'■■p^»j!p/«^,'r;'r^TO!|;'^ ■ 



1310 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Apbil 20. 1906. 



the solid bed. If you want to grow some 

 5-inch or 6-inch pots of freesia which, 

 when well flowered, are very attractive 

 and sell well, then you must plant them 

 quite thickly, say eighteen or twenty 

 bulbs in a 6-inch pot. Buy your bulbs 

 every summer and let the Californian 

 with his fine climate raise yoar bulbs 

 and you will be in pocket. Wu S. 



THE ILLINOIS APPROPRIATION, 



The following is from the Springfield, 

 111,, State Eegister for April 13 : 



There were free flowers for the members of 

 the appropriations committee of the house yes- 

 terday. Members of the Illinois State Florists* 

 Association appeared before the committee with 

 their arms full of roses and carnations. After 

 these had been distributed around the com- 



mittee room, the members of tbe association 

 argued for their bill appropriatlnK $30,000 for 

 an experiment station at the UniTersity of Illi- 

 nois. Horticulture, coupled with free flowers, 

 appealed to the guardians of the state ex- 

 [tenditures and after cutting the appropriation 

 in half, they voted the bill out favorably. 



The following is from a special oprre- 

 spondent of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, 

 telegraphed one day after the above ap- 

 peared : 



The house committee on appropriations came 

 out of a trance into which it had beea thrown 

 yesterday by the delegation from the Illinois 

 Florists' Association. The carnations in the 

 buttonholes of the members wilted. The vote 

 by which it waS decided yesterday to recom- 

 mend an appropriation of $15,000 for the propa- 

 gation of rare flowers was reconsidered, and 

 upon motion of Mr. Craig the bill will be re- 

 ported with the recommendation that it do not 

 pass. That ended the "carnation grab" at the 

 state treasury. 



PREPARATIONS FOR PLANTING. 



Those who do not have their season's 

 soil in store should lose no time in its 

 collection and preparation, as the season 

 for planting will shortly be here and any 

 unpreparedness will surely handicap us 

 for at leaf-t a part of the s?ason. By 

 having everything in readiness we are 

 able to plant our stock just when it is in 

 condition, take advantage of the weather 

 and secure the longest growing season 

 possible. 



"We frequently see stock stan<ling 

 around pot bound in 3-inch pots during 

 the hot days of June, while the soil is 

 being collected and ether preparations 

 are being made for planting, when they 

 ought to be enjoying the freer possibili- 

 ties of the bench and gettin;j the full 

 benefit of the best part of the growing 

 season. 



Last season I was called in question 

 by one of your correspondents for advo- 

 cating one of the old-fashionjd ways, 

 viz., planting Beauties in .June as being 

 the better time for that work in order 

 to make each plant produce the maximum 

 of bloom. After a season of late plant- 

 ing I am more than ever convinced that 

 June planting for Beauties is the most 

 profitable; in fact, 1 intend to plant 

 all my roses during that month, as after 

 years of comparison and faithful rec- 

 ord keeping I have, in order to get the 

 most I can out of my bench room, no 

 choice left. 



Suitable soil for roses is hard to find, 

 especially in the vicinity of large cities, 

 but if we exercise a little care and judg- 

 ment in the choice and ascertain which 

 of the essential elements is lacking and 

 add Wiese in the proper proportions we 

 can have a fairly good rose soil, provid- 

 ing we can get a good sod on the ground, 

 for to have a soil that will make a good 



compost it is necessary to have plenty of 

 fiber. 



The sod should be piled on the ground 

 high enough to allow the surplus mois- 

 ture to run off, so that the bottom of 

 the pile will not sour. Most of our soils 

 will admit of an addition of decomposed 

 cow manure in the proportion of one of 

 manure to four of soil. 



This should be allowed to remain in 

 the heap for a week or so and should 

 then be chopped up and tiuToughly 

 mixed. This process should be accom- 

 filished if possible during bright sunny 

 weather. 



Turning the pile over every ten days 

 will thoroughly incorporate the compon- 

 ent parts, keep weeds j'rou gjt.wing and 

 bring it into that nice mellow condition 

 wniiii makes it pleasant to bitnrile and 

 every element is in i proper condition 

 for the young stock to nnke use of. 



