84 



The Florists' Review 



NOVEMBBB 12, 1914. 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS. 



W. P. Shibbs, of Wood, Stubbs & 

 Co., Louisville, Ky., reports an excep- 

 tionally heavy crop of blue grass seed, 

 of the finest quality. The present low 

 price is inducing many to speculate. 

 T^his concern is having increasing calla 

 for Kentucky Wonder pole bean, owing 

 to the scarcity of Valentine. Five cars 

 were received and stored in the ware- 

 house recently built, arranged with 

 elevated tracksi A shipment of 300 

 bushels to one customer evidences the 

 popularity of this well known bean. 

 Onion sets harvested well — a fine sup- 

 ply for next season. Mr. Stubbs says 

 business since June 1 has run twenty- 

 five per cent above the average. Part 

 of this is attributed to mjiny farmers 

 sowing wheat in j^ftld'l o'f cotton. Wood, 

 Stubbs & Co. were fortunate in getting 

 well stocked before the market ad- 

 vanced. They are listing for their 

 retail catalogue trade a line of leading 

 perennials, having had many calls, and 

 intend planting on part of a farm of 



1,000 acres. Soil and -climate are ideal 

 for their cultivation. 



Otto Schwill & Co., of Memphis, 

 ^enn., say fall business is the best they 

 ever had. C. E. Heckle, manager, showed 

 me a/ specimen ear of a new corn grown 

 by the Harpeth Valley Seed Farms. It 

 is called Terminal Red Cob. It pro- 

 duces two ears to a stalk, seventy to 

 eighty bushels to the acre, and matures 

 in 110 days. I also saw a specimen of 

 Ullathorne 'b Champion, yielding sixty 

 to seventy bushels to the acre, bred by 

 Jos. Ullathorne, of the Ullathorne Seed 

 Co., Memphis. 



C. H. Hune, of the Memphis Floral 

 Co., Memphis, says the company has 

 struck rock bottom, now being located 

 in the basement, but will be back at 

 the old stand about January 1, in a 

 fine new building. Business has been 

 good, both in wedding and funeral 

 work. Chrysanthemums are selling 

 well. 



The Idlewild Greenhouses, Memphis, 

 are busy turning out excellent stock. 

 The chrysanthemums grown three 



blooms to a plant seem to be the most 

 profitable for the ordinary run of trade. 



J. P. Keller, Lexington, Ky., is mak- 

 ing a special feature of bulbs along 

 with the usual display of chrysanthe- 

 mums at this time. He reports good 

 business. 



Honaker the Florist, Lexington, is 

 holding an exhibition in his handsome 

 store, the usual chrysanthemum display. 



The new title, John A. Keller Co., 

 Lexington, includes the lady members 

 of the Keller family, who have been 

 interested in the business for some 

 time. Stock in the houses looks good, 

 especially Killarney roses and Silver 

 Pink snapdragon. Ivory is still popular 

 as the early white chrysanthemum. 

 Fairy Queen and Diana are the two 

 best sellers in the pompon class. A 

 fine ice-box and storage room are among 

 the latest improvements. 



The Goodale Seed Co., Lexington, 

 expresses itself well satisfied with its 

 first year's business. It is well located 

 for both wholesale and retail patronage, 

 gardeners. W. M. 



GROWINa EXHIBITION MUMS. 



[A paper by William Vert, of Castle Gould, Port 

 Washington, N. Y., read at tlie Indianapolis 

 convention of the Chrysanthemum Society of 

 America, November 7, 1914.] 



After the shows are over, look ta 

 your stock for the coming year. Select 

 as many good, healthy shoots as re- 

 quired, seeing that each variety is 

 labeled correctly. Keep them free from 

 mildew and fly. When the propagating 

 time is at hand, select the sturdy cut- 

 tings and insert them in the bench 

 already prepared, watering them in 

 thoroughly. This will carry them for a 

 few days, besides firming the cuttings. 

 Keep them sprayed lightly, to guard 

 against wilting. 



They should be rooted in about three 

 weeks; then pot them up in 2-inch or 

 21^-inch pots, with a nice, light com- 

 post, but do not firm sufficiently to 

 injure the roots. As soon as they are 

 established give them an abundance of 

 air, to keep them firm and sturdy, but 

 never allow them to become rootbound. 



