(I. 



26 



The Florists^ Review 



Fbbbuabt 26. 1920 



BELGIAN GLASS FBODUCTION. 



Increasing at Advanced Prices. 



In view of the increasing difficulty 

 in securing glass^ orders, greenhouse- 

 men will read with interest the report 

 on the condition of the Belgian glass 

 industry by Trade Commissioner C. E. 

 Herring, from Brussels, under date of 

 January 12. He stated: 



"The revival of the Belgian plate 

 and window-glass industry continues in 

 spite of the shortage of industrial fuel 

 and certain raw materials, notably so- 

 dium sulphate, and the transportation 

 difficulties. 



"The average increase in labor costs 

 since the armistice has been 150 per 

 cent, taking into consideration the 

 shortening of the hours with the gen- 

 eral introduction of the 8-hour day. A 

 general increase of ten per cent was re- 

 cently granted, and operatives are now 

 claiming further advances of from ten 

 to twenty per cent. The employers 

 agreed to make some further increase 

 February 1. Ordinary blowers (souf- 

 fleurs) now receive 700 to 800 francs 

 per month in the Charleroi district, 

 while skilled blowers generally receive 

 1,000 to 1,100 francs per month, the 

 wages of some even reaching 1,500 

 francs. 



"In the months following the armis- 

 tice there was a considerable emigration 

 of glass workers to Great Britain, Spain 

 and Switzerland, but this movement has 

 recently diminished and operatives are 

 now beginning to return from abroad. 

 Salaries are said to be higher in the 

 Belgian glass industry than in that of 

 other European countries, although de- 

 preciated exchange and the higher cost 

 of living tend to equalize them. 



Increased Cost of £aw Materials. 



"The high export prices now ruling 

 are largely accounted for by the ex- 

 cessive cost of all raw materials; for 

 instance, coal for the furnaces costs 

 300 per cent more than before the war, 

 sulphates 200 per cent, limestone 400 

 per cent, wood 400 per cent, packing 

 straw 100 per cent, and refractory 

 earth and other materials for produc- 

 tion approximately 200 per cent. Trans- 

 portation costs from the Charleroi fur- 

 naces to Antwerp have increased about 

 200 per cent. 



"At present all of the eighteen win- 

 dow-glass plants in operation before the 

 war are again producing; in nearly all 

 of them, however, only one furnace is 

 lighted, and others cannot be started 

 until regular fuel supplies are forth- 

 coming. 



Export Figures. 



"Exports of ordinary window glass, 

 which approximate ninety per cent of 

 the production, rose from 7,152,000 

 francs in the first seven months of 

 1919 to 54,359,000 francs at the end of 

 November. In August exports were 

 nearly 3,000,000 francs, in September 

 over 9,000,000, and in October and No- 

 vember 14,685,000 and 20,000,000 francs, 

 respectively. A comparison of export 

 values with pre-war figures is mislead- 

 ing, owing to enormous price increases 



and exchange depreciation. The rapid 

 revival of the glass industry is better 

 shown by the quantities exported. 

 Thus exports of ordinary window glass 

 in November, 1919, were 13,768 metric 

 tons, as compared with a monthly aver- 

 age in 1913 of 17,130 tons. The Novem- 

 ber figures are in striking contrast to 

 the monthly average for the entire 

 year of 3,108 tons. In 1913 exports of 

 ordinary window glass averaged 228 

 francs per metric ton; in August, 1919, 

 it was 1,376 frajics, and in November, 

 ],467 francs per ton. Calculating the 

 franc at par in 1913 and at 9 in No- 

 vember, 1919, the comparative export 

 prices are $44.02 and $163 per ton." 



sprays and fumigated regularly. This 

 year they were aflested the same way. 

 I began to investigate more closely and 

 found a worm in the center of each 

 spike that wilted. So I am breaking out 

 the tops as fast they show any sign of 

 wilting and burning them. What can I 

 do to eliminate this pestf Would you 

 advise throwing out the entire lot and 

 burning themf There is no sign on the 

 outside of the stalks that this worm 

 bores in. The only indications are that 

 the eggs are hatched inside. 



C. E. E.— Tex. 



WOBMS IN SNAPDBAGONS. 



