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The Weekly Florists^ Review 



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September 8, 1904. 



even though firing has to be kept up all 

 night. By this method you will have a 

 sweet atmosphere in the house, prevent- 

 ing that heavy condensation which must 

 have prevailed in your rose houses every 

 morning. EflSES. 



TROUBLE OF A YOUNG GROWER. 



I have one house of Brides and Maids 

 planted in solid beds. Some of these 

 plants are several years old, having b^n 

 cut back each summer, rested and ; then 

 started again. During the early part 

 of July I commenced drying them off 

 gradually. At the end of two weekB I 

 cut themj back to about six inches from 

 the surface of the beds and rubbed off 

 the shading on the glass. I was absent 

 for a few days and during that time 

 my employer gave the roses a good water- 

 ing, having forgotten that they were still 

 resting. Shortly after that the eyeg be- 

 gan to break and shoots made their ap- 

 pearance. 



The soil being exhausted, I was anxious 

 to have it removed and a new top dress- 

 ing put on and as the shoots were grow- 

 ing rapidly, I made all haste to do this, 

 We removed ab<!mt two aAd a half or 

 three inches between the rows, disturbing 

 the roots as little as possible, but during 

 this operation we were interrupted sev- 

 «ral times and in order to keep the sun 

 from drying the soil and any protruding 

 roots I gave the benches a light water- 

 ing. Unfortunately no compost had 

 been prepared and so we were obliged to 

 cut and mix our soil and manure as it 

 was carried in, using equal parts of good 

 fresh clay loam and well rotted cow ma- 

 nure with a little bone meal and lime 

 added. This top diessing has now been 

 on the benches about ten days and the 

 young foliage has a very light green or 

 yellow color and is rather thin. 



I gave one watering after the dress- 

 ing was put on and none since, only 

 syringing the plants on bright days and 



had died out last winter and so I le- 

 moved about six or seven inches of soil in 

 those places and today planted young 

 plants from 4-inch pots in that space, 

 using fresh clay loam with one-quarter 

 cow nuanure. These young roses had been 

 out of doors all summer and appear 

 quite healthy, the foliage being dars 

 in color and quite tough. Shall I treat 

 them just like June-planted stock? 



I have had three years' experience in 

 roses, carnations, violets, mums, etc., and 

 your notes on roses have been very help- 

 ful to me and put into practice whenever 

 possible. I am deeply interested in all 

 my work, but find it very hard and often 

 discouraging to grow stock under exist- 

 ing unfavorable conditions. This is the 

 only greenhouse plant here in a town of 

 6,500 and if I stay here this winter I 

 want to get those roses in shape again 

 and if you can help me will be very 

 grateful to you. I came here last fall 

 and turned out good roses and carnations 

 last winter. W. E. D. 



One reason why these roses failed to 

 do well apparently lies in the fact that 

 the soil was not removed before root ac- 

 tion was started. As I have frequently 

 pointed out in my notes, any operation 

 which is likely to in any way interfere 

 with the roots should be done while they 

 are as nearly dormant as possible. 



Another, and I think the most imme- 

 diate cause of the trouble, can be 

 ascribed to the use of lime and bone in 

 combination in the mulch. There can be 

 little doubt but that this is the reason 

 of the thin, discolored foliage. Lime 

 is to most rose soils very beneficial, and 

 so is bone meal, but the use of the two 

 in combination releases more ammonia 

 than even a strong, healthy rose in all 

 its vigor can find use for, and conse- 

 quently the effect on stock just started 

 must be very detrimental. 



To remedy this state of matters, after 



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Latest Addition to Cactus G>IIection at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. 



damping the walks and woodwork. 

 The ventilators are wide open on all fa- 

 vorable occasions and at night are open 

 about four or five inches; warm nights 

 more. There is no shading on the glass 

 at present. No steam has been turned 

 on yet and during rainy or sultry weather 

 we have used sulphur to check mildew. 



Can you tell me what the trouble is, 

 and how to remedy same? Should the 

 soil be tamped or firmed? 



