.Jri-« 21. 1904. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



399^ 



A TRIP TO ST. LOUIS 



Will pay you well. Besides the Convention, the Fair 

 and the Piice, you will see our Grand Collection of 

 Novel and Standard Supplies* We are going to make 

 our Exhibit the best display of Florists' Supplies ever 

 made and we want you to see it. — 



THE LARGEST PLORISTS* SUPPLY HOUSE IN AMERICA. 



ti. Bayersdorier & Co., 



60-66 North 

 4th Street, 



Philadelphia, Pa. 



M«'wt1»n Th* R»Tlew when yon wrtte. 



y^etable Forcing. 



The great difficulty usually experi- 

 enced with early-forced strawberries is 

 that of the fertilization of the flowers, 

 especially during sunless days. 



INDOC»l GRAPERIES. 



Making the Borders. 



In a former article I gave my ideas 

 regarding what I considered the best 

 size and style of house. The next thing 

 to consider is the making of the bor- 

 <lers. In this the first essential ])oint 

 is to provide proper drainage. If the 

 situation is high and dry and the sub- 

 soil of a sandy nature the natural drain- 

 age might be sufficient, but if there is 

 i.ny danger of the water not liaving 

 free passage, drains will have to be 

 constructed. The bottom of tlie border 

 should bo made firm an>l so constructed 

 that it will be highest in the middle and 

 sloping gradually toward the outer edges. 

 About nine inches of broken brick or 

 similar material should be placed on the 

 bottom, this in turn Ixiiig blinded with 

 old lime rubbish if it can be procured. 

 T'nder ordinary conditions two drains, 

 one along each of the outer edges of the 

 Ijorder, will be sufficient, but it may be 

 necessary with certain nubsoils to have 

 drains running from the center pf the 

 border at intervals of every eight or 

 ten feet and leading into the side drains. 

 These latter fhould have sufficient fall 

 to insure the carrying away of all sur- 

 plus water. In low, damp situations it 

 may even be necessary to cement the 

 bottom of the border lo insure against 

 stagnation and to prevent the roots get- 

 ting down into poor soil, whor? the moist- 

 ure in such a situation wouM naturally 

 draw them. Where cementing is done 

 the bottom should be constru!-tfd as 

 recommended above and tlie sanio 

 amount of broken brick, etc., used. 

 Th< re is always a po'sibiliH* of having 

 too much of a good thing and it is quite 

 possible to have too much drainage, as 

 we want the borders to retain the nec- 

 essary amount of moisture so I would 

 not recommend cimenting unlesi< the 

 situation calls for it. 



In preparing the compost for filling up 

 the border much will d"pend on the qual- 

 ity and nature of the roil pro<urable. 

 Both its mechanical and chemical com- 

 positi(m may have to be regulate<l. Should 



the soil be of a stiff, binding nature a 

 liberal amount of charcoal and lime rub- 

 bish will have to be used to make it 

 freer and less retentive. If, on the other 

 hand, the sod contains ))lenty of fibre, 

 and the nature of the soil be free and 

 open, nothing but manure need be ad- 

 ded ; the lighter the soil of course the 

 more manure will be necessary. 



An ideal soil for grape vines is a 

 good fibrous loam, neither too light nor 

 too heavy. 



Regarding manures, the main object 

 should be to use only such as will make 

 the compost as lasting as possible. Soft 

 maaures, such as from the barn yard, 

 shouhl be avoided, as they only act as a 

 souring agent and the \irtue they con- 

 tain is spent before the vines are large 

 enough to utilize it. The ingredients 

 they contain can be supplied later in the 

 form of liquid. Use half-inch bone and 

 horn shavings in proportions of about 

 one ton of bone and 100 pounds wf shav- 

 ings to fifty team loads of soil. There 

 is no necessity for making up the com- 

 post any length of time before it is to 

 be used, but it shoukl be .veil chopped 

 up and the ingreelients mixed l>eforo be- 

 ing filled into the border. The sod 

 should l)e taken up just the same as if 

 it were to be used for roses or carnations 

 anil the more fibre it contains the better 

 it will be. A layer of sod intact should 

 be place<l green side down over the drain- 

 age to keep the latter clear until the 

 whole has settled and it is a gooel plan 

 to have the soil three or four inches 

 higher than the intended level, so as to 

 allow for settling. I don 't approve of 

 ])acking the soil in anv way but simply 

 fill it in iis above and let it settle of its 

 own weight. If it should settle a little 

 below the level it is easy to add an inch 

 or two as neede<l. 



A theory that is advanced by some 

 growers is to make the border in sec- 

 tions in pla«»e of making it all at once. 

 They advocate planting the vines in a 

 section three or four feet wide and 

 adding other see'tions of a similar width 

 as the growth of the roots requires it. 

 claiming that it saves a loss of manurial 

 elements which would occur by the com- 

 post or that part of it in the center of 

 the border lying idle so long before the 

 roots are strong rnoueh to reach it. 

 Though the theory may be all right to a 

 certain extent, I liave^ never seen the 

 advantaj^os claimeil for it proven by 

 practical resultr. and prefer to make the 

 border all at once rather than have it 

 done by patch work. If good, strong 

 vines are plant* d they will pretty well 



occupy the whole border the second sea- 

 son after planting and, when the border 

 is made all at once, there is no restric- 

 tion whatever to the roots. 



W. S. Croydon. 



LETTUCE SOIL. 



I am emptying my carnation benches 

 and would like to know if the soil in 

 which the carnations grew last season 

 would be good for lettuce if piled out- 

 doors until the latter part of October, 

 with a fourth of maoure added? 



L. H. W. 



Under ordinary conditions the soil 

 from your carnation benches ought to be 

 all right if mixed as you suggest ami 

 exposetl to the weather until the latter 

 part of October. We have often used 

 old carnation soil for lettuce under sim- 

 ilar conditions with good results, only in 

 adding the manure make sure that it is 

 well rotted, as by adding fresh manure 

 you might be addiug properties, such as 

 ammonia, which the soil already contains, 

 in excess of what are needed. If liquid 

 or other manures have been applied to 

 your carnation benches, which in all 

 likelihood has been the case, the soil 

 is almost sure to be overcharged with 

 certain ingredients which only a chemical 

 analysis v.ould reveal. Most of us apply 

 manures by rule of thumb and can only 

 judge by the health of our crop whether 

 we are overdosing or not. But a soil 

 that would produce good carnations might 

 not be altogether suitabla for lettuce, 

 their softer nature making them rather 

 susceptible to damage through an exces-s 

 of certain chemical properties in the soil. 



If your carnations have been heavily 

 fed it' would be better to leave your soil 

 over winter, so that it would not only get 

 washed out but be subjected to the 

 sweetening influence of frost. But if 

 heavy feeding has not been given, then 

 there is little danger of excess of chem- 

 ical properties in the soil and I would 

 consider it quite safe to u.se as you sug- 

 gest. The soil should not be piled too 

 deep and would be benefited by beine 

 turned over several times while lying out 

 of doors. W. S. Croydon. 



Efudixo, Pa. — Harry Seiders, a for- 

 mer employe of Hoskin & Giles, is under 

 arrest on a charge of having burglarized 

 the place July 9. 



Peori.\., III. — The local florists have 

 agreed to join the movement for closing 

 all stores on Wednesday afternoons dur- 

 ing July and August. 



