Apbil 13, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists' Review- 



1231 



ilance relaxed, and they are permitted to 

 halt in their proper development, if not 

 very noticeable at the present, it -will 

 become apparent next season, when the 

 weather and conditions are unfavorable 

 for plant growth and development. For 

 this reason you should see that they 

 have plenty of good fresh air as soon 

 as they become established and have 

 taken hold of the soil. 



Do not allow them to become drawn or 

 weak for lack of good light, or too warm 

 houses with an over-abundance of water. 

 You might almost give them too little 

 water and too much air if you are in 

 danger, from circumstances, of doing 

 one or the other. A soft, sleppy plant, 

 if I may be allowed to call it so, will 

 be in no shape later to either plant in 

 the borders or outdoors, for such a plant 

 shrivels up and* is gone at the first rise 

 of the sun, or the first breaths of a 

 dry, hot wind, with the result that you 

 have had all your labor for your pains. 

 So I say again, take proper care of 

 your stock every day, even if you lose 

 one or two Easter sales. 



If for any reason it has been really 

 impossible to get your stock worked up 

 before this, and the weather stays as 

 cool as we are now having, you might 

 still take your stock rather than trust 

 to buying, as the chances are that it 

 would be as good or better than any 

 you could buy, for the reason, as I 

 have frequently stated before, new stock 

 takes one or two years to get accliniated. 



You will have to use even more than 

 ordinary care lest your cuttings receive 

 some check, and it is best to use all pre- 

 cautions you can, so at the very start, 

 when taking the cuttings off the plants, 

 throw them as removed from the old 

 plants at once into a paU of cold water. 

 This not only keeps them from wilting 

 and hardens them up, but it gives them a 

 good washing, removing dirt (and bugs, 

 perhaps), making them in good order to 

 go into the propagating bed, and they 

 should have watchful care here in water- 

 ing, shading, airing, etc., or else you may 

 find them suddenly damped off, to your 

 dismay and undoing. 



Another don't: Don't give them some 

 old, dirty propagating bed. Use new, 

 fresh soil in the flats when they come 

 out of the bed ready to be pricked out. 

 You may think, if they are so late com- 

 ing out of the propagating bed, and you 

 have your border ready to plant, why 

 not plant them directly into the border 

 and not take the trouble to put them 

 into flats? But our advice would be, do 

 not do 80. You will probably gain in 

 the end by giving them a chance to get 

 established in the flats, and you can 

 shade and control the temperature and 

 other conditions here, and can not in the 

 border. Planting directly into the bor- 

 der never seems to be a success. 



K. E. Shuphelt. 



PHALAENOPSIS. 



The different species of phalsenopsis 

 are among the most beautiful of all 

 winter flowering orchids. Coming, aa 

 they do, from the islands of the Malay 

 archipelago and some of the eastern 

 provinces of India, they need tropical 

 treatment. No one should essay their 

 culture who has not at least a plant 

 stove where a winter minimum of 60 

 and 65 degrees can be maintained. If 

 a small division can be given up to them 

 all the better. We find the plants suc- 

 ceed well in square baskets, hung mod- 



Phalaenopsis Grown by W. N. Cralcf, North Eastotw Mass. 



erately near the roof, where direct cur- 

 rents of cold air cannot strike them. 

 For compost good osmunda fiber and a 

 surfacing of living sphagnum is suit- 

 able. The plants are also fond of lumpy 

 charcoal. 



An abundance of water is needed dur- 

 ing the growing season, from March to 

 September. The plants need plenty of 

 light. Winter sun from December 1 to 

 February 15 will not hurt them. The 

 rest of the year some shading is neces- 

 sary. If the shade is a movable one all 

 the better. It is a great mistake to grow 

 the plants under heavy shade; beautiful 

 leaves are produced but much poorer 

 spikes of flowers. Like miltonias, these 

 plants easily fall a prey to thrips. 

 Sponging with tobacco water will keep 

 these in check, but heavy fumigation 

 will injure the plants seriously. 



P. Schilleriana is the finest of all 

 the moth orchids. The flowers are of a 

 beautiful rosy pink color. Eacemes 

 carrying eighty to 125 flowers have been 

 produced under cultivation. Some of 

 our plants this season carried racemes 

 over three feet long, with eight branches 

 and sixty flowers. These plants have 

 done service for over twenty years. Other 

 beautiful and desirable sorts are P. 

 Aphrodite (also called P. amabilis), P. 

 Stuartiana, P. Sanderiana, P. violacea 

 and P. Sumatrana. W. N. Craig. 



Toledo, O. — Xrueger Bros, are pushing 

 the work of enlarging their range. They 

 will add fifty per cent to their glass 

 area. 



CoRRT, Pa.— Mrs. M. E. Caldwell has 

 succeeded to the business of Mrs. S. 

 L. Stebbins, who died February 21. 



V^etable htdag. 



VEGETABLE MAHKETS. 



Chicago, April 12. — Cucumbers, 35c to 

 $1.75 doz.; leaf lettuce, 45c to 50c case; 

 head lettuce, $2 to $4 bbl. 



New York, April 10. — No. 1 cucum- 

 bers, $1 to $1.25 doz. ; lettuce, 35c to 75c 

 doz. ; mushrooms, 25c to 60c lb.; toma- 

 toes, 10c to 30c lb.; radishes, $2 to $3 

 per 100 bunches; parsley, $2 to $3 per 

 100 bunches. 



Boston, April 10. — Cucumbers, $3 to 

 $8.50 box; tomatoes, 40c to 50c lb.; let- 

 tuce, 50c to $1 doz.; mushrooms, 75c to 

 $1 lb.; asparagus, 30c to 40c bunch; 

 rhubarb, 3c to 4c lb.; mint, 50c doz. 

 bunches; parsley, 80c to $1 doz. bunches. 



LETTUCE IN FRAMES. 



During catchy weather it is sometimes 

 quite troublesome to regulate the air- 

 ing of cold frames. It hardly pays to 

 have a man running around them the 

 whole day long; still it is better to have 

 someone convenient in case of sudden 

 changes of temperature. 



I have often in this column advocated 

 the cold frame for lettuce in spring and 

 fall, but I was rather surprised to read 

 in a recent issue of the Review that 

 W. W. Eawson, with such a width of 

 glass at his disposal, uses something like 

 1,200 sash in the growing of lettuce. 

 This in itself is quite an argument in 

 favor of the cold frame. 



The plants are sometimes a little slow 



