14 



The Florists' Review 



June 14, 191T. 



TIME FOB LATE PLANTINGS. 



We are told each year that gladioli 

 are being overdone; that they sold so 

 cheaply in the markets that they were 

 not worth growing and that as a conse- 

 quence fewer would be grown next year. 

 We have heard this talk so many times 

 now and applied to such a variety of 

 plants that it has become somewhat 

 hackneyed. From reports from seed 

 and bulb houses, we find that the de- 

 mand for these bulbs has increased this 

 season, in spite of all the semi-hysteri- 

 cal economy talk. It is true, of course, 

 that gladioli during the glut season do 

 bring unprofitable prices. It is equally 

 true that early in the year they will net, 

 under careful culture, as much as any 

 indoor crop we can grow; ahd, coming 

 to the outdoor crop, if a few more grow- 

 ers would realize that it pays to start 

 a few hundreds in pots in a frame, to 

 plant out later, and to plant a good 

 batch in the open early and a further 

 batch rather late, to avoid the period 

 of glut, they would make more money. 

 But in too many cases retail florists 

 plant their entire stock of gladioli at 

 one operation, which will give the bulk 

 of their spikes when they are most 

 abundant. 



This is a reminder that these -late 

 gladioli should go in between now and 

 June 20, and that they should be planted 

 five to six inches in depth for the best 

 results. If you have not yet tried the 

 primulinus type of gladioli, you should 

 do so. They are as yet a little high for 

 commercial uses, but they are by far 

 the most decorative of gladioli, and 

 they promise in a few years to surpass 

 in favor the older and larger-flowered 

 varieties. 



GLADIOLUS BULLETIN NO. 2. 



Possibly some florists, including even 

 a few gladiolus growers, are scarcely 

 aware of the existence of the trial 

 grounds of the American Gladiolus So- 

 ciety, at the New York State College 

 of Agriculture, Cornell University, 

 Ithaca, N. Y. Most members of the 

 trade, perhaps, were fully aware of the 

 establishment of the trial grounds, 

 about half a dozen years ago, but some 

 of them have now forgotten the im- 

 portant event or have only a vague 

 recollection of it. Some of them have, 

 at the most, only a dim and indiffer- 

 ent consciousness of the fact that im- 

 portant experimental work is being con- 

 ducted at the test grounds, under the 

 direction of the department of horti- 

 culture at Cornell. 



A series of bulletins now being issued 

 at Cornell will serve as a forcible re- 

 minder to these forgetful ones, giving 

 them a distinct realization of what is 

 being accomplished by means of the 

 trial grounds. The publication of ' * Gla- 

 diolus Studies — I," the first number of 

 the series, was recently announced in 

 The Review. The book treated of * * the 

 botany, history and evolution of the 

 gladiolus" and was prepared by Prof. 



A. C. Beal, who has general management 

 of the experimental work. 



The second bulletin, * ' Gladiolus Stud- 

 ies — II," has now appeared. It dis- 

 cusses "the culture and hybridization 

 of the gladiolus" and was written by 

 Alfred C. Hottes, who has direct charge 

 of the gladiolus trials, under the super- 

 vision of Prof. Beal. The data for this 

 second bulletin, says Mr, Hottes, "are 

 based on the results of four years of 

 work in the trial grounds." 



Apparently, no statement has been ' 

 made as to how many bulletins this se- 

 ries of * * gladiolus studies ' ' will contain, 

 but the intention seems to be to give 

 the subject rather thorough considera- 

 tion. In the preface to ' ' Gladiolus Stud- 

 ies — I," Prof. Beal said: "The present 

 bulletin is intended to trace the devel- 



Gladiolus Violet Perfection. 



opment of the gladiolus up to the pres- 

 ent time. Succeeding bulletins will 

 treat of its culture and of the varieties 

 that have been tested in the gladiolus 

 trial grounds. ' ' 



GLADIOLUS VIOLET PERFECTION. 



