434 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



January 4, 1906. 



lists give the advice, ' * Order early, ' ' but 

 this good advice is too often overlooked; 

 consequently the orders come all in a 

 rush and all are wanted immediately, 

 where a little forethought would be of 

 material advantage to all parties con- 

 cerned. 



Though the majority of seed houses 

 use great care in the selection of their 

 seeds and try to have them as reliable 

 as possible, there are so many things to 

 contend with, that a full percentage of 

 germination cannot always be relied on, 

 and it is well to have the seeds in hand 

 long enough before sowing time to give 

 a chance to test them and see just what 

 percentage of the different varieties can 

 be relied on. Then the seeds can be 

 sown thickly or thinly, according to the 

 percentage of germination. It is very 

 disappointing to have to waste titae and 

 space on a flat of seeds in which only 

 a half or two-thirds crop comes up. 



The best way to test the seeds is to 

 count out fifty or 100 seeds of each va- 

 riety, sow each in a separate space and 

 give every possible advantage as regards 

 suitable soil, temperature and care. When 

 well up count the number of plants and 

 make a careful note of each variety. 

 Then you will know pretty near what 

 you are doing when sowing time comes 

 and know just what you can reasonably 

 expect from each flat sown. 



Regarding varieties, it is always best 

 to stick mainly to the old standard kinds, 

 as they are sure to be in greatest de- 

 mand, but it is well to try new kinds 

 as they come out, on a limited scale, 

 and after you are satisfied that you have 



A good, reliable, early variety of cauli- 

 flower is Dwarf Erfurt and the seed is 

 a good deal cheaper than Snowball, but 

 there is usually a call for this latter va- 

 riety, 80 that it is necessary to grow 

 more or less of it. 



New York Spineless egg plant is a 

 standard variety that one makes no mis- 

 take in growing plenty of. 



Of the numerous varieties of celery 

 we grow but two. White Plume for early 

 and Golden Dwarf for late. 



In tomatoes the variety is bewildering 

 and many of them are worth growing, 

 but if confined to two I would choose 

 Freedom for early and Stone for main 

 crop. 



In peppers both Ruby King and Bull- 

 nose are old, reliable varieties, that no 

 one can make any mistake in growing. 



W. S. Croydon. 



IN OKLAHOMA. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a photograph made at Oklahoma City, 

 Okla. The Stiles Co. does a general busi- 

 ness, handling poultry supplies, seeds, 

 nursery stock and plants as well as cut 

 flowers. In the season they are large 

 shippers of mistletoe. George H. Stiles 

 stands at the left in the doorway. 



BEGONIA VARIATIONS. 



I have frequently referred to the sub- 

 ject of selections for stock purposes, and 

 the natural variations found among 

 plants now receives more attention than 

 formerly. At the last meeting of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, we had a 



THE STILES COMP.YNV.l 



SEEDSMEN. NURSERYMEN.FLORISTS.i 



Store of the Stiles Co., Oklahoma Qty, Okla. 



something good you can confidently rec- 

 ommend them to your customers another 

 season. 



In lettuce for spring planting, T think 

 we have nothing better than the old Bos- 

 ton Market. Big Boston makes a fine, 

 large head, but is not quite so hardy as 

 the former and liable to suffer more if 

 subjected to a cold snap. Deacon is an- 

 other good, hardy, reliable sort. 



In cabbage, Jersey Wakefield is, in 

 my opinion, the leader for early, with 

 Danish Ballhead or Succession for sec- 

 ond early. 



; good instance of this, when H. B. May 

 ; submitted four different selections from 

 begonias. They were not considered suf- 

 ficiently distinct to gain awards yet they 

 ' were undoubtedly an advance on the va- 

 I rious sorts from which they were se- 

 lected. The original parent of all was 

 Gloire de Lorraine. Masterpiece, selected 

 from the original form, had large 

 foliage, strong flower stems, and richly 

 colored flowers; and if not sufliciently 

 distinct for a new name, should be worth 

 keeping for stock purposes, and may de- 

 serve to be called "improved." The 



same may be said of Marie, which is a 

 selection from Mrs. Leopold de Roth- 

 schild, and showed, as exhibited, a de- 

 cided advance. Mont Blanc, a selection 

 from Turnford Hall, also showed more 

 vigor, and flowers of better substance, 

 and they also appeared to have less pink 

 in them; but it is difficult to say from 

 a single specimen if this character is 

 likely to be sustained. Rosea crispata I 

 should hardly consider distinct enough 

 to merit notice, yet even with this, if 

 seen in a batch with the parent, its dis- 

 tinctness might be more apparent. I 

 recommend all who grow these valuable 

 winter-flowering plants to be careful to 

 select the very best only for stock. It 

 has now become quite established as a 

 market plant, and only requires care in 

 keeping to the best and strongest forms 

 to further enhance its value. When I 

 first grew this begonia I hardly expected 

 to see it make such plants as are now 

 grown. It seems capable of increasing 

 in vigor from year to year; this is, prob- 

 ably, owing to its being perfectly abor- 

 tive. Some plants shown at the Crystal 

 Palace on December 6 and 7 measured 

 fully two feet in height and probably 

 more in diameter. 



Begonia Myra, one of the hybrids of 

 the same type as Mrs. J. Heal, shown 

 at the Crystal Palace by H. Cannell & 

 Sons, was specially worthy of note, cer- 

 tainly one of the best of its class; the 

 plants were covered with large blooms of 

 a deep rose pink, and there is a possi- 

 bility of this making a good market 

 plant. — Horticultural Advertiser. 



BEST CANNAS. 



Will you please give us a list of the 

 best cannas for commercial purposes? 



A. J. S. 



We would recommend the following 

 canna lilies as likely to give greatest sat- 

 isfaction: Betsy Ross, variegated; But- 

 tercup, yellow; Chautauqua, scarlet; 

 Coronet, improved, yellow; Duke of 

 Marlborough, maroon; Duke of York, 

 variegated; Eastern Beauty, salmon; 

 Evolution, yellow shading to pink; 

 George Washington, variegated; Gladi- 

 ator, variegated; Juanita, chrome yel- 

 low; Martha Washington, rose pink; 

 Mont Blanc, white ; Niagara, variegated ; 

 Pennsylvania, deep scarlet; Philadelphia, 

 crimson; West Grove, coral pink. 



CoNARD & Jones Co. 



RED ANTS. 



Please tell me the best remedy for 

 red ants in the palm house and on orchids. 

 They are very destructive to blooms and 

 buds. R. W. 



The safest method to use against these 

 troublesome pests in the palm and orchid 

 houses would be to trap them. This may 

 be accomplished by dipping some pieces 

 of sponge in sweet oil and then laying 

 them on the benches among the plants, 

 where the ants will soon find them. In 

 a short time the sponges will be well 

 filled with the insects, when they may 

 be gathered up and thoroughly scalded 

 with boiling water. By repeating this 

 process from time to time the ants will 

 soon be thinned out. W. H. Taplin. 



Milwaukee, Wis. — The Kapsalis 

 Floral Co. has been incorporated, with 

 $1,000 capital stock, by H. R. Pestalozzi, 

 P. N. Kapsalis and E. J. Patterson. 



