18 



The Rorists^ Review 



Mabch 16. 1916. 



MAINE FLOBISTS' SOCIETY. 



" ' The Officers Elected. 



Thip representative tradesmen of the 

 state of Maine assembled at Orono 

 Marcih;^for the second annual meeting 

 of the Maine State Florists' Society, 

 which was held in conjunction with 

 Farmers' week at the University of 

 Maine. In the absence of the presi- 

 dent, Secretary Alexander Lurie called 

 the meeting to order at 9 a. m. A let- 

 ter from the absentee was read and the 

 reports of the secretary and treasurer 

 were submitted and approved. These 

 proceedings were followed by the bal- 

 loting for officers, which resulted in the 

 reelection of the incumbents, with the 

 exception of the secretary, whose new 

 duties will take him out of the state. 

 The officers are: President, J. H. Stal- 

 ford, of Bar Harbor; vice-president, C. 

 S. Strout, of Biddeford; treasurer, E. 

 Saunders, of Lewiston; secretary, E. T. 

 MuUer, of Orono. The following con- 

 stitute the new executive board: J. H. 

 Stalford, C. S. Strout, H. L. Chadwick, 

 Miss M. A. Clark, F. L. Minott and 

 P. M. 01m. 



A rising vote of thanks was tendered 

 Alexander Lurie for his good work to- 

 wards making the society a success. 

 The organization was started by Mr. 

 Lurie a year ago, and it has progressed 

 rapidly through his efforts and the loyal 

 support of the florists. Mr. Lurie has 

 resigned his position as instructor of 

 floriculture and landscape art at the 

 university, to take up work in connec- 

 tion with the Missouri Botanical Gar- 

 den, at St. Louis. 



The Program. 



After a short but excellent program 

 a dinner was given the society by the 

 home economics department of the Uni- 

 versity of Maine Agricultural College. ' 

 The program follows: 



President's letter. 



Report of the secretary, A. Lurie, Orono. 

 Report of tbe treasurer, E. Saunders, Lewiston. 

 "Fordnf Shrubs,^' by A. B. Thatcher. Bar Har- 

 bor. • 



"Ret«lllDg Flowers," by E. Saunders, Lewiston. 



The Exhibition. 



During the day of the meeting and 

 the one following, March 8 and 9, a 

 good exhibition of Maine-grown flow- 

 ers and plants was given in one of the 

 horticultural laboratories of the uni- 

 versity. The principal exhibitors were: 

 F. L. Billings, of Richmond, carnations; 

 H. L. Chadwick, of Houlton, sweet peas, 

 calendulas and schizanthus; the J. W. 

 Minott Co., of Portland, carnations; E. 

 Saunders, tulips, hyacinths, narcissi, 

 roses and carnations; R. Barrows, of 

 Gorham, carnations; Mrs. M. A. Clark, 

 of Ellsworth, primroses, cyclamens and 

 begonias. 



During the year the society is plan- 

 ning to hold meetings in various parts 

 of the state and offer prizes for exhib- 

 its at these meetings. This would cre- 

 ate a state-wide interest in the society 

 and its doings. 



VEGETABLES AND 

 FRUITS DEPARTMENT 



■■lllliillilllilllililllllllillMli^ 

 TOMATOES UNDER GLASS. 



Tarentum, Pa. — "Four doctors have 

 given me up, but I think I still will be 

 reading The Review when springtime 

 comes,'' says Q. A. McWilliams, of 

 the McWilliams Floral Co. Mr. Mc- 

 Williams was troubled with carbuncles 

 last summer, and in trying to cure him 

 the doctors started blood poisoning, 

 which was like going from the frying 

 pan int(Lthe fire. 



Care of the Seedlings. 



In a former article, on page 88 of 

 The Review of March 9, I described 

 my method of sowing tomato seed in 

 rows. But some reader will say, "Why 

 all this trouble f Why not sow broad- 

 cast?" For the simple reason that 

 young seedlings require space, light 

 and air, as human beings do. Cover 

 around the seedlings and you get a lot 

 of spindle-legged plants. Deprive them 

 of air and they turn yellow. Give 

 them too much water and they rot off. 

 All these conditions can be avoided if 

 the seedlings have ample room in 

 which to grow. Again, many things 

 may occur to prevent your pricking off 

 the young seedlings at the proper time. 

 Then they will rapidly draw and 

 weaken and your plants will be almost 

 useless. Many of them will be useless 

 and the remainder will be so reduced 

 in vitality that they will require weeks 

 to recover. 



From the sowing of the seeds on- 

 ward, we treat with greenhouse cul- 

 ture. The temperature for the seed- 

 lings should be 65 degrees. This will 

 give quick-grown but sturdy seedlings, 

 providing they are not neglected. 



When the seedlings are in rough leaf 

 they should be pricked off immediately. 