Where bone meal has to be arided, by 

 deferring the addition tUl planting time 

 we get the full advantage (f the ele- 

 ments contained therein. RiBES. 



ROSES UNDER GLASS. 



[A paper by J. A. Sked, foreman for tlie Park 

 Floral Co.. Denver, read Ijefore tlie Colorado 

 Society of FlorlciiltiiHstH March 24. 1905.] 



Having been requested to write a few 

 notes on the culture of roses under 

 glass for commercial purposes, and from 

 a commercial standpoint, I will en- 

 deavor to give a few plain ideas gath- 

 ered from practice and observation 

 through the past quarter of a century. 



Propagation. 



To begin at the beginning, the propa- 

 gating house is first. If it is properly 

 constructed there should be no difficulty 

 in rooting such varieties as we grow on 

 their own roots. It seems a generally 

 accepted fact that Madame Chatenay 

 should be on its own roots, but opinion 

 seems to be divided on American Beau- 

 ties. From my personal observation 

 and the demand from the most success- 

 ful growers for young plants, it would 

 seem the Beauty's own roots are well 



able to take care of its tops. In regard 

 to some of the newer varieties, we will 

 have to learn later on which method 

 brings best results, whether grafted or 

 own root. 



Now return to the propagating house. 

 The ideal bench, in my mind, should 

 contain no wood whatever, and next to 

 that, as little as possible, as the cut- 

 ting bench fungus makes its home in 

 the old, soggy and partly rotten wood, 

 and is ready at a moment's notice to 

 start out on the new sand and leaves, 

 and it spreads like a prairie fire. With 

 ample pipes under the bench, all sides 

 should be cased up as tightly as possi- 

 ble, with doors to regulate the bottom 

 heat and ventilators to keep the top 

 heat right. We find a brick bottom to 

 the bench better than wood. It holds a 

 more even temperature, keeps sweeter, 

 and is more porous. The cuttings root 

 better on brick, and that is the main 

 consideration. 



If we can Keep the sand at 70 degrees 

 and the top heat at 60 degrees through 

 December, January and February, these 

 are the best months for various reasons, 

 as we generally keep up a pretty steady 

 heat, and naturally we expect more or 

 less dull weather in these months. With 

 the above conditions we should get 

 ninety to ninety-five per cent on all va- 

 rieties except hybrid teas, which are al- 

 ways doubtful. We find it pays fo use 

 new sand with every batch ; and pound it 

 down as hard as possible, and then 

 set a good, strong boy to pound it 

 some more. In four weeks they will be 

 evenly rooted and come out. Pot in new 

 or washed 2-inch pots, in straight 

 prairie soil run through a %-inch mesh 

 sieve to remove lumps and sod. Place in 

 a house running 60 degrees nights' and 

 70 degrees days. Shade for a few days 

 if bright, then remove shade and ever 

 after give all the Colorado sunshine pos- 

 sible. To make an ideal plant use two- 

 eye cuttings. 



Grafting. 



As to the varieties which do better 

 grafted, we can graft two months later 

 and have as large plants to bench by 

 May 15 to June 1, which is a good date 

 for planting. There are many more 

 chances of failure in grafting than in 

 rooting cuttings, for in grafting every 

 particular item must be right or it 

 means a lower percentage. The Manetti 

 must be fresh and lively to start with. 

 We pot up the Manetti in straight 

 prairie soil in 2 ^/^ -inch pots and place 

 them any and everywhere, as we want 

 them to come on. In a house running 

 G.*) degrees nights and 75 degrees days, 

 they will be ready for use in three 

 weeks. Select enough for a box, all well 

 started. Cut the scions a few hours 

 ahead, wrap them in damp paper and 

 put in cool cellar to stiffen up, and all 

 is ready for grafting. Have steam on 

 and the box hot. Keep the box closed; 

 when filled sprinkle freely and close 

 tightly. Keep closed for five days, only 

 inserting the hand with a Scollay 

 sprinkler to dampen the foliage when 

 necessary. Keep the temperature at 85 

 degrees. On the sixth day give a quar- 

 ter of an inch of air, and the next 

 day a half inch and gradually give more 

 until the tenth or twelfth day, when 

 you can remove all glass and take out. 

 Place on a partly shaded bench in a 