A recent issue of The Review con- 

 tained some remarks about Gladiolus 

 Pink Perfection, with a picture of the 

 flower. The remarks were of what might 

 be called a theologico-horticultural na- 

 ture, for theology and horticulture mix 

 easily and naturally, like substances 

 that have a chemical affinity, and most 

 florists mix them more or less. 



This time the subject is perfection of 

 another color, Violet Perfection. And 

 again there is an opportunity — it is 



more than an opportunity; it is an ip. 

 resistible temptation — to draw attention 

 to the wide divergence of opinion on 

 what constitutes perfection. For a. 

 Hammond Tracy, who supplied the p)jo! 

 tograph here reproduced, says that tie 

 color of the flower * ' verges so closely t^a 

 a purple as to warrant the name of V;^. 

 let Perfection, but it cannot be call ^ 

 a true violet." In other words, so t-it 

 is the hue from being the perfection .f 

 violet that it is not violet at all, .^ 

 Mr. Tracy's opinion. 



Yet the mere doubt about the ex& t 

 shade of ' color does not prevent Viol t 

 Perfection from being what Mr. Tra- / 

 says it is, one of the most beautiful a: I 

 desirable of the more recently intr - 

 duced varieties. He says it is "by f if 

 the finest deep Burgundy red on tLj 

 market at present." Again he says 'f 

 it: "It is the pearl of the blue git • 

 dioli; a genuine blue- violet; a magni! • 

 cent novelty. It has large open flower ., 

 with no markings." Probably the vp 

 riations of the color, in different local' 

 ties and conditions and at different 

 stages of the development of the flowers, 

 are sufficient to reconcile most of tho 

 apparent contradictions in the descrip 

 tions. 



POSTPONED! 



No Trade Meeting at Chicago. 



W. J, Vesey, Jr., president of the 

 American Carnation Society, who issued 

 a call for a trade meeting at Chicago 

 June 19 and 20 to discuss ways and 

 means of offsetting increased costs of 

 growing flowers, has asked that the 

 trade be notified of a postponement. 

 Mr. Vesey states that another notifica- 

 tion will be given later, with the na- 

 tional society's sanction. 



OPPOSES PLANT EXCLUSION. 



At the meeting May 17 of the New 

 Orleans Horticultural Society the fol- 

 lowing resolution was offered by C. W. 

 Eichling and unanimously adopted: 



WHEREAS, The American Forestry Associa- 

 tion proposes to recommend to tlie Federal Hor- 

 ticultural Board in Washington to pass a law 

 prohibiting the importation of all plants, bollw, 

 etc., therefore be It 



RESOLVED, That the New Orleans Horticul- 

 tural Society considers such a law unneceMarj 

 and injurious to the florists' business and hereby 

 protests against the enactment of such a law.. 

 The secretary of this society is hereby requested 

 to transmit a copy of this resolution to the legia- 

 latlve committee of the Society of American 

 Florists, with the request to oppose the passage 

 of such a law. 



SECOND SEASON BULBS POOS. 



I have about 500 boxes of narcissus, 

 tulip and daffodil bulbs, which I flow- 

 ered in boxes indoors. After the bloom- 

 ing period I dumped the bulbs outdoors, 

 just turned the boxes upside down. 

 How should I further treat the bulbs 

 so that they will be fit for use this 

 fallf C. A. M.— Mich. 



If you had any idea of saving the 

 bulbs for a second season, you certainly 

 took an original way to ripen them off 

 prior to harvesting them. It does not 

 pay to attempt to force these bulbs 

 a second season. Some varieties will 

 bloom fairly well a second season if 

 planted outdoors, but where they are 

 cut down close to the soil none of the 

 kinds you name are of value, even .for 

 that purpose. You must buy fresh 

 bulbs of tulips, narcissi and hyacinths 

 for forcing each season. C. W. 



