jAMAItV 20, lid'i; 



The Florists' Review 



33 



all should work to avoid, for we have 

 the dandy of them all. 



Finally, the American Carnation So- 

 ciety, to my mind, should be a com- 

 bination of grower, wholesaler and re- 

 tailer, all working together for the ad- 

 vancement of the industry it represents. 



Combined Beport. 



Every meeting should have a report 

 from a committee consisting of three 

 retailers, three wholesalers and three 

 growers, one each from different centers, 

 say Chicago, St. Louis and New York. 

 This committee would report on the 

 high spots of the business for the year 



past, and the weak spots as well, and 

 give recommendations for tlie year com- 

 ing. 



Following the golden rule will not 

 grow carnations, but unless you are 

 growing them as a hobby, you will want 

 to make their growing a business. As a 

 business, following the golden rule is the 

 only sure road to success. Every other 

 business is coming more and more to 

 recognize this fact; let us beat theift to 

 it. Carnations and roses, or roses and 

 carnations (whichever way you want 

 to put it) are the staple cut flowers of 

 commerce and why should not the grow- 

 ers work hand in hand? 



can be pulled out in March to be 

 replaced by larkspurs, or you may grow 

 violets, which usually run out about the 

 last of March and are a good succes- 

 sional crop. 



I find it safer to pot the seedlings 

 than to glace them in flats, but care 

 must be taken not to allow the plants 

 to become potbound before planting 

 them out. This applies to practically 

 all kinds of plants. Florists will find 

 annual larkspurs a fine crop to grow, one 

 which will please customers who are 

 looking always for something out of the 

 common, and for Memorial day cutting 

 few plants can equal it in value. 



C. W. 



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DELPHINIUMS 



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LABESPUIt UNDER GIASS. 



Ideal for the Purpose. 



Florists and gardeners now use a large 

 number of annuals under glass, as com- 

 pared with a few years ago, and they 

 invariably find a ready market and 

 prove acceptable as a change from the 

 omnipresent roses, carnations and other 

 staples. Some of the annuals seen 

 abundantly are bachelor's buttons, 

 sweet sultans, calendulas, mignonette, 

 clarkias, dimorphothecas, snapdragons, 

 gypsophila, annual chrysanthemums, 

 candytuft, lupinus, salpiglossis, schizan- 

 thus, stocks and larkspurs. Some of 

 these make splendid pot plants, but 

 most are grown, as a rulCj in benches 

 or solid beds. One or two sorts, like 

 gypsophila, succeed best in flats, or 

 quite shallow benches. 



Several wide-awake growers of late 

 years have tried forcing the hardy del- 

 phiniums and, properly treated, they 

 have given splendid monetary returns. 

 A smaller number have tried the lovely 

 annual larkspurs, which under glass 

 prove vastly better than outdoors. I 

 have grown these charming annuals un- 

 der glass for more than twenty 

 years and have often wondered why 

 more commercial growers did not try 

 them, for they are splendid to cut, last 

 well in water and are not of difiicult 

 culture. There are several colors pro- 

 curable, including blue, pure white, pink 

 and rosy scarlet. The latter, which is, 

 in reality, a deep, rosy pink, appeals to 

 me the most, and the blue, pink and 

 white next in order. These annuals 

 make a fine spring crop and for Memo- 

 rial day are among the finest flowers 

 we have, lending themselves, as they do 

 so well, for bouquet work. 



How to Grow Larkspur. 



For an early batch to flower in March, 

 seed is sown in flats in October, in a 

 carnation temperature, and the seed- 

 lings are potted oflf singly, when of suf- 

 ficient size, and kept growing well up to 

 the light, being transferred to raised 

 benches containing not over four inches 

 of soil, in preference to solid beds. If 

 benches are not at disposal, the plants 

 do remarkably well in boxes six inches 

 deep. A box 6x12x36 will hold twelve 

 to fourteen plants. A temperature that 

 suits carnations is equally good for an- 

 nual larkspurs. 



