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14 



The Florists* Review 



SmmuBma 80, 191B. 



exhibition at one of the horticultural 

 shows held in the Maryland Institute 

 in Baltimore. This, apparently the first 

 exhibition of dahlias given in Balti- 

 more, attracted much attention, many 

 hardly believing they were flowers. 



If I remember rightly, this collection 

 was purchased from the late Peter Hen- 

 dfrson and I believe that if the Amer- 

 ican history of the dahlia could be 

 traced out, he was the first to introduce 

 the dahlia in variety and quantity to' 

 this country. 



My sincere hope is that this Amer- 

 ican Dahlia Society may continue its 

 good work so nobly begun, so that at 

 every home, no matter how humble, and 

 wherever there is » garden spot, dahlias 

 may be planted and the country beauti- 

 fied, -i 



BUSINESS EMBABBASSMENTS. 



Stonebam, Mas& — John L. White, 

 proprietor of a florists' business on 

 Wright street court and other flower 

 shops at Wakefield and Pittsfield, Mass., 

 has filed a voluntary petition in bank- 

 ruptcy. His liabilities are scheduled at 

 $2,;^95 and his assets at $2,512. 



Denver, Colo. — ^Upon application of 

 George W. Gero and Charles E. Carlson, 

 creditors, the Elitch-Long .Gardens 

 Co. has been placed in the hands of a 

 receiver. District Judge Allen appoint- 

 ed George L. Boberts receiver. Gero 



and Carlson, in their petition, set out 

 that the company had been running be- 

 hind in expenses for some time, and 

 that the interests of the creditors re- 

 quire that a receiver assume charge of 

 the company's affairs and conserve its 

 assets to the creditors. The concern 

 operates an amusement park and a 

 florists' business. 



NATIONAL ^FLOWER SHOW. 



Henry A. Dreer, Inc., has offered 

 forty-six special premiums in twenty- 

 three classes for the National Flower 

 Show to be held in Philadelphia March 

 25 to April 2, 1916, and Henry F. 

 Michell Co. has offered 100 special cash 

 prizes, medals and cups, in fifty classes. 

 In sending The Eeview typewritten 

 lists of these seventy- three elapses and 

 146 premiums. Publicity Director W. F. 

 Therkildson writes: 



"These lists, you understand, are in 

 addition to the regular premium list 

 and there will no doubt be several 

 others to supplement this before the 

 general premium list is made up. W. 

 Atlee Burpee & Co. expect to issue a 

 list on sweet peas, but this has not yet 

 been arranged. 



"We had a meeting in my oflSce Sep- 

 tember 23, of the press and publicity 

 committee. You will note that this 

 committee is made up' with a repre- 



sentative from each of the.. Philadel- 

 phia papers. By this means we expect 

 to get some extraordinary publicity. 



'•Poster stamps were agreed upon 

 for the use of the several local firms 

 in their correspondence prior to the 

 flower show, as well ad the design for 

 the premium list cover. It was also 

 decided that a design should be worked 

 up for posters, window cards and the 

 program cpver, the same design to 

 be used on^ all three, with the idea of 

 getting accumulative value of keeping 

 one design constantly before the public. 

 There have been no further develop- 

 ments^'^in the flower show situation ^t 

 this time.** 



ABKANSAS SHOW Bl 



A fall flower show, which wjil be the 

 first held 4° Fort Smith, Ark., in eight 

 seasons, has been artanj^d under the 

 auspices of the t>oaMfPi|jMy mana- 

 gers of the Sparks Memorial hospital, 

 as a benefit show for the Institjation. 

 George Rye, one of Fort Smith 'fi lead- 

 ing florists, is the manager aiid has 

 been busy enlisting the support of a 

 hundi'ed ^r more growers in the vicin- 

 ity. He. declares the exhibition is a 

 fine opportunity for showing stock in 

 quarters where new trade may be de- 

 veloped. The dates of the show will 

 be November 5 and 6. 



