Febbuaky 7, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



857 



Cement Benches in Various Stages of Construction at South Bend Floral Co/s, South Bend, Ind. 



ter flowering carnation and the cultiva- 

 tion and profit therefrom has received a 

 substantial stimulus in consequence. 

 Certainly the demand is rapidly increas- 

 ing and prices are at a profitable level. 

 The fact of carnations loving a dry and 

 rarified atmosphere, such as prevails in 

 America, is amply demonstrated in Eng- 

 land by the finest blooms coming from 

 those plants cultivated at a high altitude, 

 ■where the air is much drier and clearer 

 than in low districts. The reason of Amer- 

 ican carnations being so much superior 

 to the best English sorts is undoubtedly 

 the dryer and more congenial atmospheric 

 conditions in America. 



The building of glass houses continues 

 apace, and probably never in the history 

 of British market gardening has there 

 been such an increase of market fruit 

 grown in glass structures. Tomatoes are 

 the principal increase. Although some 

 few growers are going more and more 

 into vegetable culture, the bulk of the 

 houses being built are single-span thirty 

 feet wide tomato houses. Taking all 

 through the season tomatoes were a 

 profitable crop. If the same level is 

 maintained during the next four or five 

 years the growers, who have lately in- 

 vested so heavily in glass, will have no 

 cause to regret their venture. 



Greenhouse timber has considerably ad- 

 vanced in price during the last year. 

 This coupled with the advance in price 

 ■of glass, will have the effect of some- 

 what checking the further erection of 

 -extensive glass ranges. Although it ap- 

 pears our horticultural building firms 

 have on hand heavy stocks of greenhouse 

 timber and glass, the advance in price 

 generally is in the cheaper woods for 

 -commercial houses; but it is reported 

 some heavy contracts are on hand for 

 the erection of private glass ranges in 

 the way of conservatories, winter gar- 

 dens, orchard houses, etc. No advance 

 has occurred, although it is anticipated 

 a rise in price will take place at no dis- 

 tant date. 



A disastrous frost has occurred in the 

 south of France, destroying much of the 

 early crops of flowers which are usually 

 sent in immense quantities to the Lon- 

 don market. The French growers' loss 

 is heralded with joy by the English bulb 

 forcer, such loss usually making for high 

 or low prices in forced bulb stock on the 

 English markets. On an average the 

 cut bulb blooms are making fair prices, 

 sufficient to prevent loss in the cultiva- 

 tion of Dutch bulbs. J. B. 



VENTILATION. 



As the days begin to lengthen and 

 grow sunnier, both of which we like, 

 more care should be taken about venti- 

 lating and lowering the fires during the 

 day, lest the temperature should run too 

 high, which would soon lower the quality 

 of your blooms, as well as shorten the 

 season. Every grower, or very nearly 

 every one, wishes to have good blooms 

 still on at Easter, if possible, and to do 

 so your previous painstaking care must 

 not be abated at all, or the quality will 

 not be what you wish at that time, or 

 they will be gone entirely if the weather 

 gets warm too early. 



The person who is growing violets for 

 the first time may naturally be led to 

 think that he is giving them better care 

 than he is; for of course they will feel 

 the approaching spring and grow more 

 freely than they did previous to the 

 holiday season, especially if the tempera- 

 ture is allowed to get too high. It is 



much safer to run your house too low 

 than too high. Every one has to use his 

 good judgment, and one can lay down 

 no hard and fast rule to go by; still 

 about 10 degrees above freezing is about 

 the safest point to keep them. If the 

 day is bright you will unavoidably run 

 up some, but shut off part or all of the 

 coils, ventilate and so hold down the tem- 

 perature, thereby keeping your plants 

 firm, dark colored and stocky, and pre- 

 vent their making a quick, soft growth 

 and running out of bloom early in the 

 season. 



Another thing, if you do not watch 

 them closely, it is easy for the aphis, 

 both green and black, to get a start be- 

 fore you notice it at this time, as the 

 plants do not always show it immediately. 



Ventilating is one of the things that 

 I have frequently referred to and a sub- 

 ject that is ever before us, and yet I 

 have seen houses that have suffered from 

 an improper application of it. If there 

 is anything that violets not only like 

 but absolutely require, it is fresh air, 

 and plenty of it, and always. So don't 

 forget to give them all that is pos- 

 sible. Of course it means lots of work, 

 looking after your ventilators; but then, 

 there is lots of work to anything that 

 you really make a success of, ' ' don 't you 

 know?" If you find yourself handi- 

 capped in ventilating as you wish, be- 

 cause you are only growing a few, per- 

 haps, in a house with other stock, see 

 now, in placing for next season, if you 

 cannot arrange things so that you can 

 give them a small house, or frame, to 

 themselves, so that you can regfllate the 

 temperature to their best health and 

 needs. B. E. Shuphelt. 



Dickinson, N. D. — ^W. A. McClure has 

 gone out of business. 



Paulding, O. — J. M. Hawkins and 

 wife, for Mrs. Hawkins is active in the 

 business, have a rose-pink sport of En- 

 chantress to which they have given the 

 name of a friend. Miss Helen Phipps. 