 Procrastination is abhorred by prac- 

 tical and successful growers. The 

 right work must be done at the right 

 time. When the tomato seedlings are 

 in rough leaf, that is the time to trans- 

 plant them. The compost for this pur- 

 pose should be prepared in the fall 

 and placed under cover for use. It 

 should consist of fine, loamy soil, with 

 which has been incorporated a 7-inch 

 pot of bone meal to the barrowful of 

 soil. Good bone meal will contain 

 about forty-eight per cent phosphate 

 and four and one-half per cent am- 

 monia. The phosphate will provide bal- 

 anced nutriment. 



Transplanting the Seedlings. 



Let it be understood, then, that when 

 the young seedlings are in rough leaf, 

 they should be transplanted into flats. 

 The bottoms of the flats should have 

 holes in them for drainage. On the 

 bottoms of the flats place half an inch 

 of rough soil for extra drainage. On 

 this place two inches of soil in which 

 to plant the seedUngs. It will be an 

 advantage to mix a 7-inch pot of flne 

 bone meal with every barrowful of 

 soil. This slight stimulant will help 

 the young plants greatly. In trans- 

 planting, be careful not to injure the 

 primary root, and avoid crushing the 

 stem. Allow a distance of at least two 

 inches from plant to plant, and three 

 inches from row to row. Air, space and 

 light help to grow strong, healthy 

 plants. 



^ When the seedlings have a nice quan- 

 tity of roots and three or four well 

 developed leaves, they should be potted 

 off into 3-inch pots. Use a good 

 fibrous soil, well chopped up, to which 

 should be added a 7-inch pot of bone 

 meal to the barrowful of soil. Always 

 drain the bottom of the pots well with 



broken crocks. Good drainage is most 

 important. A wet, water-logged soil 

 means stunted growth and diseased 

 plants. Always pot tomato plants 

 firmly. A tight, close, porous soil is 

 ideal for the purpose. Firm potting 

 means a good supply of fibrous roots 

 and plenty of root hairs, which taJte 

 the plant food up from the soil. 



r. E. B. 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS. 



W. M. Deyoe & Co., of Oil City, Pa., 

 report excellent sales of cyclamen 

 plants in 5-inch pans, $1 each being no 

 exception. "It shows how the public 

 appreciates our choice strain," re- 

 marked Manager W. Smith. 



L. J. Rowe, of Titusville, Pa., had 

 some fine cyclamens left, but reports 

 the largest sales on record. A nice 

 lot of cinerarias are being grown for 

 Easter. 



George W. Evenden, William J. Even- 

 den, Charles T. Evenden and Harry L. 

 Evenden, of Williamsport, Pa., have in- 

 corporated under the name of Even- 

 den Bros. Co., with a capitalization of 

 $50,000. Plans are under way for an 

 extension of the business. 



C. E. Rossiter, of Sunbury, Pa., says 

 he cannot find a more profitable let- 

 tuce than Grand Rapids as a winter 

 crop. 



Charles B. Groff, of Frederick, Md., 

 has succeeded to the. business of his 

 brother, David, and undoubtedly will be 

 as successful, having a long experience 

 and an up-to-date place. 



Henry A. Bester & Sons, of Hagers- 

 town, Md., quickly recovered from the 

 confusion caused by the recent fire and 

 have a well grown stock ready for 

 spring shipments. 



Miss Mary Bester, of Hagerstown, is 

 much pleased with the season's busi- 

 ness. Her patrons have stood loyally 

 by her. 



Byer Bros., of Chambersburg, Pa., 

 have completed a fine office. They in- 

 tend to tear down and rebuild the old 

 range, which is to adjoin the new block, 

 making one of the most prominent re- 

 tail places in the Cumberland valley. 



U. G. Harglerode, of Shippensburg, 

 Pa., says he has built up a good busi- 

 ness through classified ads in The Re- 

 view. He is somewhat puzzled as to 

 how to treat prepaid orders for stock 

 which purchasers wish sent by parcel 

 post, but make no provision to cover 

 the cost of postage. To deduct the 

 amounts would require considerable fig- 

 uring, and he believes express ship- 

 ments still are the most satisfactory, 

 looking at the proposition from every 

 point of view. Mr. Harglerode has 

 given his two sons an interest in the 

 business, 



Dan Offerle, of Warren, Pa., reports 

 a busy season and looks for a double- 

 header from now on. As soon as the 

 rush is over, considerable rebuilding 

 will take place. w. M. 



Dayton, O. — At the March meeting of 

 the Dayton Florists' and Gardeners' 

 Club the following were elected to 

 office: President, Horace M. Frank; 

 vice-president, Elmer Brehan; secretary, 

 J. Schaeffer; treasurer, J. W. Rodger s. 

 The directors are Mrs. L. Johnson, M. 

 L. Vogel and J. T. Good. A permanent 

 committee named consists of E. Jen- 

 kins, G. W. Frisch, Jr., A. Knhntz, A. 

 L. Derringer and Clarence Bondebush. 

 Plans for a banquet sometime this 

 month were discussed at the meeting. 



