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The Florists^ Review 



Afbil 13, 1916. 





I VEGETABLES AND 

 I FRUITS DEPARTMENT 



■■■niiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiH 



TOMATOES UNBEB GLASS. 



Artificial Pollination. 



Under glass, where tomatoes are 

 forced extra early, it is often difficult 

 to get the flowers to set well. It is 

 then advisable and often necessary to 

 adopt artificial methods of fertilization. 

 The simplest and most efficient method 

 is the following: Procure a rabbit's 

 tail and tie it to the end of a bamboo 

 sufficiently long to reach all the rows. 

 At noon, when the sun is at its height, 

 go over all the rows, and on all the 

 plants lightly brush every truss with 

 the rabbit's tail. This method will 

 transfer the pollen from one flower to 

 another, and it is the exception to the 

 rule for a flower to fail to set. The 

 plants are not injured and the process 

 is a quick one. It should be followed 

 up each day as the flowers develop. I 

 have never known it to fail and I 

 have handled tomatoes under glass- by 

 tiie acre. 



Moderate Defoliation. 



There has always been a considerable 

 amount ef discussion on this question. 

 Some believe in no defoliation, while 

 others advocate a severe pruning of 

 the leaves. Basing my opinion on my 

 own practical experience, I favor a 

 modified pruning of the foliage, ac- 

 cording to the stage of the plants' 

 growth. 



Suppose for a moment we examine 

 a tpmato leaf. On the under side of 

 the leaf the glass will show us a num- 

 ber of small holes or stomata. These 

 are the lungs of the plant and are ab- 

 solutely necessary to its well-being. The 

 leaves draw up the sap and maintain 

 the life and vigor. I would never 

 prune a leaf until the fruit is well de- 

 veloped, and then I would remove a 

 third of the leaf, never pruning a leaf 

 beyond an undeveloped bunch of fruit. 

 Such a pruning will allow more light 

 and air to reach the fruit and it will 

 naturally ripen much earlier. By cut- 

 ting the leaves above an unmatured 

 bunch of fruit you check its de- 

 velopment. 



If you severely prune the leaves when 



the fruit is in a young state, it will be 

 soft and will not develop with solid 

 flesh, owing to lack of support. On 

 the other hand, suppose a plant is 

 loaded with fruit which only wants 

 the coloring. In such a case I have 

 seen growers cut away all the foliage 

 and then water the plants. With noth- 

 ing else to take the supply of moisture, 

 it goes to the fruit, which immediately 

 cracks, and the result is a large quan- 

 tity of worthless fruit. 



The happy medium is best with the 

 tomato. Therefore, never prune above 

 an undeveloped bunch of fruit. Only 

 cut away a third of the leaf. You will 

 then accelerate the ripening without in 

 any way deteriorating the fruit, and 

 this should always be the object of the 

 grower, F. E. B, 



BUBN OB BOT OF LETTUOE. 



"We are sending by parcel post a box 

 of greenhouse leaf lettuce, which, as 

 you will see, has rot about the heart 

 and j-oots. Some of the benches are af- 

 fected, while others are all right. We 

 put in new soil in our benches last year 

 and have only UBed half-rotted or com- 

 pletely rotted horse manure as a fer- 

 tilizer. We are at present cutting our 

 fourth crop of lettuce. What do you 

 think is the trouble! All the benches 

 are receiving the same quantity of ma- 

 nure and the same kind of soil, yet 

 some are affected as above stated. We 

 shall appreciate it if you can explain 

 the cause and a remedy for the trouble. 



S. B.— HI. 



The burn or rot is common on lettuce 

 in winter. It is not due to improper 

 soil, but to temperature changes. It 

 usually is worst if bright, sunny days 

 follow a number of dark ones, and in 

 order to avoid rot or burning it is neces- 

 sary to pay close attention to ventila- 

 tion. A case in point came to my notice 

 only a few days ago. We had a spell 

 of dark weather, with the greenhouse 

 roofs more or less covered with snow;. 

 This was followed by a bright day and 

 the lettuce in this particular house was 

 badly scorched. The only way to avoid 

 the rot or burn is to ventilate the 

 houses freely and to keep the tempera- 

 ture down. Successful lettuce growers 

 are constantly running to the ventila- 

 tors, taking off or putting on air, and 

 the closest attention to this is neces- 

 sary to avoid your trouble. Keep your 

 night temperature at 48 to 50 degrees 



and keep it down to 56 degrees on dark 

 days, with a rise to 65 degrees if the 

 day is bright. This applies, of course, 

 to winter lettuce. There is more harm 

 in getting temperatures above than be- 

 low these figures. 



Do not wait until your house gets 

 hot and then rush on a lot of air, and 

 do not remove it in like manner. Give 

 and remove ventilation gradually and 

 you will be little troubled with burn 

 or rot. C. W. 



SCBANTON'S FLOWEE SHOW. ! 



The Scrauton Exhibitors. 



The third annual flower show of the 

 Scranton Florists' Club was held April 

 6 to 8, in the Town hall. The commit- 

 tees in charge were: Ways and means, 

 Wm. MacDonald, C, W. Baldwin, T. B. 

 McClintock and Anton Sehultheis; dec- 

 orating, A. L. Besancon, L. E. McClin- 

 tock, W. R. MacDonald, Francis Moran 

 and G. E, Clark; report to trade papers, 

 Francis Moran; publicity, C. W. Bald- 

 win and T. B. McClintock; floor man- 

 ager, B. E. Cokely. 



In the center of the hall was a mound 

 of crimson ramblers in full bloom. 

 These were grown by Wm. MacDonald, 

 of Moosic, Pa. At the entrance, T. B. 

 McClintock had an attractive display 

 of Cineraria stellata and Boston ferns, 

 A display in the southwest corner of 

 the hall was one of the most notable, 

 being made up of Azalea mollis, spruce 

 trees, arbor-vitae, retino^poras, box- 

 woods and cinerarias. 



The New York Floral Co. filled its 

 space almost entirely with cut flowers. 

 There were baskets of lupines, Amer- 

 ican Beauties, Russell and Hadley roses, 

 snapdragons, yellow irises, and anem- 

 ones. This concern was the only one 

 to exhibit a bride 's bouquet, which was 

 made of white roses and valley. 



Sehultheis, the Florist, had the largest 

 exhibit in the hall. A charming din- 

 ner table decoration was made of Ward 

 roses, orchids, azaleas and rhododen- 

 drons. Japanese gardens, baskets of 

 Hadley roses and other basket arrange- 

 ments were part of the display. Spe- 

 cial mention must be made of a hand- 

 painted basket containing yellow hya- 

 cinths and primroses and a basket of 

 Scotch heather, tied with plaid ribbon. 



Anton Schulthei« had on exhibition 

 some of the finest rhododendrons seen 

 here for some time. The blossoms were 

 of rare size and beauty. 



Baldwin, the Florist, arranged an 



The Schultbiet Display In the Spring Show of thc.,Scranton FlorUto' Ciub, April 6 to 8. 



