454 



TheWcddy Roifists' Review. 



JuLT 20, 1905. 



single roomi, $1 to f2.50 per day; room swlth 

 bath, $2.50 per day; suites with bath, $8 to 94 

 per day. „ , , 



Columbia, for men only, 1413 Pennsylvania 

 avenue N. W., six squares from hall; room for 

 one person, $1.60 per day; two persons, $2.80 

 per day. , ■ , 



Metropolitan, Sixth and Pennsylvania avenue 

 N. W., seven squares from ball; American 

 plan, $2.50 to $4 per day; European plan, $1 

 to $3 per day. . ^ ^ .. , 



El Keno, opposite B. & O. depot, eleven 

 squnres from hall; single rooms, $1 per day; 

 double rooms, $2 per day. 



Johnson, Thirteenth and E streets N. W., 

 four squares from hall; European plan, $1 per 

 day and upward; American plan, $2.50 to $4 



Cochran, Fourteenth and K streets N. W., 

 seven squares from the hall; $1.50 per day, 

 with bath »2 per day. 



Fredonia, 1321 H street N. W., five squares 

 from hall. American plan, single room »2 

 per day and up, double room $3.50 per day and 



up; Kuropean plan, slngle^room, $1 per day 

 and up, double room $1.60*and up. 



National, Sixth street aAd Pennsylvania ave- 

 nue, seven squares from -ball; American plan, 

 ♦2.60 per day, two In 'a room $2 per day; 

 European plan, $1 per day»and up. 



Riggs, G and Fifteenth streets N. W., five 

 squares from hall; $3 per day and up. >. 



New wniard. Fourteenth and Pennsylvania" 

 avenue N. W.; $2.50 to $10/per day; S. A. F. 

 members get discount of twenty-flve per cent. 



Kbbltt House, F and Fourteenth streets, 

 five squares from hall, AmjjHCan plan, special 

 rate of $2.50 per day, parlors* and bath extra. 

 The "Waahington Florists' Club es- 

 pecially recommends the Shb'reham, Arl- 

 ington, Manhattan, St. James, Colonial, 

 Metropolian, El Eeno, Johnson, Fre- 

 donia, National, Riggs and Ebbitt 

 House. 



MULCHING. 



Plants intended to produce exhibition 

 flowers, and which were planted in May, 

 are now at a point where feeding may 

 be commenced, for they are showing by 

 their pale color and smaller foliage that 

 it will be beneficial. I find that in from 

 eight to ten weeks after planting the 

 bed is full of roots and a light mulch 

 of half-decayed cow manure is a great 

 help in maintaining a more uniform de- 

 gree of moisture in the soil, as well as 

 affording good nourishment for the 

 plants. 



Before putting on the mulch, apply a 

 sprinkling of fine bone to the soil and 

 ruffle the surface over with the fingers, 

 being careful not to, dig up the soil so 

 deep as to break off any roots in the 

 operation. Clean off any suckers that 

 may be showing around the plants. This 

 is best done by pulling them out rather 

 than by using a knife, because the roots 

 should be disturbed as little as possible. 

 I said use half-decayed cow manure, 

 because it is entirely wrong to use it 

 too fresh, as it will then do more harm 

 than good, in consequence of the am- 

 monia rising and burning the lower 

 leaves. On the other hand, if it is abso- 

 lutely decayed there is not much virtue 

 left in it and, while it will serve a use- 

 ful purpose in protecting the roots from 

 the burning sun, it will not afford much 

 nourishment to the plants. 



If cow manure is not available, sheep 

 or horse manure may be used, but more 

 care must be exercised because they are 

 much more caustic in their action and 

 are apt to burn the roots. Whatever is 

 used must be broken up very fine, so 

 that it will lay close and be easily as- 

 similated by the plants. One grower of 

 my acquaintance mixed the fine siftings 

 of peat with manure for a mulch last 

 year and it worked excellently. Leaf 

 soil is also a first-tlass medium for the 

 same purpose if one has it or can readily 

 procure it. 



Liquid. 



