Max 6, 1915. 



The Florists' Review 



23 



and the plants, pots and sashes were 

 sold. Eobert Craig bought some. A 

 short time before this he had left the 

 Presbyterian Board of Publications, 

 where he was a clerk, to become a flo- 

 rist. George Craig was then running 

 the greenhouses at Thirteenth and 

 Locust streets, and David Joyce was 

 in charge of the greenhouses at 

 Twelfth and Chestnut streets. 



I did not like sliding around on the 

 slippery floors of the soap factory, so 

 I soon gave up my place and went to 

 work for Kobert Craig. I commenced 

 on his birthday, March 18, 1878. The 

 only three days I have ever been out 

 of a job since I commenced working 

 were the three days that intervened be- 

 tween the Wednesday when I left Ball 

 Bros, and the Monday when I com- 

 menced with Eobert Craig. 



Twenty-two Years with Craig. 



I worked with Eobert Craig for 

 twenty-two years; fifteen before I be- 

 came foreman. Mr. Craig was his own 

 foreman for a while. Then he had 

 John Smith, and Bradley and Jacob 

 Becker. I have never believed in tak- 

 ing more time to walk through a green- 

 house than was necessary, or in tapping 

 a plant gently several times when re- 

 potting geraniums. When I see a man 

 do that I generally ask him where he 

 learned his trade. It is ten to one he 

 answers that it was on a private place. 

 One tap for a geranium is enough com- 

 mercially. Suppose you do kill a few, 

 you will many times make up for it 

 by the extra number you do in a day. 



We all know that praise from one's 

 first employer is good to hear. It so 

 chanced that John A. Shellem came 

 to me for help about getting a man 

 when I was foreman at Mr. Craig's. 

 He had so much trouble with his men 

 that I advised him to get a couple of 

 good boys and then make it interest- 

 ing for the best one. After we had 

 finished talking, Lemuel Ball, who had 

 been standing by, said, "It will be 

 hard to find as good a boy as Johnnie 

 Walker." 



PLANTINGS FOR A TOWN HOME. 



I am enclosing a rough sketch of 

 our grounds and buildings. We wish 

 to add a touch of privacy and beauty 

 to our town home. As the sketch in- 

 dicates, our residence fronts toward 

 the west and is approached by a 

 curving walk, -vyhich branches so as to 

 lead to the two porches, one on each 

 side of the main part of the building. 

 The grounds are 200 feet wide and 

 170 feet deep. There is a barn in the 

 rear. The residence has a long wing 

 on each side, extending until only 

 twenty-five feet from the north bound- 

 ary of the grounds and fifteen feet 

 from the south boundary. Along the 

 north boundary is a row of apple trees. 

 Along the south boundary is a drive- 

 way, leading to the barn. The drive- 

 way is straight until it reaches the 

 rear part of the grounds, where it 

 curves northward toward the barn. 



There is a drive next to our drive 

 and we wish to have some kind of 

 division between them. Our idea is 

 to have a flowering hedge, or a fence 

 covered with vines. At the turn in 

 the drive we should like a group of 

 6-foot or 7-foot shrubs, which would 

 hide the adjoining back yards. We 

 thought a 3-foot bed of perennials 

 would add to the beauty of the place 

 if planted along the fence by the ap- 



The alarm clock went off at 

 four o'clock in the morning. 



"I fooled you that toime," 

 said Mike with a grin, "for 

 I wasn't aslape at all." 



a permanent block, I would plant the 

 American arborvitse. Thuya occiden- 

 talis. If you prefer deciduous flower- 

 ing shrubs, lilacs are good; so are the 

 loniceras, such as Tatarica, and any of 

 the viburnums. Lilacs hold their 

 foliage late, however, and are most 

 satisfactory flowering shrubs. A 

 border three feet wide will not ac- 

 commodate many perennials and a row 

 of nice flowering shrubs would be more 

 effective and more easily cared for. 

 You could use one or several varieties. 

 I would suggest using several kinds, 

 thus securing a longer season of bloom. 

 A few of a suitable nature to use are: 

 Deutzia Lemoinei, Spiraea Thunbergii, 

 tt. arguta, Pruuus tribola, Exochorda 

 grandiflora. Hydrangea paniculata 

 grandiflora and H. arborescens, Phila- 

 delphus Lemoinei, Elseagnus longipes 

 anl Persian lilac. C. W. 



