«pmp|^iU' |F"..,«u-7n^'.*'»;. r*r»iT tt'^.^tt-' v''^ '^: ^ '^i^ jt^.- "vy^.y-^ 



April 4, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



1527 



lows: Vesper, The Belle, The Queen, in 

 white; H. Goddard, Candace, in bright 

 pink; Melody, in light pink; Robert 

 Craig, G. H. Crane, in red. Any of 

 these are good and well worthy of a 

 trial. Then, there are this season's in- 

 troductions, which, of course, are as yet 

 to the trade an unknown quantity, but 

 which you must try on your place sooner 

 or later, and it will pay you to do it 



you think the first coat of manure was 

 not enough, you can spread on another 

 lot any time just before plowing. This 

 frequent plowing will mix the manure 

 with the soil thoroughly and will let the 

 air into it, besides keeping down the 

 weeds. 



You could sow the place in oats after 

 the first plowing and turn it under when 

 it is a few inches high, which would 



Anton Schulthels, President. Wm. McDonald, Treiisurer. 



Officers of the FlorisU' Club of Scranton, Pa. 



sooner. Buy only a few of each it you 

 cannot afford many, but keep up to date 

 with your list of varieties. 



A. F. J. B. 



GETTING SOIL IN SHAPE. 



I have no soil prepared for the com- 

 ing season 's planting, which will consist 

 of 6,000 carnations and 600 roses. "What 

 is best to do under the circumstances? 

 The soil would have to be hauled a mile 

 or more. C. U. 



There is no reason why you should 

 not get your soil into good condition if 

 you go at it just as early as possible 

 and follow the right course. It will take 

 more work to get it in shape, or, at 

 least, it will take up your time when 

 you can ill afford to spare it; while, if 

 it had been put up last fall, you could 

 have worked it in between your other 

 work without interfering in the least. 



For your carnation soil, if you can 

 find some good, rich soil that has been 

 under cultivation, but which has been 

 kept up in good condition by manuring, 

 etc., it will do better under the circum- 

 stances than would a heavy sod. If you 

 can leave it where it is until about the 

 time to use it, I would apply a heavy 

 coat of manurt! and plow it in right 

 away. Do this only if the soil is not 

 too wet to plow nicely; if it is too wet, 

 then wait until it is in proper condi- 

 tion. Don't put on the manure until it 

 is in shape, because it will take too long 

 to dry out and if a heavy rain should 

 come it might keep you from plowing 

 for some time. So get the manure 

 handy and at the proper time spread it 

 on the ground and plow at once. Then 

 plow it over every three weeks and, if 



mean to skip at least one plowing. I 

 think it would pay to do this. 



If you cannot follow this plan, then 

 I would look for some good sod and, in- 

 stead of taking it three inches deep, I 



some good soil, but you must be per- 

 sistent. 



For your roses, you can cut sod three 

 inches deep and compost it with manure 

 and by chopping it down and thoroughly 

 mixing it with the manure several times 

 between now and planting time, it will 

 be in splendid condition. Roses do not 

 care for as fine a soil as carnations; in 

 fact, a soil that has considerable fiber 

 in it is more to their liking. Many 

 growers cut sod two inches thick and 

 cover the entire bench with this fresh 

 sod, laying it with the grass side down. 

 On top of this is placed a few inches of 

 rotted sod to set the plants in; and the 

 roses certainly seem to thrive on it. I 

 do not mean to say that this layer of 

 sod is essential, but it shows that roses 

 like a rather coarse, fibrous soil with 

 good drainage, while for carnations you 

 want a finer grained soil and more on 

 the sandy order. A. F. J. B. 



SCRANTON FLORISTS' CLUB. 



The Scranton Florists' Club is one of 

 the young and hustling trade organiza- 

 tions. It was instituted at a meeting 

 held in Scranton, Pa., November 17, 

 1905, so that the year and a half of its 

 existence have shown excellent progress. 

 The club meets on the third Friday of 

 each month, in the Guernsey building, 

 and each session sees a good attendance, 

 usually with a considerable number of 

 exhibits, for a silver cup is offered to 

 the member who at the end of the year 

 has scored highest under the point sys- 

 tem of awards. The first exhibition to 

 which the club has invited the general 

 public was held March 15 and already 

 has been described at length in the col- 

 umns of the Review. Exhibits were 

 attracted all the way from Chicago on 

 the west to Long Island on the east. 

 No admission fee was charged, and the 

 attendance of flower buyers was most 

 encouraging to the club. The flower 



Edgar McConnell, Vice-president. T. B. McCUntock, Seci-etary. 



Officers of the Florists' Club of ScrantoOt Pa. 



would take it about six inches deep. 

 Pile it up as you would in the fall and 

 work it over every four weeks, breaking 

 up the sod and mixing it thoroughly 

 each time. By August you can have 



show was so successful in all its fea- 

 tures that it will be an annual event 

 hereafter. Illustrations in this issue of 

 the Review show the exhibition and the 

 club's officers. 



