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20 



The Florists^ Review 



Mat 8. 1019. 



how general the conditions at Easter 

 were over the entire United States. On 

 the Pacific coast the same conditions 

 prevailed that were noted in the cities 

 bordering the Atlantic. There were 

 scarcely any lilies on the market and 

 jto take their place increased quantities 

 of rambler roses and French hydrangeas 

 were provided. The roses predominated. 

 They, were fine. It is remarkable that 

 the roses everywhere were better than 

 usual this Easter. As an example, the 

 illustration on page 19 shows one of 

 the rambler houses of Hayashi Bros., 



Oakland, Gal., photographed just before 

 deliveries were started. This firm grew 

 four houses of rambler roses. The one 

 shown in the illustration contained noth- 

 ing but Dorothy Perkins. In the four 

 houses there were over 4,000 pot ram- 

 blers, including such varieties as Per- 

 kins, Tausendschoen, Excelsa and Hia- 

 watha. The stock was ready exactly on 

 time an.d the popularity of rambler roses 

 in San Francisco this Easter was such 

 that every plant was sold some days in 

 advance of delivery. 



STABTING SFEENOEBI SEED. 



Being a beginner in the trade, I have 

 trouble getting my Asparagus Sprengeri 

 seed to sprout. Should seed be treated 

 before sowing? I have had seed in sand 

 six weeks and there is no sign of sprout- 

 ing yet. I wish to buy some standard 

 works on greenhouse flowers, dealing 

 with management and cultural methods. 



H. S.— Tex. 



FEBTIUZEK FOE GLADIOLI 



I have a supply of fertilizer for which 

 the formula, as marked on the bags, is 

 as follows: "Nitrogen, two. to three 

 per cent; available phosphoric acid, 

 nine to eleven per cent; potash; K2O. " 

 Will you kindly let me know whether 

 this fertilizer, with wood ashes added 

 to it, will do for gladioli? Should barn- 

 yard manure also be used in conjunc- 

 tion with the commercial fertilizer? 

 Please' state, also, how much of the 

 ashes should be used per 100-pound sack 

 of the fertilizer. R. M. — Wis. 



The question as to whether stable 

 manure should be used for gladioli, or 

 for any crop for that matter, and as to 

 what amount should be applied, would 

 depend entirely upon the nature of the 

 soil. Such manure is especially desir- 

 able upon land deficient in humus and 

 there are few soils on which it cannot 

 be used to advantage. Unless the land 

 has been heavily manured in recent 

 years, it will probably be advisable to 

 apply ten to twenty tons per acre, of 

 well decomposed manure, which should 

 be disked into the soil. If the tract 

 is a clover sod or is well supplied with 

 humus, ten tons will be sufficient per 

 acre, provided commercial fertilizer is 

 used with it. 



The formula as given shows the 

 amount of nitrogen and phosphoric acid, 

 but no percentage of potash is stated. 

 From the fact that the scarcity of pot- 

 ash has made it difficult to obtain and 

 the price has almost prohibited its use 

 in fertilizers, the amount is not likely 

 to be more than one per cent, and this 

 may be ignored in determining the 

 -smount of the fertilizer desirable. 



A good grade of unleached hardwood 

 ashes should contain about five per cent 

 of potash and one and one-half per 

 cent of phosphoric acid. Just how 

 many pounds of wood ashes should be 

 used per acre will depend upon the 

 cost. Good results may be secured with 

 1,000 pounds per acre, and two or three 

 times that amount would do no harm. 

 Since the potash and phosphoric acid 

 will not leach from the soil, they will 

 be available for future crops if a larger 

 amount is applied than will be used bj' 

 the crop of the present year. 



In connection with ten tons of stable 

 manure, we would suggest the use of 



1,000 pounds of wood ashes — hardwood, 

 unleached — and 500 pounds of the fer- 

 tilizer mentioned, per acre. Provided a 

 good grade of unleached hardwood ashes 

 can be obtained for not to exceed $8 or 

 $10 per ton, as is possible in many 

 places where wood is commonly used for 

 fuel, we would use one ton of wood 

 ashes per acre, with twelve tons of 

 manure, and would not use the other 

 fertilizer. T. 



