May 10, 1919 



HORTICULTUKE 



I 15 



you are on it, are you doing your full 

 share? Are you putting 1 per cent of 

 your gross receipts into publicity, 

 either local or national? Well, if you 

 are not, you are still short of your 

 full share of the work. 



"Did you ever stop to think why 

 people buy so many flowers? Do they 

 use them for others? You say, 'Yes, 

 that is true.' 



"What are you doing toward the 

 cause that is educating people as 

 never before in all history, to give 

 flowers to make others and them- 

 selves happy, and to help make the 

 echo as quoted in the opening of this 

 article ring in your ear? DO WE 

 HEAR THAT YOU ARE DOING, OR 

 WILL DO, YOUR PULL SHARE? If 

 so, then you are certainly a happy 

 person, along with the rest of the 'pub- 

 licity boasters,' and we shall reach the 

 $100,000.00 goal before the snow flies. 



"You, no doubt, have a subscription 

 blank. Fill it out and send it to Sec- 

 retary Young today. 



"J. F. Ammann, Pres." 



The following subscriptions have 

 been received and are in addition to 

 those previously announced, annually 

 for four years, unless otherwise 

 stated: 



Miss L. Doussard, E. St. Louis, 111., $10; 

 Nick Dahm. Morton Grove, III. (1 yr.), $10; 

 Robert M. Henley, Hartford City, Ind., $5; 

 Carl A. Jagsoh, Columbus, O. (Addl. Subn.) 

 $20; The Munk Floral Co., Columbus, O., 

 $25; Henry Heinl, Toledo, O., $25: John 

 Barrow, Toledo. O. (3 yrs.), $10; Under- 

 wood Bros., Columbus, 6., $13; T. J. Lud- 

 wig. Columbus, O., $25; James McKellar, 

 Columbus, O., $5; Abram Stevens, Spring 

 Valley, N. T., $10; H. R. Wilson, Columbus. 

 <>.. $25; J. L. Schiller, Toledo, O., $25; Emil 

 Metzmaier, Columbus, O., $10; Seottwood 

 Greenhouse, Toledo, O.. $20; Harrv O. Book, 

 Burlington, la., $5; C. L. Van Meter, Monti- 

 cello, la., $5: W. W. Horlaeher, Dayton. O., 

 $25; John Heidenrich, Indianapolis. Ind., 

 $5: Smith & Young Co.. Indianapolis. Ind. 

 (2nd Subn.), $25; John Rieman, Indianapo- 

 lis. Ind., $5; Pahud Floral Co., Indianapolis, 

 Ind., $15; M. Brandlein, Indianapolis, Ind., 

 $25 ; H. M. Reiman's Sons, Indianapolis, 

 Ind.. $25; Indianapolis Fower & Plant Co., 

 Indianapois. Ind., $25; Roepke Floral Co., 

 Indianapolis, Ind. (1 yr.), $15: Hartje & 

 Elder, Indianapolis. Ind. (2nd Subn). $15; 

 Albert Kempo. Indianapolis. Ind., $2.50; 

 Fred R. Hnkreide, Indianapolis. Ind.. $5; 

 C II. Schomeyer, Indianapolis. Ind . $10; ,T. 

 B. Knapp, Sayre, Pa., $5; George Lisburg, 

 K. Hampton, N. Y., $3; Francis Roller. As. 

 torla, L. I., N. Y'., $5; Rudolph A. Brux, 

 Racine, Wis., $5: Win. Goos, Bettendorf, 

 la.. $5; Fred W. Wise, East Aurora. N. Y.. 

 $5: J. F. Vovrous Sons, Lebanon. Pa., (1 

 vri, $10: total, $485.50; previously reported, 

 $34,862.60; total, $35,348.50. 



John Young, Secy. 



1170 Broadway, New York, 



May 3rd, 1919. 



GROWING DAHLIAS COMMER- 

 CIALLY. 



HOW TO CUT ROSE BLOOMS. 



Cutting roses so as to preserve and 

 encourage a maximum number of 

 blooms is almost an art. Experience 

 indicates that to preserve the most 

 flower buds, the stem should be cut 

 back to the first five-leaf shoot that 

 will allow the proper length of stem 

 for the cut flower. The wood at the 

 three-leaf shoot might develop a bloom 

 but it is likely to produce blind wood. 

 — Ohio 8tati07i. 



