670 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Febbuary 9, 1905. 



V^etable Forcing. 



VEGETABLE MAHKETS. 



Chicago, Feb. 8.— Cucumbers, 35c to 

 $1.75 doz.; leaf lettuce, 20c to 25c case: 

 head lettuce, $2 to $5 bbl. 



Boston, Feb. 7. — Cucumbers, $6 to 

 $15 box; tomatoes, 50c lb.; lettuce, $1 

 to $1,50 box; mint, $1 to $1.25 doz.; 

 parsley. $1 bushel; mushrooms, 50c to 

 75c lb.; rhubarb, 8c to 9c lb. 



IMPROVED LORILLAHD. 



In a recent number of the Beview we 

 notice an article by Mr. Croydon, refer- 

 ring to Lofillard tomato as producing 

 a number of badly shaped fruits, par- 

 ticularly in the first of the season. Many 

 good varieties have been discarded be- 

 cause of roughness or some other fault. 

 We give our experience because we think 

 a good variety once found can be kept 

 up to the standard and even improved 

 if a careful selection of seed is made 

 each year. Ten years ago we commenced 

 foi:cing Lorillard under glass for ripe 

 fruit in April and May and have grown 

 It ever since. Five years ago we began 

 selecting and saving seed from perfect 

 fruit and are now satisfied that we have 

 a perfect tomato, in size, form, earl- 

 iness and productiveness. Each year we 

 also grow the variety outside largely 

 and find it produces ripe and perfect 

 fruit as early as any grown in this sec- 

 tion and continues throughout the sea- 

 ^°°* KoNEY Bros. 



APHIDES ON LETTUCE. 



Would Nikotesn or Bose Leaf Extract 

 be all right to use on lettuce to Jtiil 

 aphides? I have been using tobacco 

 smoke, but find it very easy to overdo. 

 Is there a better way? M. A. B. 



Nikoteen or Bose Leaf Extract of to- 

 bacco would be all right for destroying 

 apliides on lettuce. I presume you mean 

 to vaporize it. Directions regarding 

 quantity necessary for certain space usu- 

 ally accompanv the packages in which 

 the extracts are put up. You could ac- 

 complish your purpose cheaper by using 

 tobacco stems. Procure good fresh 

 stems, tie up in bunches and distribute 

 through the house. They are better and 

 last longer if suspended rather than 

 laid on the ground. If the flv has con- 

 siderable headway you would have to 

 use the stems pretty freely to get the 

 better of them, but once your plants 

 are clean the aroma from the stems will 

 prevent further trouble. Moisten oc- 

 casionally when the stems become dry 

 and they will continue effective for a 

 considerable time, the length of time, of 

 course, depending a good deal on the 

 quality of the stems. After the stems 

 have lost their strength renew with 

 fresh ones, and in this way you ought 

 to be able to keep your house perfectly 

 free from the serious attacks of aphis. 



W. S. Croydon. 



EARLY PLANTS FOR OUTDOORS. 



The sowing of seed to procure early 

 plants for subsequent planting outdoors, 

 if not already done, should be attended 

 to as soon as possible. If greenhouse 

 space can be devoted to this purpose it 

 will be a good deal more convenient 



than hotbeds. Just as good plants can 

 be raised in notbeds as in the green- 

 house, but it entails quite a little extra 

 labor, and pretty close attention is nec- 

 essary to insure success. 



One of the urst essentials is to pro- 

 cure a suitable soil for the seed sowing. 

 Too often the ordinal^ pottinsr mixture 

 is used for this purpose and the pres- 

 ence of manure in it, which inevitably 

 contains decaying vegetable or animal 

 matter, not only makes the soil too 

 heavy for the purpose, but it is almost 

 sure to contain germs of funeri which 

 would prove very destructive to the lit- 

 tle plants just after they are over the 

 ground. It is very disappointing, after 

 procuring a good start of seed, to see 

 the plants damping off. This damping 

 off, as it is commonly called, is often 

 caused by the attacks of minute fungi, 

 the germs of which are often present 

 in the soil. Over watering and an over- 

 abundance of atmospheric moisture are 

 also fruitful causes of its presence. If 

 a nice, free, friable loam can be pro- 

 cured in the right condition, neither too 

 wet nor too dry, there is nothing better 

 for the purpose in hand. For a stiff, 

 retentive soil the addition of good sharp 

 sand or, better still, some charcoal dust 

 will be very beneficial. 



For most seeds it is better to have 

 the soil on the surface finely sifted, 

 though it is unnecessary to sift the 

 whole of it; in fact, it is better to have 

 the main part of the soil rather rough 

 to insure the free passage of water. 

