V/'* 'w^^'*- •><:•> 7»^^~-*'-^ /-^^^ . ^ -. ■"- T .* .*^ 



Apbil 0, 1005. 



ThcWccfcly Florists^ Review* 



il29 



Part of M. H. Walsh's Wonderful Group of Rambler Roses Shown at Boston. 



To those concerned I beg to advise 

 that the association is now duly incor- 

 porated under the laws of the state. The 

 proper papers of same now being in my 

 possession. 



We already have fifty members and 

 solicit the application of every florist in 

 the State of Illinois. Send same at once 

 to H. Hasselbring, Department of Bot- 

 any, University of Chicago, Chicago, 

 111. James Hartshorne. 



THE FRENCH FLOWER TRADE. 



As the result of an inquiry ordered 

 by the Mayor of Nice into the losses 

 caused by the severe frosts at the be- 

 ginning of January to flower growers 

 in the south of France, a report has 

 been issued. It shows the total loss at 

 over 2,000,000 francs, made up by losses 

 on flowers 1,054,590 francs, on fruit, 

 vegetables and plants 1,029,066 francs. 

 The authorities are taking steps to 

 recompense the growers as many of them 

 have practically lost everything and 

 among the small growers there is 

 great distress. 



MAGNOLIAS. 



Under separate cover I enclose blos- 

 soms and leaves of a variety of magnolia 

 which we in Alabama call French mag- 

 nolia. At the present writing the tree 

 is indeed "a thing of beauty" stand- 

 ing, as it does, with its twenty feet of 

 height and thirty feet or more circum- 

 ference covered with its snowy blos- 

 soms and scarcely a leaf visible, but 

 later it is covered with a profusion of 

 light green leaves. Please give the bo- 

 tanical name for it and how to propa- 

 gate it. M. T. G. 



The bud arrived in fair order. We 

 think it is Magnolia Soulangeana from 

 the purple color of the outer petals. 

 Magnolias can be readily raised from 



seed, but layering would be the best 

 method for you to pursue. Select some 

 growths of last year. Cut lengthwise 

 half the thickness and bend it into the 

 ground three or four inches. Be care- 

 ful .when bending the shoot not to break 

 it where you have made the cut. Of 

 course, you will prepare the soil where 

 the layer goes into the ground. Jufit 

 make it fine and friable. Let a foot or 

 so of the end of the shoot be out of the 

 ground beyond where you made the cut. 

 Do it at once and if all goes well roots 

 will have formed at the cut and a year 

 from now you can sever it from the 

 parent plant. Magnolias are difficult 

 trees to transplant at any stage, so be 

 very attentive to the young plant when 

 first separated from the olu tree. W. S. 



VIOLETS IN FRAMES. 



Friend Scott's reply to a query about 

 growing violets in a frame on the south 

 side of a rose house in last week's 

 Review, and his remarks regarding the 

 success of novices and failure of vet- 

 erans, tempts me to add a little to his 

 answer. 



Years ago I grew some violets in a 

 somewhat similar situation and also gave 

 them somewhat different care than what 

 we have of late years, and yet I do not 

 remember ever, having much more satis- 

 factory flowers than I dirt from those 

 frames. Perhaps a little detail regard- 



ing those frames will be of assistance 

 to J. P. K. and anyone else who may 

 have a like situation, where they would 

 like to try violets but have always con- 

 sidered the situation unsuitable. With 

 this experience in memory, if such a sit- 

 uation were the only convenient one at 

 hand, I should certainly try it. 



This frame was on the south side of 

 a three-quarter span rose house, with 

 the sash coming up close under the gut- 

 ter of the rose house. This gutter was 

 about two feet above the level of the 

 ground, and consequently the front of 

 frames were only about one foot above 

 ground. We only had 1-inch steam pipes 

 in the frame but I cannot now say cer- 

 tainly just how many, but, if memory 

 serves me rightly, there were four runs. 

 They were about evenly spaced against 

 the sash and close to them, being hung 

 on the bars on which the sash rested. 

 This might not have been heat enough 

 at all times if there had been no con- 

 nection to the rose house, but we had it 

 so we could care for the violets without 

 going outside. The south path in the 

 rose house was dug out of the ground, so 

 that we could walk under the glass, so 

 we put doorways into the violet frame 

 every six feet, from this path, and ex- 

 tended the path into the frame far 

 enough so that we could reach to the 

 front side for picking the violets, work- 

 ing, watering, etc. We removed the sash 

 entirely during the summer. The soil 

 was very sandy and not at all rich, as 

 is now considered the best and yet the 

 violets were all right rn quantity and 

 quality, all going to prove that you can 

 grow this particular and fickle flower 

 at times under almost any conditions and 

 any old way. 



These plants in the frame not only 

 had plenty of water but they were treat- 

 ed to lots of steam by turning the 

 stream from the hose on the steam pipes 

 at the same time. Probably our very 



