AUGUST 14, 1919. 



TThc Florists^ Review 



13 



C»iCN LCTTEl^y^ READEn6 



THEN AND NOW. 



In representing my firm, I travel 

 mostly through the south. I consider 

 that the coming part of the United 

 States. To give an illustration of what 

 the southern florists have had to over- 

 come, I want to repeat what John Scott, 

 of Huntsville, Ala., told me. 



When he went to Huntsville, the 

 small-town people only bought flowers 

 for funerals. To buy flowers for table 

 decorations or to wear was considered 

 a sin and an extravagance. Mrs. Scott 

 had been sick and a woman friend had 

 been exceedingly kind to her during 

 hor illness. It happened that a member 

 of this woman's household became ill 

 and Mrs. Scott, remembering her kind- 

 ness, sent a boy to the house with a 

 bouquet of flowers. The colored girl 

 opened the door and when she saw the 

 flowers, cried out: 



"Boy, for Gawd's sake, take them 

 flowers back. The man ain't dead yet." 



Remember this happened not so many 

 years ago and is a fact. Now the young 

 sports are buying 10-dollar corsages for 

 their best girls. ' A. F. Eilers. 



PEPPER FOR GREEN WORMS. 



I use common black pepper, the same 

 as is used at the dinner table, for the 

 green worms that infest . mignonette 

 plants through the fall months. I take 

 the 2ounce can and sprinkle the pepper 

 on the plants when they are small. 

 Usually a 2-ounce can will take care of 

 a bench 4x100 feet. As the green worm 

 is the same as the cabbage worm, the 

 pepper remedy works equally well on 

 both. 



I have heard florists say that they 

 would grow mignonette if they did not 

 have to spend so much time picking the 

 (^reen worms. I have mentioned black 

 pepper to them, but they seem to think 

 it a joke and pass it up. 



Thos. H. Hall. 



TO FURTHER THE CAMPAIGN. 



The work of the national publicity 

 campaign of the S. A. F. has no doubt 

 proved a wonderful stimulus to the use 

 of flowers for all purposes. 



A campaign of this character natur- 

 ally invites thought and ideas from 

 those directly interested. Kecently 

 while I was touring in the rural dis- 

 'riets through some wild and woolly 

 fountry devoid of bright' and showy 

 flowers, the thought occurred to me that 

 hi>ro was a splendid opportunity to put 

 ^Jofore the public our slogan, ''Say It 

 \vith Flowers." This could be done by 

 the planting of brightly colored flowers 

 that are easily grown, such as poppies 

 and marigolds. Along t«e iPoadsides and 

 streams are numberless places which 

 '■"uld be made little beauty spots by 

 the planting of proper flowers, not for- 

 getting a little sign in the background 

 )^'ith our slogan. As to the effect, there 

 '"^ "0 doubt about it. 



A campaign of this character might 

 pe taken up by local florists, who could 

 "'vite the aid of local horticultural and 



civic societies. A few pounds of seed 

 and a few days' time in the spring will 

 do the trick. Perhaps Secretary John 

 Young could induce the S. A. F. direc- 

 tors to adopt and furnish a standard 

 sign for the purpose. 



To me this idea appeals strongly and 

 I respectfully submit it for considera- 

 tion at the coming convention. 



William E. F. Weber. 



HOW TO SOW FINE SEED. 



Often the complaint is made that fine, 

 minute seed, such as that of primula, 

 cineraria, calceolaria and gloxinia, does 

 not germinate. How to sow these seeds 

 is of such vast importance that a few 

 suggestions, primarily intended for the 

 layman, may be of interest to florists. 



The best receptacle in which to sow 

 these seeds is a shallow box, which need 

 not be more than two inches deep, with 

 holes in the bottom through which water 

 will drain quickly. These boxes should 

 be filled with finely sifted sandy soil 

 which has been run through a sieve as 

 fine as mosquito netting. The soil should 

 be mixed with an equal amount of leaf- 

 mold, also sifted as fine as possible. 



The object is lightness of soil, for if 

 such tiny seeds are sown in a stiff soil, 

 the germ, though of strong vitality, is 



too weak by nature to find its way 

 through. 