The florist fools himself who 

 thinks there is any way of 

 selling goods in the trade 

 more effective than adver- 

 tising in. The Review. Also, 

 it's the most inexpensive way 

 in proportion to results. 



"We are completely sold out and have 

 had to send money back. The Review 

 Is, without doubt, the best advertlsintr 

 medium in the trade."— J. C. Renni- 

 soN Co., Sioux City, la. 



Review readers are not 

 asleep. Note this: 



"Please tell ua confidentially what you 



think of . Why doesn't he 



advertise in The Review if he is O. 

 K.?"— Miller Floral Co., Farminsr- 

 ton. Utah. 



The alarm clock rings in The 

 Review office at 4 o'clock (p.m., 

 not a. m.) every Tuesday. It is 

 to let everybody know adver- 

 tising forms close for that 

 week's issue in just sixty 

 minutes. 



pie trees. What are the best things to 

 plant in these places, if the plan is 

 practical? We shall be glad to have 

 any suggestions. O. A. K. — Ohio. 



A rustic fence made of oak, cedar 

 or some other hard wood and covered 

 with pink rambler roses, such as 

 Dorothy Perking or Tausendschon, 

 would make a nice division. You 

 might alternate some Clematis pani- 

 culata with the roses and thus prolong 

 the flowering season; or, if preferred, 

 you could use roses only or clematis 

 only. For a flowering hedge althaeas, 

 Philadelphus Lemoinei or Spiraea 

 arguta are all good. Philadelphus 

 Lemoinei is a less robust grower than 

 the old P. coronarius and blooms when 

 quite small. It would probably be the 

 best of the trio. 



At the turn of the drive, if you want 



ALSO CALLED ELKHOBN MOSS. 



I saw in The Eeview of April 22, 

 page 18, a second reference to the Mex- 

 ican Pink, about which a subscriber 

 had been inquiring. I am almost sure 

 that the plant so named is a mesem- 

 bryanthemum, as suggested by some of 

 The Review 's correspondents in reply 

 to the inquiry. A Mexican Pink was 

 sent to me from El Paso, Tex., and it 

 then bore the name, also, of Elkhorn 

 Moss. It is grown extensively in 

 southwestern Texas, especially by Mex- 

 icans. There is nothing equal to it for 

 porch boxes, especially in a hot, dry 

 climate. 



The Mexican Pink cannot be 

 Antigonon Jeptopus, though some of the 

 subscribers have so conjectured, for 

 the Mexican Pink makes enormous 

 roots and one good vine will cover sev- 

 eral square rods in one season. The 

 flowers of the different varieties of 

 mesembryanthemum, I understand, have 

 different shades of color, but the flow- 

 ers of my plant are of a bright, shiny 

 pink and are as large as a silver dollar. 



C. L. Shell. 



I certainly appreciate the interest 

 taken by The Review in my inquiry 

 regarding the Mexican Pink. A guess 

 I made at the time was that it might 

 be Kochia trichophylla, a plant I heart- 

 ily dislike. Another guess was that it 

 might be a portulaca. A friend of 

 mine who has lived in Mexico thinks 

 that probably an antigonon is meant. 

 He says the Mexican Pink is the finest 

 pink flower in Mexico and grows in 

 great quantities at altitudes of 4,000 

 feet and over. B. C, Auten. 



Laporte, Ind. — The candy and flower 

 store of I. M. Hoffman, on Lincoln 

 Way, is being fltted -with a new front, 

 especially designed for displays. In- 

 terior remodeling is also going on, and 

 Mr. Hoffman expects to increase his 

 business considerably when everything 

 is in shape. 



Madison, N. J.— The Aphine Mfg. 

 Co., M. C. Ebel, manager, has offered 

 a handsome silver and bronze bowling 

 trophy to be awarded to the member of 

 th. Society of American Florists, Na- 

 tional Association of Gardeners or 

 American Association of Park Superin- 

 tendents making the highest individual 

 score at the contest which will be held 

 under the auspices of the Pacific Coast 

 Horticultural Society, in San Francisco, 

 the third week of August, when the 

 meetings of all of the organizations 

 named will occur in that city. 



