 in the hope of finding in that climate 

 needed vigor. The funeral took place 

 from his residence, 328 Commonwealth 

 avenue, Boston, on Wednesday, March 

 16. 



Mr. Hatch was prominently con- 

 nected with large mercantile interests 

 and with the club and social life of 

 Boston and suburbs. 



Frederick J. Broetje. 



Frederick .1. Broetje. a well-known 

 resident of Mount Tabor, Ore., died 

 March 4 at his home, 31 East 61st 

 street, at the age of 49 years. He 

 had lived in Mount Tabor for the past 

 twenty-six years. He is survived by 

 a widow and five sons. 



