FaBBUABY 1, 1917. 



The Florists' Review 



29 



The stems are tall and strong, while the 

 flowers reach immense sizes and are of 

 lasting quality. Their coloring is odd, 

 ranging between maroon, purple and 

 terra cotta. 



CALI.A BLOOMS TURN BROWN, 



Please tell me what causes calla blooms 

 to turn brown at the edges before they 

 are fully open. H. H. — Colo. 



A heavy dose of liquid manure as the 

 flowers start to. expand, given during 

 dark weather which is followed by a 

 clear, sunny day, often causes the flow- 

 ers to turn brown at the edges. You can- 

 not use any safer food for callas than 

 fine ground bone. Give the plants a top- 

 dressing of bone once in ten days. It is 

 really surprising to note how greedily 

 the roots devour this food. C. W. 



ASPARAGUS GROWN TOO COLD. 



I have seven solid beds of Asparagus 

 plumosus plants, which are growing un- 

 satisfactorily. Last September I loos- 

 ened the soil thoroughly and gave the 

 beds a good top-dressing of cow manure. 

 Subsequently I gave a light dressing of 

 lime, thinking that the soil was old 

 and perhaps sour, but this also failed 

 to help the plants. I run the beds 

 neither too dry nor too wet and main- 

 tain a temperature of 50 to 65 degrees. 

 Should I give the plants more water? 

 Is there a special food for asparagus? 

 Should I change the top soil? Some 

 plants in new beds behave similarly. 



J. G. K.— Ind. 



So far as I can judge from this re- 

 port, it seems most likely that the as- 

 paragus is being grown too cold. This 

 crop is seldom satisfactory when grown 

 in a temperature lower than 60 degrees 

 at night, and better results are secured 

 by holding the night temperature at 65 

 degrees and by giving the plants an 

 abundance of water both overhead and 

 at the root. 



When using a dressing of lime on the 

 soil, it is better to apply it sometime 

 previous to mulching, and to wash the 

 lime in with a good watering before 

 putting on the manure, for lime on the 

 manure is likely to liberate some of the 

 ammonia and thus reduce the fertilizer 

 value. W. H. T, 



ASTERS GOOD BUT SLOW. 



I have a bed of sweet peas that seem 

 to be affected with root-rot. Would it 

 be all right to plant the bed to asters? 

 If so, what varieties shall I use and 

 when shall I put them in? Would the 

 late-branching kind be the best? It is 

 a good, solid bed and the soil is rich. 



B. B. C— Kan. 



Asters should do well and should make 

 a good paying crop. Sow seeds now 

 of Queen of the Market, also called 

 Queen of the Earlies. Sow the seeds 

 in flats, later transplant into other flats 

 and plant out from these. The late- 

 branching asters would not pay you so 

 well as Queen of the Market. You 

 might also try a batch of Comet. White 

 and pink are the best colors. 



If your peas are badly diseased and 

 musf be thrown out at once, there neces- 

 sarily must be a long season when your 

 house will net you nothing. You could 

 sow ten weeks' stocks now and have a 

 Memorial day crop; or there is candy- 

 tuft. You could procure plants of dou- 



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A. J. McNUTT. 



THOUGH A. J. McNutt once temporarily abandoned the trade, liis "absence 

 mada his heart grow fonder" and he renewed his horticultural efforts with a 

 resolute energy that scorned difficulties. Note the decisive steps in his progress: 

 Born in Knox count}', Tennessee, July 20, 1875; followed his father's occupation 

 of market gardening until after his marriage, in 1895; worked at the business 

 of candy making for five years; returned to the soil, determined to succeed; built 

 his first greenhouse in 1902, making lettuce his main crop; gradually substituted 

 jlowcrs for vegetables, until, in 1913, lie was growing flowers only; in February, 

 1916, purchased the greenhouse establishment of Chas. W. Crouch, at Knoxville, 

 one of the largest ranges in the south; remodeled the Crouch store in elegant and 

 modern fashion. He has served as secretary-treasurer and as president of the 

 Knoxville Florists' Society. 



ble feverfew or snapdragons, which 

 would also net good profits at tliat time. 

 It is not a good policy to put all the 

 eggs in one basket, so why not sow 

 part of the house with asters and the 

 remainder with some other flower crop 

 that would yield you an earlier return? 

 Why not grow a crop of radishes where 

 the asters are to go? They would be 

 out of the way before your asters were 

 ready and would net you a nice sum. 



C. W. 



TILE BENCHES. 



As we are contemplating a change 

 from wood benches to tile, we would 

 like to know what you think of tile bot- 

 toms. Are tile benches satisfactory for 

 growing roses and carnations? 



W. E. W. 



those of wood. A bench much in favor 

 is one with wooden legs, with heavy 

 pecky cypress stringers running length- 

 wise. On these stringers is placed the 

 tile, which reaches halfway across the 

 bench. The edgeboard is then set on 

 top of the tile and held fast by either 

 wood or metal strips attached to the 

 legs. A good method is to run a narrow 

 strip of tar paper on top of the stringers, 

 the paper being just wide enough to 

 shed water from the wood. This will 

 lengthen the life of the stringers mate- 

 rially. You can buy tile slabs, which 

 are the same as a regular conduit tile 

 but grooved in such a way as to enable 

 one to split them. This makes a slab 

 with heavy ribs on one side, which act 

 as a reenforcement. They are made in 

 any size to suit. A. F. J. B. 



Tile benches are suitable for growing 

 any crop that will grow on wooden 

 benches;^ in fact, many growers are 

 putting in tile bottoms in preference to 



Virginia, Minn.— Alfred Johnson has 

 completed the erection of a house 56x 

 150 feet, which brings the total footage 

 of his range to 30,000. 



