18 



I • ■* 



The Florists^ Review 



Jandabt 30, 1919. 



DKAC^NA CANES ABE BAEBED. 



Plant Quarantine Shuts Them Out. 



The full extent of the injury inflicted 

 on the florists' trade by the import quar- 

 antine ordered to go into effect June 1 

 is not yet realized by the rank and file, 

 but every day new features are develop- 

 ing which add to the alarm with which 

 the quarantine now is viewed. As a case 

 in point, an importer who recently has 

 brought large quantities of dracsena 

 canes from Trinidad and Brazil asked 

 the Federal Horticultural Board how 

 this item will be affected by the quaran- 

 tine. He was told that the importation 

 of dracajna canes must cease June 1. 

 Here is the letter of Lester E. Palmer, 

 who is in charge, for the board, of plants 

 and plant products under restriction: 



We have your letter inquiring whetiier dra- 

 cjcna canes may be permitted entry after June 

 1, next, as scions or as exempted nursery stock. 

 In reply thereto I regret to advise you that on 

 and after June 1 next, the importation of dracsena 

 canes will be prohibited. 



I note your understanding that one reason for 

 the prohibition of plant importations is to en- 

 courage home production. In this connection it 

 should be said that Quarantine No. 37 with regu- 

 lations was formulated by the board for the sole 

 purpose of protecting the agricultural and horti- 

 cultural Interests of this country from dangerous 

 plant diseases and insect pests. 



The second paragraph of the letter 

 "is to laugh;" that is, it would be 

 funny if it were not so great an injury 

 to a business shown, in the War Indus- 

 tries Board's census published in last 

 week's Review, to represent an annual 

 turnover of more than $46,000,000. 



One of the Fo^ies. 



When imported dracsena eanes have 

 no roots or tops, but are merely living 

 sticks ranging from one foot to three 

 feet in length and from one-half inch 

 to two inches in thickness, according to 

 variety. They are usually packed in 

 moss or fiber to retain their vitality, 

 though occasionally packed in sand, 

 according to variety and distance ship- 

 ments have to travel. When received by 

 the growers, the canes are laid in the 

 propagating greenhouse benches in pure 

 sand, and as the young growths appear 

 cuttings are taken and rooted and grown 

 on into plants. The canes are thrown 

 out when they have served their pur- 

 pose in producing cuttings. Since none 

 of the varieties produced from these 

 canes can grow outside of greenhouses 

 in any part of the United States, there 

 is no likelihood of injurious insect pests 

 or diseases being introduced through 

 them. 



The Tederal Horticultural Board al- 

 ready is on the defensive in the mat- 

 ter of this too far-reaching and unwar- 

 ranted quarantine. The members are 

 said to reply that the protest is only by 

 importing houses, whose business is in- 

 jured. If this is the case, the protests 

 of florists will be numerous enough 

 when they fully realize what has been 

 done to them. 



LILY BULBS WITHOUT SOIL. 



safely from Japan if they are not to be 

 permitted entry except when "free from 

 sand, soil or earth, ' ' to use the language 

 of the quarantine order. 



It is probable that most of those in- 

 terested in Japanese lily bulbs, which 

 includes practically every florist in the 

 United States, have failed to note that 

 the quarantine order prohibits the con- 

 tinued use of the only method of pack- 

 ing lily bulbs which has been found 

 safe. 



"Lily bulbs," says Mr. Scheepers, 

 ' ' are harvested without the original 

 soil in which they are grown, being at- 

 tached or adhering to the roots, but as 

 soil is known to be the only safe mate- 

 rial as applied to imports of lily bulbs, 

 ])articularly those from Japan, where 

 the long voyage is likely to extract the 

 moisture and growing quality if packed 

 in vegetable packing material, the regu- 



lation should be so modified as to 

 permit the continued use of dry soil, 

 which has so far been unknown to be 

 infected with any pests or plant disease. 

 If absolutely necessary, however, this 

 soil could be treated by some process of 

 sterilization that would in any event 

 destroy any insects or diseases that may 

 be present. " . 



Publishing Trade Secrets. 