Seeds of Asparagus Sprengeri are 

 sometimes several weeks in germinating, 

 as may be said of asparagus seeds in 

 general. It is a good plan to sow them 

 in trays of light soil, covering the seeds 

 to a depth of about one-quarter of an 

 inch with the soil, and pressing the lat- 

 ter down. firmly. Place the trays in a 

 warm greenhouse, giving a night tem- 

 perature of 60 to 65 degrees, and keep 

 the soil moist. If the seed is fresh, it 

 should germinate satisfactorily. 



One of the most practical books for a 

 beginner in the florists' business is 

 ' ' Greenhouse ' Management, " by L. E. 

 Taft. This may be purchased from the 

 publishers of The Eeview. W. H. T. 



LADIES' S. A. F. 



At the St. Louis meeting a motion was 

 made and carried that the members be 

 required to vote, at the next annual 

 meeting, on the question of not paying 

 the secretary for her services, as hereto- 

 fore. Mrs. H. G. Berning, Sec'y. 



Albany, N. Y. — "If there were no 

 mistakes made, there would be no -use 

 for the eraser on the end of a pencil," 

 observed W. C. Gloeckner, of this city, 

 in referring to the recent flower show 

 of the Albany florists at the Albany 

 Cut Flower Exchange. "My idea," 

 continued Mr. Gloeckner, "was to hold 

 it at the Ten Eyck hotel, where it would 

 be viewed by our best people. As a 

 trade exhibit, it was a success." Eas- 

 ter business was good here, fully up to 

 expectation. The absence of azaleas 

 was noticeable, there being only three 

 fine plants to represent this leader. 

 Hydrangeas and roses in pots sold read- 

 ily. 



Milwaukee, Wis. — The Milwaukee Flo- 

 rists ' Club has issued invitations for a 

 ball at the Calumet Club May 15. 



Columbus, O. — The Celina Greenhouse 

 Co. has been issued incorporation papers. 

 Capital stock is $25,000 and W. T. Pal- 

 mer is named as incorporator. 



Evansvllle, Ind. — Papers of incorpo- 

 ration have been granted the Lockyear 

 Floral Co., with a capital stock of $25,- 

 000. Incorporators are Melvin H. Lock- 

 year, Ella M. Lockyear, L. E. Price and 

 Ethel B. Price. 



Concordia, Kan. — C. Humfeld, who 

 a while ago abdicated as the verbena 

 king of Clay Center, Kan., has reestab- 

 lished himself in Concordia. Mr. Hum- 

 feld is happy in his cozy quarters, hav- 

 ing a son and son-in-law just returned 

 from the service, both in good health 

 and now with him in business. The 

 boys are running the place, with Mr. 

 Humfeld steering it along only as a 

 pastime. The Humfeld houses were al- 

 lowed to run cold all winter and upon 

 return of the boys were started up again 

 with an extensive line of plants. 



Youngstown, O. — A corporation has 

 been formed to conduct the greenhouses 

 which have been operated here by John 

 Walker. The new company is to be 

 known as the Walker Floral Co. The 

 names of the incorporators, with the 

 exception of that of Mr. Walker, have 

 not been made public. 



Minneapolis, Minn. — The greenhouses 

 operated here by E. Nagel & Son, located 

 at 1118 West Lake Street, have been 

 purchased by Harry F. Baker and will 

 be conducted by him in connection with 

 his nursery and greenhouses on Lake 

 Harriett boulevard. The landscape office 

 will be at the Lake street address, where 

 Mr. Baker is remodeling the building. 



Iowa City, la. — James Aldous & Son 

 have leased a handsome new business 

 home at 112 South Dubuque street, 

 across the street from Hotel Jefferson. 

 The business was started in 1873, by 

 James, Sr. James, Jr., joined him four- 

 teen years ago, after a term of training 

 in New York, although he was born in 

 the home at the greenhouses. Business 

 is increasing steadily. 