Tn the dead of winter it is necessary 



to water carefully to prevent damping 

 off, and to avoid cold drafts, as larkspurs 

 are readily susceptible to attacks of 

 mildew. If care is taken to guard 

 against these, there is no trouble in 

 growing and flowering larkspurs well. 

 Place the plants ten inches part each 

 way in benches. They grow much more 

 vigorously and carry much better 

 spikes under glass than outdoors. Plants 

 will grow all the way from two and one- 

 half to five feet high. It is best to cut 

 out the terminal stalk and to allow the 

 plants to become more branched. Once 

 in active growth, they need an abun- 

 dant water supply and either liquid ma- 

 nure or a mulch of cow or sheep ma- 

 nure. 



Sow Now for May Blooms. 



The present is an excellent time to 

 make a sowing of this annual to flower 

 in May. Perhaps there may be blanks 

 in the carnation benches or some plants 



GETTING MAXIMUM OF MUMS. 



We have a limited number of choice 

 crysantlioniums and should like to pro- 

 duce as many plants as possible. Al- 

 ready we have taken 100 cuttings. If 

 we take cuttings later from those 100 

 cuttings, will they still be good for 

 ])lanting in the benches? Will you give 

 us information as to how the most plants 

 may be produced from these plants? 

 P. E. F. C— Wvo. 



As soon as the 100 cuttings are rooted, 

 pot them up. Then, wlien they become 

 well established in the pots, select a 

 part of a bench that receives full sun- 

 light; fill in with a rather light, porous 

 soil, and plant the young plants about 

 six inches apart. Quickly they will 

 make growth and the tops will be ready 

 to take as a cutting. After this cutting 

 has been taken off, the young plants will 

 commence to throw up shoots from the 

 base. Tliese can be taken as they be- 

 come large enough and the same pro- 

 ceeding can be carried on, while time 

 remains for the cuttings to make plants 

 for planting, or, in other words, until 

 late in April or earlj' in May; a good 

 stock of plants can be worked up from 

 the 100 cuttings. M. P. 



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LISTING THE BEATS 



MUTUAL CREDIT LIST. 



Established by Seattle Florists. 



National interest has boon attracted 

 by the success of the credit committee 

 of the Seattle Florists' Association in 

 compiling a list of delinquent charge 

 customers and distributing this list 

 among the retail members of the asso- 

 ciation for their mutual protection. This 

 matter was raised at a recent meeting 

 and the chair appointed David Jones, 

 of the Woodlawn Flower Shop, chair- 

 man of this committee. It is believed 

 that this offers the first case in the 

 United States where such concerted ac- 

 tion has been taken by the retailers of 

 a city. 



"Tliis committee called on all of the 

 retailers in the city and explained to 

 them its plans," said Mr. Jones. "We 

 found most of them more than interest- 

 ed and ready to agree to have their 

 bookkeepers prepare a list for us show- 

 ing the delinquent accounts. Every ef- 

 fort was made to protect those who were 

 honestly trying to meet their bills and 



who might be undergoing temporary 

 financial reverses, so that we agreed 

 that only accounts older than sixty days 

 be listed. All those who had made par- 

 tial payments were excluded, making 

 the names handed in a real list of ' dead 

 beats.' 



"This success was reported at the 

 next meeting of the association, and 

 our members authorized tlio expenditure 

 of the funds needed for publishing this 

 list. All the names were then arranged 

 alphabetically, so that the completed 

 list would give no hint as to the dealer 

 supplying this information. The com- 

 pleted lists were then distributed among 

 the retailers and posted in conspicuous 

 places in the respective offices. 



Results Exceed Anticipations. 



"We found that in a number of cases 

 flower buyers were delinquent with 

 more than one retail store, and this fact 

 was noted on the list. While the pri- 

 mary purpose in preparing this list was 

 to give retailers information which 

 would save them from adding known 

 'poor payers' to their books, we have 



