10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



NOVEUBEB 24, 1004. 



a few hundreds with one or more stan- 

 dard varieties to their credit. In fact, 

 I know of an instance where only one 

 seed pod was raised and one of the 

 leading varieties for several years in its 

 class was the result. On the other hand, 

 one very prominent hybridizer told me 

 recently that out of between 8,000 and 

 10,000 seedlings raised in 1901 he has 

 not one that is worth growing. 



Not a Small Grower's Work. 



To the small grower who needs a 

 revenue from every foot of space on his 

 place I would say, let seedlings alone. 

 If you can spare a few feet of space it 

 is all right as a pastime, and it is fas- 

 cinating, but unless you go into hybridiz- 

 ing systematically, and unless you are 

 able and willing to devote time and space 

 to the seedlings, you would better not 

 dabble in them. You will not be likely 

 to get much out of it. Then, again, the 

 small grower is not in shape to reap his 

 full reward, even if he does happen to 

 strike a really fine variety, as it takes 

 room to grow enough stock to propagate 

 cuttings enough to be profitable. The 

 best he can do is to sell it to some largo 

 disseminator who will usually get more 

 out of it than the raiser. I have not 

 written the above with a view to discour- 

 age seedling raising, but rather to show 

 the inexperienced that seedling raising 

 is not the bonanza that many picture it 

 to themselves. It is pleasant to read 

 that the stock of a certain variety was 

 4old for $5,000 or $10,000, but when you 



a bloom tie it to a stake so it will not 

 be picked or broken off and to keep it 

 dry. After the bloom wilts split the 

 calyx down to the stem to prevent 

 moisture from collecting around the pod 

 and rotting it. You will find some vari- 

 eties which will not bear seed, such as 

 Wm. Scott, Albertina, Mrs. Joost and 

 Crocker, while others will not produce 

 any pollen, such as Daybreak, Lorna, 

 America and Adonis, while still a few 

 others will be found entirely barren of 

 either of these two qualities. 



Influence of Parents. 



Sometimes we read or hear it said that 

 the one parent will have more influence 

 on the color while the other will influence 

 the habit or the plants, etc., but we find 

 that no rule can be laid down in regard 

 to that. Some varieties have a stronger 

 constitution than others and naturally 

 the strong will have more influence on the 

 seedlings than the weaker variety. For 

 instance, two years ago we fertilized a 

 number of blooms of a light red seedling 

 with pollen from Gov. Roo^velt and 

 nearly all the seedlings came crimson. 

 The same season we fertilized a number 

 of blooms of a light pink seedling we 

 named Beatrice with various shades of 

 pink and nearly all of them came light 

 pink. 



When it is possible we prefer to use 

 varieties of the same line of color to- 

 gether, but of course it is not always 

 possible. For instance, we do not like 

 to use crimson and pink, or red and white 



A G>mer in the New Store of Gude & Bro., Washington, D. C 



know what amount of work and room and 

 patience it took to get that variety it 

 does not look so big. 



No Magic in Hybridizing. 



There is no special trick or secret 

 about the operation of fertilizing the 

 bloom, as some imagine. To hybridize 

 a bloom you merely transfer the pollen 

 from one flower onto the pistil of an- 

 other flower. In a day or two the fer- 

 tilized bloom will wilt, which indicates 

 that fertilization has taken place. Ex- 

 perience alone will teach you the more 

 important points, which are the best 

 varieties to use for seeding, what vari- 

 eties will not bear seed, what varieties 

 to use together, etc. Any bright day 

 between now and March is suitable for 

 the work, as there is little danger of in- 

 terference from bees. After fertilizing 



or light pink in combination, as such 

 crosses are apt to bring too many off 

 colors. Sometimes, however, we ruil 



across a variety which has a fine habit 

 and we dp not hesitate to use it with 

 varieties of all colors. 



Mark the cross on a little tag and tie 

 it to the bloom, so you will know what 

 you have when you sow the seed. These 

 records will also help you in selecting 

 your crosses in the future. The seed will 

 ripen in from six weeks to two months, 

 according to the weather, and it can be 

 sown as soon as it is gathered. You 

 will notice the shell enclosing the seed 

 turn brown when the seed is ripe. Sow 

 the seed by the first of March, if possible, 

 so as to have nice plants in 2-inch pots 

 by the end of April. If you raise a large 

 number you would best plant them in the 

 field and lift only those that produce 



promising blooms, but if you have only 

 a few hundred you can pot them into 

 4-inch pots about May and bloom them 

 inside in the fall. We prefer the latter 

 way, but if you have several thousand 

 they would take up too much room in the 

 fall. A. F. J. Baxje. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



, ; ',v : Q>m"plaints. v * 



Under this head I may make what 

 some consider very plain statements, but 

 it is hoped they will be taken in the 

 spirit in which they are written, as it is 

 not the intention to berate anyone but to 

 caution all against careless practices and 

 help lessen the chances of misunderstand- 

 ing and strained relations between grow- 

 er, commission man and retailer. Com- 

 plaints are very often greatly exaggerat- 

 ed. If care be taken to follow them 

 up and learn the true cause the trouble 

 appears less than on first knowledge. 



Every year one hears more or less 

 about sleepy blooms and, as a rule, re- 

 port has it that the grower is at fault 

 when, as a matter of fact, there is no 

 proof that he is to blame, as there are 

 many chances of injury being done be- 

 tween time of shipping and placing on 

 sale. Flowers may be ever so well packed 

 but the rough usage the packages often 

 receive in the hands of carriers and oth- 

 ers is suflScient to seriously impair the 

 value of the contents. Exposure to ex- 

 tremes of heat or cold while en route 

 must be taken into account but I believe 

 careless unpacking and handling in gen- 

 eral by those ignorant of the delicate na- 

 ture of the goods has caused more 

 trouble than is generally admitted. The 

 same rule that applies to the placing of 

 stems in water when cutting, should be 

 followed at the time of unpacking and 

 if the shipment has been over long on 

 the road about a quarter of an inch of 

 stem should be cut off, but not with the 

 scissors, as has been seen done. Use a 

 sharp knife. 



Instead of selling at once, the stock 

 should bo stored for a short time in a 

 cool, dry place free from draughts. Even* 

 an hour of this as a breathing spell is 

 very beneficial. Some of these costly ice 

 boxes are perfect suffocators, either hay- 

 ing no ventilation or using the same air 

 over and over again. 



Every grower should, if possible, occa- 

 sionally visit his point of outlet and ac- 

 quaint himself with the manner in which 

 his product is handled. Often a sugges- 

 tion from him will prove valuable to all 

 parties concerned. 



These are a few points on one side of 

 the question but there is another which 

 will be treated later. 



Geo. S. Osborn. 



LATE PLANTED LAWSON. 



We are sending a sample plant of some 

 Lawsons that we bought and planted in 

 September. We are at a loss ta account 

 for the foliage drying up. In fact, they 

 have not made the least bit of growth 

 since they were planted, none of them 

 any more than two or three weak shoots 

 around the stem just above the soil. We 

 should like to have your opinion as to 

 what is the matter with these plants. 

 The lower branches of the plants were 

 in this condition when they arrived but 

 we thought they would outgrow that. 

 We cleaned them thoroughly of all the 

 buds and diseased foliage before we 