On one bench quite a number of plants 



the stock has absorbed so much poison, 

 is no easy matter. The mulch should 

 be removed as quickly as possible and a 

 lighter one composed of equal parts of 

 decomposed cow manure and good fibrous 

 loam substituted. The soil should be kept 

 moderately dry and the temperature be- 

 low 56° at night when possible, with 

 abundance of ventilation at all times. 



The lecently planted young stock will 

 succeed under the treatment as recom- 

 mended for June-planted stock. Eibes. 



FAIRMOUNT PARK. 



It was a beautiful August day, clear 

 and cool, one of those rare days in mid- 

 summer that seem/ expressly intended for 

 outdoor enjoyment. Horticultural Hall, 

 the floricultural center of Fairmount 

 Paik, Philadelphia, stood out strongly in 

 the morning light, with its high towers 

 and curved glass sides, surrounded on 

 every side by splendid trees, many from 

 distant climes; beautiful green lawns, 

 dotted with patches of brilliant color; 

 smooth gravel walks and drives, and on 

 the east the Schuylkill, flowing on to 

 meet its sister river beyond the great 

 city. The picture is dear to every true 

 Philadelphian and one that especially 

 appeals to the florist with true love for 

 his chosen calling. 



The first thing to do after a few 

 moments given to sentiment is to find 

 the manager and get from himi a few 

 practical ideas that may be of use to 

 florists and gardeners. Xavier E. 

 Schmitt, who has had charge of the ex- 

 tensive greenhouses and grounds about 

 the hall for the past four years, was 

 hard at work potting "cyps, " a job that 

 was courteously postponed to do the 

 honors of the place for an old comrade 

 of many years' standing. The northern 

 range of five greenhouses, each about 

 20x100 feet, contained part of a grow- 

 ing collection of orchids. A very prom- 

 ising lot of ehiysanthemums, both in 

 pots and planted out in the bench, a 

 creamy white variety, New York, was 

 pointed out as a good thing, not often 

 seen elsewhere. An interesting lot of 

 small agaves was pointed out. 



Here came the presentation with due 

 solemnity to the chief, Oglesby B. Paul, 

 who succeeded the late Charles H. Miller 

 as landscape gardener to the park, a po- 

 sition of importance, demanding knowl- 

 edge, taste and originality of ideas. 



At the east end of the hall figures rep- 

 resenting the centennial and present 

 years and nmltese crosses are prettily 

 laid out on the terrace with echeverias 

 and alternantheras, a novel edge to the 

 white stone steps being made with golden 

 coleus and Eranthemum atropurpureum. 

 Across the driveway, opposite these 

 main entrance steps, aie the crescent and 

 surrounding cactus beds illustrated, the 

 feature of the east end planting. The 

 effect is very striking, the tall, slender 

 cacti standing erect like sentinels, each 

 exactly in the proper position on the 

 many-hued carpet of altemanthera and 

 echeveria. There are many varieties of 

 cacti in the collection, some of them very 

 rare. A large addition was received from 

 the south this season, as shown in illus- 

 tration of winter quarters. 



Three varieties of altemanthera fur- 

 nish the necessary colors: Brilliantis- 

 sima, an improvement on paronychioides 

 major and amcena spectabilis; Prospect 

 Park, a dark rich shade, reminding one 

 of a little of versicolor, and aurea nana, 

 green and gold. 



In echeverias, the old secunda glauca 

 has been discarded as too "weedy," al- 

 though another sort under the same name 

 finds favor. E. imbricata is prized for 

 its silver foliage and its erect habit. E. 

 rosacea is a favorite among the flat va- 

 rieties. E. sanguineum, E. metallica and 

 a variety called, I think, E. globosa ex- 

 tensa, aie very pretty. 



Here the park guard's third whistle 

 compelled even ardent plant lovers to 

 recollect that the paymaster must not 

 be kept waiting. After a short inter- 

 mission, the parterre, or sunken garden, 

 running from the west end of the hall 

 toward George's Hill, was next admired. 