I am having trouble with my snap- 

 dragons. I have always had the great- 

 est success with them until last year. I 

 failed to get all the plants I needed for 

 benching and bought some elsewhere. 

 The plants came in fine shape, but did 

 not grow as they should and when 

 blooming time came the spikes would 

 wilt and, in a few days, die, I lost the 

 entire crop, although I tried various 



I have had no experience with the 

 worm that is troubling your snap* 

 dragons. Perhaps readers of The Be- 

 view in the warmer states have had this 

 pest and could suggest a remedy. I 

 would advise sterilizing your soil, if you 

 can conveniently do so. Purchase seeds 

 from a reliable source, of selected colors, 

 and grow your own plants. Seedlings 

 are more vigorous than plants raised 

 from cuttings and are less subject to 

 disease and much more floriferous. 



C. W. 



Columbus, O. — C. Franklin Block, 

 who was formerly in business in the 

 Ohio State University section of the 

 city, has been in the navy for the last 

 two years, during which time his goods 

 have been stored. Next fall he plans 

 to return to business under the incor- 

 porated name of Fuller & Block, op- 

 erating in the same part of the city as 

 before. 



[^g^^^t^t^t^l^t^■jt^8^t^^^^^^^l>g^tA8^t^l^^^l^t^ 



DAHLIA DATA 



?/'Sffly^^iff^tffif^?i??^TOp^ijyrtit^^ 



BEST DAHLIAS FOB CUTTING. 



Please tell me the names of the best 

 ten dahlias for cut flowers. 



L. C. B.— Kan. 



have good stems and are of better 

 formation. Both hail from Holland. 



All the above are superior to Sylvia 

 and Nymphaea. J. K. Alexander. 



I find the following varieties of 

 dahlias best from the standpoint of the 

 cut flower trade: 



Maude Adams leads them all, bearing 

 a mass of blooms throughout the entire 

 season. It is a snowy white, daintily 

 overlaid with a beautiful live shade of 

 pink. The stems are long and of wiry 

 stiffness and the flower stands shipping 

 and makes up perfectly in design work. 



Darlene, a new decorative dahlia, is 

 a close second. It is a more delicate 

 blending of white and pale pink. The 

 earliness of this variety alone makes 

 it a valuable variety; it blooms fully 

 two weeks ahead of all others. 



Bianca, the new hybrid cactus dahlia 

 imported three years ago from Holland, 

 proves a leader in the pink varieties. 

 It is followed by Mme. Van den Daele, 

 Frank A. Walker and Delice, all three 

 decoratives of great merit. Mme. Van 

 den Daele is a pale pink, shading to 

 white; Frank A. Walker, a clear laven- 

 der pink, and Delice a live clear pink, 

 the most popular florist 's dahlia. 



In pure white varieties I find Storm 

 King and White Swan the best of the 

 quilled type, and Princess Juliana of 

 the decoratives. Other good nearly 

 white varieties are Mrs. Warnaar and 

 Baron G. de Grancy, both of which are 

 better than the pure white sorts, but 

 have slight tints of lavender pink. They 



DAHLIAS UNDEB GLASS. 



Can you give us information relative 

 to growing dahlias inside f Assuming 

 that we take dahlias which were 

 planted outdoors last summer, have had 

 a rest since September and have been 

 placed in a greenhouse and allowed to 

 become cool, say at 45 to 50 degrees, 

 will the flowers be plentiful enough to 

 make it a paying proposition! When, if 

 planted now, would they come into 

 bloom t K. & S.— Wis. 



Dahlias such as you have will start all 

 right in a temperature of 45 to 50 de- 

 grees if watered carefully, but they will 

 do better if kept 10 degrees warmer 

 than this until growth is well started. 

 Having planted them under glass on a 

 few occasions and knowing others who 

 have also given them a trial, I cannot 

 recommend them for a greenhouse crop 

 and I am afraid you would find them 

 unprofitable. Dahlias are at their best 

 outdoors when nights begin to get cool. 

 When started in winter under glass they 

 grow freely enough, but the steadily 

 increasing temperature favors growth 

 of foliage more than flowers and. they 

 flower disappointingly. Furthermore, 

 even if they flowered freely, I doubt if 

 you could find a market for them at 

 profitable prices. C. W. 



