34 



The Florists' Review 



May 21, 1914. 



keeping the paper out of the hands of 

 those whose right, to trade prices is 

 open to question. Several cases have 

 come up in which thoughtless florists 

 have handed a copy of the paper to 



retail customers, or even attempted to 

 subscribe for them. Recommend The 

 Review to florists all you like, but to 

 your retail customers recommend the 



Garden Magazine. 



CUT BLOOMS FOR MARKET. 



"After the ground for gladioli has 

 been thoroughly prepared by plowing 

 and harrowing," said Maurice Fuld, in 

 his recent article in the Country Gen- 

 tleman, "make shallow furrows two 

 and a half inches deep every three feet. 

 The furrows may be from eight to six- 

 teen inches wide. Set the bulbs, bot- 

 toms downward, two inches apart across 

 the width of the furrow and repeat this 

 every six inches, so that a single fur- 

 row 100 feet long contains from 800 to 

 1,600 bulbs, according to the width of 

 the furrow. 



"The planting should begin as early 

 as the ground and weather will permit, 

 and it is best to divide the stock of 

 each individual sort into six equal 

 parts, and make plantings a week apart, 

 so as to extend the flowering season as 

 much as possible. The average time 

 necessary for a bulb to produce its 

 flower is ninety days from the date of 

 planting. Cover the bulbs from two to 

 three inches, and mark each furrow 

 with a label, stating plainly the name 

 of the variety planted and the date of 

 planting. 



"Cultivation with a horse must fre- 

 quently be resorted to; in fact, at no 

 time should the ground be allowed to 

 bake or become crusty. Cultivating 

 can take place only between the rows. 



"As soon as the first growth appears 

 above the ground the young plants must 

 be fed; pulverized sheep manure is the 

 best all-round food for them. Apply 

 it between the rows, just before a rain, 

 if you can. Weeding between the stalks 

 with a hoe is effective. This is all the 

 attention and care that the gladioli re- 

 quire until they come to bloom. 



"In cutting flowers, the following 

 rules must be strictly observed: - Al- 

 ways cut the flowers in the late after- 

 noon; cut only stalks that show not 

 more than two open flowers; never cut 

 a stalk clear to the ground, but allow a 

 full set of leaves to remain with the 

 bulb, for that growth is essential to 

 produce the new bulb; never plunge 

 the cut spikes in water immediately 

 after cutting, but let them lie in the 

 sun for from fifteen to thirty minutes. 

 This is known as 'softening,' and flow- 

 ers thus treated and plunged in cool 

 water afterward and placed in a cool 

 spot overnight will last from two to 

 three ddys longer and ship better than 

 will flowers' that are not softened. 



"In packing flowers for express ship- 

 ments observe the following rules: 

 Never use flowers that have not been 

 in water at least six hours; have a 

 special box made of light wood, with 



f)artitions on the inside to hold each 

 ayer of flowers in its original place; 

 always line the box with tissue paper; 

 never pack flowers in a double layer; 



always turn the flowers upward and 

 pack them just as closely as space will 

 permit, for they should not move while 

 in transit. Cleat down the lower parts 

 of the stems so that the spikes cannot 

 move; have your boxes made to fit a 

 certain variety, for each variety packs 

 differently." 



EARTHWORMS IN SOIL. 



1 am growing Gladiolus America for 

 summer cutting ahfl would like to know 

 if numerous angleworms in the soil 

 will be injurious to the bulbs. When 

 is the best time for taking the bulbs 

 up after blooming? W. J. N. 



The presence of earthworms will not 

 harm your bulbs. The bulbs should 

 not be lifted directly after flowering. 

 Usually the early part of October is a 

 suitable time for digging. C. W. 



GOOD USE FOR VACANT LOTS. 



In a solidly built up residential dis- 

 trict of Chicago is nearly a block with- 

 out a building on it. For a number of 

 years it had the appearance of the 

 ordinary vacant city lot, which, needless 

 to say, is not a pleasing one. Then 

 Mrs. C. F. Gunther, whose residence, 

 as may be seen in the illustration, stands 

 at one end of the block, leased 

 the land and turned it into a park, so 

 that the whole neighborhood might have 

 the benefit. From the house, which 

 stands at the corner of Thirty-sixth 

 street, the tract r,uns along Michigan 

 avenue to Thirty-sixth place. The 

 grounds are in the charge of .John Bre- 



zina, to whom the credit is due for its 

 present fine appearance. The promotion 

 of such work by florists and gardeners 

 will do much to remove the present 

 eyesores along the streets of our large 

 cities and replace them with beautiful 

 spots that are not only a source of 

 pleasure in themselves but also a means 

 of educating the public to a fuller ap- 

 preciation and larger use of flowers and 

 plants of all kinds. 



AQUATIC GARDENING. 



Its Peculiar Charm. 



Up to date the weather has been un- 

 usually cold and the planting of aquat- 

 ics has been delayed longer than usual. 

 The hardier nympha>as, however, should 

 be planted at once; a little cold will 

 not harm them after this date. There 

 is a wonderful charm attached to all 

 forms of water gardening. Water in 

 itself is a great attraction and it be- 

 comes still more charming when taste- 

 fully planted with nymphaeas, nelum- 

 biums and other aquatics. There has 

 been a tremendous growth in aquatic 

 gardening of late years, and it is in the 

 power of the country florists to encour-' 

 age and still further develop this 

 growth. Many small growers have 

 tanks, ponds, or even half barrels in 

 which to indulge their love for water 

 gardening, and there is no reason why 

 their numbers cannot be quadrupled in 

 the next two or three years. 



Aquatics, especially nymphwas and 

 nelumbiums, want full sun. They revel 

 in the decayed vegetable mold found 

 in natural pond bottoms, but also suc- 

 ceed splendidly in a compost of two- 

 thirds fibrous loam and one-third cow 

 manure. While they can be grown well 

 in tubs of the diameter of ordinary oil 

 barrels, they do vastly better in larger 

 receptacles, a yard square and twelve 

 to fifteen inches deep, made of plank 

 or stout boards. This allows a better 

 root run, finer foliage and more flowers. 

 The soil in the barrels or boxes can be 

 covered with two or three inches of 

 clean sand. This prevents the compost 

 from discoloring the water so much. 



Ctood Varieties of Nymphaeas. 



While the hardy nymphaeas are now 

 making considerable growth, the plant- 

 ing of tender sorts should be delayed 



Privately Maintained Park in a Thickly Populated Chicago Residence District. 



