(,t\'. f '1 " - 



July ?,\, 1913. 



The Florists^ Review 



- Flower Show -pipe I am smoking, James 

 J. Karins telephoned me from the show 

 last April that he was bringing over 

 about twenty western men to Riverton. 

 After they had been over the place Her- 

 bert G. Tull arranged a little dinner for 

 them at Green's hotel in Philadelphia. 

 They sent a district messenger boy 

 down here just before they returned to 

 New York with a letter to me that they 

 had all signed. Next day came the 



Interior of the Arcade Floral Shop, Charlestoo, S. G 



more than formerly, but it is quite a 

 serious matter to keep the oflBce up to 

 time, with all the other things besides. 

 The young man who had charge of the 

 orders had 5,000 of them in the safe and 

 2,000 more floating around here at one 

 time. He was obliged to work every 

 night and Sundays through the spring. 

 I tried to cheer him every "now and then 

 by saying that we were one day closer 

 to the Fourth of July, and when, on the 

 last Sunday in May, there was no work 

 he assured me he felt quite lost with 

 nothing to do. This will show you how 

 it was this spring. All our cleaning up 

 is nicely done and the three places, 

 Kiverton, Riverview and Locust Farm, 

 are all in excellent condition. 



"Palm sales have been larger this 

 month than in July of last year, while 

 the stock of ferns has never been in 

 livelier demand. I am pleased with 

 Adiantum Glory of Mordrecht. We 

 grew 5,000 plants in 2i/^-inch pots for 

 Christmas baskets and our customers 

 were so pleased with them that they 

 ordered more like them for Easter. You 

 see, it is a durable Farleyense. 



"The demand for hybrid tea roses is 

 still increasing, not so much for the 

 standard varieties as for the novelties. 

 I often found it difficult to remember 

 the less marked varieties of hybrid per- 

 petuals without consulting the labels, 

 but with hybrid teas there is such wide 

 range of color and form that every ama- 

 teur distinguishes them at a glance. 

 The yellows and orange-shaded varieties 

 have had a wonderful run of popularity. 

 Harry Kirk and several others are in- 

 cluded in most of the collections. Then 

 there are the high-priced novelties; it is 

 a good sign that we actually ran short 

 of these. We had 300 at $2.50 each, a 

 pretty good price for a rose in a pot. 

 Our range of Cocos Weddelliana has 

 given me some anxiety, because it was 

 necessary to make a change in that de- 

 partment. I went through the houses 

 this morning with pleasure, for the 

 cocos are, if anything, even better than 

 usual. You know, summer is the crit- 

 ical time with cocos. 



"Do I want to see the National 

 Flower Show come to Philadelphia? 



Yes, in October, but, considering it in 

 the interest of Henry A. Dreer, not in 

 March or April. You see, for nine 

 months of the year we prepare for the 

 spring rush. It is impossible for us to 

 undertake extra work at that time. To 

 give an instance of what I mean, people 

 have criticised us for not taking space 

 in the National Flower Show in New 

 York last April, saying that it was be- 

 cause of the high rates charged. They 

 overlooked the fact that we had con- 

 tributed $200 to the prize fund and $200 

 more to the guarantee fund. The Min- 

 neapolis show next month, which I be- 

 lieve will be smaller than the New York 

 show in April, has our support to the 

 extent of $180 for floor space and $447 

 for outdoor space, or $627 in all. The 

 smaller show receives support because 

 we are able to give it without neglect- 

 ing our work. 



"Speaking of the National Flower 

 Show reminds me that this is a National 



pipe. 



Phil. 



SMALL-LEAVED CYCLAMEN. 



Will you kindly give me some in- 

 formation about cyclamen? I obtained 

 what was supposed to be the best 

 giganteum seed, but though the plants, 

 which are now in 3-inch pots, look 

 healthy and show good root action, 

 their leaves are only about one-third 

 the size of those on plants belonging 

 to a friend of mine, that are also in 

 3-inch pots. Do the smaller leaves 

 necessarily mean an inferior strain f 

 I used for compost one part rotten 

 manure, one part leaf-mold and one 

 part ordinary loam. Was that about 

 right? C. G. J. 



The giganteum strains of cyclamen 

 usually produce leaves fully as large 

 as those of the ordinary C. Persicum, 

 in some eases larger. I have, however, 

 seen strains which carried small foliage 

 and large flowers. Your soil mixture 

 is good, and with the addition of some 

 sharp sand and a little powdered char- 

 coal should be ideal. If your plants 

 have active roots and are healthy, and 

 the seeds have been procured from a 

 thoroughly reliable source, it seems 

 needless to worry about the strain. 

 After the next shift, when the plants 

 are established in their flowering pots, 

 try feeding them with light top-dress- 

 ings of Clay's fertilizer once in ten to 

 fourteen days. A teaspoonful suffices 

 for a 6-inch pot. Probably, being a 

 large cyclamen grower, you do not 

 need this advice, but if you have not 

 yet tried it, do so. If you know of 

 any superior "tonic" for these use- 

 ful winter-flowering plants, I should 

 be glad to know what it is. C. W. 



Store of F. ▼. Kummer, the Arcade Floral Shop, Charlestont S. C 