Liquid fertilizers are easily applied 

 and cover a wide range and in their 

 proper use is where the skill and care 

 of the operator counts for more than 

 anything, particularly in the use of 

 chemicals. Of the chemicals the ones 



most generally used are nitrate of soda 

 and sulphate of ammonia, though potash 

 in the form of muriates, nitrates and 

 sulphates, is used more or less. 



"We will take up this feeding question 

 more in detail in a few weeks, but for 

 the present with a mulch as recommended 

 our plants will do well enough and only 

 an occasional very light dose of any 

 chemical should be given. One ounce to 

 four gallons of water is plenty strong 

 enough to begin with and it should al- 

 ways be borne in mind that lighter and 

 more frequent feeding is very much to 

 be preferred to heavier doses, which 



rof^lii^ roots and do^^tir more harm than 



Watering during the intense heat we 

 have been experiencing of late is quite 

 a proposition, particularly', with pot 

 stock, which has called for watei* several 

 times a day. As the plants ' in the 

 benches grow taller and branch out, they 

 shade the center of the bench donsider- 

 ably and it is well to remember this in 

 watering, because the sides and ends of 

 the bench, which are exposed < directly to 

 the sun and air, need considerably more 

 water than the shaded portion and to 

 water all alike is to invite leaf spot in 

 the middle rows of plants, from which 

 it will soon spread to all the rest. 

 ^ Frequent and copious spraying is nec- 

 essary in order to keep the temperature 

 down to a reasonable point and if this is 

 not done the, plalit^ suffer very much 

 under torrid' conditions as we have been 

 experiencing' of late. 



CHAKtES H. TOTTY, 



CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY. 



The following special prizes are of- 

 fered, to be competed for at the next 

 annual exhibition of the C. S. A., to 

 be held in Philadelphia, November, 



1905: 



Vaughan's seed store offers a silver 

 cup, value $25, for the best specimen 

 of bush chrysanthemum plant, grown 

 by a private gardener, which has not 

 received any other award. 



H. W. Buckbee offers the H. W, 

 Buckbee trophy, a silver cup, value 

 $25, for the best ten chrysanthemums, 

 one variety, open only to American and 

 foreign introductions of 1905 and varie- 

 ties not yet in commerce. 



Fred H. Lemon, Sec'y. 



VIOLET GROWING. 



BY B. T. GALLOWAY. 



Improvement of Stock. 



For one who intends to make violet 

 growing a business it is absolutely es- 

 sential that early attention should be 

 given to, the improvement of the stock. 

 No matter how good the stock may be 

 when purchased it is not so good as that 

 which the grower himself may develop. 

 In fact, the best growers never sell their 

 most desirable stock; hence, the beginner 

 must always put up with second or third 

 rate plants, unless he can make some spe- 

 cial arrangement otherwise. 



The average number of blooms from 

 commercially grown violets is about fifty 

 per plant. There are many plants that 

 will produce in a season 100, or even as 

 high as 125 or 150. Just as soon as the 

 grower has his house filled with plants 

 the first season, he should make plans for 

 careful selection of his next year's stock. 

 The most vigorous and best-growing 

 plants should be marked, and a record 

 flhould be kept of the number of flowers 

 picked from these plants. By continuing 

 this practice and propagating only from 

 the plants yielding the greatest number 

 of flowers, in four or five years the flow- 



ering capacity of the plants may be 

 largely increased. Not only may the 

 number of flowers per plant be increased, 

 but the size of the flowers, length of 

 stem, and odor may be greatly improved. 



Money Value of Selected Stock. 



These may appear to be small matters, 

 but they are really vital ones having to 

 do with the success of this sort of busi- 

 ness. If 2,000 plants yield an average 

 of fifty flowers per plant, it will give in 

 the course of the season 100,000 flowers. 

 The average can be increased to 100 per 

 plant in five years by judicious selection, 

 and it will cost no more to grow stock 

 that will yield 100 per plant than it does 

 to grow those with fifty. The only extra 

 cost is in the matter or picking and 

 bunching. Soil, fertilizer, heat, and la- 

 bor are otherwise all practically the same. 

 The time required to mark the violets as 

 picked is insignificant as it is done when 

 the grower is going over his plants any- 

 way and by having a label tied to the 

 plant nothing is required except to put 

 down the actual ntfmBar picked and the 

 date. 



