28 



The Florists' Review 



Fbbbdaby S, 1921 



present found it a center of attraction. 

 It was shown by White Bros., Medina, 

 N. Y. 



In addition to the cyclamen blooms 

 shown the first day, J. A. Peterson & 

 Sons, Cincinnati, had plants of cycla- 

 men and splendid specimens of their 

 begonia. Peerless. 



Gude Bros. Co. won a preliminary cer- 

 tificate for the Dorner memorial medal 

 with Dark Pink Democracy. 



DISCUSS ECONOMICAL WAYS. 



Production Problems, 



The twoi papers presented at the an- 

 nual meeting of the American Carna- 

 tion Society \at Washington last week 

 both concerncQvthemselves with ways of 

 meeting production problems. That of 

 W. D. Howard ^n using soil twice 

 aroused much discuission both at-the ses- 



that the question of comparative labor 

 cost was important. In some cases that 

 of changing soil was less than that of 

 turning it; where that was true, carry- 

 ing over soil was not the most gainful 

 method. 



Theodore Dorner said that-'at Lafay- 

 ette new soil each year had been found 

 the best method after experiment. It 

 was suggested that watering had a good 

 deal to do' with results. Carl Hagen- 

 burger gave it as his opinion that most 

 florists were too sparing of water. 



Blooms per Squs^e Foot. 



J. S. Wilson gave some interesting fig- 

 ures, comparing the results from plants 

 in old soil and in new. The period of 

 the largest crops he found different, but 

 the results at the year's end were strik- 

 ingly close, one yielding nineteen 

 blooms per square foot of bench space 

 and the other eighteen. 



Some Meritorious Vases at the Washington Show. 



Hear row, left to rlifh -Stroufg Improveci Ward, (iodilaicl's Tln> Lark. Strout's Maine Sunshine. 

 Front row, left to rlRLt— Strout's Kofalind, VMnkler'.f SeeUllnK No. 4. 



sion at which it was presented and 

 again Thursday morning, January 27, 

 when the second and closing gathering 

 was held in one of the parlors of the 

 New Willard hotel. 



Carnation growers, like other green- 

 house men, are seeking ways of increas- 

 ing production and cutting costs, so as 

 to bring j)riccs to a lower but still profit- 

 able level. William Sim, of Cliftondale, 

 Mass., who is using deep ground beds 

 for carnations, contributed considerable 

 information on the subject brought up 

 by Mr. Howard. He spades his soil up, 

 turning it up deeply, and allows the sun 

 to bake it, using those rays as a steril- 

 izing agent, so to speak. The sturdincss 

 and good quality of Mr. Sim's plants at- 

 tested the success of his method, accord- 

 ing to those wlio liad l)i>cn at Clifton- 

 dale. 



There was opinion, however, that con- 

 ditions in various localities differed so 

 markedly that the success of one grower 

 could not always form an example for 

 another. Alfred M. Campbell asserted 



He raised the question as to the usual 

 " number of blooms per square foot of 

 bench space. William Sim said his 

 stock was planted eight inches apart 

 each way and that last year his aver- 

 age was fifteen flowers on each of 

 100,000 plants. Arithmetic yields an 

 answer of about thirty-four blooms per 

 square foot of bench space. C. S. 

 Strout said Pink Delight yielded him 

 thirty to the square foot, while a white 

 variety from C. W. Johnson had made 

 forty-one to the square foot. 



Discussion yielded the consensus that 

 blooms were ready to cut six to eight 

 weeks, according to variety, after the 

 api)earance of the bud during the win- 

 ter months. The period is approximate- 

 ly ten days less in spring. 



Boutonnieres. 



That florists should wear flowers in 

 their buttonholes was tirged by several 

 florists at the Thursday morning ses- 

 sion. S. J. Goddard thought it an easy 

 means to business that was much over- 



looked. H. W. Sheppard told how easy 

 it was to cultivate the boutonniere habit 

 in customers. The upshot of the discus- 

 sion was that everyone present was pro- 

 vided with a carnation to wear in his 

 buttonhole henceforth. 



Hartford M^ext. 



Balloting awarded the next meeting 

 place to Hartford, Conn., the vote for 

 that city being far ahead of that for 

 Cincinnati. As vice-president, N. C. Os- 

 born was thereupon the unanimous se- 

 lection. David S. Ward and Fred Lau- 

 tensehlager acted as tellers. 



While next year's exhibition was up- 

 permost in mind, Willi£,m Sim offered 

 $25 as first prize for twelve carnations 

 at that time, C. S. Strout adding $15 

 for second and N. C. Osborn, in behalf 

 of Coombs Florist, $10 for third. S. J. 

 Goddard offered $25 as a first prize for 

 twelve Laddie. 



It was decided to ask members for 



subscriptions to the premium list of the 



national flower show in Cleveland in 



1923, so that any profit that accrues 



through the society's underwriting a 



share of the show expenses will go to 



the society's treasury. The following 



subscriptions were tendered from the 



floor: 



C. S. strout $50,00 Elmer J. Weaver.SM.OO 



II. W. Sheppard. 50.00 C. W. Johnson... 25.00 



Cottage Gardens WUliam Sim 25.00 



Co 50.00 .Toy Floral Co 25.00 



W. D. Howard.. 50.00 H. S. Skidelsky.. 25.00 



F. Dorner & Sons Ceo. E. Buxton... 25.00 



Co 50.00 Wm. Murphy Co. 15,00 



S. J. Goddard... 25.00 Edward Winkler. 10,00 



Coombs Florist... 25.00 Henry Smith ... 10.00 

 Erne-Jt Saunders. 25.00 



Further subscriptions will be solicited 



by the secretary by mail. 



HBADS CABNATION MEN. 



The newly elected president of the 

 American Carnation Society, W. D. 

 Howard, was born in the town where 

 his greenhouses are now located. Mil- 

 ford, Mass. The date was April 27, 

 1865. He was not a florist, but a ma- 

 chinist, by early profession. His father 

 was a market gardener, however, and 

 W. D. Howard gave up the occupation 

 of machinist to assist him in his later 

 years. He began as a florist in 1893, 

 using the sash houses of his father. 

 Now he has a range containing 60,000 

 feet of glass at Milford, where carna- 

 tions are grown. Delight and Ward are 

 chiefly grown. Mr. Howard calls the 

 latter a money-maker, since it is a free 

 producer and good keeper. Benora, 

 found by him a good seller, is also 

 grown. Matchless he regards as the 

 best white. His planting of Laddie is 

 not extensive. Cottage Maid, Belle 

 Washburn and Bernice are other varie- 

 ties grown at Milford. 



Greencastle, Ind. — John Eitel & Son 

 have a salmon-colored sport of En- 

 chantress Supreme carnation of which 

 they think highly. It was awarded a 

 certificate of merit at a recent meeting 

 of the Indiana State Florists' Associa- 

 tion. 



Allegany, N. Y. — Elmer Eawlings 

 has ten houses of geraniums this season, 

 but has not been able to keep up with 

 the demand for young stock, partly be- 

 cause the demand has been the heaviest 

 yet experienced and partly because 

 dark weather has retarded growth. 

 Mr. Rawlings has just completed a big 

 new brick smokestack and will put up 

 another greenhouse as soon as weather 

 permits. 



