"^imw^f*-^.' 



896 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



March 9, 1906. 



Y^etable Forcing. 



The lettuce growers for the big mar- 

 kets have made little money so far this 

 season, because of low prices, due to 

 the competition of southern stock. And 

 now that many lettuce houses have been 

 planted to cucumbers, prices have not im- 

 proved as had been hoped. 



VEGETABLE MARKETS. 



Chicago, March 8. — Leaf lettuce, 35c 

 to 40c; head lettuce, $2 to $5.50; cu- 

 cumbers, 35c to $1.50 doz. 



Boston, March 7. — Cucumbers, $4 to 

 $12 box; lettuce, 50c to $2 box; toma- 

 toes, 40c to 50c lb.; rhubarb, 5c to 7e 

 lb.; mushrooms, 40c to 65c lb.; radishes, 

 25c doz. bunches ; mint, 60c doz. bunches ; 

 parsley, 75c bu. ; spinach, $1.50 bu.; 

 dandelions, $1.50 to $1.75 bu. 



NITRATE OF SODA. 



As 1 am a subscriber to your valuable 

 paper I take the liberty to ask for a lit- 

 tle information concerning the use of 

 nitrate of soda as a fertilizer. Is it 

 valuable for forcing lettuce, cabbage anil 

 cauliflower? In what manner and in 

 what quantity should it be applied? 



A. M. B. 



Nitrate of soda is valuable as a fer- 

 tilizer for cabbage and cauliflower, they 

 being strong feeders, but is apt to 

 cause too soft growth in forced let- 

 tuce and induce damping. It is best ap- 

 plied in water at the rate of one ounce 

 to four gallons for general use, but if 

 used on lettuce, about half this quantity 

 would be enough. 



Nitrate of soda is easily soluble in 

 water, and can be mixed in the watering 

 pot immediately before being used, but 

 when watering with it to any extent it 

 is better to mix in a barrel in the pro- 

 portions above given. Care should be 

 used in applying to get as little on the 

 foliage as possible in case of burning, 

 and the application should not be macfe 

 if the soil is very dry. Should the soil 

 be in this condition it is better to give a 

 good watering and let it stand until next 

 day before making the application. In 

 this way the manure will not only be 

 more beneficial, but there will be less 

 danger of causing injury to the roots. 

 W. S. Croydon. 



PLANTINGS IN COLD FRAMES. 



We have just made our last planting 

 of the season in the greenhouse, of 

 lettuce and cauliflower. From this out 

 we will plant both these in cold frames, 

 where they do considerably better than 

 in the greenhouse after the weather 

 gets warm. No matter how carefully 

 airing is attended to the bright sun- 

 shine causes flagging. When the heat 

 of the day is over they stiffen up again 

 but this flagging and stiffening induce 

 toughness in the lettuce and affect 

 both the quality and size of cauliflower. 



The plants to be set in the frames 

 should be grown on in the greenhouse 

 until large enough for planting. To 

 avoid giving the plants a check it is a 

 good plan to set the seed boxes in the 

 frames for two or three days previous 

 to setting them out. In this way the 

 change will be less severe than if they 

 were planted immediately on removal 

 from the warm greenhouse. 



L 



yi a4ama Benthey's White 

 >%9lt>ri^ Benthey's Pink 



FINEST COMMERCIAL ASTERS ON EARTH 



Very large flowers, 3 to 6 inches in diameter, with full 

 centers. Extra long stem, 36 to 48 inches, with a heavy 

 dark green foliage. Will produce more first-class salable 

 flowers than any Aster ever introduced. We especially 

 recommend BENTHEY'S WHITE. Seed ready for 

 distribution. 



f Trade packet. White or Pink, $J.OO 

 PRICE J Quarter ounce, " ** 2.50 



LIST 1 Half ounce " ** 4.50 



L One ounce " ^ 8.00 



Ten per cent discount for cash with orders of 

 quarter ounce lots or over until March 20th if in reply to 

 this adv. For further information address 



The Bentiiey-Coatswortii Co. 



Wholesale Florists, 35 Randolph St., Chicago. 



Mention The Review when yon write. 



Carlson Improved 



ASTER SEED 



Put*^ strain. Becoi^Lied as the leadings Aster for 

 " Cut Stock. No disease. No "yeUows." 



EARLY WHITE Trade pkt, 25c; X ounce., 50c; ottiice.,$1.50 



LATE WHITE " 25c " 50c " 1.50 



SHELL PINK " 25c " 50c " 1.50 



LAVENDER " 25c " 50c " J.50 



Order early to insure g>etting all colors. 



E. H. Hunt, 76-78 Wabash Ave., Chicago 



In preparing the frames for planting 

 we give a good forking up and work 

 in a liberal quantity of well decom- 

 posed barnyard manure, then put on 

 the sashes and keep the frames close 

 for a few days, so that the heat of 

 the sun will warm up the soil. To re- 

 tain as much of this sun heat as pos- 

 sible we cover the frames at night, to 

 prevent frost from penetrating, the 

 weight of covering being regulated ac- 

 cording to the coldness of the weather. 

 This covering we continue for some time 

 after the plants are set. Some nights 

 during mild spells it might be omitted, 

 but it is always safer to cover up. Dur- 

 ing March there is always a tendency 

 to sudden changes and for all the time 

 it takes to throw the mats on at night 

 and off in the morning it is better to 

 be prepared rather than be caught nap- 

 ping. . . , 



Cold frames require quite a little at- 

 tention in regard to airing. As they con- 

 tain but a small body of air the tem- 

 perature is easily fluctuated. It is a 

 good plan to get on a little air as ear- 

 ly in the morning as the outdoor tem- 



DANGER! 



In cheap Med. Why Mt get the beat? 



NEW ASTER 

 KATE LOCK 



Has Been Grown 48 in. High. 



BloomB from 6 to 6 incbea in diameter witb 

 very higti centers ; stems from 86 to 48 Inches. 

 Shown at largest exhibitions in Canada and took 

 everythinR before it. Colors— White, Daybreak, 

 and mixed, 92.00 per 1000 seeds. Not less than 

 1000 seeds sold. No agents. Don't send checks. 

 Orifl. I U I npif 41 Maaohaater Ave. 



nator, Ji 111 L^U^) TOBpyTQ, QWr. 



perature will warrant, increasing the 

 amount as the day warms up and clos- 

 ing down early at night to retain as 

 much of the sunheat as possible. 



The varieties of lettuce we employ 

 for frame work are Boston Market, Big 

 Boston and Deacon. These three come 

 in nicely in succession. In cauliflower 

 we flnd Dwarf Erfurt the best for this 

 purpose. W. S. Croydon. 



