HORTICULTURE 



Vol. XXX 



DECEMBER 20, 1919 



No. 25 



THE TALK OF THE TRADE 



The first time I saw the new Chrys- 

 anthemum, Hamburg Late Pink, 1 

 couldn't help mention it in this col- 

 umn because it gives all promise of 

 being a good one, particularly for 

 after Thankgiving and up to Christ- 

 mas trade. Those of you who grew 

 Maud Dean and afterwards Hamburg 

 Late White, a sport of Maud Dean, 

 will know what to expect of Hamburg 

 Late Pink. The introducers claim 

 that it flowers two weeks later than 

 Maud Dean, and by taking a terminal 

 bud after October 1st, most of the 

 flowers will be cut from December 1st 

 to January 15th. Stock propagated 

 during March and April and kept 

 growing will need no other particular 

 culture, simply keeping them going 

 along well and never letting the wood 

 get hard. It is recommended that one 

 flower be grown to the plant. No 

 crown buds are taken, and I would 

 say judging from the stock I have seen 

 exhibited on two different occasions 

 this variety will not he difficult for 

 anyone to handle. 



When I heard that Harold Ryan was 

 growing the Gov. Herrick violet; I 

 wanted to see how it was doing with 



him and was pleased after I called at 

 Mount Auburn the Sunday before 

 Christmas to see such a fine showing. 

 It is a great pity that this violet is 

 not fragrant. It is much darker in 

 color than the Princess of Wales, pos- 

 sibly not quite so long a stem, but 

 with Mr. Ryan as well as at every 

 other place where I have seen it grow- 

 ing, the all important point in its 

 favor is productiveness. Mr. Ryan has 

 part Gov. Herrick and part Princess 

 of Wales in the same house, and the 

 former was a mass of purple; blue 

 hardly describes the color. 



Those of us who remember Boston 

 a number of years back and the won- 

 derful standing it had as a market 

 for novelties must miss very much 

 some of the fine crops which were com- 

 ing in at that time. The first crop I 

 think of is Snapdragon. Possibly the 

 absence of good snapdragon in the 

 market at this time is due entirely 

 to the rust and spot. I wish we could 

 find some way to fight these diseases 

 with some success. It would not be 

 fair to say that no good stock is com- 

 ing in, as one grower I think of in 

 particular, Edward Winkler of Wake- 



liilil, had some exceptionally fine 

 stock. 



Good Snil|>flrtiKons are Nut K"*y to (iron 



Mr. Herr's article regarding Geran- 

 ium stock such as cuttings, small 

 plants and the finished plants and fair 

 prices for these has been very inter- 

 esting to me and I have been waiting 

 for someone to start the ball rolling. 

 Now I have decided to say something 

 on the matter myself and while I am 

 not coining very close to the price 

 many of the commercial men will 

 think necessary, I almost hope that I 

 am far enough away so that I can 

 induce them to criticize me freely. 

 Then we may be able to get some real 

 information. 



I certainly agree with Mr. Herr that 

 $20 to $30 per thousand for rooted cut- 

 tings will not send a man to jail for 

 profiteering; in fact, I think $20 per 

 thousand if he persists at that rate 

 might send him to a worse place, may- 

 be the poor house. There are seasons 

 of course when the average might safe- 

 ly be as low as $20, but a season like 

 the one just passed through makes It 

 necessary for a much higher price. 

 The loss of cuttings has been abnor- 

 mal, and no matter how careful and 

 expert the grower, a reasonable per- 

 centage was almost impossible. It is 

 all right for one to figure how many 

 cuttings may be taken from a plant, 

 but the important point is how many 

 may be potted up from the sand. 



Now as to small plants, either 2, 2Vi 

 or 2>/o inch makes no difference, I be- 

 lieve that $65 per thousand is low 

 enough. As to the 3, 3)% and 4 inch 

 sizes, there is room for a lot of argu- 

 ment, and I would place a low figure 

 at $15 per hundred. They might bring 

 more, but the buying public is going 

 to get gun shy if they have to pay 35c. 

 apiece for geraniums at retail, and if 

 they wholesale over 15c. they will not 

 retail for less than 25c. How much 

 more the price will be will depend en- 

 tirely upon the way the stock is 

 handled. If express charges must be 

 added and the loss from breakage and 

 other troubles, then they will have to 

 go above 25c. and we all know that 

 there are so many other bedding 

 plants that can be sold at the old 

 prices that the geranium will suffer. 

 Now I hope someone will come back 

 and show me how far wrong I am 