After filling the boxes with the proper 

 soil to within a half-inch of the top, pat 

 it down with a smooth board until it is 

 as level as it can be. Sow the seed 

 carefully over the surface, diatribvting 

 it evenly. Sift with a sieve just so mueh 

 soil over the seed as will barely cover 

 it lightly, and no more, pressing it down 

 again with a smooth board. 



Then take a sprinkling-pot with the 

 finest kind of a rose and shower the soil 

 with a spray. Cover the box with glass 

 until the seeds have germinated, keep- 

 ing it at a temperature as near 60 de- 

 grees as possible at night, and spray 

 only when the surface appears dry. 



As soon as the seed leaves have de- 

 veloped, the plants must be transplanted 

 carefully in light soil, similar to that 

 used for the seeds, at a distance of from 

 one to two inches apart, also in boxes. 

 Not only will this prevent them from 

 damping-off, but they will become mueh 

 stronger. In a few weeks, they will be 

 strong enough to plant in 214-inch or 

 21/^-inch pots. C. E. Gloeckner. 



BEST PEONIES FOR IOWA. 



Will you please tell me what are the 

 best and most profitable peonies to 

 grow in central Iowa for cut flowers? 



R. W. T. 



We would suggest the following 

 peonies as suitable for growing in cen- 

 tral Iowa: White, Festiva Maxima, 

 Monsieur Dunont and Couronne d'Or; 

 pale pink, Delicatissima and Venus; 

 deep pink. Monsieur Jules Elie and 

 Docteur Bretonneau; red, Felix Crousse 

 and Delachei. W. A. Peterson. 



:4]ixswwwi«y[««iiami«i««t««i»« 



GROWERS' GLEANINGS 



?«vii7S?ll^trs?1t^iri?!tYS?]I^ri«Yltrstirr^ 



WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS. 



"The public wants Easter lilies at 

 Easter," observed William Scott, of 

 the Wm. Scott Co., Buffalo, N. Y., "and 

 without them it would be like Christmas 

 without snow. We intend growing our 

 usual number, despite the advanced 

 prices, figuring that many of the re- 

 tailers will drop out and there will be 

 a proportionate call from those who 

 continue in the game. We handle 9 to 

 10s, which will cost, allowing for a fifty 

 per cent shrinkage, 40 cents per bulb, 

 adding the cost of growing. Last Eas- 

 ter we sold every bloom we had at $1 

 per bloom and we figure, at this price, 

 it will be still a profitable item to 

 handle. Our experience is that it does 

 not pay to grow either a smaller or 

 larger size." Several houses of the 

 company's range are devoted to anem- 

 one-fiowered chrysanthemums, Mrs. E. 

 B. Godfrey and Mary Pope. Both of 

 the last-mentioned blooms are desir- 

 able, but the latter is far preferable 

 to the former. It blooms fully three 

 weeks earlier and the color being sim- 

 ilar, a lovely pink, anyone with limited 

 space will do well to grow this alone. 

 It grows with three OA,>'>fmur bunches to 

 a plant and an average of ten flowers 

 to a spray. The method of culture is 

 similar, in space given, to the carnation. 

 The wires run lengthwise, crossed with 

 twine, the first span one foot and the 



second and final span about three feet 

 from the soil. From both growers' and 

 retailers' point of view, a plant of four 

 bunches at 35 cents per bunch is much 

 better than a single bloom, such as 

 William Turner, which needs as much, 

 if not more room, and which, even if a 

 perfect bloom, will not bring $1 per 

 head. White Mensa, Golden Mensa, 

 (jrolden Climax and Wilcox complete 

 this desirable list. 



Among other items of interest are 

 poinsettias received from California in 

 June in a dormant state. They were 

 planted in solid beds and kept moist, 

 with the result that two crops of cut- 

 tings have been taken off and they are 

 doing well. The only trouble is that 

 cool weather is apt to cause the plants 

 to fall off. This must be avoided by 

 firing up if necessary; the temperature 

 should be 70 degrees. 



Begonia Glory of Cincinnati and 

 cyclamens are promising well for 

 Christmas. The latter are in 5-inch 

 pots, but will soon be transferred into 

 7-inch azalea pots. The plants are well 

 sprayed to keep down mites. 



"We learned one thing during the 

 coal stress," observed Mr. Scott; "we 

 produced a fine lot of geraniums in the 

 houses that were closed down, follow- 

 ing the crop of chrysanthemums at 

 Thanksgiving, and we may follow that 

 plan this year." M. 