The Successive Pottings. 



It is essential to have the pots thor- 

 oughly clean, in order to transfer the 

 plants without injury. Repot into 4- 

 inch pots with a nice compost, consist- 

 ing of three parts fibrous loam to one 

 part leaf soil and one part decomposed 

 manure, adding charcoal, wood ashes, 

 sand, etc. Place in a house or frame 

 and keep closed for two or three days. 

 Many people bench from the 4-inch 

 pots, while others prefer the pot-grown 

 plants, of which I am strongly in favor. 



When they become nicely rooted, 

 repot into 6-inch pots, using practically 

 the same compost, but using it coarser, 

 besides adding a little bone meal. Keep 

 a sharp lookout for mildew and fly; 



also see to the disbudding. Should they 

 not show a natural break at this stage, 

 it is good policy to pinch them in order 

 to encourage the next break. 



When the pots become well filled 

 with roots, an occasional watering with 

 diluted liquid manure or soot water 

 may be given with advantage, A spray- 

 ing overhead with the latter is also 

 beneficial as an insecticide and stimu- 

 lant. 



See that the plants are hardy and 

 well rooted before placing them in 

 their final pots, which should be 7-inch 

 to 9-inch. Perfect drainage is most 

 essential. The soil should be well 

 rammed, allowing a space of two inches 

 for watering and top-dressing. For 

 compost use four parts fibrous loam, 

 one part leaf soil and one part decom- 

 posed manure, adding lime rubble, wood 

 ashes, charcoal, sand and soot, and al- 

 lowing a 6-inch pot of bone or bone 

 meal to each barrow load of loam. 



Feeding, Pinching and Disbudding. 



Feeding may be commenced as soon 

 as the roots are found to be running 

 freely, by applying weak doses of 

 manure water. Change the feed some- 

 times as time goes on, using chemical 

 manure, such as Clay's, Bon Arbor, etc., 

 which will be found most beneficial if 

 used with care and according to direc- 

 tions. Never apply manure when a 

 plant is dry. 



About the middle of June some vari- 

 eties not making natural breaks, such 

 as F. S. Vallis, Harry E. Converse, Mrs. 

 Lopes, etc., will need pinching to make 

 them produce buds early in August. This 

 allows about six weeks for the last 

 break; later varieties should be timed 

 accordingly. 



About August 10 many of the buds 



will be ready for taking. After this 

 date it is safe to take all buds as soon 

 as they become large enough to be 

 handled without injury. In disbudding, 

 discretion must be exercised by remov- 

 ing a few at a time. Keep the plants 

 nicely staked, tied, and clean. 



After the buds are secured look out 

 for their worst enemy, the red spider, 

 which will give considerable trouble if 

 it once gets into the blooms. To avoid 

 this, fumigate once a week until the 

 buds show color. Continue spraying 

 the foliage on bright days, avoiding 

 the buds, which will, rot if the water is 

 allowed to settle in them. Also beware 

 of the hairy caterpillar, which will ruin 

 the foliage. Shade is sometimes neces- 

 sary to guard agaiast the burning of 

 the petals during hot, bright days. The 

 bronze and red varieties are more sus- 

 ceptible to burning than the other 

 colors. 



Packing the Blooms. 



Cut blooms intended for exhibition 

 are greatly benefited if put into water 

 twenty-four hours before shipment. As 

 to the packing, the blooms travel much 

 better if wrapped with a full sheet of 

 soft tissue paper, which is easily done 

 by slitting the paper at the fold, insert- 

 ing the stem in the slit just below the 

 bloom, then gathering the folds and 

 fastening at the top of the bloom with 

 a gentle twist. For blooms intended to 

 travel a distance, it is well to wrap the 

 ends of the stems with wet moss, or use 

 the regular Wells patent tubes. 



I find the most serviceable box for 

 shipping to be six feet long, twenty- 

 two inches wide and twelve inches deep. 



In staging, see that all blooms are 

 fresh and unblemished, and preserve as 

 much foliage as possible in the long- 



