Fbbbuaby 25, 1916. 



The Florists^ Review 



13 



takes to force plum, apple and cherry 

 blossoms after bringing the plants in- 

 side? T. N, 



PBOGRESS OF THE SWEET PEA. 



Probably no flower has made greater 

 advancement in popularity in the Brit- 

 ish Isles during the last ten years than 

 the sweet pea, and its progress has only 

 been slightly less noticeable in the 

 United States and Canada. 



In looking back to the time when 

 Henry Eckford was assiduously devot- 

 ing his energies to the extension of the 

 range of colors on the type then exist- 

 ing, and known as the grandiflora, as 

 now distinguished from the present-day 

 Spencer, one cannot help wishing, from 

 a commercial point of view, that at 

 least half the amount of skill and labor 

 had Tjeen expended on the cultivation 

 of the older favorite that has been 

 lavished on the Spencer; the results 

 would have greatly enhanced the repu- 

 tation of our old friend. But, unfor- 

 tunately, the real science of cultivating 

 the sweet pea was either not' under- 

 stood or was not systematically taken 

 in hand until the Spencer type came 

 into being. Its advent awakened pub- 

 lic interest and general enthusiasm 

 among florists in favor of a flower which 

 had, in a comparatively short space of 

 time, emerged, as it were, from a thistle 

 to a rose. 



The writer has many pleasant mem- 

 ories of his early efforts in connection 

 with the production of sweet peas for 

 the' English markets, and he also has 

 recollections of many sad disappoint- 

 ments during the first two seasons, in 

 his endeavor to produce flowers of suffi- 

 cient merit to command a ready sale 

 and bring fair returns for the outlay. 

 There is no place like a good flower 

 market to make a man feel small, when 

 he sees his produce by the side of that 

 of hundreds of competitors who have 

 long been successful in the business. 

 But "Nil desperandum" is a good 

 motto for all workers who would see 

 the consummation of their ambitions. 

 There is undoubtedly a great future 

 for the sweet pea. What would the 

 average public be prepared to pay for 

 sweet peas with 26-inch to 30-inch 

 stems, surmounted by five or six well 

 developed blooms? This will sound 

 rather visionary to some, and perhaps 

 beyond the range of possibility, but 

 nevertheless it has been and is being 

 done. When flowers of such merit are 

 produced in sufficient quantity, we may 

 then look with some degree of certainty 

 to seeing the sweet pea classed with 

 the rose and carnation and bringing 

 the same returns per hundred as these 

 two flowers. H. M. Swain. 



possible. Would you allow every flower 

 from the beginning to produce seeds? 

 All the flowers are perfect. As soon 

 as the flowers wither, the stem and all 

 drops off. What is the cause of this 

 and is there any way to prevent it, or 

 do first flowers usually do this? 



H. L. & S. 



Conditions under glass are purely 

 artificial and sweet peas will not set 

 seeds so freely at this dark season of 

 the year as when the temperature is 

 higher and the days longer. Some of 

 the earliest flowers are sure to fall off. 

 As we get warmer weather and you can 

 ventilate more freely, the flowers will 

 set much better. C. W. 



FORCING FRUIT BLOSSOMS. 



Will you kindly tell us how long it 



Plum, apple and cherry flowers will 

 open within a month after housing. Give 

 them a temperature of 60 degrees and 

 syringe freely. Move them into a 

 cooler house as the flowers show color; 

 this will give the blooms more sub- 

 stance. C. W. 



FAILURE WITH RANUNCULI. 



Please give me some instructions on 

 the growing of the ranunculus, as I 

 have failed with it several times. 

 Will it do to plant the bulbs now? 



W. A. W. 



I presume W. A. W. refers to the 

 cultivation of ranunculi indoors, since 

 they would not be hardy in his section 

 of 0hio. His previous lack of success 

 might be due to putting the bulbs in 

 a warm house. If they are potted now 

 in sandy loam and kept in the coolest 

 house on the place, say the violet 

 house, there is no reason why they 

 should not bloom about the end of 

 April or early in May. 



If they are to flower outside, plant 

 them as soon as the frost is out of the 

 ground, about two inches deep. It is 

 always considered that ranunculi like 

 a light, sandy soil. If planted out- 

 doors, they should be lifted in the 

 fall before the frosts. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



PrAirie Pic^^ups^^ 



SWEET PEAS FOR SEED. 



Please advise us how to save seeds 

 from sweet peas. We have the Austra- 

 lian new winter-flowering Spencer vari- 

 eties and wish to save as much seed as 



Des Moines, la. — A flower store will 

 shortly be opened in the Shops build- 

 ing by U. L. Crawford. Mr. Craw- 

 ford recently made a trip to Chicago 

 to purchase supplies and fixtures. 



Hinsdale, 111. — That a stylish store 

 steams up sales is the belief of Fred C. 

 Morris. He has an excellent stand, just 

 across the street from the railway sta- 

 tion. The building is still compara- 

 tively new and Mr. Morris is careful to 

 change his window display every few 

 days. At the present time red begonias 

 flag the attention of the passer-by. 



Shenandoah, la. — The store and 

 greenhouse of the Shenandoah Green- 

 house which are being erected in the 

 central part of the city are nearly com- 

 pleted, and O. B. Stevens hopes to be 

 well settled before Easter trade begins. 

 The present establishment in the south- 

 eastern part of the city will still be 

 used. At present, says Mr. Stevens, 

 the demand for stock is greater than 

 he can supply without buying from 

 wholesale houses. 



Peoria, III. — Otto Von Siebenthal and 

 John A. Nelson, who recently took over 

 the Eue Floral Co., have removed the 

 store from 301 Jefferson avenue to 408 

 Main street, where they have an excel- 

 lent equipment. Otto Von Siebenthal 

 has been in charge of the store for some 

 years, and John A. Nelson is the prac- 

 tical man in charge of the greenhouses 

 at 1101 Fifth street. Both men are 

 well known in a business way through- 

 out the city and each has demonstrated 

 his ability in his own line. 



Grinnell, la. — A stopped-up sewer 

 near by has kept Wm. Bader's force 

 busy bailing out the cellar. The water 

 crept over the boiler grates February 

 13, but no harm was done. 



Houston, Tex. — Robert C. Kerr is in- 

 stalling a tile irrigation system at his 

 nurseries, which cover ten acres and are 

 located five miles southwest of tlfe city. 

 Saturday flower sales, with special 

 prices on certain flowers each Satur- 

 day, are attracting considerable atten- 

 tion at the store. 



East St. Louis, lU. — Miss Lucy Dous- 

 sard, 30914 Collinsville avenue, has pur- 

 chased the Paul Slack florists' business 

 at 314 Collinsville avenue, and will 

 consolidate the two concerns. Miss 

 Doussard, who is the only lady member 

 of the Commercial Club, states that the 

 season has been the best in the history 

 of her business and that there are all 

 indications of a continuance of the 

 prosperity. She now has three assis- 

 tants. 



Osage, la.— T. B. Sargeant, of Vin- 

 ton, has traded his 270-acre farm for 

 the greenhouses and business of Walter 

 S. Hall, whose health has made it nec- 

 essary for him to give up his present 

 work. The business was started in 1885 

 by Mr. Hall and his brother William, 

 who later moved to Iowa Falls. There 

 is about 25,000 feet of glass, covering 

 15,000 square feet of concrete benches. 

 Mr. Hall has not yet decided what he 

 will ^0; for the present he and Mrs. 

 Hall will make their home on the newly 

 acquired farm. 



