238 



H R T 1 C U L T U R E 



September 13, 1919 



BOSTON FLORAL SUPPLY 

 COMPANY 



Wholesale Florists 



DEALERS IN 



Cut Flowers and Evergreens 



We manufacture our Baskets, Wax 

 flowers. Wax designs. Wire frames, 

 etc., and preserve our Cycas Leaves 

 right in our own factory. 



Office, Salesrooms, Shipping Dept. 



15 Otis St. 96 Arch St. 

 BOSTON, MASS. 



Telephones, Main 2574. 3525 



EDWARD REID 



WHOLESALE FLORIST 



1619 - 21 Ranrfead St., Philadelphia, Pa. 



WOKE BEAUTIES, ORCHIDS, VALLEY, ROSES 

 aid all Seasonable Varieties of Cut Flown 



Wired Toothpicks 



W. J. COWEE, Berlin, N. Y. 



GEORGE B. HART 



WHOLESALE FLORIST 



24 Stone St., Rochester, R. Y. 



J. A. BUDLONG 



184 North Wabash Avenue, CHICAGO 



Wholesale Growers of Cut Flowers 



ROSES, CARNATIONS 



AND ALL OTHER SEASONABLE STOCK 



Shipping order* have moil careful attention always 



IF You Want Anything from Boston Get It 

 From Henry M. Robinson & Co. 



For Safety Place Your Order* With Ut 



HENRY IVI. ROBINSON & CO. 

 2 Winthrop Square and 32 Otis Street, BOSTON, MASS. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS FOR 

 FLORISTS. 



At the recent Convention of the 

 Florists Society of Iowa, Mr. Geo. L. 

 Kurtzwell. secretary of the Iowa Seed 

 Co., read an interesting paper on 

 "Commercial Fertilizers which are of 

 Most Value to Florists." The paper 

 was as follows: 



As long as natural manures were 

 abundant and fresh soil of good qual- 

 ity was easily abtained the florist paid 

 little attention to fertilizers. Occa- 

 sionally a grower would use some pre- 

 pared fertilizer for a special purpose 

 but in most cases these were packing- 

 house by-products or some other form 

 of "organic" fertilizer. 



The ones most commonly used were 

 bone meal, sheep manure, and dried 

 blood. Naturally these are best known 

 and are the ones to which the grower 

 turns when his supply of natural 

 manures is not sufficient for his needs. 

 Especially in the large cities increas- 

 ing quantities of prepared manures are 

 being used by the florists. 



That there is a great deal of mys- 

 tery attached to the use of commer- 

 cial fertilizers under glass is evidenced 

 by the fact that smooth salesmen can 

 talk the grower into purchasing worth- 

 less mixtures which are supposed to 

 correct all errors from fungus to crop 

 failure. We bought such a "mixture" 

 some years ago which, if our memory 

 does not fail us, was supposed to cor- 

 rect acidity and conteract alkali. It 

 was not a fertilizer but a "tonic" that 

 would put life and "pep" into the dead- 

 est s..ii and stock. In practice it was 

 disappointing and for very good rea- 

 sons. Analysis showed that it con- 

 tained white sand and iron filings. 



The State University of Illinois has 

 carried on experiments in the grow- 



ing of both Roses and Carnations with 

 the use of commercial fertilizers and 

 have arrived at the conclusion that 

 they can be grown just as good as 

 with the use of manure. They have 

 also taken a great deal of the mystery 

 out of the process. Bulletins covering 

 these experiments have been published 

 and can no doubt be obtained by 

 writing the Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, Department of Horticulture, 

 Urbana, 111. 



The Iowa Florist is more fortunate 

 than some of the eastern brethren and 

 does not need to worry much about 

 plant food supply but should it ever 

 be necessary to purchase this item he 

 will know the possibilities as well as 

 the dangers to be guarded against. 



Quoting from one of the bulletins. 



"Fertilizers were applied as follows: 



Manure at the rate of 125 lbs. per 

 100 sq. feet. 



Dried blood, 8 lbs. per 100 sq. feet. 



Acid phosphate, 2 lbs. per 100 sq. 

 feet. 



Potassium sulphate, 2 lbs. per 100 

 sq. feet." 



A nominal amount of manure must 

 be added to supply the necessary 

 humus. 



The three elements which are not 

 found in the soil in sufficient quantity 

 are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potas- 

 sium. 



The nitrogen is supplied by the 

 dried blood though ammonium sul- 

 phate could be used, but it was found 

 to dry the soil more quickly. Phos- 

 phorus is supplied by the acid phos- 

 phate. The potassium is supplied by 

 the potassium sulfate. 



While some manure must be used 

 yet one-fourth to one-third the usual 

 quantity is sufficient where the com- 

 mercial fertilizer is used. 



