June 7, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



541 



NEW YORK STATE. 



The difficulties some florists had In 

 getting a sufficient number of flowers 

 last week is illustrated by an adver- 

 tisement which appeared in a Sanger- 

 ties paper. It read as follows: 

 10,000 10,000 10,000 



Lily of the valley, cut flowers 

 wanted at Stow's Flower Store, imme- 

 diately. Bring sample and get price. 

 Will take all you can pick as long as 

 they last. Put plenty of foliage with 

 them. C. B. Stow, florist, Partition 

 street. 



Many improvements are being made 

 at the greenhouse plant of J. J. Arnold 

 & Son, at Cortland. The firm have 

 been shipping thousands of pansy 

 plants and could dispose of many 

 thousands more if they had any sur- 

 plus. They have also thousands of 

 coleus (foliage) plants ready which 

 they have commenced shipping to out- 

 of town customers. 



Mrs. Baust has opened a florist store 

 near Roosevelt avenue. Corona, ac- 

 cording to a Boonville paper. 



THE AMERICAN PEONY SOCIETY. 



The 17th annual exhibition of this 

 society which takes place in the Hall 

 of the Board of Commerce, Lafayette 

 avenue and Wayne street, Detroit, 

 Michigan, June 17-18, already gives 

 indications of being the best in the 

 history of the society. The date fixed 

 for the event this year is over a week 

 later than that of the exhibition at 

 Cleveland a year ago. 



Many growers who wished to make 

 exhibits in the different classes then 

 were unable to do so owing to the date 

 which was found too early for the 

 great number of growers adjacent to 

 the Lake region. The cold weather 

 that has prevailed so far this season 

 has been most favorable to the grow- 

 ers in the North Central states and 

 many of them will take advantage of 

 these exceptional conditions and make 

 extensive exhibits. 



This year no charge will be made for 

 admission to the exhibition and the 

 greatest efforts will be made to have 

 a big attendance of the flower loving 

 public, which will further popularize 

 the peony to the end that everyone 

 with even a small plot of ground will 

 hereafter grow some peonies. 



The Detroit Florists Club is co-op- 

 erating in this event with the Ameri- 

 can Peony Society and will have full 

 charge of the exhibition, and peony 

 growers everywhere are urged to their 

 utmost to make exhibits. Those who 

 are unable to bring their flowers may 

 safely address them to the Michigan 

 Cut Flower Exchange, 264 Randolph 

 Street. Detroit, Michigan, with charges 



prepaid, and marked "For the Peony 

 Exhibition." 



These will be given special care and 

 properly staged in the exhibition hall. 

 All entries for competition and cor- 

 respondence in connection with the 

 same may be addressed to J. F. Sulli- 

 van, 361 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 

 Michigan. 



GARDENERS' & FLORISTS' CLUB 

 OF BOSTON. 



The next meeting of the club will be 

 Ladies' Night, and on account of the 

 holiday, the date has been changed to 

 Wednesday evening, June 18th. The 

 annual picnic will be held at Cunning- 

 ham Park, East Milton, Mass., on 

 Thursday, July 24th. 



A CORRECTION. 



In Mr. Craig's note last week, the 

 sentence " — the course adopted during 

 the European War compares not un- 

 favorably with that of over half a cen- 

 tury ago," should have read " — the 

 course adopted during the European 

 War compares most unfavorably with 

 that of over half a century ago." 



CINCINNATI. 

 The Market. 



Since Memorial Day the supply in 

 the market has been very heavy and 

 the market is glutting up with stock 

 of all kinds. Business, while fair, is 

 slower than it was and is not able to 

 take up all of the receipts. The de- 

 mand from out of town continues to 

 be fair, although it is not as brisk as 

 it was. 



Roses are plentiful and can satisfy 

 all immediate needs in this line. The 

 carnation supply is very heavy and 

 shows the eects of the torrid weather 

 that is prevalent in this section of the 

 country. The peony market is glutted. 

 The heavy supplies in this line came 

 in too late for Memorial Day business. 

 No Easter lilies may be had at this 

 time and there is but a limited supply 

 of Rubmm and Callas. This supply, 

 however, is sufficient for present' 

 needs. Gladioli are proving good prop- 

 erty. The same is true of Lily of the 

 Valley, which are in good demand 

 this month. Other offerings are corn- 

 flower, snapdragon, stocks and Mar- 

 guerites. 



REMOVING TAP ROOTS. 



Writers in the New York Sun have 

 been having an interesting discussion 

 about tap roots. Chas. G. M. Stewart 



of Elizabeth, N. J., writes as follows: 

 In general, all vegetables which are 

 grown for their leaves or heads should 

 have their tap roots carefully removed, 

 while all those which produce root 

 crops should be permitted to retain 

 their tap roots. 



The reason for this appears to be 

 that a tap root is really not only a 

 root but a portion of the stem of the 

 plant itself growing below the ground. 

 If such a vegetable makes equal 

 growth above and below ground, 

 neither, apparently, develops suffi- 

 ciently to be of much value for table 

 use. 



In plants which head up, such as 

 lettuce, cabbage, spinach and celery, 

 it is desirable to produce as large and 

 heavy a top growth as possible. If the 

 tap root is left on these plants the 

 root gradually thickens and extends, 

 penetrating deeply into the ground. It 

 appropriates to itself all the nourish- 

 ment and deprives the head or leaves 

 of sustenance, also it prevents the for- 

 mation of the mass of small rootlets 

 nearer the surface of the ground which 

 forage for and assimilate plant food 

 from that part of the soil where it is 

 most abundant. Cut off this tap root 

 and immediately the plant throws out 

 hundreds of fine little rootlets, each of 

 which works to supply the head with 

 food. The result is that the head re- 

 ceives all the nourishment and devel- 

 ops accordingly. 



On the other hand, the edible part 

 of such plants as carrots, beets, par- 

 snips, etc., is the tap root itself there- 

 fore it is necessary to operate with 

 this in view and stimulate the develop- 

 ment of that portion of the stem be- 

 low the ground. In transplanting such 

 vegetables great care must be taken 

 not to injure the extreme tip of the 

 delicate tap root, for if this is once 

 broken its growth stops. Then imme- 

 diately there forms a cluster of small 

 rootlets, very desirable in the case of 

 celery, but absolutely worthless for the 

 production of a beet. For this reason 

 it is almost impossible to transplant 

 carrots, as the tip of the tap root is 

 extremely sensitive and the slightest 

 touch or exposure apparently destroys 

 its power of growth. Beets, however, 

 may be readily transplanted if care is 

 taken to avoid breaking the tip of the 

 tap root. 



Vegetables of which the tap root 

 forms the edible part should not be 

 grown in very rich or freshly manured 

 soil, as this has a tendency to stimu- 

 late the development of the mass of 

 fine rootlets and results in forced or 

 double tap roots. Conversely, the soil 

 for head or leaf crops should be as 

 rich as possible and plenty of water 

 should be provided. 