HOW TO MAKE THEM PAY. 



' ' t!teatment of Dutch Bnlbs. 



Any doubts which may have existed 

 about an adequate supply of Dutch 

 bulbs eoming to hand in good season 

 have already been dissipated. Arrivals 

 are more numerous than usual and have 

 come in good season. In addition, the 

 quality is unusually good, thanks, in 

 great measure, to diminished purchases 

 made by Great Britain, Bussia, Ger- 

 many and other European belligerents. 

 Whether we will continue to get as 

 fine bulbs at the close of the present 

 great conflict remains to be seen, but 

 it is true that up to last year America 

 did not receive the highest grades of 

 bulbs produced, the European countries 

 taking them. Those who have handled 

 bulbs on the two continents know this 

 to be the case. 



It hardly need be said that Dutch 

 bulbs as soon as received should be 

 unpacked and laid out in flats or on 

 shelves in a cool, dry shed until they 

 can be placed in the soil. If they are 

 left packed in paper bags, or in bulk 

 in cases, there is great danger of sweat- 

 ing and heating, particularly in the 

 ease of some narcissi, such as Hors- 

 fieldii, omatus and Victoria. A further 

 fact, which needs constant reiteration, 

 is that the longer bulbs are left out of 



the soil after having been received, 

 the less satisfactory the returns from 

 them will be. It is possible to plant 

 tulips, narcissi and hyacitiths as late 

 stk December and flower them, but there 

 will be no comparison between the flow- 

 ers produced on these and those on the 

 early planted ones. 



The question is asked each season, 

 "Do bulbs payt** They paid extremely 

 well last season, when conditions were 

 discouraging in the cut flower trade. 

 Several large wholesale growers told 

 me that last season's bulb flower trade 

 was the best they ever had, the season 

 being well prolonged, owing to an ab- 

 sence of early heat waves, and prices 

 compared favorably with those of pre- 

 ceding years. Country florists who use 

 their entire cuts at home cannot well 

 get along without bulbs as a spring 

 or late winter flower. They appeal to 

 many buyers more than other green- 

 house flowers, and the grower who 

 plants the right varieties, times them 

 with accuracy, and grows them intelli- 

 gently has rarely any great trouble in 

 disposing of his stock. A good cold 

 cellar in which to hold back stock, 

 either in flower or partly grown, is 

 a valuable asset to all bulb growers. 



Dntch Bulb Culture. 



It is hardly true that bnlbs will grow 

 in any old soil. They may grow in it. 



but they give vastly better results in 

 more carefully prepared compost. Three 

 parts well decayed fibrous loam,' one 

 part dried cow manure passed throi!»gh 

 a %-inch screen, and sufi^cient sharp 

 sand to give porosity, makes a good 

 soil for bulbs. If cow manure is lack- 

 ing, it is possible to use spent hotbed 

 manure and mushroom manure. If 

 these are employed, two parts of loam 

 can be used to one part of the manure. 

 If the loam is naturally heavy and reten- 

 tive, use more sand. Some growers add 

 leaf-mold to lighten the compost, but 

 I do not advise its use unless the soil 

 is naturally heavy. 



As a general rule, flats four inches 

 deep answer well for any bulbs, a con- 

 venient size being 12x24 inches. Flats 

 of this size will hold fifty to 100 nar- 

 cissi, according to their size; sixty to 

 100 tulips; fifty to seventy-five small- 

 sized hyacinths; seventy-five Spanish 

 iris, or sixty to 100 gladioli of the 

 nanus type. It is an advantage to 

 have the iris flats an inch deeper than 

 those used for the other bulbs. 



Where should bulbs be placed after 

 planting f Some prefer to place them 

 directly in a cellar or pit, others stand 

 them outdoors, and still others put 

 them in coldframes, on which sashes 

 can be placed when cold weather sets 

 in. All these have advantages and dis- 

 advantages. I think cellar storage en- 



