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14 



The Florists' Review 



July 6, 1916. 



OiEN UETTER^y^" READEnd 



HARD-BURNED POTS. 



Some years ago, I saw at an amateur 

 chrysanthepium show mum plants 

 grown in 1-gallon tin maple sugar cans. 

 The plants had three to five large flow- 

 ers. They were twenty inches high, 

 with luxuriant foliage hanging' over the 

 "pots." Indeed, they were finer mums 

 than any I ever saw grown in pots and 

 would have created a sensation at the 

 Cleveland show last November. 



The idea occurred to me then, and 

 has many times since, namely, why do 

 not florists use hard-burned pots instead 

 of soft-burned ones? This led me to 

 experiment and I now am thoroughly 

 convinced of the advantage of the hard- 

 burned container. I do not mean hard 

 pots, glazed, like stoneware, but me- 

 dium hard, usually rated as "seconds." 

 I am well aware of the advantages of 

 the soft-burned pots, that they retain 

 moisture, etc.; but it seems to me that 

 in the "retaining" process they suck 

 the moisture from the soil, affording an 

 extra surface for evaporation, which 

 overbalunces the retaining feature. 



I had always been annoyed by the 

 dirty, green, slimy, unsightly pots after 

 having been used once. I never could 

 see an advantage in washing such pots 

 that was commensurate with the trou- 

 ble and cost. I now have 4-inch pots 

 that have been in almost continuous 

 use for three years and they are almost 

 as clean as new pots. Having grown 

 plants for forty years, with a good pair 

 of "specs," I fail to see in the plants 

 anything that would favor the soft- 

 burned pot. I am forced to admit that 

 I used soft-burned pots because my 

 father did. From an economical stand- 

 point, in breakage and in handling, the 

 odds are greatly in favor of the hard- 

 burned variety. 



The old, wire hanging basket illus- 

 trates the extreme in this principle and 

 the soft-burned clay basket is but little 

 better, unless painted. These I dis- 

 carded many years ago. If hung out- 

 doors, one had to water them often to 

 get results. In the hands of the inex- 

 perienced they would prove failures. I 

 have adopted a galvanized iron 

 "basket," with a top diameter of thir- 

 teen inches, a bottom diameter of 

 twelve inches and a depth of seven 

 inches. They have proven satisfactory 

 to my customers. They hold sufficient 

 soil to "back up" anything you can 

 get in them and, being so well protect- 

 ed from the air, the growths soon hide 

 the "basket." S. C. Templin. 



MR. KERR'S ENTHUSIASM RISES. 



Secretary Young now is prepared to 

 receive reservations for the trade dis- 

 play at the S. A. F. convention in Hous- 

 ton this summer. There is a great deal 

 of enthusiasm among the southern 

 florists about this convention, and you 

 may take it from me that there has 

 never been an occasion when so many 

 southern florists have been assembled 

 in one body. 



At our last two Texas conventions we 



had something like 125 florists from 

 within the state. We are expecting 

 at least 200 florists this summer from 

 within the state. There is little doubt 

 that we will have this number in at- 

 tendance. Now, it is believed that we 

 will have 300 or 400 florists scattered 

 through the south at this convention, 

 which will give us at least 500 florists 

 from the south. This alone makes it 

 worth while making an exhibit at the 

 Houston convention. 



There is a great interest throughout 

 the country in this trip to see the south- 

 land, and I am convinced that we may 

 expect several hundred florists from 

 other sections of the United States. 

 We hsrve set our mark for 1,000 florists 

 in attendance at the Houston conven- 

 tion. There never has been a conven- 

 tion that has been given so much wide 

 publicity as the Houston convention. 

 We are just beginning on this publicity 

 work, and you may rest assured that 

 we are not going to miss our mark far. 



Here is an extract from a letter re- 

 ceived from C. L. Baum, of Knoxville, 

 Tenn.: 



At least one from each firm In this city will 

 be there, and, from what I can learn, there will 

 be more florists out of my state at the Houston 

 convention that were ever at a convention before. 

 I think we can depend on Nashville, Memphis 

 and Chattanooga for at least one member from 

 every florist firm. 