 The seeds should not be sown too thicklv, 

 so as to give the plants a £hance to get 

 large enough to be easilv handled be- 

 fore they become crowded. A temper- 

 ature of 60 degrees is about right for the 

 general run of seeds. Cucumbers and 

 melons require a higher temperature, but 

 it is too early to start either of these 

 for outdoor planting. A fine spray 

 should be used in watering, so that the 

 soil can be kept moist, but not over-wet. 

 Air should be freely admitted on all fa- 

 vorable occasions, so that the atmos- 

 phere of the house be kept free from 

 stagnation. 



Begarding varieties for early use, we 

 have found nothing better in lettuce 

 than Boston Market for first; for suc- 

 cession Big Boston and Deacon are both 

 good. In cabbage, Early Jersey Wake- 

 field would be our choice for first, to be 

 followed by Succession. In cauliflower 

 we prefer Dwarf Erfurt to Snowball 

 for early outdoor work. In tomatoes 

 Earliana and Stirling Castle are both 

 good for this purpose. A sowing of 

 moss curled parsley made now will give 

 nice plants for setting out by the time 

 the weather is warm enough. 



W. S. Croydon. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



SAN FRANCISCO. 



Tlie Market 



We are still in the midst of our rainy 

 season and, whUe on one hand it makes 

 business quiet, on the other it mal:es 

 flowers of all kinds scarce. Violets are 

 the exception, as they are a glut at pres- 

 ent. They sell at from 50 to 75 cents 

 per dozen bunches and are of sp'.euiid 

 quality. Boses and carnations are even 

 scarcer than thty wert last week and the 

 prices have stiffened considenbly. Th':> 



daffodil is the flower in most demand at 

 this time. They cost the storas from 

 $1 to $1.50 per hundred. Trumpet major 

 is the variety we are cutting now. Ard 

 Bigh, Henry Irving and other early sorts 

 are all gone and Princeps is just begin- 

 ning to bloom. Boman hyacinths and 

 valley are in fair supply and sell well. 

 Freesias are now to be had in any quan- 

 tity and cost the stores about $1.50 per 

 hundred for long-stemmed flowers. Good 

 maidenhair is scarce but we are getting 

 an abundance of the wild variety from 

 the mountains, but this kind can only 

 be used to advantage in cheap bouquets. 

 Smilax is also very scarce and sells well.. 

 Mums are practically out of season, so 

 that there is a great scarcity of cheap 

 flowers, such as can be used to advan- 

 tage in floral designs. 



Various Notes. 



Sievers & Boland made several very 

 fine floral pieces for the funeral of Mrs. 

 James Johnson, at Claremont, last week. 



George Bobinson, a gardener in the 

 employ of A. D. Pryal, assistant horti- 

 cultural commissioner of Alameda coun- 

 ty, was dangerously wounded by the ac- 

 cidental discharge of a gun on a hunt- 

 ing expedition last Thursday. 



It has been announced that the sum 

 of $100,000, allotted by the trustees of 

 the Carnegie Institute to Luther Bur- 

 bank will be available in annual install- 

 ments of $10,000. This. will enable Mr. 

 Burbank to devote his entire attention 

 for a few years to his experiments. 



N. Symacopulos has left for a three 

 months' trip to Europe. He recently dis- 

 posed of his florist establishment to his 

 nephew. 



The Society Hortensia had a regular 

 meeting in Becker's Hall, Oakland, last 

 Saturday evening. 



Ferrari Bros, are cutting some very 

 good roses. 



It is rumored that another Japanese 

 company has bought land near Colma 

 and will crept considerable glass, both 

 for carnation and rose growing. G. 



LYCOPODIUM. 



Enclosed find a spray from a long, 

 vine-like plant that grows in abundance 

 in Washington. It has had no care 

 whatever and has been picked at least 

 six weeks. Is it of any commercial 

 value to florists? It can readily be 

 packed and shipped from Washington. 



W. G. T. 



The specimen is a branch from the 

 Lycopodium annotinum, found growing 

 plentifully on the Pacific coast from 

 Alaska to California. It grows both on 

 the low lands and on the wooded moun- 

 tain sides. It is closely related to the 

 eastern club moss but has not been made 

 use of by the Pacific coast florists to 

 any extent. Green material is very 

 plentiful here and we have an abundance 

 of ferns and mosses. As it keeps a long 

 time without fading it should be of 

 value for shipping to less favored local- 

 ities and would probably be of consid- 

 erable service in arranging with flowers 

 and for decorating if someone would 

 take the trouble to introduce it and 

 demonstrate its merits, G. 



DAHLIAS. 



Th3 dahlia is one of the best paying 

 summer flowers that the florist can grow. 

 The dwarf double white varieties are 

 especially valuable for funeral work and 



