NOTBUBBB 11, 1920 



The Florists^ Review 



29 



spraying of Bordeaux mixture will do 

 them no harm. A. F. J. B. 



EXCESSIVE HUMIDITY. 



After receiving my carnation pl&nts 

 and setting them out, I find when a new 

 green shoot looks promising dark spots 

 appear on the new growth and then it 

 wilts and dies. K. D. — Ga. 



CINCINNATI, O. 



Your plants are probably affected 

 with the carnation leaf-spot disease. 

 This is usually brought on through ex- 

 cessive humidity, which is quite likely 

 to occur in your warm climate. Pick off 

 all the affected leaves possible and then 

 spray thoroughly with Bordeaux mix- 

 ture. Keep all other water off the 

 foliage until you have the disease under 

 control. Give abundant ventilation on 

 all favorable occasions and keep a dry, 

 buoyant atmosphere. Give enough water 

 at the roots to promote a strong growth, 

 but do not apply any fertilizers until the 

 plants resume a normal growth. 



-A. F. J. B. 



CUTWORMS ON CARNATIONS. 



Our carnations are being spoiled by 

 some worm or insect which eats a hole 

 in the side of the bud and hollows out 

 the flower. It also attacks partly opened 

 flowers. We have never been able to 

 find any worms or insects at work. 

 What remedy would you suggest! 



B. & S.— Mich. 



Your carnation buds are being eaten 

 by cutworms. The reason you do not 

 see them is because they feed at night. 

 If you will take a strong light and go 

 among the carnation beds after mid- 

 night, you will probably find them. To 

 get rid of them, use poisoned bait. 

 Take ordinary bran and mix a mash 

 by adding molasses. Then mix with it 

 efiOugh Paris green to make it poisonous 

 and drop a spoonful here and there on 

 the beds. The feed stores sell an alfalfa- 

 molasses horse feed which we have 

 used after mixing it with Paris green. 



A. F. J. B. 



NEED CAREFUI. CULTIVATION. 



Under separate cover I am sending 

 you a sample of my carnations. Almost 

 all of them are rusty, below or at the 

 roots, and some are dying. They have 

 new soil and I give them plenty of air. 

 I have never seen this before this year, 

 although I have inspected some of the 

 big greenhouses near here. 



I am spraying them with a solution 

 of formaldehyde, three-quarters of a pint 

 to fifty gallons of water. 



L. U.— Kan. 



The plants were too badly dried up to 

 give any idea as to the cause of your 

 trouble. I could see no signs of rust, 

 but believe the plants have never taken 

 hold in the new soil, "^ater them mod- 

 erately, but not too sparingly, and keep 

 the surface of the soil loosened to a 

 depth of about half an inch. A light 



The Market. 



Last week found this market a little 

 more settled than it was the previous 

 week. Stock is beginning to arrive in 

 better condition and sales show an im- 

 provement. 



Mums are now arriving in large quan- 

 tities and are finding ready sale,, some 

 selling at $4 per dozen, including Tur- 

 ner, Eaton and Marigold. Pompons are 

 arriving in a larger assortment of 

 colors and sell well. Eoses have been 

 unusually good, especially Premier and 

 Mme. Butterfly. They are finding a 

 good market here, which is exceptional, 

 as they are usually MDt in demand dur- 

 ing the mum season. 



Snapdragons are showing the result 

 of the bright sunshine and clean up 

 well. 



Carnations and lilies are not going 

 well, because of the mums. Violets are 

 arriving in larger quantities and mov- 

 ing fast. A good week was noted in 

 the sales of southern smilax and bitter- 

 sweet, due to the fact that a number of 

 decoration orders were filled. 



Various Notes. 



C. E. Critchell reports a banner week 

 in the sale of large mums, of which he 

 is receiving daily shipments from 

 Joseph H. Hill, of Richmond, Ind., and 

 Charles Pf eiffer 's Sons, of Fort Thomas, 

 Ky. 



Hardesty & Co. deserve credit for 

 keeping their window displays up to the 

 minute. This week found the windows 

 decorated with mum plants and cut 

 blooms. 



The William Murphy Co. is receiving 

 some excellent snapdragons from 

 Charles Murphy, Price Hill, and some 

 exceptional Hoosier Beauty from An- 

 ders Easmussen, New Albany, Ind. 



C. J. Ohmer, of West Palm Beach, 

 Fla., is stopping with his uncle, E. G. 

 Gillett, en route from Colorado Springs, 

 Colo., where he and his wife spent the 

 summer. He is making the trip in his 

 new Paige car. 



H. W. Sheppard had a good week, 

 receiving many F. T. D. orders and con- 

 tracts to decorate for debutante fes- 

 tivities. 



Tromey's Flower Shop has been kept 

 going daily with funeral work and wed- 

 dings. 



Fred Gear reports business brisk on 

 upper Vine street. 



L. H. Kyrk is now receiving ship- 

 ments of Ward roses and pompons, on 

 which he reports ready sales. 



The regular meeting of the Cincin- 

 nati Florists' Club was held Monday 

 evening, November 8. A campaign for 

 new members was discussed. 



Charles Cox, of the Sefton Mfg. Co., 

 Chicago, was in town. G. H. K. 



ODGN LETTCa^y^ READED6 



WILL PRICES STAY UP? 



With the prices in all other lines fall- 

 ing, how much longer is the retail florist 

 going to be compelled to keep on increas- 

 ing the price of flowers? We are glad 

 to admit that the standard of business 

 has been raised nearer to the point it 

 should occupy in the last two years, but 

 the present is no time for further in- 

 creases. 



Flowers during the present season are 

 of a poorer quality and higher in price 

 than a year ago. Due to advertising, 

 there have been many new uses created 

 for flowers. Had the merchants and 

 manufacturers of the country the fore- 

 sight at the beginning of the present 

 season to maintain last year's prices 

 or be satisfied with a slight reduction, 

 they would not be voicing their regrets 

 at the present time. 



During the present season the busi- 

 ness in position to increase the volume 

 of sales while maintaining last year 's 

 prices will have easy sailing. Some of 

 us at the present time are kidding our- 

 selves that there will be less competi- 

 tion- this year than last. We are due for 

 an awakening. Selling will be more of 

 an art in the future than in the past. 

 All other lines have been heavily adver- 

 tised at reduced prices. 



It is time to be up and doing. If the 

 National Flower Growers' Association 

 intends to improve the quality of stock, 

 the members will be sure of fair prices 

 and it will serve a useful purpose. If 

 their intention is only to increase prices, 

 there will be no excuse for the organiza- 

 tion 's existence. 



At the F. T. D. convention it was 

 stated that purchases should cost no 

 more than thirty-three per cent of the 

 selling price. The retailer, the man who 

 has the final disposition of the stock, is 

 lucky under present conditions to hold 

 his percentage at fifty. And taking last 

 year's prices as a basis, his prospects 

 for profit for the coming year are 

 rather gloomy, according to published 

 averages. 



More cooperation is to be wished for 

 among the trade. At the present time 

 it would benefit the retailer to study the 

 reason for the drop in the percentage 

 of funeral work. It has not maintained 

 the increase it should in comparison with 

 the rest of the business. Everybody 

 realizes that it is profitable. 



The retail florist should take a greater 

 interest in flower shows and exhibitions. 

 A splendid grower may be a poor dis- 

 play man, and flowers should be dis- 

 played to the public to their best advan- 

 tage. J. A. Cannon. 



