October 20, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



106) 



we let them bloom in the East Indian 

 house. After flowering we transplant and 

 keep them over summer in the East In- 

 dian house until the winter treatment 

 starts again." 



HOUSES AND THE MAN. 



A grower who was particularly inter- 

 ested in roses recently visited a number 

 of establishments in the vicinity of 

 Chicago and noted, among other things, 

 that the best lot of roses as well as 

 about the poorest, were in comparatively 

 new, high, light houses, differing but 

 little in construction. The best Beau- 

 ties were in new, even-span connected 

 houses 27x300 feet, gutters eight feet 

 from the ground, ridge seventeen feet 

 six inches. These houses had continu- 

 ous ventilation on both sides of the 

 ridge, ventilators forty inches wide. 

 In the side walls there was only one 

 row of 24-inch glass and the plants in 

 the side benches were, while not poor, 

 not so good as the others. The second 

 best lot of Beauties were in small even- 

 span houses thirteen years old, posts 

 four feet, ridge nine feet, ventilators 

 operated by a wire and a stick. There 

 was not so very much difference in the 

 quality of the stock although the man 

 with the low houses has to tie his plants 

 down when they get too tall and must 

 grow teas on most of his side benches. 

 It leads to the conclusion that, no mat- 

 ter how great an aid good houses are, 

 the real essential is a grower who 

 knows his business. 



KEEPING CACTUS DAHLIAS. 



I would like to know the best way 

 to keep cactus dahlias in water. 1 

 have a very nice collection of the new 

 sorts, but they are worthless as cut 

 flowers. As soon as cut and put in 

 water they go to sleep. We cut them 

 early in the morning and put in a cool 

 place, but it makes no difference; they 

 wilt just the same. I have no trouble 

 with the decorative or show sorts, only 

 with the cactus varieties, like Kriem- 

 hilde, Winsome, Progenitor, Beatrice, 

 Volker and all the newer ones. 



C. H. G. 



Many of the cactus varieties are very 

 poor keepers as compared with the show, 

 pompon and decorative types, yet sev- 

 eral of the varieties, two of which are 

 mentioned, particularly Winsome and 

 Kriemhilde, we find very good keepers, 

 and ship 500 to 1,000 miles, where they 

 still give satisfaction. In fact, Kriem- 

 hilde will keep as long as any of the 

 ordinary show dahlias. 



In the first place all shoots should be 

 removed, leaving the flower on the stem 

 with its foliage just the same as a 

 chrysanthemum, and they should be put 

 into plenty of water until the stems are 

 thoroughly filled, after which time there 

 should be no trouble in packing and 

 they should keep from two to four days, 

 according to variety. If the young 

 shoots and buds are allowed on they 

 will absorb both strength and moisture 

 which should eo to the flower, causing 

 the flower to wilt. A still better plan 

 is to take off the buds and shoots, or, in 

 other words, disbud the branch as soon 

 as the main bud is large enough to 

 show that it is perfect. The flower 

 will be larger, the petals have much 

 more texture and then by cutting the 

 branches off and placing in water, the 



Dendrobium Wardianum. 



same as long-stemmed chrysanthemums, 

 all of the cactus dahlias, with sufficient 

 stem to hold the flower, will keep well 

 for several days. There are of course, 

 exceptions with varieties like Volker, 

 Earl of Pembroke and a number of 

 others having such weak stems. 



L. K. Peacock. 



THE READERS' CORNER, 



Chrysanthemums on Boards. 



The showing of chrysanthemums on 

 boards at Kansas City was a means to 

 an end, which was satisfactory, pleasing 

 and successful. If the chrysanthemums 

 at Kansas City had not been exhibited in 

 all the approved modern forms, then, 

 and then only would the staging of 

 blooms on mossed boards be open to 

 criticism. With the same conditions I 

 would use them again. It is an actual 

 fact that for interesting the public — I 

 mean the masses — the boards at Kansas 

 City had as many, if not more, admirers, 

 as the hundreds, fifties, twenty-fives and 

 twelves in vases in all their magnificence, 

 and they were magnificent, 



John Thorpe. 



ZIZ LILIUM CANDIDIUM. 



When the Lilium candidum arrived the 

 bulbs had made a weak, pale growth 

 three to four inches long. Could these 

 be considered dormant bulbs and will 

 they answer for forcing purposes? 



E. K. 



We are afraid your correspondent 

 must have purchased his Lilium can- 

 didum bulbs unusuallv late to receive 



them in the condition named. This lily 

 starts to grow about September 1 and 

 to have the b^st success bulbs should be 

 potted as soon as they can be procured 

 from the seed houses, which is generally 

 from August 20 to September 10. Bulbs 

 kept later than September 20 in a store 

 make both roots and leaves and, while 

 they will still make fairly satisfactory 

 flowering bulbs, they can hardly equal 

 earlier potted ones. 



The bulbs received cannot be consid- 

 ered dormant ones. We would recom- 

 mend their being immediately potted, 

 placed in a cool, airy frame until the 

 foliage gets green and flrm and then 

 stand them outdoors, until severe frost 

 threatens. A good freezing we consider 

 necessary for the successful flowering of 

 this beautiful lily. Keep as cool as pos- 

 sible until the bulbs are started. Never 

 mind if the pots are frozen occasionally. 

 Procure bulbs as early as possible an- 

 other season and pot as soon as received. 

 W. N . Craig. 



SOILS AND MANURES FOR MUMS. 



Dr. A. B. Griffiths has kindly pro- 

 vided the writer with an analysis of the 

 chrysanthemum plant which shows the 

 following chemical composition in parts 

 per hundred: 



Potash 16.2 



Lime 28.8 



Sodn 10.4 



Magnesia 10.2 



Iron oxide 8.7 



Phosphoric aold 10.6 



Sulphuric acid 4.7 



Silicp 6.0 



Chlorine 3.1 



These figures show that lime forms an 

 important constituent in the main struc- 

 ture of the chrysanthemum plant, com- 

 prising as it does more than one-quarter 



