THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



house dry, from the time the buds 

 show color till the flowers are cut, a 

 gentle fire heat should also be put on 

 as soon as we get cool, damp weather 

 and the ventilators kept open day and 

 night as long as possible. A sprink- 

 ling of air slaked lime at intervals 

 through the growing season under the 

 benches and walks will keep the at- 

 mosphere sweet and help the plants. 



The chrysanthemum is afflicted with 

 most of the plant enemies we have to 

 contend with. The black, yellow and 

 green aphis can be kept down with a 

 moderate but regular smoking, but 

 make sure to clear them of all aphis 

 before the buds are far advanced. 

 Thrip and red spider sometimes make 

 their attacks during hot spells, but 

 can be kept down by a proper use of 

 the hose. 



When the young plants are set in 

 the soil of the bench give them a thor- 

 ough watering to settle the soil around 

 the roots. Plant all varieties firmly. 

 For tall growing sorts inclined to 

 weak stems, a uniform pounding of the 

 soil after the plants have made new 

 roots will .make the root action slower 

 and stronger and the stem will be 

 correspondingly stronger and shorter 

 jointed. 



Be always very careful when water- 

 ing, particularly with the early varie- 

 ties, and a good look over the bench 

 before you begin will make you aware 

 of spots in the bed that may go an- 

 other day or two. I have often no- 

 ticed that where all parts of the bench 

 were watered alike, the outside rows 

 came into flower considerably earlier 

 than the interior plants. The outside 

 rows getting more light and air dry 

 out quicker, thus hastening bud forma- 

 tion. By care in keeping the bench 

 at an even degree of moisture you can 

 bring in a crop evenly, which is a 

 consideration both as to price you get 

 for your flowers and your ability to 

 clean up the bench for succeeding 

 crops. Syringe during the growing 

 season once or twice a day, as the 

 weather may require, but always al- 

 low the foliage to dry before night. 



In using liquid manure do not apply 

 when the soil is very dry. If applied 

 after a moderate watering there is less 

 danger of over feeding and feeding 

 should be discontinued entirely after 

 the flowers show color. In concluding 

 these rather lengthy remarks on wa- 

 tering I will say when you do water 

 be sure that it is enough to wet the 

 soil clear through to the boards of the 

 bench or bottom of the pot as the case 

 may be. When you have acquired the 

 science of watering and practice it 

 carefully, wisely and faithfully you 

 will have gained about 17 points out 

 of 20 towards being a good gardener. 



August the 10th is as early as it is 

 generally advisable to take the buds of 

 the earliest varieties and those will be 

 "crowns." In taking or selecting buds 

 the side growths must be taken out as 

 soon as large enough to rub off with 

 the thumb and the plants kept quiet 

 until the buds are well formed. The 

 crown being an unnatural bud re- 



quires considerable care to insure its 

 producing a perfect bloom. Terminal 

 buds are the safest and in most varie- 

 ties produce the best flowers, while 

 crowns are earliest and should be used 

 for that purpose, if properly under- 

 stood. 



All flowers should be cut and placed 

 in water at least 18 hours before being 

 put on the counter or shipped to the 

 retailer. Varieties that easily drop 

 their petals, as some of the most beau- 

 tiful do, and yet desirable, should be 

 in water 36 hours. This will harden 

 the flowers and hold the petals. If the 

 flowers are to be shipped it is time 

 well spent to pack with the greatest 

 care so they arrive at their destina- 

 tion as perfect as wheji they were cut. 



I know of no better way to tie or 

 support the stems 1 of chrysanthemums 

 than by running wire across the bench 

 near every row and a corresponding 

 wire above the plants, keeping the up- 

 per wire well up. From the wire on the 

 bench to the one above run a string 

 for every plant. The cheapest string 

 you can buy is good enough. Thisi is 

 easily disposed of when the crop is cut. 

 You may throw away the bottom wire 

 but the upper one is not likely to be 

 in your way and will do duty for sev- 

 eral years. Anyone adopting this plan 

 will never again resort to stakes of 

 any kind, unless it is for late struck 

 batches on side benches. 



