Ji' 



18 



The Florists' Review 



JULT 80. l»U. 



MORE VARIETr WANTED. 



Advantage in Wide Range of Colors. 



Last winter, duSfiag the propagating 

 season, I spoke of the need of a greater 

 variety of color in the carnation mar- 

 ket, that being the time for laying 

 your plans for the next season's plant- 

 ing. If you heeded the suggestions 

 oflfered at that time, you perhaps have 

 added a few varieties of a different 

 hue to the inevitable list of Enchant- 

 ress, Eose-pink Enchantress and White 

 Enchantress. If you did not, it can 

 still be done when you transfer the 

 plants from the field to the benches. 

 Make up your mind at once, and order 

 the plants to be shipped to you when 

 the beds are ready for planting. 



To my mind, there is perhaps no 

 greater danger threatening the carna- 

 tion than this narrowing down to three 

 or four staple colors, as is being done 

 in the larger markets. That we need 

 more white, pink and red carnations 

 than we do of other colors is quite 

 true, and that these must be grown in 

 larger quantity no one will deny. But 

 it is also trUe that to grow these colors 

 to the exclusion of all the other beauti- 

 ful and attractive shades robs the mar- 

 ket of the means of bringing out the 

 beauty in these staple colors by means 

 of combination and contrast. 



Effective Color Combinations. 



What, for instance, is more beautiful 

 than a spray of Enchantress finished 

 off with a few fine blooms of Pocahon- 

 tas, or a cluster of Rose-pink Enchant- 

 ress and Yellow Prince? The same 

 is true in making up table or mantel 

 decorations; in fact, wherever you have 

 a mind to use carnations. There is no 

 question of the beauty of the staple 

 colors, but the public likes contrasts. 

 Have you never heard the comments 

 at funerals or flower shows, where large 

 numbers of people were gathered? 

 Everyone notices the arrangements that 

 are different from the regular run of 

 such things, providing the arrangement 

 is beautiful rather than radical. There 

 is a wide difference between the two, 

 not always appreciated by the design- 

 ers, not only in our own profession but 

 in other lines as well. 



We sometimes hear retailers say that 

 our trade "will not take" this or 

 that. The fact in most instances is 

 that the article had not been offered 

 to their trade in the proper manner. 

 The public everywhere will accept any 

 flower that is beautiful, providing it 

 is presented in such a way as to bring 

 out its attractiveness. It might well 

 be said that there is no flower that 

 cannot be made attractive if it is 

 gfiven the proper setting, and that is 

 where the artist in you becomes mani- 

 fest. Anyone with a little mechanical 

 skill can tie a bunch of Enchantress 

 into a fairly good looking cluster, but 

 how many can select just the right 



number of some other color to put with 

 them, and the proper shade of ribbon 

 for the bow, to blend with the blooms? 



Holding the Popular Favor. 



The designer who cannot produce 

 these beautiful effects needs only two 

 or three colors, but the real artist has 

 use for every color procurable, at one 

 time or another, and it is the wide 

 range of colors found in the carnation 

 that makes it so serviceable and pop- 

 ular a flower. To discard all but u 

 few staple colors is to rob the carna- 

 tion of its principal charm. 



Moreover, when any one thing is 

 offered in too great abundance the 

 public becomes surfeited and turns it 

 down in favor of something perhaps 

 no better, but less common. So it 

 stands to reason that any flower that is 

 offered in a large variety of colors, 

 and is therefore adapted to many dif- 

 ferent uses, has a better chance to hold 

 public favor than one which possesses 

 only limited adaptability. 



So, if you are interested in increas- 

 ing the popularity of the carnation 

 among your trade, or even in holding 

 the popularity it now enjoys, give this 

 matter a little thought and see whether 

 you M'ill not arrive at the same con- 

 clusion as the writer. 



A. F. ^, Baur. 



HEIGHT FOR THERMOMETER. 



At what height should the ther- 

 mometers be placed in the greenhouse 

 to show the temperature of the housof 

 H. P. 



Place them four and a half to five 

 and a half feet from the ground. Tlie 

 thermometers should not be unpro- 

 tected, as too often seen, but ought to 

 be place«l in receptacles with an over- 

 hanging top and with sides, to prevent 

 the sun from striking the thermomettir 

 directly. You cannot get the true 

 shade temperature unless this protec- 

 tion is given. 0. W. 



POULTRY MANURE FOR PLANTS. 



Could pure, dried and pulverized 

 poultry manure be used in the growing 

 of plants and flowers? H, P. 



There is great danger of injury to 

 plants by the use of dry poultry manure, 

 it is a powerful fertilizer and must be 

 used with great care. If used as a light 

 top-dressing, it acts as a good stimulant 

 to plants of a robust nature. If added 

 to the soil, give a light coating and be 

 sure to incorporate it thoroughly with 

 the soil. By scattering it outdoors be- 

 tween rows of growing plants, later 

 running the hoe or cultivator over the 

 ground, you will get better results from 

 poultry manure and with less risk of 

 damaging the plants than when it is 

 used under glass. For such vegetable 

 crops as tomatoes, corn, squash and 

 melons, I have found this manure works 

 finely, particularly for top-dressing. It 

 can also be used to make liquid manure, 

 but must be used quite weai. Do a lit- 

 tle experimenting for yourself on a few 

 plants and note results. C. W. 



cess — success by virtue of getting the 

 crop at a time when there is a good 

 market. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



PROFITS IN ORCHIDS. 



One is apt to judge by present con- 

 ditions, so when flowers are either high 

 or low, scarce or plentiful, then is the 

 time to call attention to the other ex- 

 treme in the swing of the pendulum 

 that relieves this business of monotony. 

 During July fine cattleyas have been so 

 low in price that growers would despair 

 if it were not for the certainty of the 

 good time coming — which should begin 

 in the next few weeks. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 a Christmas crop of Cattleya labiata 

 and C. Percivaliana at the establish- 

 ment of the Albert T. Hey Floral Co., 

 Maywood, 111. — flowers that wholesaled 

 without trouble at $9 per dozen. The 

 Hey establishment is not a large one, 

 but orchids are handled with much suc- 



Shading. 



We are now near the end of the 

 period when orchids need the maximum 

 amount of shade. After the end <if 

 July it will need gradual reducing i>n 

 practically all varieties, the tend!|r 

 phalsenopsis being an exception. It is 

 always well to remember that while 

 houses which are heavily shaded are 

 cooler than others and the plants in 

 them are of a greener hue, this docs 

 not mean that they are in the best cou- 

 dition, particularly when it comes to 

 flowering time. It is a good plan to let 

 the plants have a fairly good light; 

 never mind if the foliage, especially •'» 

 cattleyas, is a little pale. 



Syringing. 

 We are at the hottest period of tlie 



