22 



The Florists^ Review 



FOBBUABT 3, 1016. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleyas. 



Cattleya Trianse, the florists' cattleya 

 par excellence, now fills the center of 

 the stage and will do so for at least a 

 couple of months longer. A larger 

 number than usual of these appeared in 

 flower last Christmas, thanks to the 

 warm fall aijd open winter until that 

 time. This cattleya is cheap and every 

 florist who is able to grow orchids at 

 all should try a case of them. It is far 

 better to buy newly imported plants 

 rather than established ones. There is 

 always a probability of some fine types 

 appearing in an imported case, but if 

 the dealer sells established plants which 

 have bloomed, he usually reserves all 

 good forms and holds these at fancier 

 prices. 



The repotting of cattleyas that are 

 done flowering should be pushed ahead 

 now. In eight or ten weeks there will 

 be a thousand and one jobs needing at- 

 tention and all possible potting should 

 be completed now. Secure an adequate 

 stock of fern flber if you have not 

 enough on hand. Use pots and pans 

 rather than baskets and be sure to 

 make the plants firm in the pots. This 

 cannot be done with the fingers alone; 

 the spongy and springy lumps of fiber 

 can only be firmed properly by using 

 pointed hardwood sticks to press them 

 into position. 



Odontoglossums. 



Continue to give odontoglossums all 

 possible sunshine. We want the foliage 

 to assume a deep, bronzy hue, the 

 stamp of good health and a guarantee 

 that, when summer heat arrives, plants 

 with such leaves will withstand the 

 torrid conditions vastly better than the 

 deep green-leaved ones which many 

 may now applaud and admire. Look out 

 for shell snails and protect the plants 

 with a band of cotton batting as soon as 

 the pests appear. If there are any snails 

 around they are sure to chew up any 

 unprotected spikes on such odontoglos- 

 sums as crispum, Pescatorei, Anderson- 

 ianum and others that are now showing 

 their flower spikes. 



STEVIA NIPPED BY FROST? 



Our stevia for this winter's flower- 

 ing grew strong, heavy stalks and 

 stems, but the flowers amounted to lit- 

 tle. We had a rainy fall. Would that 

 cause poor flowers? S. B. — N. Y. 



housing? They are injured by a mere 

 breath of frost. If kept in a cool 

 house, abundantly watered and well fed 

 when potbound, they should have flow- 

 ered well, always provided they had 

 not received any chill before housing. 

 This might not show at all on the fo- 

 liage. C. W. 



A CASE OF OAS POISONING. 



I am writing to inquire the cause of 

 black spots oh tke leaves and stems of 

 rubber plants, ana am enclosing a leaf 

 taken from one of the affected plants.' 

 The plants were purchased last summer, 

 the wholesaler claiming that they were 

 superior to theeild variety. The plants 

 in the houses are unaffected, but I have 

 had three complaints from buyers, who 

 said that the leaves and stems turned 

 black and finally died. 



I believe gas is used for heating in 

 the homes of the buyers. A leaf that 

 was brought to me for inspection ap- 

 peared as though it had been oiled. It 

 had a good green color, but was black 

 in spots. I would greatly appreciate 

 your assistance in ascertaining the 

 cause of the trouble. M. W. B. — 0. 



The ficus leaf in question was quite 

 dry and brown when rfceived, but it 

 showed some darker spots that should 

 not have been there had the leaf been 

 normal at the time it was removed 

 from the plant. The evidence points 

 to a case of gas poisoning, but there is 

 a fallacious idea extant among some 

 householders that it is beneficial to^ a 

 rubber plant to wipe off its leaves with 

 an oily rag. Some even pursue this 

 idea to the extent of giving a dose of 

 the oil to the soil, with a view to ex- 

 pelling the worms from the soil. Any 

 such treatment is dangerous, but if oil 

 was not used on the plant then it would 

 seem that the trouble was caused by 

 gas poisoning. W. H. T. 



TIME TO START CANNAS. 



When should canna bulbs be planted 

 to have them about a foot high by Dec- 

 oration day? R. H. W. — Ohio. 



Start your bulbs in a warm, moist 

 house six or eight weeks before you 

 want them. If you start them April 1 

 they will be of ample size. C. W. 



A rainy fall would not be respon- 

 sible. Are you sure the plants were not 

 BubjocteJ to a light freezing before 



You Know? Lefkoyen! 



One of our salesmen in a seed store, 

 failing to understand a little German 

 woman's request, called me to his as- 

 sistance. The little lady gave him a 

 scornful look and turning sweetly to 

 me asked: 



"Haf you got it in English, vot ve 

 calls it in Cherman, 'Lefkoyen' "? 



We had. It was stocks. M, F. 



What's a Universalist? 



It was during the holiday rush. We 

 had sent out for hot chicken sand- 

 wiches and coffee. Just as we were 

 about to sit down to our belated feast, 

 Johnny Murphy was called out into the 

 store to wait on a lady. After look- 

 ing at everything and pricing the en- 

 tire stock, she decided she wouldn't 

 "buy today," but would wait until 

 tomorrow, when the fresh flowers would 

 be in. 



We were discussing Universalists 

 when Johnny came back. Savagely 

 grabbing a sandwich and his cold cof- 

 fee, he asked: 



"What's a Universalist?" 



"Why, they are the people," he was 

 informed, "who don't believe in any 

 future punishment. They think that 

 we get all our hell on earth." 



"Well, by George!" exclaimed John- 

 ny, "the fellow who invented that 

 religion must have been in the flower 

 business." M. F. 



Who's Ter Beauty? 



A young countryman came to town 

 with his best girl. Passing a flower 

 store, they stopped to admire the dis- 

 play of flowers. 



' ' Say, Hennery, I just wisht I 'd some 

 nice roses. Them red ones look good." 



"Does yer? Well, let's go in and 

 get some. Nothings too good fer you." 



"Say, Mister, got any nice roses?" 



•*Yes, Hoosier Beauty." 



"What's that?" 



' ' I said Hoosier (who 's yer) Beauty. * ' 



"Say, Mister, if it's an introduction 

 yer wants' it won't do no good. We're 

 engaged. She don't hanker for city 

 dudes anyhow, but since ye 're so gosh 

 darned inquisitive I s'pose I may as 

 well tell ye her name is Mandy Smith. 

 (Aside) Ye 're right. Mister, she's some 

 beaut." 



"Beg pardon, sir, but I meant to 

 tell you that we had red roses by the 

 name of Hoosier Beauty." 



"Well, well! I'm from Indiana my- 

 self, and so's Mandy. Gosh, that's a 

 good one! Gimme a quarter's worth." 



J. L. J. 



Served with Chicago's Breakfast. 



A florist announces, "Flowers tele- 

 graphed to all parts of the world." 

 At least you can hand a person a 

 bouquet by wire. — B. L. T., of the W. 



G. N. 



