Fkbbdabt 18, 1915. 



The Florists* Review 



19 



street floor and basement at 177-9 

 North Michigan avenue. Four tele- 

 phones were installed during the fore- 

 noon, with office equipment, and facili- 

 ties, for carrying on the cut flower de- 

 partment of the business. Orders for 

 florists' supplies, filled from storage 

 stocks, were shipped from the new quar- 

 ters February 15. A. L. Eandall stated 

 that those holding orders from the 

 house had been sent instructions to 

 ship immediately and that no time 

 would be lost in purchasing a com- 



Elete new stock on a larger scale than 

 efore. It was stated as one of the 

 mitigating circumstances that all mer- 

 chandise bills for January had been dis- 

 counted. The safes were recovered 

 February 16 and all records found to be 

 in good condition. No orders or ac- 

 counts were lost. 



The question of permanent locations 

 for the two concerns is one of consid- 

 erable importance, *not only to them but 

 to the rest of the interests that hereto- 

 fore have been so closely centered in 

 the Chicago cut flower section. It is 

 considered impossible to restore the 

 burned building within the time limit 

 stipulated in the leases. The Amling 

 house, dealing only in cut flowers, will 

 have less trouble finding a thoroughly 

 satisfactory location than will the Ran- 

 dall concern, requiring space for so 

 much bulky merchandise. 



TBOUBLE WITH CUTTZNGS. 



I am enclosing a few cuttings, hoping 

 they may reach you fresh enough for 

 you to see a fungus that continually 

 attacks my stock in the propagating 

 house. The disease apparently begins 

 under the sand surface, working up the 

 stem to the leaves above the sand, then 

 quickly spreading. It has shown itself 

 in coleus, heliotropes, alyssums, iresines, 

 geraniums and genistas and, in spite of 

 all I have done, still exists. Our propa- 

 gating benches are principally made of 

 wood. At the beginning of the season 

 they were well whitewashed and filled 

 with perfectly fresh sand from the lake 

 shore near here. The sand is about four 

 to six inches deep on the benches, with 

 a temperature of 70 to J5 degrees, the 

 house temperature being slightly below 

 that. The benches are three to five 

 feet wide, with two 1-inch pipes under 

 each bench, and the temperature of each 

 bench is practically the same. I have 

 steamed the sand in one bench, but it 

 makes little or no difference. If you 

 can advise me as to sterilizing the sand, 

 or in Mjr other way put me on the road 

 to gemrig rid of the pest, I shall be 

 grateful. W. E. G. 



The genista cuttings had been planted 

 too deeply in the sand and, further- 

 more, the temperature of the house 

 and sand is much too high for them. 

 Give them sand of ti tempertiture of -.60 

 degrees and top heat 10 degrees loiTer. 

 Also, be careful not to set the stfeis 

 so deep in the sand and you should 

 have no trouble with fungus or damping 

 off. The bottom heat named should 

 suit coleus, heliotropes and iresines; it 

 is a little warm for geraniums and 

 sweet alyssum. Be sure to clear all 

 leaves and scales ftom^the portions of 

 stems placed in the sand. 



If the sand is not sufficiently coarse, 

 this may be in part responsible for your 

 trouble. In this case I would advise 

 placing two inches of coal ashes in the 

 bottom of the bench; over this place a 

 layer of moss, then fill in the sand. This 



Space Formerly Occupied by the A. L. Randall G}., Chicago, as it*Appearedi February ^5. 



will make the drainage better. To still 

 further improve it you could break up 

 some charcoal or ordinary coal, pass 

 through a fine screen and mix with the 

 sand. Steaming the beds or pouring 

 boiling water over them should sterilize 

 them sufficiently. I am inclined to 

 think, however, that the water is not 

 passing through your sand as freely as 

 it should. C. W. 



MB. WIBTH'S OABDEN. 



The garden that was so fine a feature 

 of the S. A. F. convention at Min- 

 neapolis in 1913 was continued in 1914, 

 partly with stock donated by houses in 

 the trade that felt themselves repaid 

 through the advertising they obtained 

 by signs on the beds. Mr. "Wirth now 

 states that "on account of the large 

 amount of annual planting material re- 

 quired to fill the garden, which,- be- 

 cause of the requirements for bedding 

 plants for other parks, we are not able 

 to furnish from our own propagating 

 plant, it seems advisable to change the 

 layout of the garden to provide room 

 for a larger number of perennials and 

 other hardy plants which do not require 

 replacing every year. We cannot ex- 

 pect outside growers to furnish large 

 quantities of plants every year to help 

 fill this large garden, and we do not 

 intend to ask them to do so. We are, 

 however, not only willing but anxious 



to have all growers who wish to do so 

 make use of those display grounds to 

 introduce and show their novelties in 

 large or small numbers. Exhibits sent 

 us for that purpose will be given a con- 

 spicuous place in the garden among the 

 class of plants to which they belong. 

 They will be properly labeled, giving 

 the exhibitor's full name and address 

 We simply ask that prospective ex- 

 hibitors write to us before April 1 what 

 they wish to exhibit, so that we may 

 reserve space for their exhibits, and 

 that the plants be sent, freight or ex- 

 press prepaid, at the proper time of 

 planting. 



"Our home people are taking a great 

 interest in the garden right along, and 

 there et^-be nv). question as to the ad- 

 vertising value 'of an exhibit at those 

 well-kept exhibition grounds." 



FOECINO BLEEDD^O HEAET. 



How long does it take to force bleed- 

 ing heart? Will you kindly give us 

 a few cultural directions regarding itf 

 T. N. 



Bleeding heart, or Dielytra specta- 

 bilis, does better when not forced too 

 hard. Allow the plants six to seven 

 weeks in a temperature of 50 degrees 

 at night. Treat them similarly to 

 spirseas, but give less water and heat. 



C. W. 



