20 



The Florists' Review 



May 31, 1917. 



ering botli the kocpiiig qualities and 

 tlicir surpassing beauty. Couviuce them 

 that the same amount of money ex- 

 I^endeil for the higlier quality of roses 

 gives them better value and more satis- 

 faction. 



Charge for Time Also. 



I cannot recall any other business in 

 which it is so often expected that work 

 shall be done witliout pay, as in the 

 various lines of tlie llorists' business. 

 A great many llorists are donating 

 their time. A wreath or spray is ar- 



ranged, never considering the actual 

 time it takes to execute the work. It 

 would be a good plan to charge for our 

 time and this policy would add a great 

 deal of dignity to the llorists' business. 

 We are engaged in a business dealing 

 with perishable goods; we must give 

 service and time, so we ought to be 

 paid accordingly. 



There has been no advance in the 

 selling price of cut flowers, consider- 

 ing the improvement in the quality 

 and varietv of our flowers todav. 



THE PLANTS IN THE FIELD. 



Giving Them a Good Start. 



By this time you probably have your 

 young carnation plants all in the field. 

 If you have not, lose no time in get- 

 ting them out. The month of May 

 and early June are usually ideal for 

 making growth and the young plants 

 should be given every opportunity to 

 get an early start, especially where 

 early housing is practiced. This spring 

 has been unusually backward. But, 

 while the young plants have not made 

 much top growth to date, yet the roots 

 are getting a good start, thanks to the 

 frequent rains, and when warm weather 

 does set in you will almost see them 

 grow. Unless it becomes unusually hot 

 and dry in the next few weeks, we 

 expect to see the finest carnation plants 

 in years. 



Getting the young plants into the 

 field is a big job and we invariably 

 breathe a sigh of relief when it is 

 finished, but we must never get the 

 idea that once the plants are out they 

 can shift for themselves even for a 

 short time. That is a mistake which 

 is made too often by those who do a 

 general retail plant business. During 

 the bedding season, which follows close- 



ly upon the carnation planting season, 

 the carnation field is neglected and the 

 young plants do not get started ofiE as 

 they should. 



Between Bains. 



At this season rains usually are fre- 

 quent, and unless the soil is worked 

 between rains, it will pack down and 

 form a hard crust that cannot be 

 broken up properly until the next sea- 

 son's plowing. We make a practice of 

 going over the field with the cultivator 

 as soon after each rain as the soil is 

 dry enough to work properly. This 

 keeps the soil pulverized and helps to 

 hold the moisture, which is of great 

 benefit to the plants during any dry 

 spell. With good plants to start with 

 and a few good rains after they are 

 set in the field, you can get along with 

 little rain if you will keep your cul- 

 tivator going. It will give far better 

 results than most of the artificial water- 

 ing that is done. There are methods 

 of artificial watering which are really 

 a success and I may have something 

 to say about them in the near future. 

 Many growers have been driven by 

 sheer desperation to install them and in 

 most cases are getting good results. 



Early Benching from Pots. 



If you are planning to plant some of 

 your beds from pots, make every pos- 



sible effort to get the plants estal: 

 lished before hot weather sets in. W^ 

 had a good illustration two years ag 

 of the advantage of early benchin 

 from pots. We planted one bene 

 about the middle of May and the othc 

 about the middle of June, using Ei 

 chantress Supreme for the early bene 

 and Eose-pink Enchantress for th 

 other. Both were from 4-inch pots an 

 all the plants had been shifted int 

 the 4-inch size at the same time. A 

 though the later benched plants wer 

 not unduly potbound, the earlier plan 

 ed bed gave better returns throng 

 the whole season than the other. W 

 attributed it entirely to the earl 

 planting, as we could discover no othc 

 reason for it. Use the same soil as yc 

 would use for the field-grown plant 

 and prepare the bed in the same mai 

 ner as regards the manure in the bo 

 torn, etc. Select for this purpose tl; 

 beds that will get the best ventibi 

 tion during the summer, as it gets ho 

 enough for them at best. 



A Conference of Growers. 



t 



During the last season, or I miglit 

 say for several seasons, many carnn- 

 tion specialists have found it rather 

 difficult to make both ends meet. Un- 

 satisfactory market conditions, coupled 

 with poor growing weather during the 

 summers, have made it impossible for 

 them to produce a revenue commen- 

 surate with the effort put forth. This 

 is not as it should be, as a flower which 

 is as indispensable as the carnation 

 should afford the grower at least a fair 

 livelihood. There may be a number of 

 contributing causes, which could be 

 remedied through a better understand- 

 ing between the several parties inter- 

 ested in the crop from the time the 

 blooms are cut until they reach the 

 ultimate consumer. President Vesey is 

 calling a meeting for the purpose of 

 getting these various interests to- 

 gether for a general discussion of the 

 subject of better revenues for the 

 grower. Not only are the carnation 

 men invited, but growers of all other 

 crops are interested and his plan is 

 to get a large gathering of all branches 

 of the trade in the middle west. Every- 

 one should be interested, from either a 

 selling or a buying standpoint, and a 

 representative meeting should result. 

 The meeting is called for June 19 and 

 20, at Chicago. Lay your plans to be 

 there. A. F. J. Baur. 



POLLWORTH ON THE BEACH. 



J. E. Pollworth, of Kennicott B'-s. 

 Co., has returned to Chicago fron a 

 trip through the south. He says t at 

 never before has he met with sue a 

 tremendous supply of sweet peas as ^s 

 everywhere to be seen. He was cogi t- 

 ing on the matter, it would seem, w ''H 

 the snapshort fiend caught him, at i6 

 Hotel Galvez, Galveston, Tex. 



J. E. Pollworth, of Chicago, in a Contemplatative Mood. 



Charleston, HI. — The trade's ? 

 pathy is extended to Miss Etta J' 

 Nott, proprietress of the Charle 

 Greenhouses, whose mother pa 

 away on Mothers' day. 



Astoria, N. Y. — The venerable 

 eran of Astoria's trade, Henry Pri 

 ard, who has read The Eeview sinci 

 inception, says he is still in the r 

 although he has passed beyond the 

 lotted threescore and ten. 



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