NOVBMBER 1, 1917. 



The Florists^ Review 



15 



Where John Kirchner> His Wife and Their Assistants Make Funeral Designs by the Dozens. 



seed for our own use, and we needed 

 * ' ^ome ' ' seed to grow our usual output 

 of several hundred thousand plants. 

 That these reserved plants received 

 special care and were watched like a 

 baby, need hardly be mentioned. 



For some reason or other, it took them 

 unduly long to get ready to bloom; at 

 least, that is the way it seemeil to us. 

 And when they did start, a period of 

 dark weather set in, lasting much too 

 long to please us. To make sure of the 

 best possible fertilization, we jiollinated 

 whenever wo had a cliauce, but the re- 

 sults were so discouraging that nothing 

 but the liope of doing better, the will 

 and the necessitv for success kept us 

 at it. 



Well, we did succeed at last, even if it 

 was late in the season when we gathered 

 our main crop of seed. It was April — 

 too late for many of the seeds to do 

 mucli good. 



First Crop of Seed. 



As to tlie quantity of seeci obtained 

 from thi' :i,oOO plants — eight and three- 

 fourths ounces— it is so little that it is 

 hard to believe it. Yet anyone ac- 

 quainted with the production of seed 

 will readily understand the situation, 

 and we ourselves know that our results 

 this season will be much better and 

 should bo normal in another year. 



The cost of the eight and three-fourths 

 ounces of seed obtained in our first 

 trial can easily be figured. The plants 

 were in prime condition before the 

 Christmas holidays in 1916 and could 

 have been sold over and over again at 

 25 cents each. Then the bench room, 

 ],8nn square feet, could have been used 



for anot)u'r crop till the end of April, 

 which is as long as the plants occupied 

 th.is space, A like quantity of seed 

 would have cost us in Germany about 

 $250. 



Tliis high cost of a tiny quantity of 

 seed we consider simply a tuition fee 

 for learning something, and the more 

 tlie cost the better the lesson will stick. 



We awaited anxiously the results of 

 tlie home-grown seed. Would the blooms 

 be the same in quality as they always 

 liad been, or would they be inferior? 



The Blooms from Home Seed. 



We are glad to state that we arc 

 agreeably surprised with our results in 

 obtaining flower.s, wliich are not only as 

 gooil as they always have been, but so 

 much better that several years of im- 

 l)rovement seem to lie l)etween our j)rcs- 

 ent quality and tlie quality of a year 

 ago. We attribute this result, first of 

 all, to the selection of our seed-bearers 

 from thousands wlieii in bloom, with 

 the particular attention wliich we gave 

 to color, shai>e and si/e of llower, and 

 habit of plant in general. Another 

 cause is the i)ainstakiiig pollination, 

 eliminating entirely self-fertilization, 

 which often results in deterioration. 



We are jtrocecding with the work 

 more confidently this season, feeling 

 tliat we have laid tlie foundation for a 

 Viranch of our business which will prove 

 profitable and make us independent of 

 European sources. Aside from the finan- 

 cial results, the production of seed in 

 combination with hybridizing offers so 

 much fascination that it is well worth 

 all efforts which we can muster. Every 

 now and then a new flower will attract 



our attention through its superiority in 

 some particular. Wonders never cease. 



J. L. Schiller. 



FOLLOWING THE FLORIST. 



The argument advanced in the issue 

 of The Eeview for September 13 that 

 outdoor displays by florists have an in- 

 fluence upon sales of bedding plants is 

 amply proved by the neighborhood near 

 the establishment of Frank Oechslin, 

 4911 West Quincy street, Chicago. Mr. 

 Oechslin 's ])lant range occupies the 

 better part of a block in a section of 

 Chicago that is not completely covered 

 with buildings, neither is it what might 

 )»e termed a high-class residence sec- 

 tion. But around his establishment 

 Mr. Oechslin has planted cannas in the 

 parking between the sidewalk and the 

 curliing. Under the care of this expert 

 grower, the cannas were exceptionally 

 attractive during the summer. 



The effect of this outdoor display can 

 be seen in the yards of tlie homes near- 

 by. Many of them have elaborate 

 flower beds; there are many shrubs and 

 a few hedges, but in almost every in- 

 stance the lawns are exceptionally well 

 kept. There is no doubt that much of 

 this planting is due to the example set 

 bv Mr. Oeclislin. 



Wilkes-Barre, Pa.— The Marvin Floral 

 Co., 2.'') South Franklin street, held a 

 dahlia exhibition September 29, which 

 attracted great crowds. Exhibits by 

 local growers filled the large conserva- 

 tory. The show was so successful that 

 it was announceil the exhibition will be 

 made an annual affair. 



