

'"»fi!'|'JW^u^j-jy|||;.'iii\Jl|ii»i*,ip(i ■ 



1514 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



NOVEHBEB 16, 1906. 



NEPHROLEPIS PIERSONI 



ELEGANTISSIMA 



Grand stocky in all sizes* "Vtrj popular in New York and all the lars^e dtks* 



UNPRECEDENTED SALE OF LARGE SPECIMENS 



Prices from 75c each ; $9.00 per doz.; $50.00 per 100, up to $2,009 

 $3.00, $5.00 and $7.50 each. Satisfaction Guaranteed. 



F. R. PIERSON CO., TARRYTOWN, N. Y. 



Mention Th» Revlfw when you write. 



V^etaiyiforcmg. 



VEGETABLE MARKETS. 



Boston, November 14. — Cucumbers, 

 No. 1, $5 to $7 box; No. 2, $1.50 to $3 

 box; tomatoes, 15 to 20c lb.; radishes, 

 75c to $1 box; lettuce, 25 to 50c doz. 

 heads. 



New York, November 13. — Cucum- 

 bers, 50c to $1 doz.; head lettuce, 25 to 

 75c doz.; mushrooms, 10 to 60c lb.; 

 tomatoes, 5 to 15c lb. 



Chicago, November 15. — Cucumbers, 

 50c to $1 doz.; leaf lettuce, 10 to 20c 

 case; head lettuce, 50c to $1 box. 



USE OF ELECTRIC UGHT. 



In response to a question as to the 

 value and eflBcacy of electric light in 

 l)romoting the growth of vegetables, W. 

 W. Rawson stated, at a recent meeting of 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 

 that he has made use of it for seven or 

 eight years and has found that it im- 

 proved the quality and increased the pro- 

 duction of vegetables grown under glass. 

 He used it mostly on days in which there 

 is a lack of sunshine and in the winter 

 season when the nights are long. He 

 estimates that it increases the growth 

 fifteen per cent and appears to be of 

 greater benefit to a crop of cucumbers 

 than to lettuce. 



VEGETABLE PLANTS. 



I should be glad to have you tell me 

 something about the use and manage- 

 ment of hotbeds for raising early vege- 

 table plants. O. C. 



The best time to prepare hotbeds is 

 the month of February. The exact date 

 will depend on location and weather to 

 •A certain extent. Should the weather 

 he severely cold, it is better to wait 

 until it moderates a little, so as not to 

 waste too much of the heat given oflf by 

 the heating medium. The best material 

 is litter from the horse stable. This 

 should be piled up and turned over two 

 or three times before making up the hot- 

 bed, so as to have the whole well mixed 

 to insure an even heat. If dry, it should 

 be moderately moistened. 



A pit sunk to a depth of about four 

 feet is the best place for the bed. Here 

 it will retain the heat better than if 

 made above ground, or it may be partly 

 sunk and partly over ground, if desired. 



The material should be put in in lay- 

 ers and each layer well firmed. The 

 firmer the whole is made, the better it 

 will retain the heat. The frame should 

 be put over the bed a few days after 

 making up and a thermometer inserted 

 in the material to indicate the tempera- 

 ture. "When this falls to about 80 de- 

 grees, cover over with about three inches 

 of soil. Let it remain so for a few days, 

 until the temperature has fallen to about 

 70 degrees; then the seeds may safely be 

 sown. 



We prefer to sow in flats, as when the 

 seedlings are large enough the flats can 

 be carried to some place convenient for 

 pricking out with less danger of injury 

 to the plants than would be the case if 

 they have to be lifted from the bed. 

 Prick the seedlings into flats again and 

 set back in the frame as soon as possi- 

 ble. All that is necessary after this is 

 to keep them well watered and the air 

 regulated, so as to maintain a tempera- 

 ture of 80 degrees by day, with sun 

 heat, and 60 degrees at night. As the 

 plants attain size and the weather be- 

 comes warmer, they should be gradual- 

 ly exposed to the weather, until they 

 are hard enough to be left uncovered 

 both night and day. W. S. Croydon. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



ORNAMENTAL STOCK WANTED. 



It is a peculiar fact that the acreage 

 devoted by nurseries in California to 

 the cultivation of ornamental trees and 

 shrubs is not increasing in the ratio 

 shown by our population or by the 

 steadily growing demand for such stock. 

 Within" the past twenty years, a great 

 many places of considerable size have 

 gone entirely out of this branch of the 

 business and there do not seem to be 

 many volunteers to enter it. Before the 

 era of growing cut flowers under glass 

 every nurseryman, unless he made a 



specialty of fruit trees, devoted a por- 

 tion of his ground to the cultivation of 

 strictly ornamental trees and shrubbery. 

 With the passing away of many of the 

 pioneers in this line, and the constant 

 growth of our towns, in many cases 

 making the land too valuable to devote 

 to such purposes, a great change has 

 been brought about. With the younger 

 generation everything has been invested 

 in glass, either for roses, carnations or 

 house plants, and the slower growing 

 material has been overlooked. 



The fact that much quicker returns 

 can be had from glass than from a field 

 of ornamental stock is the entire rea- 

 son without a doubt, for it certainly 

 cannot be claimed that there is any less- 

 ening in the demand for well grown, 

 hardy shrubbery. It takes several years 

 before they become marketable, but 

 prices are good and from my observa- 

 tions they will not be any cheaper for 

 many 'years to come. The remarkable 

 growth of many of our towns and the 

 interest shown by people of wealth in the 

 planting of gardens and parks has cre- 

 ated a demand that the California nur- 

 serymen cannot handle. Much stock is 

 imported from the eastern states and 

 Europe, but the risk involved and the 

 expensive transportation charges, to- 

 gether with the fact that a great deal 

 of our most desirable stock is of such a 

 nature that it is not grown to any ex- 

 tent in other climates, makes it a dif- 

 ficult thing for the landscape gardener 

 to have his wants supplied on short no- 

 tice. 



We have had many large nurseries on 

 this coast that have been and are at 

 present engaged in the growing of fruit 

 trees, and also several devoted exclu- 

 sively to the growing of roses, but these 

 firms specialize and their output does 

 not figure very extensivelj' when some 

 wealthy citizen wishes to plant an acre 

 or two of garden, or a landscape gard- 

 ener desires to lay out a public park. 



There is no special scarcity of green- 

 house plant?, owing to the fact that in 

 almost all our towns of any size, small 

 growers have located and catered to 

 this branch of the trade. It is entirelv 

 of the ornamental side of the question, 

 and I am inclined to think that there 

 will be a great scarcity of hardv shnib- 



