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Septembeb 1, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



:07 



Cattleya GaskelUana, as Flowered by A, Herrington, Florham Farms, Madison, N. J. 



can be readily taken off, injury to stem 

 or foliage is apt to result. Both hands 

 are needed in the work, one to grasp the 

 stem, the other to remove the bud by a 

 side pull. 



Some of the varieties recently sent out 

 require less disbudding than was the case 

 with older sorts. Perhaps in a few years 

 disbudding will be unnecessary except in 

 some varieties. This would not be sur- 

 prising when we consider the rapid 

 strides that have been made in carna- 

 tion culture during the past few years. 



Tobacco Stems. 



For the benefit of P. & P., who in- 

 quired last week as to the fertilizing 

 qualities of tobacco stems, the following 

 comparison is given, although, of course, 

 stems vary somewhat: 



Stable manure contains ten parts nitro- 

 gen, tobacco stems forty-seven; stable 

 manure contains six parts phosphoric 

 acid, tobacco stems fourteen; stable ma- 

 nure contains thirteen parts potash, to- 

 bacco stems 120. 



It is generally advised to rot the 

 stems in soil in preference to reducing 

 to ashes. Geo. S. Osborn. 



CATTLEYA GASKELLIANA. 



Several orchid importers are advertis- 

 ing, just at present, newly imported 

 plants of this fine cattleya and our illus- 

 tration presents a well flowered plant 

 carrying some twenty-seven or twenty- 

 eight flowers. C. Gaskelliana is grown 

 in quantity at Florham Farms, Madison, 

 N. J., and I am indebted to Mr. Her- 

 nngton for taking the picture. A batch 

 of several hundred plants of this variety 

 was a handsome sight in June and well 

 worth seeing. 



C. Gaskelliana comes from Venezuela 

 and, though slightly paler generally than 

 the type of labiata, is still very beauti- 

 ful. Personally I always found it very 

 iree flowering and easy to handle. It is 

 generally classified as flowering in Au- 



gust and September, but I have never 

 been able to keep established plants back 

 later than July, owing, I presume, to 

 the bright sunlight and warmth of early 

 summer. After flowering the plants 

 often make a blind growth in September 

 or later, but this does not deter them 

 from breaking out strongly shortly after 

 the new year. Grown in a basket sus- 

 pended from the roof, kept well watered 

 in the spring and not too heavily shaded, 

 C. Gaskelliana flowers well and grows and 

 increases wonderfully year after year. 

 It deserves a place in the front rank as 

 an all-round useful cattleya. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



BEGONIA REX. 



I have about 200 Begonia Eex with 

 good, strong root, which send forth 

 leaves, some growing to be a good size, 

 then begin to curl, turn brown at the 

 edges and drop off. I have them in my 

 propagating house, which is on the north 

 side of the rose house. Could it be pos- 

 sible the fumigation of the roses causes 

 this trouble? L. L. B. 



"We have never noticed that ordinary 

 fumigation with tobacco hurt the be- 

 gonias, but a strong dose may injure 

 them. They don't need fumigation and 

 if you can't give them a bench where 

 there is no need of tobacco smoke, then 

 cover thoroughly with newspapers when 

 you have occasion to fumigate. If you 

 find this isn't the trouble, then remove 

 all the soil that will shake off without 

 losing any roots and repot, using one 

 part leaf-mold, one part well rotted ma- 

 nure and two parts fresh light loam. 

 Put them in a shaded house. Although 

 they need no spraying or wetting of the 

 leaves, they like a moist atmosphere. 

 W. S. 



Champaign, III. — Henry Janecke, 

 with C. C. Ferdinandsen, is visiting at 

 Chicago, from which he will bring his 

 family. 



EUCHARIS AMAZONICA. 



Although little seen now in our Amer- 

 ican flower markets, Eucharis Amazon- 

 ica is a most excellent florists' flower, 

 flowering as it does twice or thrice a 

 year with a minimum of care if given 

 anything like rational treatment. 



Those who may have a piece of bench 

 where they can command a brisk bot- 

 tom heat could secure two or three 

 crops of flowers a year by drying the 

 plants off some time before a crop is 

 needed. If a spare bench is not at 

 command, pot culture may be tried with 

 good results. Our illustration shows a 

 plant shown before the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society on August 13 by 

 Henry Wild, gardener to Mrs. A. W. 

 Blake, Brookline, Mass., which carried 

 thirty-one spikes of flower and was 

 awarded a silver medal for superior 

 culture. Mr. "Wild stated thatHhe same 

 plant carried a heavy crop of flowers 

 last February, also that he had plants 

 in both shady and sunny houses and 

 that all flowered equally well. For de- 

 sign work eucharis flowers have no su- 

 perior and the spikes are very effective 

 for room decoration. "W. N. Craig. 



The following cultural notes are sup- 

 plied by Henry "Wild, of the A. "W. Blake 

 estate, Brookline, Mass.: 



"In repotting eucharis, which is about 

 once in three years, we wash all the soil 

 away with the hose. The smaller bulbs 

 are taken out and potted quite thickly in 

 8-inch pots. After being grown along 

 for nine months, a top dressing of bone, 

 cow manure and loam is given. "When 

 the roots push through, the plants are fed 

 right along until they flower. As soon 

 as the flowers are cut the plants are re- 

 potted, and in some cases placed in tubs, 

 three pots to a tub. The compost used 

 is a mixture of coarse loam, cow manure, 

 bone meal, charcoal and sand. A porous 

 compost is desirable. 



