Mabch 17. 1921. 



The Florists' Review 



27 



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Greenhouses at Greggs Station after the Hail Storm Had Passed, March 7. 



Kohout 's plan for reorganization would, 

 it was said, be printed and sent out to 

 each member of the Chicago Florists' 

 Club with the notice of the next meet- 

 ing. 



On motion of T. E. Waters, it was 

 decided to hold a social evening at the 

 April meeting, full plans for which will 

 be announced later. Dr. P. A. Lehen- 

 bauer, of Urbana, 111., will be the speaker 

 of the evening and ladies will be pres- 

 ent, so that dancing will be in order. 

 It was also suggested that the students 

 in floriculture at the University of Illi- 

 nois be requested to present the play, 

 "The Florist Shop," which was given 

 before the Illinois State Florists' Asso- 

 ciation March 8. 



During the evening President Kohout 

 called upon the members to stand in 

 silent tribute to the memory of Peter 

 Beinberg. A committee was appointed 

 to draw up a resolution of appreciation 

 and respect, consisting of James Mor- 

 ton, J. E. PoUworth and T. E. Waters. 



HAIL AT GBEGGS STATION. 



In the hail storm which did damage to 

 a number of ranges in the vicinity of 

 Chicago March 7 the greenhouses of 

 Bassett & Washburn, at Greggs Station, 

 suffered the heaviest losses, as indicated 

 In the report in last week's issue of The 

 Review. Altogether about 100,000 feet 

 of glass was broken. The illustrations 

 on this page show how the hailstones 

 punctured the glass. Mr. Washburn 

 estimates his loss at $10,000 to $1. 5,000, 

 which is covered by insurance in tho 

 Florists' Hail Association. The d.Tv 

 after the storm 2.'),000 yards of muslin 

 were obtained to cover the roofs tem- 

 porarily. Fortunately, about 2,000 boxes 

 of glass were on hand, from the disman- 

 tled houses at Hinsdale. 



HOW TO GROW WATER LILIES. 



I have a few Victoria Trickeri water 

 lily seeds and should like to know how- 

 to grow them. I have planted Aspar.T 

 gus Sprengeri seeds again and again, 

 but they fail to grow. Ple.Tse tell nie 

 what treatment thcv need. 



F. F. C— K.an. 



Seeds of this water lily should be 

 sown in a pot or pan of sandy loam ami 

 plunged in shallow water which will 

 cover the pans. A water temperature 

 of as near 70 to 1^ degrees as possible 



should be maintained. As seedlings 

 germinate, pot them off into small pots 

 of pure loam and again plunge. Pot on 

 as needed. In late June plant outdoors, 

 or in your latitude in early June, in 

 a rich bed of loam and rotted manure. 

 If grown under glass, a large tank is 

 needed. You cannot germinate at this 

 season in cool water. The temperature 

 must be 65 degrees, and it is better to 

 have it higher. It should be kept even. 

 If Asparagus Sprengeri seed is fresi 

 it should germinate in a few weeks it 

 sown in light, sandy loam. Seeds should 

 be barely covered and kept in a warm, 

 moist and shaded house. If seed is fresh 

 it should germinate readily under these 

 conditions. (". \V. 



TESTING LAWN GRASS SEED. 



Seedsmen are frequently condemned 

 for selling lawn grass seed alleged to 

 contain seeds of weeds when this is not 

 the fact. 



Weed seeds exist naturally in almost 

 all soils unless they are sterilized. 

 Weeds are also introduced through the 

 aj)plication of aninial manures. The 

 wind often ciirries weed seeds from 

 place to place, while Ji common nie.'ins of 

 introduction is by birds. 



The best proof that most weeds ;ire 

 from seed found in the soil (but wliicli 



have not grown before because they 

 were below a depth that would allow 

 germination) is to take a plot in sod or 

 one that has previously been in culti- 

 vation, dig or plow this up and not 

 sow or plant anything. In a few weeks 

 you have a rank growth, usually all 

 weeds. Nothing could be more convinc- 

 ing than this. Weeds will appear in 

 lawns sown in the spring months in 

 greater number than in lawns sown in 

 the late summer and autumn. 



Most weeds are annuals; that is, they 

 will not reappear the following season 

 unless they are allowed to sow their 

 seed. Therefore, their appearance with 

 the growth of young grass need cause 

 no alarm. The first or second mowing 

 usually disposes of them completely. 

 However, should some of them which 

 are hardier or longer-rooted than others 

 still remain, they can easily be pulled 

 out or dug out before they mature. 



A simple test of what is a reliable 

 mixture of grass seed can be made by 

 taking a cigar box and enough soil to 

 fill it, heating the soil thoroughly so 

 that any plant life, in seed form, natu- 

 rally there will be destroyed, and then 

 sowing some seed in this box of soil and 

 w.itering it occasionally. The result 

 will lie a clean growth of young grass 

 if the seed is pure. 



Closer View at Bassett & Washburn's, Showing How Hail Punctured Glass. 



