16 



The Florists^ Review 



■>^,; 



DnCBMBKR 26, 1918. 



cmN U^Xm^y^ READED6 



MULCHING. 



Nearly all directions for using mulch 

 for the protection of outdoor plants say 

 not to put on the mulch until the ground 

 is frozen solid. From our experience 

 here, however, we take exception to the 

 rule. In the severe climate of Idaho, 

 with an altitude of 4,200 feet, we find 

 most of the winter-killing is done by the 

 dry zero winds. Neither windbreaks 

 nor irrigating water would be consid- 

 ered as mulch, but both are extensively 

 used here to prevent winter-killing. It 

 has often been proved that plants well 

 wet before winter sets in are less apt 

 to be killed than those left dry. Mulch- 

 ing with brush or cornstalks, or even a 

 wire fence, answers the same purpose 

 in that it collects the snow which other- 

 wise blows off. We mulch lettuce and 

 spinach with coarse material, which has 

 the threefold advantage of partial 

 shade, holding moisture and breaking 

 the wind. We use manure mulch in 

 our hotbed frames to prevent the 

 ground freezing up and, for the same 

 purpose, we spread it on ground we 

 wish to sow early sweet peas on. 



We mulch our roses as soon as the 

 fall frosts have checked the growth and 

 find it more advantageous than to leave 

 them until winter, as others do, only to 

 find them already winter-killed. 



The great difficulty with mulching 

 strawberries, as well as some perennials, 

 is the presence of the straw in the irri- 

 gating rills next spring. To avoid this, 

 we use either fine manure or poultry 

 manure and try to force a heavy growth 

 during the fall, so that the plants will 

 supply their own protection. 



Everyone who does any gardening 

 knows the advantages of the dust mulch. 

 The phrase originated with the orchard- 

 ists who perfected implements to main- 

 tain it in their orchards. It is simply 

 cultivation brought down to a fine point 

 and is beneficial whether the area to 

 be cultivated is a 4-inch pot, a flower 

 garden or a 40-acre orchard. 



H. C. Bateham. 



THE PLANT aTJABANTINE. 



In The Review of December 19 A. H. 

 Graham, in criticising the action of our 

 government with regard to the plant 

 quarantine that goes into effect next 

 June, says, "We have suffered about 

 enough from the pernicious activities of 

 swivel chair theorists tampering with 

 practical matters." The fact is that 

 one of the trade's biggest handicaps 

 has been the lack of "swivel chair" 

 theory. But now that the business has 

 grown and wages are on a par with 

 those in other trades, American spirit, 

 coupled with American ingenuity and 

 advanced ideas, has come into the trade 

 and, with the help and protection of our 

 government, we may hope to see new de- 

 velopments in our country, which is de- 

 veloping the finest brains in the world. 



I am glad to read of the quarantine. 

 The Belgians vdll understand the need 

 for it. 



In a letter to an English trade paper 

 from Jules De Puysseleyr, of Loochristy, 



quoted in the same issue, it is stated that 

 many a Belgian nursery now has no 

 plants at all. Then why worry! Palms 

 have practically disappeared and there 

 is no young stock at hand. It seems to 

 me we should think of the old adage, 

 "Necessity is the mother of inven- 

 tion." 



American talent is at work developing 

 in this country those plants that for- 

 merly came from Europe and, with a lit- 

 tle encouragement, wonders may be ac- 

 complished, and employment found for 

 many of the men returning from the 

 army. Harry A. Dubuis. 



mas crops are out of the way. A mini- 

 mum of 45 degrees to 50 degrees will 

 suffice. Be careful not to wet the foli- 

 age too much on dark days and to ven- 

 tilate carefully, or you may get mildew 

 on the foliage. The plants can have 60 

 degrees at night, once the growths are 

 two or three inches long. Be sure not 

 to crowd the plants. As hydrangeas are 

 thirsty subjects, see that they never be- 

 come dry. They also need feeding every 

 four or five days with liquid manure or 

 a chemical surfacing until the heads 

 show color. C. W. 



