HORTICULTURE 



VoL XXXI 



MAY 29, 1920 



No. 22 



THE TALK OF THE TRADE 



Cold storage lilies bid fair to be 

 good property during the sumiuer and 

 early fall months. There seems to bo 

 no great quantity being forced, and 

 with only a normal demand the mar- 

 ket should clean up everything that is 

 offered at fair prices. While it is 

 true that nothing but good prices can 

 be looked for if the grower is to get 

 bis money back, at the same time we 

 have noticed that at no time after 

 Easter when there is usually a slum|i 

 in lilies has this crop gone down to 

 anywhere near the point of other 

 years. We think on the whole that 

 even with the high prices of bulbs 

 considered, the grower of lilies has 

 come out whole in almost everv case. 



Begonia plants of such varieties as 

 Melior, Cincinnati. I^orraine and Peter- 

 son are in e.\cellent condition for this 

 time of the year. The Kaslern mar- 

 kets are sure to have a heavy quantity 

 of good-sized plants. The stock that 

 will be in large sizes for the holidays 

 is showing up nicely now, and there 

 is no question of there being a nor- 

 mal quantity of good-sized plants, and 

 of course there is plenty of time to 

 work into the small sizes for another 

 six. to eight weeks. 



Quite a number of begonia growers 

 are working hard now on top cuttings, 

 and from now on it will be a busy 

 time gettin.g all the stock that is pos- 

 sible from tops. These cuttings will 

 make good plants if carried along 

 properly, and for making up particu- 

 larly they are good value. Of course 

 they do not give the same symmetri- 

 cal, well-flowered and well-finished 

 plant that a leaf cutting does, but 

 for smaller sizes such as four and 

 five inch, and for mixed hampers and 

 pans, they suit every purpose. 



Cineraria stellata seems to be com- 

 ing more in favor as a commercial 

 plant, and there is no reason why it 

 should not have its place with other 

 pot plants of similar character. Well- 

 grown plants of stellata are very at- 

 tractive, and there is no doubt that 

 they will find a ready sale. 



The main difficulty is that there la 

 a tendency to have them in too large 

 sizes. It would not be advisable to 

 start the seed at this time, as this 

 would mean plants that would be too 

 large to handle well. Seed started in 



July should give ,!i;ood results, and a 

 good strain of stellata will prove a 

 pleasing crop in more ways than one. 



A crop that should l)e considered 

 at this time is Hydrangeas, if you 

 want good plants for next season forc- 

 ing, and I have noticed growers going 

 pretty heavy on stock for growing on 

 in such sizes as 2, 3, 4 and even as 

 high as .") inch, which should make a 

 good assortment of sizes and good 

 stock for next season. 



A most excellent list of varieties is 

 offered, such as Mme. E. MouUere 

 and Avalanche in white, which are al- 

 ways to be considered. Baby Bimbi- 

 nette is one that has become very 

 popular. It is dwarf in growth, a 

 beautiful, lively, deep pink color, and 

 is an easy one to grow. Lille Mouil- 

 lere is also one that everyone should 

 handle: it is doubtful it there is any 

 one single variety in French hydran- 

 geas that has more friends. 



Souvenir de Mme. E. Chautard is 

 one of the older varieties and still 

 very satisfactory. Trophee is one of 

 the later ones that has found a place 

 for itself. It is strong in growth, 

 bloms very freely, and is the deepest 

 in color, of any of the French that I 

 have seen. It can safelv be called 



red .\lual Itose is anulher good pmk 

 and it has one feature in particular 

 that makes it valuable; it will stand 

 any amount of abuse, and flowers al- 

 most continually. 



Besides those mentioned, there are 

 other good varieties which are com- 

 monly grown, sucli as Eclaireur, Gen. 

 de Vibraye, Mme. Auguste Xonin. 

 .Mme Maurice Hamar and Mme. Fou- 

 card. The latter is also a very deep 

 colored variety and is popular for that 

 reason if for no other 



We read continually in the daily 

 press about the great numbers of im 

 migrants coming into our country, but 

 how long must this continue before 

 the florist is going to feel its effect? 

 It is a safe bet now that the numbers 

 coming in are being absorbed in other 

 lines just as fast as they land, and 

 all florists agree that no sign of a let 

 up in tlie labor situation has showed 

 up to this time. That is brought par 

 ticularly to our attention when we see 

 florists advertising and hear them 

 calling and offering for unskilled labor 

 at wages as high as $5 and $6 a day. 

 and in some cases even more; and 

 for so-called skilled labor, which sim- 

 ply means in most cases the slightest 

 experience, $35 per week upwards. As 

 a matter of fact, the unskilled laborer 

 who will help in emptying and filling 



CiiifTuriii >teUata 



