THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



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 in- 

 jured 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 

 was 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." 



Perhaps to Mr. Wm. K. Harris, of 

 Philadelphia, belongs the credit of 

 growing the finest specimen rubbers 

 in one year of any man in the world, 

 producing branching plants 6 feet high 

 and 4 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 

 3 feet high and then cut down to the 

 hard wood. They will break, but slow- 

 ly. If wanted branched pinch the top 

 out of the strongest young plants 

 when not over 15 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 want- 

 ed 70 degrees at night is the tempera- 

 ture, and when growing those speci- 

 mens spoken of above it is never less 

 than that and possibly 100 in the day 

 time. 



The rubbers thrive in a comparative- 

 ly 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 

 cuttings and what is generally known 

 as "mossing." The latter is much the 

 surest 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 cutting well down to bottom of 

 pot and the pot plunged in some mate- 

 rial where the bottom heat is 80 de- 

 grees, will usually meet with success. 

 Keep the cuttings after the first water- 



A Wreath of Roses. 



ing only moderately moist. As the 

 leaves are much in the way a small 

 stick is inserted in the pot to which 

 the leaves are drawn up. If this were 

 not done they would take up a great 

 deal of room and be inconvenient to 

 water. They should be well rooted in 

 the small pots before being shifted. 

 Late spring is a good time to propa- 

 gate by cuttings. 



By the mossing system failure is al- 

 most impossible. August and Septem- 

 ber are favorable months for the oper- 

 ation because the wood is about right 

 then, but it can be done at any time. 

 The tops of young plants can be taken, 

 although large branching trees are 

 usually kept where they are propa- 

 gated in any quantity. Nine or ten 

 inches from the tip of the shoot, where 

 the wood is not too green nor too hard, 

 a cut is made in the wood upwards 

 about an inch and a half long from the 

 bark to about half way through the 

 shoot. Sphagnum moss is inserted to 

 keep the cut open and more moss 

 wrapped round to entirely envelop the 

 stem where the cut has been made. If 

 the moss when tied on is as large as a 

 hen's egg you have enough on. Keep 

 the moss syringed daily. 



In five or six weeks you will see 

 roots protruding through the moss. 

 Let them get well rooted and then 

 sever from the plant just below the 

 moss, and pot. The young plants 

 should be kept from sun and draught 

 till they take hold of the new soil. 



Most florists are pleased to inform 

 their customers- that this is the plant 

 that produces the rubber of commerce, 

 and a slight scratch on a shoot will 

 soon show the milky sap, but they are 



mistaken. Ficus elastica is a native 

 of the East Indies, and our rubber 

 comes from Brazil and from a tree that 

 is very unlike Ficus elastica. 



FITTONIA. 



Very pretty little trailing plants that 

 require a good heat at all times. They 

 are easily propagated in the spring in 

 warm sand. A few plants in a 6 or 8- 

 inch pan will soon cover it and make 

 very ornamental pans for the table. 

 For large ferneries they are very use- 

 ful. They like shade and plenty of 

 water during summer when growing. 



F. gigantea is somewhat erect, with 

 pale red flowers and finely veined 

 leaves. 



F. Verschaffeltii and its varieties, 

 argyroneura and Pearcei, are the 

 kinds useful to the florist, being dwarf, 

 spreading and compact, entirely cover- 

 ing the pot or pan with their very or- 

 namental foliage. The leaves of the 

 former are bright green, with a trac- 

 ing of pure white. The latter is also 

 green, with veins of bright carmine. 



FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS. 



Within twenty years there has been 

 a great change in our floral arrange- 

 ments and designs. This has been 

 partly brought about by the innova- 

 tions of the more enlightened florist 

 and partly by the more refined taste 

 of our customers who have rebelled 

 against the same old conventional ar- 

 rangements. Time was when the cen- 

 ter-piece of the table was an elaborate 

 lofty affair, very complicated in de- 

 sign and three or four feet high, and 

 if the host at the head of the table 