FOBCING FRENCH HYDBANQEAS. 



Will you please give instructions for 

 forcing French hydrangeas? 



G. E. N.— N. Y. 



BULBS IN NEW POTS. 



Directions for potting bulbs say, * * Do 

 not use new pots." If such pots are 

 used, what is the damage or result and 

 how should the bulbs be treated? 



E. F. C— Idaho. 



It is proper to use new pots if the 

 pots are soaked in water until bubbles 

 cease to rise; otherwise the dry clay 

 will draw moisture away from the com- 

 post in the pots. C. W. 



French hydrangeas, owing to the 

 absence of lilies, will be more valuable 

 than ever next Easter. They force into 

 flower easily by April 20. Place them 

 in a cool greenhouse as soon as Christ- 



ASK ME! ASK ME!! 



J. B., 111. — Follow the line of your 

 ambition. There never are too many 

 good gardeners. 



T. v.. Pa.— Address the Worko Mfg. 

 Co., Racine, Wis. 



I. C. & Co., Ind. — Kaiserin Augusta 

 Victoria or the Killarneys. 



VAi 1 Ih 



U':i:i 



WHITE BONNATFON. 



We are sending you a chrysanthemum 

 to find out its name and where we can 

 procure stock of it. Its merits are that 

 it is easy to grow, it has dark green 

 foliage, upright leaves, always a good 

 stem three or four feet long, a pure 

 white, ball-shaped flower with incurved 

 petals, averaging seven inches in diam- 

 eter, which appears ready to cut two 

 or three weeks before it is full-grown. 

 The mum ships well also. We began 

 cutting flowers of this variety Novem- 

 ber 20 and cleaned up on them at 

 Thanksgiving, though we could have 

 held them easily until December 20. 

 They brought the best price paid in 

 the wholesale market here. 



P. B.— N. T. 



MB 



bench that gets full light in a carnation- 

 house temperature. When the young 

 plant has grown large enough to make 

 a cutting and still leave a fair-sized 

 plant, remove the top for a cutting. It 

 will not be long before new growth will 

 start from both sides and base of the 

 plant. These new shoots make the best 

 cuttings and the plant will continue to 

 furnish them until late in the spring. 



One good feature about this variety 

 is that its small, dark green, upright 

 foliage allows close planting. Some 

 growers have Icomplained about the 

 wood hardening up and not growing 

 away freely enough to produce sufficient 

 stems, but when this can be overcome, 

 it is a valuable late white for commer- 

 cial purposes. Elmer D. Smith & Co. 

 advertised it in their 1918 catalogue. 



C. W. Johnson. 



The name of the variety is White 

 Bonnaffon. It is not a sport of the 

 yellow Major Bonnaffon, but a seedling 

 raised by Elmer D. Smith & Co., of 

 Adrian, Mich., and disseminated by this 

 firm in 1900. White Bonnaffon is a good 

 commercial variety for anyone who has 

 a demand for a late white bloom of 

 medium size, but it was found to be 

 hardly large enough to stand the com- 

 petition of the open market. Another 

 thing against the variety is that it 

 does not furnish cuttings freely from 

 the stock plant. A good plan to work 

 up the fltock to propagate now and, 

 when the cuttings are rooted, plant 

 them five inches apart in light soil on a 



CHBTSANTHEMUM SOCIETY. 



Work of Chicago Committee. 



The Chicago examining committee of 

 the C. S. A. has submitted a report of 

 the following new variety. 



At Chicago, December 9, the bronze pompon, 

 Agnes Mazey, Bubmitted by B. H. Mazey, Minne- 

 apolis, Mlna., scored as follows: Color, 87; 

 form, 18; stem and foliage, 19; fullness, 17; 

 total, 91. 



The variety published as Alex. Clarke, 

 submitted by William Whitton, super- 

 intendent of the Flagler estate, Green- 

 wich, Conn., should be Alex. Clarkson. 

 Charles W. Johnson, Sec'y- 