Chrysanthemums can be planted 

 much closer than they often are, but 

 that will depend on how many flow- 

 ers you intend to grow to each plant, 

 and that again is controlled by what 

 your trade' demands. Three at the 

 most is all you should expect from any 

 plant, and I believe it most satisfac- 

 tory all 'round to grow but one stem 

 and one flower on any plant, and then 

 plant thickly. The rows 8 inches apart 

 and the plants 6 inches apart in the 

 rows will do for all the moderate-sized 

 flowers; for very large specimen flow- 

 ers, 10x8 would be better. 



Pot Chrysanthemums. 



For several years the demand for 

 these has not been at all satisfactory. 

 I believe there is only one way to 

 profitably grow a moderate-sized, 

 healthy pot plant, that will keep its 

 foliage and really be respectable in 

 November. Choose healthy, young 

 plants, that have been propagated in 

 April. If they have been stopped once 

 and are in 3-inch pots, so much the 

 better. By the middle of June you will 

 have some vacant benches to spare 

 by the clearing of bedding plants, or 

 you may throw away a bench of car- 

 nations. Five or six inches of soil on 

 the bench will do, and even if it has 

 grown carnations the previous winter, 

 is good enough, with the addition of 

 bone flour and a little rotted manure. 



Plant 15 to 18 inches apart. They will 

 make a fine growth during summer 

 and should have all their growths 

 stopped at least twice before lifting. 

 You have them under perfect control 

 by this method, and can keep them 



watered and syringed, as well as keep- 

 ing the aphis subdued. The first of 

 September, neither three days before 

 nor after, is the time to lift them, 

 which should be done with a digging 

 fork, and by getting the fork down flat 

 on bottom of bench you need not lose 

 a fiber. These plants grow a great deal 

 after lifting, so don't crowd them into 

 too small a pot. We find a 6, 7 and 8- 

 inch suits the different varieties. A 

 few days of shading and a frequent 

 syringing and they will have taken 

 hold of the new soil, when you must 

 give them a light, airy house. 



These plants on an average have 12 

 to 20 buds, each branch disbudded to 

 one flower. Most of them can be tied by 

 one stake in the center and thread or 

 raffia leading to each branch; larger 

 plants, such as Lincoln always makes, 

 will require several stakes; but let 

 them be always small and inconspicu- 

 ous. Only a few varieties are adapted 

 to this purpose. The short jointed, 

 dwarf varieties are the ones, and of 

 all varieties that I have tried, Ivory 

 and Lincoln are the ideals. Maud 

 Dean is pretty fair, and so is Bonnaf- 

 fon. 



CINERARIA. 



What florists understand when we 

 speak of cinerarias are those which 

 have originated from C. cruenta. The 

 hardy species, although acceptable 

 plants for the herbaceous border, 

 where hardy, are not of much value to 

 the florist. Since the introduction of 

 the cineraria, or rather since its com- 

 mon use as an ornamental plant in our 

 greenhouses, a wonderful improve- 

 ment has been made in size, color and 

 form of flower as well as in the habit 

 of the plant. They are of easy culture 

 and it may be said that any glass 

 structure, where it does not actually 

 freeze, will grow cinerarias. But like 

 many other of these soft wooded 

 plants which can be called "a cheap 

 plant and easy to raise" a slight mis- 

 take or neglect will ruin the whole 

 lot. A palm or an orchid will be much 

 less liable to permanent injury by ne- 

 glect or mismanagement, for what is 

 a cineraria but an abomination unless 

 it has broad, stiff, healthy leaves, and 

 if it has those it will be sure to have 

 a handsome head of flowers. 



It is quite possible that some choice 

 varieties are still perpetuated by cut- 

 tings, as they commonly were years 

 ago, but that with the American grow- 

 er is never thought of, neither is it at 

 all necessary, for a fine strain is 

 readily produced from seed supplied 

 by our leading houses. Double varie- 

 ties were also a novelty a few years 

 ago and supposed to be a great ac- 

 quisition, but the cineraria, like some 

 other florist's flowers, is not in the 

 slightest degree enhanced in beauty, 

 either as an individual flower or as a 

 decorative plant by its being double. 

 It is simply a monstrosity and the 

 craze for the double varieties has van- 

 ished. 



If flowering plants are wanted by 



