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10 



The Florists' Review 



Jdnb 1, 1916. 



but having a clearer complexion than 

 its sallow and freckled parent. What 

 might be termed the climax or culmina- 

 tion of the effort was the advent of 

 Fischer's Purity. "Might be termed 

 the climax" — yes, might be, were it 

 not for the fact, as stated in a recent 

 issue of The Eeview, that Mr. Fischer 

 "now has a white that grows thirty 

 inches or more in height, with a large, 

 branched spike, any of the branches of 

 which are larger than the finest Purity. 

 The petals are like ivory; the individ- 

 ual blossoms are two inches across and 

 of the purest white." Perhaps that is 

 a real instance of capping a climax, 

 grammarians to the contrary notwith- 

 standing. 



Freesias in Fancy Hiies. 



Thus ends, as far as staged at pres- 

 ent, the first great act in the freesia 

 drama, the production of a well-nigh 

 perfect white flower. And now begins 

 the second act, the development of 

 freesias of other colors and with as 

 much as possible of the impi'oved form 

 of the latest and best white. For Mr. 



Fischer this season offers to the trade 

 a lavender-tinted freesia which he has 

 named F. splendens, and other colors 

 are to follow. And Alois Frey, of 

 Crown Point, Ind., last year placed on 

 the market both bulbs and blooms of 

 his Eainbow strain. Like Mr. Fischer, 

 Mr. Frey grows the bulk of the bulbs 

 outdoors in California, where he has one 

 of his Crown Point men in charge. 



It is well understood, of course, that 

 it would not be profitable for the or- 

 dinary, general florist to grow his own 

 freesia bulbs. It is usually more eco- 

 nomical, and more satisfactory in vari- 

 ous ways, to purchase them from spe- 

 cialists. 



Since the freesia is easily grown, fra- 

 grant and attractive; since it endures 

 more neglect in private homes than do 

 most other bulbous plants; since its 

 season of blooming can be greatly pro- 

 longed; since the flowers last a long 

 time when cut and placed in water — 

 since it has all these good qualities, 

 perhaps some florists who arfe looking 

 for more varieties of flowers to grow 

 might do worse than try the freesia. 



(MN LCTTER*>y^ DEADBIi6 



TO MABTIN MONEYMAKER. 



Dear Martin: You have bought my 

 carnations for many years; darnations, 

 you pleasantly called them when there 

 were more than usual, or when business 

 was a trifle slack. You took them, and 

 you paid me a fair price. I have done 

 pretty well. The wife has had good 

 clothes for best and the children have 

 had good schooling for every day. Since 

 you put in that buyer, Martin, things 

 are not the same. I say "Darnation!" 

 every morning, sometimes out loud, 

 sometimes under my breath, for that 

 buyer has my goat. He has carnations 

 from every place you ever heard of. 

 He lays them all out side by side, com- 

 pares the price and takes the best, or 

 the lowest .priced. Sometimes when 

 business is off he will take six from 

 one of my bunches and hand me back 

 nineteen. The impudence of the thing 

 is startling. I have looked the matter 

 over carefully, Martin, and I find we 



. .; -v.y 



are going to split on this buyer fellow. 

 It just comes to this: He gets, or you 

 and he get. What makes life worth 

 while! The happiness of the wife and 

 children. You say things are changing, 

 Martin, and maybe they are, but the 

 enthusiasm needed to make a man work 

 early and late to raise good flowers 

 isn't produced by pulling him through 

 a clothes press every day. I won't be 

 in tomorrow. 



Sorrowfully yours, 



George Grower. 



WHOSE THUNDER IS IT? 



The newspapers the country over are 

 spreading the fame of Miss Jarvis as 

 being the originator of Mothers' day. 

 In The Review for May 18, on page 32, 

 under the heading of * ' Mothers ' Day, ' ' 

 the editor says, in part: "The idea of 

 Mothers' day originated outside the 

 trade." 



Now, with all due respect to Miss 



Jarvis, I want to say that she is not 

 the originator of Mothers' day and I 

 am much surprised that The Eeview 

 is not posted as to its origin. Henry 

 Clark, deceased, of Omaha, who was a 

 florist, was the originator and it was 

 he who had the mayor of Omaha pro- 

 claim the day. Mothers' day was ob- 

 served in Omaha and Lincoln quite a 

 long time before it was ever heard of 

 in the east. If anyone is in doubt re- 

 garding the above, further information 

 can be given on the subject. 



L. S. Hinea. 



on. AS FUEL. 



I have read with interest the discus- 

 sion in recent issues of The Review 

 concerning the use of fuel oil under 

 greenhouse boilers, and I am tempted 

 to give my experience in that line. I 

 find oil a most satisfactory fuel under 

 the standard type of horizontal tubular 

 boiler. I believe it will add nearly 

 twenty-five per cent to the heating ca- 

 pacity of a boiler of forty or more 

 horsepower. 



A steam pressure of thirty pounds 

 per square inch is about as low a pres- 

 sure as will operate the system eco- 

 nomically. Although twenty-five pounds 

 will do, thirty or thirty-five pounds is 

 more efficient. 



We use a homemade burner, plans of 

 which were published about three years 

 ago. From my knowledge of oil and 

 its peculiarities, I would not think of 

 using it for hot water heating, or for 

 steam under less than a 30-pound pres- 

 sure. W. H. Cuip. 



NOT THE TBUE SHAMBOCE. 



Under another cover I am sending 

 some foliage of a plant and would like 

 to know if it is from a real shamrock 

 or not. It does not look like the plants 

 the florists grow and sell as shamrocks. 



E. J. L. — ^Mass. 



The leaves had almost completely de- 

 cayed before they came to hand. This 

 is a species of trrfolium, probably T. 

 repens, the common white clover, which 

 is often sold as a shamrock. Trifolium 

 minus and oxalis are usually offered as 

 the true shamrocks. C. W. 



MarysvUle, Kan. — H. E. Fisher has 

 been leader of the men's gospel team of 

 the M. E. church for the last two years, 

 during which the team tas been ex- 

 tremely active. He is planning a strong 

 campaign through the district during the 

 summer now approaching. 



The Establishment of R. Fischer, of Freesia Famet at San Gabrielt in Souttiem California* 



V 



