March 29, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



J 287 



we realise that the flower buyers of the 

 country intrust to their keeping annu- 

 ally certainly not less than $5,000,000, 

 and this before a dollar 's worth of goods 

 is delivered. 



The time is here when closer affilia- 

 tion between the mail order trade and 

 those engaged in forcing roses for the 

 market will redound to the advantage 

 and welfare of this society. 



Bight here I would like to say that 

 our co-operation in bringing before the 

 public new American roses may be 

 counted upon and I would encourage our 

 growers to greater efforts in this de- 

 partment of work. The catalogue man 

 always wants new and meritorious va- 

 rieties. Heretofore he has depended 

 very largely upon Europe for new roses 

 and in the majority of instances these 

 new varieties from abroad have not 

 adapted themselves to our climate. The 

 demand is here, and if by concentrated 

 encouragement given new candidates for 

 favor we increase the list of really meri- 

 torious roses, we are advancing, if I am 

 not mistaken, one of the cardinal prin- 

 ciples of this organization. It is to be 

 deplored that many of us assume a harsh 

 attitude toward the majority of our new 

 American roses. It must be borne in 

 mind that there is a vast difference in 

 results to be expected from the grower 

 of a new rose who has but a limited 

 quantity of plants to work from and the 

 grower who has thousands of plants 

 from which he may select a dozen exhi- 

 bition blooms. 



Rugged Varieties Needed. 



I might add, also, that there is an 

 almost unlimited field for free-blooming 

 roses that will withstdSid the rigors of 

 our northern winters, so, while we are 

 ever ready to welcome more Golden 

 Gates, Richmonds, Queen Beatrices, Tom 

 Fields and Miss Kate Moultons, let me 

 urge you to keep in mind the needs of 

 the mail order trade for hardy, rugged, 

 free-blooming roses, adapted to the cold- 

 est parts of the country. In this class 

 there have been few additions within 

 recent years. There is a great field open 

 for the hybridization of roses based for 

 their constitution upon such classes as 

 hybrid perpetuals and rugosas, the 

 "Wichuraiana seedlings, which are such a 

 notable feature of this exhibition, and 

 if our American hybridizers will work 

 along these lines, the results will best 

 suit the peculiarities of our varying cli- 

 mate and I am confident that it will be 

 but a comparatively short time until we 

 shall take our places as leaders in the 

 production of new and useful roses. 



SOLUBLE FERTILIZERS. 



[A paper by D. M. Pray read before the 

 American Rose Society, at Boston, March 23, 

 1906.] 



About three-quarters of a century ago 

 a great deal of the mystery of chemistry 

 was cleared away by the discovery . that 

 a certain chemical substance (urea) 

 could be made in the chemist's labora- 

 tory. Up to that time it has been sup- 

 posed that this and similar substances 

 could be made in one way only, by ob- 

 scure processes within the living animal. 

 The fact that such substances could be 

 made from dead things, as it were, and 

 yet be an exact counterpart of those 

 eliminated from living animals caused a 

 profound revolution of thought. Since 

 that time such progress has been made 

 that today we all but make living things 

 from inanimate matter by "chemicals," 

 if you will. 



Early Water Culture. 



It seems to me that a similar office for 

 horticulture has been performed by those 

 who, fifty years ago, first brought plants 

 to maturity without soil, by the so-called 

 ' ' water-culture. ' ' 



In this method, after the seed Avas 

 sprouted and when it had a few roots, 

 it was supported upright by a split cork 

 or a convenient holder over water into 

 which its roots hung, which contained 

 minute amounts of plant foods in solu- 

 tion. In this way buckwheat, corn and 

 oats were brought to maturity. This 

 method of growing plants eliminates the 

 soil, thus simplifying the whole question 

 of essential and non-essential root-foods 

 in plant life. 



The essentials were found to be seven 

 elementary substances, nitrogen, phos- 

 phorus, potash, lime, chlorine, iron and 

 sulphur, and the non-essentials are soda, 

 magnesium, silica and many others. Of 

 the essentials only nitrogen, potash, phos- 

 phorus and lime need concern us, as there 

 is usually enough of chlorine, iron and 

 sulphur in most soils. Lime is found in 

 sufficient amounts in many soils, but is 

 sometimes added to "sweeten" the soil; 

 i. e., to correct acidity, which may be 

 caused by excessive moisture or acid fer- 

 tilizers. As a matter of fact, we are 

 concerned mainly with the three remain- 

 ing essentials of plant life, absorbed 

 through the roots, nitrogen, phosphorous 

 and potash, for these are needed in large 

 amounts and must be supplied continu- 

 ously to the plant. A fertilizer having 

 these three ingredients is termed ' ' com- 

 plete. ' ' 



>Jot only have these facts been learned 

 from " water-eulture, " but also that ex- 

 tremely small amounts of food, even two 

 parts in 1,000, will abundantly sustain 

 active life. To bear this out we could men- 

 tion orchids which are fed daily with 

 very dilute solutions whenever watered, 

 and occasionally with a complete soluble 

 fertilizer called "Cookson's Formula" 

 from its originator. This chemical has 

 demonstrated its value for years and is 

 commonly used one part in 10,000 parts 

 of water; note the extreme dilution. 



Source of Root Foods. 



As a source of nitrogen, blood, tank- 

 age, guano, all sorts of animal manures, 

 and various commercial fertilizers are 

 iised: Soluble sources, nitrate of soda, 

 liquid ammonia and ammonium salts, as 

 ammonium sulphate and phosphate. For 

 rose culture stable or cow manure is 

 often used, and sometimes nitrate of 

 soda, of which we shall speak later. 

 Green manuring is sometimes used. 

 I For phosphates the animal manures 

 i are largely used, also bone, whose phos- 

 I phate of lime is very slowly given up, 

 I in fact, even bone meal requires years to 

 obtain its full value. Super-phosphates 

 are much used out-of-doors, but not 

 much under glass, and not being soluble 

 are not adapted to use in watering. None 

 of these above mentioned are soluble or 

 at once available. In certain stages of 

 plant life the energy of the plant seems 

 directed into the channels of blossoms 

 rather than foliage. At this time phos- 

 phates and potash are demanded much 

 more than nitrogen. The chemical, 



