S8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



May 24, 1006. 



Bapids seems to be in line. The demand 

 is best and prices highest in January, 

 February and March, so it is well to have 

 the heaviest crop mature at that time, 

 but growers must be guided by their 

 market demand. 



To be of the best quality lettuce must 

 be grown rapidly, hence nitrogen is need- 

 ful. This element can be supplied in 

 the form of nitrate of soda; one-half 

 ounce to a gallon of water, to be watered 

 in, will give good results. The tempera- 

 ture of the house should be kept as 

 steady as possible, at from 40 to 45 de- 

 grees at night with a rise to 60 or 65 

 degrees during the day with sunshine. 

 Air should be admitted on all favorable 

 occasions and the atmosphere should 

 never be allowed to become close and 

 stagnant. Most failures in lettuce forc- 

 ing are due to bad ventilation. 



Unwholesome soil, insects and fungus 

 enemies should be watched very closely. 

 Green fly is very troublesome and if it 

 once gets a good foothold it is not easy 

 to subdue. If the house is kept too 

 warm it generally makes its appearance. 

 Nicotine extract affords a good remedy. 

 It should always be kept on hand. 



Look out for the lettuce rot, or Botry- 

 tis vulgaris. It is generally found to 

 exist if the house is kept too close and 

 wet. Give plenty of air and raise the 

 temperature a little. 



Another trouble is mildew, but it can 

 be kept in cheek with sulphur fumes. 

 It is caused by sudden changes in the 

 temperature and by growing the plants 

 too soft. If the soil is stirred frequently 

 and there is reasonable care in watering 

 and in maintaining a uniform tempera- 

 ture there will seldom be any trouble 

 with mildew. Leaf burn is another fun- 

 gus that lettuce is heir to. It attacks 

 the edges of the inner leaves, quickly 

 disfiguring the heads. It occurs after a 

 spell of cloudy weather. There are three 

 things that suggest success. The first is 

 to see that the soil is in a suitable con- 

 dition; second, to control all atmospheric 

 changes as much as possible, and third, 

 to grow them on without any check. 



J. J. F. 



TORONTO. 



The Market. 



Trade during the last week has been 

 very good, and the only thing that we 

 can say there is an oversupply of is 

 roses. Great quantities of pink and 

 white roses have been in the market since 

 Easter, and the demand does not appear 

 at all equal to the supply. J. H. Dun- 

 lop and the Toronto Floral Co. have been 

 supplying some magnificent Beauties. 

 Carnations have not been equal to the 

 demand, and this helped to work off 

 some of the oversupply of roses. How- 

 ever, at present writing carnations seem 

 to be increasing, and with the advent of 

 hot weather the rose supply will decrease. 

 We expect that when the quantities of 

 good roses are wanted for June weddings 

 the supply will be away off. Sweet peas 

 are in good supply. The supply of calla 

 lilies and Harrisii lilies, of which there 

 has been such an overabundance since 

 Easter, is gradually decreasing, and we 

 expect in another week that we will see 

 but a few of them around. 



The annual spring^ meet of the On- 

 tario Jockey Club is making quite a 

 stir in social circles. The Governor-Gen- 

 eral and party are attending, and numer- 

 ous luncheons are being given in his 

 honor. This, we expect, will use up a 



good quantity of flowers and help to 

 clean up the market of at least the bet- 

 ter qualities of cut bloom. 



Various Notct. 



This locality was visited last week by 

 a severe hail storm, so severe that H. 

 Waters, East Toronto, has over 1,000 

 feet of glass broken. Other greenhouses 

 in the locality had a number of panes 

 broken, but nothing like the extent of 

 Mr. Waters. 



We expect to hear of one of our crafts- 

 men here applying for a Carnegie medal. 

 C. Turp, while out cruising in his gaso- 

 line launch, was instrumental in saving 

 from drowning a man who had capsized 

 a sailboat. The man was in a very ex- 

 hausted condition, but Mr. Turp had the 

 necessary stimulant to revive him. 



D. J. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The Market 



The combination of August and April 

 weather has proved disastrous for some 

 of the cut flowers. Brides and Brides- 

 maids being jparticularly affected by 

 the torrid days, and refusing to be com- 

 forted even by the cool nights that fol- 

 lowed. The general market conditions 

 are fair for the last half of May. Stock 

 is coming into town in great quantities; 

 much of it is marketed at low prices. 

 The additions to the list are peonies, 

 locally grown, now coming in ; centaurea, 

 to be seen both at the Leo Niessen Co. 's 

 and at S. S. Pennock's, and cornflower, 

 a specialty with the former. There 

 seems a fair demand for both Easter 

 and calla lilies, with supply rather short. 

