■.^jT-.-, 



November 29, 190G. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



77 



easel. This is simply a variation of the 

 old-fashioned pillow, but as worked out 

 by Mr. Simmons was decidedly unique 

 and pleasing. The top of the pillow 

 was made solid and then the pattern 

 worked on it with cattleyas and valley. 

 The illustration hardly does justice to 

 the piece, as the harmony of color is 

 not apparent and only a slight idea of 

 the size and perfection of workmanship 

 is conveyed. 



WINTER WINDOW-BOXES. 



The George Wittbold Co., Chicago, has 

 worked up an excellent business in the 

 filling of winter window-boxes. The now 

 popular boxwood is the principal material 

 used and many thousands have this fall 

 been required to fill their orders. They 

 go about getting the business by sending 

 out a post-card to all the names on their 

 long list of retail customers. The post- 

 card shows an illustration prepared from 

 a photograph. It is a picture of a win- 

 dow in which there is a box filled with 

 boxwood and other evergreens. The text 

 on ifce card tells of the cheerfulness of 

 winter greens in the window and quotes 

 prices per foot on filling boxes already in 

 place and also on new window- Doxes. As 

 a rule they are from $1 to $1.50 per 

 running foot for 8-inch or 10-inch boxes, 

 the price varying, of course, according to 

 the quantity and value of the material 

 used. The boxwood will not survive the 

 winter, in the Chicago climate, but it will 

 carry its rich green foliage until spring 

 and serve all the purposes for which it 

 is required. 



EARNINGS OF SPRENGERL 



Would it be possible to earn 50 cents 



per square foot of bench by growing 



Asparagus Sprengeri sprays for the 



wholesale market? C. H. 



Haying experimented with Asparagus 

 Sprengeri for several years, I concluded 

 that the best way to grow it is in a hang- 

 ing basket of about sixteen inches diame- 

 ter. Planted in a very rich compost soil 

 it will last for about two years. While 

 the Sprengeri sprays grown in benches 

 will average somewhat longer, yet they 

 lack that graceful appearance of a 

 basket-grown spray; besides a hanging 

 basket will not take up any extra room. 

 Looking over my records for the last 

 three years I find the average price to 

 be one and one-tenth cents per spray, so 

 you will see that in order to make 50 

 cents per square foot it would require 

 forty-five salable sprays, or that same 

 amount to the square foot of bench 

 room, which we have found impossible to 

 do. The gross returns on a basket has 

 averaged us 80 cents per year, or $1.60 

 during the life of the basket. 



Albert F. Amling. 



BEGONIA REX. 



Will you give me full instructions in 

 regard to Rex begonias from the prepa- 

 ration of the soil to put them in when 

 first received from the wholesale florist 

 until in 8-inch pots? What kind of fer- 

 tilizers are suitable, how used and how 

 often, also general information? 



L. A. 



This very ornamental foliage section 

 of begonias was once in great demand as 

 hothouse plants, and when first intro- 

 duced, some fifty years ago, were worth 

 their weight in gold. They were also 

 valued by the commercial florist for 



Bridal Bouquet by J. S. Simmons, Toronto. 



many years, more so than today. If 

 you have the right temperature they are 

 as easily grown as a geranium. 



They are usually propagated in De- 

 cember, from strong mature leaves or 

 large plants, but not from leaves that 

 are beginning to turn yellow with age. 

 Some lay the whole leaf on the surface of 

 the propagating bed, severing the mid- 

 ribs every inch or two, from which little 

 plants will spring. We think a better 

 way is to cut a leaf into small sections. 

 You can manage to cut each piece of leaf 

 into a wedge-shape, but always let the 

 base of the cutting terminate with a 

 rather stout midrib. Insert these sec- 

 tions of leaves in a trench in the sand as 

 you do other cuttings, about one-third 

 their depth in sand. The sand should be 

 warm. Seventy degrees will do, and the 

 house temperature can run up to 60 de- 

 grees. 



I may as well say here that Begonia 

 Rex at all times enjoys a high tempera- 

 ture, with plenty of humidity. Although 

 perhaps not necessary, we have often 

 given a batch of these plants in 4-inch 



pots a daily syringing with the hose, 

 and they grew very fast, for there was 

 heat enough to dry up the moisture on 

 their leaves. If in a cool house, say not 

 over 55 degrees at night, then keep their 

 foliage dry. Shift on as their roots will 

 show you they need it. 



For compost, one-half should be a 

 turfy yellow loam and the other half 

 made up of decayed leaves and well rot- 

 ted cow manure, or the remains of last 

 spring's hotbed and some coarse sand. 

 We have never considered these begonias 

 at all particular about soil. There is no 

 other point in their cultivation that we 

 can think of. Do not expose them to 

 bright sunshine. They are rather a shade- 

 loving plant. We often see grand plants 

 of these at horticultural exhibitions, and 

 large specimens are generally grown in 

 8-inch to 12-inch pans. Up to an 8-inch 

 pot plant you would not need any fer- 

 tilizer. A light sprinkling of sheep ma- 

 nure on the surface of the soil would 

 help them if crowded with roots, but 

 don 't overdo it, as it is powerful stuff. 



W. S.' 



