THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



Branched Plant of Ficus Elastica. 



chopped down and thoroughly mixed with 

 soil it was not more than was beneficial 

 to our usual run of soft-wooded plants, 

 such as geraniums, coleuses, cannas, etc. 



There is not any doubt that our animal 

 manures, besides imparting fertilizing 

 properties to the soil, are often of a 

 mechanical benefit, making the soil more 

 porous and friable. 



\Vo should remember, in discussing 

 the quantities and qualities of manures, 

 that there is such a wide difference, not 

 only in the chemical properties of soils 

 in different localities, but in the condi 

 tion of soils of the same qualities. A 

 meadow that has been used as a pasture 

 for ten or fifteen years will give you 

 a sod that must be rich in plant food 

 over that which has been laid down but 

 txvo years, and previously was cropped 

 year after year. Or again, the soil of a 

 market garden that has annually re 

 ceived a heavy dressing of manure will 

 grow any of our greenhouse crops, while 

 a worn-out garden k however good natur 

 ally the texture of the soil, will grow 

 nothing without the aid of some quick 

 acting fertilizer. 



In concluding this chapter I would 

 remind you that soot (bituminous only) 

 is very largely used by the plant growers 

 of Europe, and Nicholson says: &quot;It 

 has the advantage over other manures 

 that it can hardly be misapplied. No 

 soot is wasted in the cities of Great 

 Britain ; it is all sold to the farmer 

 and gardener. It is not, however, a 

 flower producer, but adds size and lustre 

 to the leaf and flower. It is used by 

 all cyclamen growers, mixed with the 

 soil, and as a liquid. And by chrysan 



themum growers it is highly valued. A 

 peck of it is put into a bag and placed 

 in fifty gallons of water, and the effect 

 on the leaf and color of the flower is 

 most marked. 



Animal or organic manures can be 

 misapplied or used to excess in the green 

 house, but in the field seldom&quot; are, and 

 it is generally a sign of a thrifty florist 

 or gardener when you see his place 

 adorned with manure piles; it is money 

 well laid out; it is an investment that 

 with ordinary management is sure to 

 come back with great interest. Millions 

 of acres in our eastern states are cry 

 ing for manure to replace the properties 

 of the soil that lazy and careless tillage 

 has year after year taken from it. 



FICUS. 



A large genus of trees or shrubs cul 

 tivated for their ornamental leaves, F. 

 elastica, familiarly known as the rubber 

 tree, is the species we are interested in 

 above all others, although for private 

 collections and botanic gardens several 

 others are noble plants. F. repens 

 (properly F. stipulata) is a small-leaved, 

 very useful climbing plant, growing and 

 adhering closely to the walls of green 

 houses, making a very pretty appearance, 

 and will withstand a few degrees of 

 frost. 



F. Parcelli has a very prettily vari 

 egated leaf. It is very unlike elastica, 

 the plant being more branching and 

 slow growing. The leaves are sharp 

 pointed, three or four inches long and 

 very irregularly blotched. It is hand 

 some when well grown, but is most 



horribly addicted to thrips and red 

 spider. 



F. elastica is now a plant of the first 

 importance with all commercial plants- 

 men. Tens of thousands are annually 

 sold. The rubber is known to all 

 as one of the very best house plants. 

 We have all seen it thriving in a dark 

 hall, and with fair treatment there are 

 few plants that will endure unfavor 

 able conditions as well. We get, how 

 ever, lots of complaints. My rubber 

 is losing its leaves, etc. 



I tell my customers to sponge the 

 leaves occasionally and if the water 

 passes through the soil freely to water 

 twice a day in summer and once every 

 day in winter. 



They stand out in pots and tubs dur 

 ing summer in the broad sun and they 

 want plenty of water. I have never seen 

 their fine leaves burned or injured by 

 the sun when out of doors, but they 

 easily burn under glass in the bright 

 days of spring before we are shaded. 



The following is not quoted for my 

 readers to follow, but the most shiny 

 leaves and greasiest soil I ever saw were 

 on a plant brought to me two years 

 ago. I think the little lady brought it 

 for my inspection because she was proud 

 of it. It looked bright and well and its 

 introduction to me was as follows: 

 What do you think of my rubber, Mr. 

 S.? I oiled its leaves yesterday with 

 olive oil, and last week a friend told 

 me she thought it was troubled with 

 worms, so I gave it two tablespoonfuls 

 of castor oil and two worms came out.&quot; 



Perhaps to Mr. Wm. K. Harris, of 

 Philadelphia, belongs the credit of grow 

 ing the finest specimen rubbers in one 

 year of any man in the world, producing 

 branching plants six feet nigh and four 

 feet through, and furnished with leaves 

 to the pot. I do not pretend to tell you 

 how to emulate Mr. Harris, but young 

 plants that are wanted to branch should 

 not be allowed, to grow three feet high 

 and then cut down to the hard wood. 

 They will break, but slowly. If wanted 

 branched pinch the top out of the 

 strongest young plants when not over 

 fifteen inches high. 



F. elastica is a tropical tree, but will 

 exist in our greenhouses in winter at 

 a temperature of 50 degrees or even 

 lower, but when rapid growth is wanted 

 70 degrees at night is the temperature, 

 and when growing those specimens 

 spoken of above it is never less than 

 that and possibly 100 in the daytime. 



The rubbers thrive in a comparatively 

 small pot and for our sales should not 

 be overpotted. A good, open, turfy loam, 

 with a fifth or sixth of manure, and to 

 this compost add one quart of bone meal 

 to every bushel. 



Propagation is by two methods cut 

 tings and what is generally known as 

 mossing. The latter is much the 

 surer way. Sometimes cuttings root 

 very well, and again under the same 

 conditions they don t. Cuttings seven 

 or eight inches long, with several leaves, 

 always the latest growths, and cut just 

 below a joint, inserted in a 2-inch pot 

 of sand and loam, the end of the cut 

 ting well down to bottom of pot and 