 Outdoor valley is here in great quan- 

 tities, the price being about $1 per hun- 

 dred. Opinions differ as to the effect of 

 this stock on the better grade of indoor 

 valley. Interest centers in carnations, 

 which have held up fairly well during 

 the warm weather, and are now improv- 

 ing with those growers whose houses are 

 well ventilated. Prospects are fair for 

 a good supply next week. Edw. Keid 

 is receiving some very fine Ethel Trotter, 

 a sure sign of the approach of summer, 

 as this variety requires a certain amount 

 of heat to attain its true form. The 

 prospects for peonies are excellent. 



Girard G)lIeKe. 



May 20 is Founder's day at Girard 

 College. This year May 20 fell on Sun- 

 day, so the great reunion of college 

 alumni was held on Saturday, much to 

 the disapprobation of the college profes- 

 sors, who had hoped that it might be 

 on Monday, as Saturday is a holiday 

 anyhow. Floriculturally speaking, the 

 interest in Founder's day centers in the 

 decoration of the tomb of Stephen Gir- 

 ard by Edwin Lonsdale. Maidenhair 

 fern, fuchsias and kentias formed a rich 

 and graceful combination. 



The arrangement of the beds in front 

 of the main entrance was fully de- 

 scribed in this column last season. The 

 crotons are not yet in position, one bed 

 which will be used for them later being 

 filled with Myosotis Eliza Fanrobert, 

 edged with a yellow pansy. Golden Gem, 

 I think. This was especially pleasing. 

 The effect of geraniums alternating with 

 pansy and forget-me-not beds is a blend- 

 ing, as it were, of summer and spring. 



A feature of the boys' tables on 

 Founder's day was a decoration of Cal- 

 ceolaria rugosa, Mr. Lonsdale having 

 grown sixty-four perfect specimens of 



this beautiful flowering plant, or just 

 enough to give one to each table. These 

 were arranged with a view to a general 

 effect, creating the impression in the 

 spectator's mind of a much larger num- 

 ber of plants than were actually in the 

 room. 



R. B. Herr, of Ripton, near Lancaster, 

 has sent a set of fifty-four named varie- 

 ties and seedlings of Rex begonias to the 

 college greenhouses for experiment. 

 These plants are beautifully marked lit- 

 tle specimens, reflecting great credit on 

 Mr. Herr's cultural skill. Mr. Lonsdale 

 has always been a warm admirer of the 

 Rex begonia, and in his hands we may 

 look for some interesting results. 



Various Notes. 



Charles E. Meehan, who has secured a 

 controlling interest in the stock of the 

 Philadelphia Wholesale Flower Market, 

 has sent out a circular letter to the other 

 stockholders, offering to buy their shares 

 at par, $15 paid. This is probably 

 twice what the stock was worth two 

 years ago. Its present value is due 

 largely to Mr. Meehan 's untiring energy 

 in pushing the interests of the market. 



Fred Ehret will move his flower store 

 on Fairmount avenue, above Broad 

 street, next door on or about June 1. 



John F. Andre, Doylestown, Fa., will 

 grow one house of Killarney rose the 

 coming season. 



Edw. Towill, of Roslyn, has decided 

 to plant a quantity of Killarney next 

 year. 



J. Stephenson, of Oak Lane, has made 

 a success of his Liberty roses the past 

 season. The ground shoots are excep- 

 tionally fine. 



Godfrey Aschmann is making a spe- 

 cialty of Ipomaea noctiflora, the moon 

 vine, which he distributes throughout 

 the country. 



Mrs. Sarah I. Smith, of Secane, is 

 sending very fine Enchantress carnations 

 to the Flower Market. 



H. Bayersdorfer & Co. have a new line 

 of grass heads, which Mr. Berkowitz 

 aptly describes as "sour grapes," the 

 name being called forth by the expres- 

 sion on the countenance of the individual 

 described. Green toothpicks and wire 

 are another specialty here in the line of 

 innovations. 



The suburban florists are doing an 

 active business in small vegetable plants, 

 tomatoes especially. John Holt, of North 

 Wales, and H. W. Collins, of Doyles- 

 town, report a lively demand for these 

 staples. 



M. Rice & Co. have their window-boxes 

 in position, attractively filled with arecas, 

 ferns, variegated periwinkle, and ivy. 

 Mr. Eschner considers these boxes highly 

 educational, and believes that every 

 florist should use them in front of his 

 store, where possible. 



The Leo Niessen Co. has received a 

 new stock of dagger ferns. 



M. Rice and Mrs. Rice will sail for 

 home on June 7, on the wonderful new 

 steamer Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, 

 which is described as 700 feet long, hav- 

 ing eight decks, and every modern im- 

 provement, including a swimming pool. 



Samuel S. Pennock has placed a row 

 of window-boxes along the front of his 

 new addition at 1610 Ludlow street. 

 These boxes are beautifully filled with 

 hydrangeas, crotons, Pandanus Veitchii, 

 and other plants and vines. 



The Philadelphia Cut Flower Co. is ar- 

 ranging improvements for next season. 

 They plan removing their ice-box to the 

 rear of the salesroom and bringing the 