As my methods of growing dahlias 

 commercially on a large scale are gen- 

 erally considered to be somewhat dif- 

 ferent from those followed by most 

 dahlia growers, I have been asked to 

 describe them. This year I shall plant 

 about forty acres and shall follow my 

 usual custom of starting the work the 

 first Monday in May. I shall be 

 through by the middle of July and 

 perhaps earlier, depending on the 

 weather. 



I have been told that my farm is 

 exceptionally free from weeds and I 

 make it a hard and fast rule to pre- 

 vent all weed growth. This is easier 

 than it was when I first started, but it 

 requires regular cultivation and care- 

 ful preparation of the soil. I use a 

 two-horse plow, and put it into the 

 ground from 12 to 14 inches deep. 

 Then I go over the ground with a fine 

 tooth harrow or a cutaway harrow. I 

 harrow the fields twice in both direc- 

 tions, and arrange to have the harrow 

 lap each time. 



Each field is manured lightly every 

 other year, the manure being plowed 

 in and about two cords to the acre. 

 Every third year Connecticut lime- 

 stone is applied and harrowed in, 

 about 800 pounds being used to the 

 acre. My plantation is divided in 

 such a way that one-third is limed 

 each year. I am strong for lime when 

 growing dahlias. It keeps the ground 

 sweet and improves the flowers. 

 While I do not use a great quantity 

 of manure, I also plow in all of the 

 stalks left when the dahlias are dug 

 in the fall. Nothing is burned, and 

 the dahlia tops help to keep the soil 

 filled with humus. Constant use Is 

 also made of commercial fertilizer, 

 either bone meal or a regulation po- 

 tato fertilizer, about 1,200 pounds be- 

 ing put on to the acre. It is used in 

 the furrows and is mixed with the soil 

 by pieces of brush to which a couple 

 of horse shoes are tied. Boys pull 

 this brush up and down the furrows. 

 Furrows where the Pompom dahlias 

 are to go are three and one-half feet 

 apart. For the other dahlias, from 

 four to four and one-half feet is left 

 between the rows. When striking 

 out the furrows no line is used, but 

 my plowman, who is an expert, can 

 get them remarkably straight by his 

 eye. The plow goes twice in each fur- 

 row. The tubers are dropped by hand, 

 and my instructions are to have from 

 three to eight inches between the 

 crowns. The tubers themselves often 

 lap if they are long, so that it looks 



as though the planting was very close. 

 It is always the eye, though, that we 

 are paying attention to. The tubers 

 are covered by cultivators and by the 

 time the planting is finished the first 

 fields put in are ready for cultivation. 

 Besides being cultivated with the 

 horse, all the dahlias are hoed by hand 

 twice. 



In planting my fields I use many 

 tubers which other growers would 

 throw away. The cutting up of the 

 clumps is begun in the fall and con- 

 tinued all winter, from ten to fourteen 

 men being employed. All of the poor- 

 est tubers, those with broken necks, 

 etc., which could not be sold are care- 

 fully saved and planted. I have found 

 that oftentimes the broken necks will 

 knit in the course of the winter and 

 make good tubers to plant in the 

 spring. 



The tubers are carefully stored in a 

 cellar which is just damp enough to 

 prevent shriveling, and where the 

 temperature does not go below 38 or 

 above 44. One piece of ground on my 

 farm has been used for dahlies eleven 

 years, and last year the flowers on 

 this piece were better than ever. 



J. K. Alexander. 



WORCESTER FLORIST'S PLAN. 



H. F. Littlefield, florist at 552 Main 

 street, has a plan in mind which he 

 feels certain would result in placing a 

 large number of building mechanics 

 at work now, and which would also 

 materially assist in providing employ- 

 ment for many soldiers who are re- 

 turning to Worcester by the hundreds 

 every day. 



Mr. Littlefield's suggestion is that 

 10,000 Worcester property owners 

 pledge themselves to have at least 

 $25 worth of building repairs done 

 during the month of May. He be- 

 lieves that there isn't a single house 

 in Worcester but what needs repairs 

 of some kind and that these will have 

 to be made sooner or later, but that 

 as present conditions are, when thou- 

 sands of men are out of employment, 

 it would be fulfilling a patriotic duty 

 should they elect to have the work 

 done when it is of such importance. 



Mr. Littlefield estimates that this 

 would cause work to be done amount- 

 ing to at least half a million dollars, 

 and that this would give employment 

 to 400 building mechanics during the 

 whole month of" May, or until such 

 time as building conditions become 

 more settled. — Worcester News. 



