658 



The Weekly Florists^ Review! 



AuausT 25, 1804. 



"No, mine is only 'ordinary.' " 



His food choked him and he went out. 

 But, being a brave lad, he determine* I 

 to have one more try. He knew a big 

 store in X where he would take his 

 mignonette. 



The next morning Simon cut another 

 bunch, getting every flower with the 

 green and white even and bronze in 

 proper proportion. Perhaps Mr. Cattleya 

 was wrong; he would see. 



Simon went to a great store on the 

 fashionable street of X, A magnificent 

 show window occupied the entire front. 

 Underneath was the name, "Rambler 

 Sisters, Florists." It was an old firm, 

 the founders having retired some time 

 since. On learning his business the 

 colored boy at the door told Simon to 

 go to the back entrance. He found a 

 young Mr. Earabler, a relative of the 

 founders, who received him kindly. 



"Your mignonette is fine," he said. 

 "How much!" 



Simon said it was worth 3 cents. 



"We are not paying over 2 cents," 

 Mr. Bambler said. "Can you give us 

 some at that price!" 



Simon told him he would see, and 

 went out. 



On the street a fakir offered him a 

 quarter for his bunch, which he had for- 

 gotten to wrap. Simon humbly accept- 

 ed the quarter. Mr. Cattleya was right, 

 hifl mignonette was "ordinary." 



Simon slept badly that night. He was 

 up in the morning to air and water his 

 beloved mignonette. Just as he finished 

 a telegraph boy came into the green- 



house. Simon had never received a tele- 

 gram in his life. He tore it open. It 

 read as follows: 



"Send fifty mignonettes daily. — ^Bam- 

 bler Sisters." 



Hardly had Simon read the slip when 

 a large, four-horse van drove up. It was 

 most striking in appearance. Across the 

 side in golden scrip was "Francis Fred- 

 erick Cattleya, Florist. Simple flowers 

 tastefully grouped." 



A bright-looking boy in gray livery, 

 with "Cattleya" on his cap, jumped 

 down from beside the driver and present- 

 ed Simon with a letter. It was addressed 

 to Mr. Simon Mardner and read as fol- 

 lows: 



"Dear Sir:— ^ive bearer 250 ipign- 

 onette. Eeserve the balance until next 

 week. Yours truly, F. F. Cattleya." 



Simon was puzzled and stood staring 

 first at one boy and then at the other 

 for a full minute. Then a resohit^ look 

 came into his face as he pulled out his 

 knife and turned to his beloved mign- 

 onette. 



But, putting his knife back into his 

 pocket, Simon dismissed both boys, one 

 bearing a telegram declining with regret, 

 the other a letter to the same effect. 



That afternoon Simon promised all his 

 mififnonette to a wholesale house in X. 



Here are the slips for the week, added : 



550 mignonette $33.00 



Com 4.95 



Check inclosed $28.05 



"Mine were fancy," thought Simon. 



Phil. 



CARNATION NOTES.— WEST. 



Lieht, Air and Water. 



After the plants have been in the house 

 five or six weeks and they have taken a 

 good hold of the soil, you should do all 

 you can to induce them to make a strong, 

 sturdy growth. For at least two months 

 yet we will have at our disposal an abund- 

 ance of the three elements which the car- 

 nation enjoys above all else. These three 

 are sunshine, fresh air and water. The 

 three go hand in hand. To deprive the 

 carnation plants of either will mean fail- 

 ure, which is only aggravated if the other 

 two be increased. "Where one of the three 

 is lacking the remaining two must be cur- 

 tailed in proportion, but when all three 

 are at hand in abundance it is difiScult to 

 overdo either one. 



The one over which we have the least 

 control and the one that gives us the most 

 trouble is the sunshine. We can. most of 

 the time, control ventilation and we can 

 always control the supply of water. So 

 the growers' task is simply to regulate 

 the supply of water and ventilation ac- 

 cording to the amount of sunshine which 

 is to be had. While the days are warm 

 and bright there is no danger of too much 

 ventilation and the danger of overwater- 

 ing is slight, after the plants get into a 

 vigorous growth. 



