July 14. 1921 



The FlcMists* Review 



15 



Seedlings should be pricked off when 

 they have made one good leaf. A con- 

 siderable number can go in small pots 

 or pans. The compost for these may 

 contain a little sphagnum and should 

 be chopped fine. After pricking off the 

 pots or pans should go back in the case 

 until the seedlings are growing nicely 

 and air should gradually be given to 

 them more freely. When they are well 

 established in their receptacles they can 

 again be shifted, this time into small 

 pots, termed thimbles. A layer of cocoa- 

 nut fiber is good to stand these on. 

 Some growers have tried cocoanut fiber 

 for seed sowing, but find it is too de- 

 structible, and, once mold appears, it 

 is all up with the seedlings. The little 

 seedlings grow quite fast if they have 

 congenial quarters and good attention 

 and the lustier ones will soon demand 

 thumb pots. Before long a bench will 

 be filled with these babies, after potting 

 off has started. 



Transplanting. 



Orchid seedlings are extremely small 

 when it is necessary to transplant them. 

 It is usually necessary to use a lens 

 when taking them out of the seed pots 

 or pans. A pointed stick of hard wood 

 should be used to remove them as well 

 as replant them. Great care must be 

 taken not to break the roots, which are 

 tender and brittle. A little practice will 

 enable anyone to prick off seedlings 

 quite quickly. Do not overlook the 

 smaller seedlings. They are likely to 

 prove the most worth-while varieties. 



Pots an inch in diameter can be had 

 to hold seedlings. It is best to plunge 

 a number of these tiny pots in pans 

 or flats of fine peat, sand or cocoanut 

 fiber, so that they will not dry out so 

 rapidly, and to give them a light but 



shaded position near the glass in a 

 warm, moist house. 



Where seedling raising is carried out 

 on a big scale, special seedling houses 

 are provided and the many small de- 

 tails named here may seem somewhat 

 trivial. This article is rather intended 

 for some who are interested in these 

 lovely exotics and want to try seed- 

 ling raising in a small way. There are 

 many drawbacks and discouragements, 

 but the field is a broad one and the 

 mere occurrence of one or two hybrids 

 of outstanding merit will compensate 

 one pecuniarily and otherwise for much 

 preliminary work. 



Prominent Hybridizers. 



The great British trade hybridizers, 

 like Charlesworth & Co., Sander & Sons, 

 Stuart Low & Co., Flory & Black, Arm- 

 strong & Brown, Cypher & Sons, etc., 

 have raised many wonderful hybrids, as 

 have a still greater number of amateur 

 enthusiasts. In France and Belgium 

 since the war, renewed interest is being 

 taken in orchids. In America the Dale 

 Estate, at Brampton, Ontario; the 

 Julius Roehrs Co., C. E. Baldwin & Co., 

 Lager & Hurrell, Thomas Young, Joseph 

 Manda, W. A. Manda, Louis Burke, A. 

 C. Burrage, Clement Moore, A. N. 

 Cooley, J. A. Carbone and Butter- 

 worth, both commercial and private, 

 are giving more and more atten- 

 tion to orchid seedling raising. More 

 orchids as cut flowers are sold and 

 at better prices than ever before. 

 Their culture is becoming better un- 

 derstood, and in the not distant fu- 

 ture, guided by the new American Or- 

 chid Society, a host of amateurs and 

 commercial men will take up their cul- 

 ture. They will never be cheap plants, 

 but their beauty, infinite variety and 



wonderful lasting qualities will make 

 them more and more popular among an 

 increasing number of people. 



OELAHOMANS IN CONVENTION. 



More than fifty members of the Okla- 

 homa State Florists' Association, be- 

 sides many state and out-of-state visi- 

 tors, assembled at Oklahoma City, 

 Okla., on the morning of July 7 to hear 

 the warm speech of welcome by Mayor 

 J. C. Walton, that opened one of the 

 liveliest annual conventions ever held 

 by the above organization. Everybody 

 was on his toes from the time of the 

 welcoming address until the gay moon- 

 light picnic that marked the end of the 

 convention's activities, July 8. 



Although July 7 was set aside as the 

 day of routine business, the accom- 

 plishments were by no means routine in 

 the ordinary sense of the word. A. S. 

 Gray, of Chickasha, was reelected pres- 

 ident. Besides the election of officers, 

 the adoption of a new constitution, the 

 discussion as to the next meeting place 

 of the association and a ride through 

 the city filled out the day. 



Many interesting addresses were de- 

 livered July 8, among the most inter- 

 esting of which were those of Percy 

 Cowan, of Enid, Okla., who spoke on 

 "The Relation of Cost to Price," and 

 Eugene Woerz, of Ardmore, who dis- 

 cussed the subject, "What Shall Flo- 

 rists Grow?" Mr. Woerz struck a key- 

 note when he said: "It is a matter of 

 colors for the seasons and a matter of 

 educating the customer to buy the kind 

 of flowers we can grow best that will 

 determine what we shall grow." 



Before the close of the convention it 

 was decided to hold the next annual 

 meeting at Tulsa, Okla. 



