300 



The Weekly Florists^ Re^acw♦ 



• July 7, 1904. 



last seasoQ; still good stock has com- 

 manded a ready market and those careful 

 growers who have had successful crops 

 of the better grade have had a fairly 

 profitable season. With many growers 

 teas have paid better than Beauties. Car- 

 nation prices have been under last 

 year 's, except for a few brief periods, 

 but the carnation growers are making 

 less complaint than anyone, good evi- 

 dence that they have had a reasonably 

 profitable season. There are, however, 

 many growers who were attracted to car- 

 nations by the good results the last 

 couple of years, wlio are going back to 

 lettuce and cucumbers next season. 



A MICHIGAN ESTABLISHMENT. 



The acompanying illustrations give an 

 idea of the character of the establishment 

 of S. J. Long, at Petoskey, Mich., The 

 view showing the grounds gives evidence 

 that the proprietor believes in keeping 

 his place neat and clean, an example to 

 the community which every florist should 

 set. Since the photograph was taken in- 

 creasing business has necessitated an ad- 

 dition to the glass, the old houses having 

 been extended and two new ones added at 

 the left. The other picture shows Ad- 

 lumia cirrhosa growing at Mr. Long's 

 door. This is a graceful climber, very 

 useful for covering. It is a hardy bien- 

 nial, but might almost be classed with 

 the perennials, as it resows itself year 

 after year. The foliage is feathery, the 

 maidenhair fern of the climbers. The 

 tube-shaped flowers are light pink in color 

 and borne in great profusion. The plant 

 bears the common names of lace vine, Al- 

 legheny vine, mountain fringe and climb- 

 ing fumatory. It should be mentioned 

 that Mrs. Long's work has been of mate- 

 rial importance in building pp the busi- 

 ness. 



y^etable Forcing. 



Greenhouse cucumbers at New York 

 are 25 to 35 cents a dozen, with re- 

 ceipts from the south many thousands of 

 packages each day. 



Toledo, O. — Miller Bros, are building 

 eight houses for lettuce and cucumbers. 

 The roof material, etc., came from Chi- 

 cago, the houses being of the Dietsch 

 short-span pattern, fourteen feet nine 

 inches wide, without partition walls, and 

 260 feet long. 



A FUNGUS, called by scientists Dendry- 

 phium comosum, this season assumed the 

 proportions of an epidemic in some ot' 

 the cucumber establishments near Lon- 

 don, England. This fungus is common 

 on decaying vegetable matter but had 

 never been recorded as parasitic. It 

 came from straw in the stable manure 

 used in the compost. 



THE SQUASH BORER. 



Enclosed you will find two insects 

 found here in great numbers on the cu- 

 cumber vines, known here as borers. As 

 soon as these insects make their appear- 

 ance the vines, or parts of them, die oflf 

 suddenly in one day, while other branches 

 on the same plant may stay green and 

 healthy. They seem to hatch in the 

 plant. In pulling up the dead plants in 

 summer we find millions of them, that 

 is, young ones. I am speaking of cucum- 

 bers grown in hotbeds. Any information 

 that you may give on the subject will be 

 highly appreciated. G. H. B. 



The insects sent are what is commonly 

 called the squash borer, as they are gen- 



Adlumia. Grrhosa on a Michig[an Florists' Porch. 



EoCHELUE, Iii.. — August Caspers has 

 fbeen in the business here for twenty-five 

 years. He has a farm of twenty-eight 

 acres which, when he began, was barren 

 ground. It is now all within the corpor- 

 ate limits of the city. Mr. Caspers has 

 built up a nice business, both in cut 

 flowers, plants and vegetables under 

 glass, also small fruits and outdoor vege- 

 tables. 



erally more prevalent on the squash than 

 the cucumber plants. Though they prefer 

 the squash, they are also quite at home 

 on the cucumber and in some sections arc 

 quite troublesome. The mature insect 

 lays its eggs usually near the base 

 of the vines and when the larvae hatch 

 out they bore into the crowns or vines, 

 causing them to die off suddenly as 

 described. When the mature insects 



begin to make their appearance, if 

 not too numerous, they can be kept 

 down by handpicking. They are easi- 

 ly seen, as they usually harbor on 

 the upper side of the leaves. Toward 

 evening they are less active and are easily 

 caught. Dusting with slug shot or other 

 similar insecticide will help to keep them 

 in check, as they usually feed before de- 

 positing their eggs. It is well to begin 

 with the dusting of the plants at un 

 early stage of their growth, so as to be 

 ready for the insects when they come. '■■ 



W. S. CUOYDON. 



BUILDING AND PIPING. 



We desire to build a greenhouse and 

 wish to ask inrough the Review how to 

 dp, so. Our lot is 75x150 feet in size, the 

 f^dtit west. The land inclines to the west 

 so that the back end of the lot is three 

 feet higher than the front; the alley is 

 two feet higher than the back of the lot. 

 We wish to build for a general stock of 

 greenhouse and bedding plants, also 

 ferns; would also like to grow carnations 

 and grow roses to flower in pots. Wo 

 have some chrysanthemums growing and 

 have thought of starting with some cu- 

 cumbers this fall. We have had a small 

 greenhouse in connection with the store 

 for several years but we want more room 

 and desire to build to the best possible 

 advantage. We would like to know 

 whether to build on the top of the ground 

 or to dig down to the level of the street 

 in front, and what kind of span to 

 build. We would like to build 40x150 

 feet, with boiler room separate, and an 

 iron frame. Please give information how 

 to heat, hot water or steam. Also please 

 advise as to ventilators, size of glass, 

 depth of soil for carnations and cucum- 

 bers, and how early cucumbers should be 

 started. What kind of foundation should 

 be used; how heavy should the wall be 

 made with cement or mortar t We wish 

 to construct the boiler room so that it 

 will be fireproof. What kind of boiler? 

 Should we set the boiler on top of the 

 ground or dig a pit for it! C. E. H. 



in constructing your greenhouse I 

 would not advise you to dig down to the 

 level of the street in front, but would 

 build the wall 18 inches above the level 

 of the street and excavate about the same 

 depth at the higher end. A three-quarter 

 span would be the best for roses and car- 

 nations, as this gives a more even amount 

 of light to aU the benches. For general 

 stock, such as you mention, it would not 

 be so important to have the greatest pos- 

 sible amount of light, but this style of a 

 house would be as suitable as any for 

 such a purpose. 



Hot water would be best in your case, 

 as it does not require such close atten- 

 tion as steam, the latter requiring the 

 services of a night attendant. I would 

 have top ventilators on both sides of the 

 house, as in this way the house can be 

 kept cooler during very warm weather, 

 and during catchy weather it gives a 

 chance to air on the sheltered side of the 

 house. The size of glass I prefer is 18x 

 24 inches. 



Six inches of soil is quite enough for 

 carnations, but for cucumbers I would 

 prefer to have the benches eight inches 

 deep. I prefer to plant the cucumbers 

 in hills, adding soil as the roots appear 

 on the outside. For first crop, cucumbers 

 can be started the end of August. 



For an iron frame construction, the 

 best foundation would be brick laid up 

 in cement, and wide enough to accommo- 