There should be no shade whatever on 

 the glass, else the growth will come soft, 

 which is a condition always to be avoid- 

 ed. When you water do it copiously and 

 then let the soil get into proper condition 

 before watering again. By stirring the 

 surface occasionally you can prevent the 

 soil from souring until the roots work 

 through it, after which time the danger 

 of souring is lessened. Keep the ven- 

 tilators up as high at night as you dare 

 leave them. 



Don 't be in a hurry about the supports 

 unless the plants begin to lay over, 

 which should not be the case this early. 

 You will need to work between the plants 

 a good deal yet, stirring the soil, pulling 

 weeds and cleaning the plants. This can 

 not be done as handily after the supports 

 are put in place as before. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



Seasonable Work. 



The check received by the plants in 

 transplanting from field to house will 

 show its effect soon after growth is re- 

 sumed. Buds form before the shoots 

 have reached a desirable length and, if 

 allowed to develop, will only result in 

 imperfect flowers. This is more marked 

 in varieties impatient of disturbance at 

 the root, notably Lawson. 



It is obvious that to let these buds 

 develop is not only a waste of energy 



and more or less a drain on the re- 

 sources of the plant, but has a direct in- 

 fluence on the time of flowering later in 

 the season. Allow the buds to attain 

 fair size and then cut back as in the 

 field, but do not remove all from a plant 

 at one time. Go over the beds once or 

 twice weekly, taking off, at the most, 

 two of the largest buds from a plant, 

 making a clean cut with a sharp knife. 

 This topping at intervals reduces the 

 liability of check from removal of too 

 much foliage at once, and is a help in 

 preserving the continuous blooming prop- 

 erty. 



Some varieties experience little check 

 in lifting, start off vigorously and pro- 

 duce a fair stem at the outset. These 

 may be allowed to flower as the market 

 may seen^ to warrant, although the low 

 price generally obtained is apt to lead 

 one to the opinion that disbudding thus 

 early is time thrown away, when in fact 

 for several reasons this operation should 

 be carried on at all times. But this 

 subject will be taken up in later notes. 



Each grower must learn the needs of 

 his market, observe his plants closely 

 and decide for himself what varieties 

 give promise of substantial returns and 

 are likely to meet the demand. Queen 

 Louise for white and Nelson for pink 

 are two good sorts, naturally early and 

 continuous bloomers also furnishing a 

 very good stem at the beginning of the 

 season. As a rule these two colors will 

 supply what can be called the demand. 



From last year's experience with 

 Enchantress, I am satisfied early blooms 

 from this variety should not be attempt- 

 ed. A large proportion of the first buds 

 came bull-headed, developing into flow- 

 ers of no value. 



Every care possible should now be 

 given stock to maintain vigorous growth. 

 The days are quite long yet, but rapidly 

 growing shorter and the tendency in all 

 plant life is now toward rest. Every 

 particle of growth we can obtain natural- 

 ly, that is, before the heat is turned on, 

 adds to the strength of the plant. To 

 this end break up the surface of the 

 bench soil frequently and remove all 

 weeds and other objectionable matter. 



As a discouragement to lurking germs 

 of fungous diseases, an application of 

 grape dust is advisable. Choose a bright 

 day and apply when the sun is the hot- 

 test. Keep the air in the houses on 

 the move by giving abundant ventila- 

 tion and attend closely to the watering. 



Geo. S. Osborn. 



TOBACCO STEMS. 



We can buy tobacco stems very cheap, 

 getting a load of 600 or 700 pounds for 

 25 cents. We have lots more than we 

 can use for fumigating and would like to 

 know the best and most profitable way of 

 using them. Would it be best to pile 

 them up and rot them for fertilizer or to 

 burn them and save the ashes and use 

 them on carnations and Mumsf 



P. & P. 



I have been unable to secure any def- 

 inite information regarding the value of 

 tobacco as a fertilizer as compared with 

 animal manure. Growers generally con- 

 cede that tobacco has some fertilizing 

 qualities, but just how much thev do not 

 seem to know. The Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry, U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, gives as its opinion that tobacco 

 stems should have about one-half the fer- 

 tilizing qualities of stable manure. The 

 ashes from tobacco, they think, ought to 