I am writing all the state vice-))resldent8 of 

 states adjoining my state, which are eight in 

 number, Tennessee being bounded by more states 

 thin any other 8tat<% in the U. S.,'and am aslcing 

 them to cooperate with me In a great campaign 

 to have the largest delegation from this section 

 of the south that ever went to any convention, 

 and I firmly believe that fully ninety per cent 

 of the southern florists will attend the convention 

 in Houston. 



You can depend on me to put every effort for- 

 ward to make the Houston convention the largest 

 and best convention the S. A. F. ever has had, 

 and I assure you that there will be a larger 

 number of southern florists present than ever 

 before, and that the members from the north, 

 east and west will never regret coming south. 



Anyone interested may address me at 

 Houston, or may write Secretary John 

 Young, 53 West Twenty-eighth street, 

 New York city. E. C. Kerr. 



FORGET-ME-NOTS FOR WINTER. 



Will you please give me the name of 

 the myosotis that will bloom indoors 

 through the winter? A. S. — 111. 



A form of Myosotis dissitiflora named 

 Perfection is the best winter-flowering 

 variety I have seen. The color is dark 

 blue. G. W. 



Mews from 



roQ< 



London, England. — There was a meet- 

 ing of the leading growers of rose 

 plants July 5, during' the Holland House 

 show, to consider the question of prices 

 for the coming season. The impression 

 prevails that an agreement on minimum 

 prices is essential if the trade is to 

 survive the war. 



Hillegom, Holland. — Compared with 

 an average year, the tulip crop is not 

 likely to be abundant and the hyacinth 

 crop is much below the average; really 

 top-size bulbs will be scarce. Not 

 only was considerably less planted, but 

 in the face of high-priced manure, 

 scarcity in labor, low prices, etc., the 

 bulb growers have tried to economize 

 in OA^ery direction, which will tell on 

 the size of the bulbs produced. Nar- 

 cissi will give a fine crop, but crocuses 

 are not so g6od as usual. 



Haarlem, Holland. — The recent order 

 prohibiting the importation of Holland 

 bulbs into the British islands has 

 caused consternation among the bulb 

 exporters, especially those that formerly 

 dealt principally with England. In 1915 

 the British isles took 17,814,500 pounds 

 of Holland bulbs, against 22,423,500 

 pounds in 1913, when conditions were 

 nofmal. In 1915 bulb exports to Ger- 

 many and Austria increased only 368,- 

 380 pounds over 1913, but the United 

 States took 5,911,180 pounds more than 

 in the year before the war. It thus 

 appears that the usual market for about 

 two-fifths of the exportable crop now is 

 closed to the growers and that the 

 United States is about the only un- 

 restricted market. 



Paris, France. — The Societe Nation- 

 ale d 'Horticulture de France recently 

 held the first flower show attempted 

 here since the outbreak of the war. 

 Although smaller than previous June 

 shows, it was a decided success. Among 

 novelties was Kose He de France, semi- 

 double, brilliant scarlet with large 

 white eye, a seedling from American 

 Pillar, exhibited by Auguste Nonin, who 

 also had Hydrangea hortensis Gloire de 

 Boissy, a splendid bright rose of fine 

 form. Mouillere, of Vendome, showed 

 Hydrangea hortensis Le Marne, an un- 

 usually vigorous sort with ample and 

 leathery foliage, enormous trusses of 

 carmine-rose passing to bright carmine, 

 festooned deeply and irregularly. 



London, England. — ^The council of the 

 Horticultural Trades Association has 

 reported that "as far as could be 

 judged from the statements and tone 

 of the officials, the bulb trade could now 

 go forward with their catalogues and 

 other arrangements in certainty that no 

 Dutch bulbs would come in this season. 

 The board felt that they must re- 

 serve the right to consider any special 

 case of particular hardship, but the 

 disposition was to grant no licenses 

 whatever. It was resolved that a let- 

 ter of thanks be written to Sir Guy 

 Granet for his kind and sympathetic 

 reception of the deputation from the 

 association, and special stress be laid 

 upon the point that the restriction on 

 imports should not be removed until 

 the end of nine months, otherwise a 

 complete dislocation of the trade would 

 ensue." 