Mr. Scheepers points out another fea- 

 ture of the quarantine order which is 

 distasteful to dealers: "Each case," 

 of the few items permitted entry, "must 

 bear a label giving name and address of 

 exporter, name and address of importer 

 and number of permit. This means that 

 you are forced to advertise to everyone, 

 throughout the districts through which 

 these cases must pass, the name and 

 address of your supplier, often a secret 

 source that you have sought for years to 

 obtain and now to be given publicly to 

 all interested." 



The more the trade studies the quar- 

 antine the more unnecessary and dis- 

 tasteful it seems to become. 



It can be undone by the signature of 

 the Secretary of Agriculture. 



m^iLM^ij^itij^iy{iikL¥ii.¥Ai*iti^mjii^^^^ 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS 

 FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS 



HYDBANGEAS IN THE SOUTH. 



With the scarcity of lilies and the 

 impossibility of holding Dutch bulbs for 

 Easter, except in a few of the northern 

 states, French hydrangeas will have a 

 peculiar value this season. Those potted 

 up in the late fall are making good roots 

 now and may be given a rather warmer 

 night temperature, say 56 degrees. 

 Syringe them freely, but do not over- 

 water. 



In a short time, when the roots are 

 more plentiful, they will need lots of 

 water. They probably will make Easter 

 all right in the temperature stated, if 

 the house has a good exposure. Besides, 

 they can be pushed during the last six 

 weeks if there is any fear of their being 

 late. Unlike lilies, they will keep a 

 long time, often coming into flower in 

 a cool, shaded house, if a cool house can 

 be found in the south so late in the 

 season. The way this winter is going, it 

 seems as if the difficult part will be to 

 hold them back. Give them plenty of 

 manure water from the time the flowers 

 are seen until they show color. This 

 will increase their size and intensify the 

 different shades. L. 



Scheei>ers Finds Another Joker. 



John Scheepers, of New York, wants 

 to know how lily bulbs are to come 



LILIES FOB EASTEB. 



Those growers who can have a few 

 lilies in bloom for the coming Easter 

 will be fortunate, as they are sure to 

 get good money for them. The predic- 

 tion is being freely made that these 

 flowers will bring at retail this Easter 

 $1 per bloom and they will be worth all 

 of it and more too. The weather so far 

 this winter has been so warm and genial 

 that one hardly knows how to advise 

 to bring them in at the right date. Our 

 own plants are still in a cool house, in 

 a night temperature below 50 degrees. 



If I only were certain of a brand of 

 weather such as we are having now, I 

 could trust them to come right just 

 where they are, with possibly a week or 

 two of a higher temperature near the 

 finish. A late Easter, however, generally 

 means a late spring, and we are liable 

 to have much colder weather in March. 

 As Easter comes April 20 this yfear, I 

 would rather push the plants a little 

 toward the finish, as it is almost im- 

 possible to hold them when open at that 

 late date. The varieties this year are 

 Harrisii and longiflorum. The Harrisii 

 lily does not stand so high a forcing tem- 

 perature as our old friend giganteum, 

 so it is safe to reckon on seeing the bud 

 six weeks before the flower is needed. 

 If present appearances count for any- 

 thing, this lily is making a strong bid 

 for winning returning favor. So far I 

 do not believe we have thrown out over 

 one per cent as showing disease. Be 

 careful not to overwater the plants. 

 Knock one out here and there occasion- 

 ally and note whether the roots are nice 

 and white. The pots may be filled up 

 now with a rich compost, which will 

 give them the additional nourishment 

 required. Space the plants as they need 

 it, that the bottom foliage may be per- 

 fect. L. 



Delphos, O. — Walter Trentman con- 

 siders this one of the best average sea- 

 sons in his long experience. The extra 

 prices paid for flowers have been offset 

 by the saving in fuel. 



Defiance, O. — Christ Winterich, said 

 to be one of the first, if not the first, 

 to boost the cyclamen as a house plant, 

 is more than pleased with the record 

 shown on his wholesale and retail slips. 

 He predicts next season will^^qual, if 

 not surpass, the present one. 



