1602 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



April 11, 1907. 



apply separately as the occasion de- 

 mands. Thus undesirable elements need 

 never be applied. This is much truer of 

 greenhouse than of field work, because 

 the greenhouse man always understands 

 the condition and nature of his soils 

 better than the field man. 



' ' Two things determine the value of 

 a fertilizer: i^'irst, its purity, or free- 

 dom from adulterants; second, the per- 

 centage it contains of that particular 

 ingredient or element upon which its 

 fertilizing activity depends. 



' * The rule is : phosphates for flowers 

 (meaning blooms); nitrates for foliage; 

 potash for structural growth. 



* ' The original composition of the soil 

 and what is grown upon it determine 

 which element is first exhausted. In the 

 growing of flowers the first element de- 

 pleted is usually phosphoric acid. This 

 must be supplied, as it is practically 

 the stafi: of life. Plants cannot come to 

 maturity in any condition without suf- 

 ficient phosphorus, because it not only 

 feeds and nourishes the plant through 

 its own virtues, but aids the plant in as- 

 imilating or making use of other mineral 

 ingredients in the soil. 



"Potash influences and develops the 

 woody parts of plant life and is a neces- 

 sary element in giving sufficient stalk 

 and stem for large and vigorous growth. 



"Nitrogen, which is usually reported 

 in analyses as ammonia, affects the 

 stems and leaves, deepens the color and 

 helps to provide a strong and healthy 

 support for the plant to come to its 

 best maturity upon. But too much ni- 

 trogen in a soil tends to create too rank 

 a growth and retard blooming. On the 

 other hand, nitrogen, unless contained in 

 some other combination, is easily washed 

 away and must be carefully watched for 

 such losses." 



Hunt has tried to avoid technicalities 

 in order to bring out the practical uses 

 of fertilizers Here is a part of what 

 he says about bone meal: 



Bone MeaL 



"Phosphoric acid being the first ele- 

 ment flowers exhaust from the ground, 

 bone meal owes its wonderful nourish- 

 ing and sustaining power to the fact 

 that it contains twenty-three to twenty- 

 six per cent of that element. 



"Tue rule being: Phosphates for flow- 

 ers (meaning blooms^f course) ; nitrates 

 for foliage. Bone meal contains both 

 in safe, sure proportions for ordinary 

 regular use. 



' ' Bone is one of the greatest things 

 for flower soils, because of this: It is 

 not only an immediate result producer, 

 but has a lasting effect. It is a staple 

 fertilizer, because it is a food and an 

 invigorator, not a mere stimulant. 



"Here is the reason: Twelve per cent 

 of bone meal's phosphoric acid is imme- 

 diately available and soluble in water, 

 giving immediate renewal of life to the 

 ground, while the remaining eleven to 

 fourteen per cent of phosphoric acid 

 becomes slowly available over a period 

 of several months — and as the plant de- 

 mands it. This virtue practically makes 

 it automatic, and does away with nearly 

 all possibility of excessive use." 



Blood and Bone. 



' ' This mixture of pure blood and meat 

 and the best grade of bone flour is 

 preferred by many larger growers to 

 stimulate root action and bring out the 

 best color in the blooms. Its great per- 

 centage of nitrate in the form of am- 



monia makes it act along the lines of 

 nitrogen for speed, and the large per- 

 centage of phosphoric acid immediately 

 available nourishes the growth similarly 

 to bone flour, but not so lastingly. Blood 

 and bone is practically the only really 

 quick acting fertilizer in which there is 

 combined speed with ss^ety from 'burn- 

 ing. ' But remember, that any quick 

 fertilizer is like medicine: 'A spoonful 

 will cure where a bottleful will kill.' " 



Pulverized Sheep Manure. 



' ' Of all animal manures, sheep ma- 

 nure takes first place as to safety, re- 

 sults and economy in cost and handling. 

 Sheep manure contains more good ele- 

 ments than any animal manure does, and, 

 because of its great concentration, is 

 more desirable. 



' ' Mix one-twentieth of sheep manure 

 with ordinary soil for general use; but 

 in mixing the compost in the summer, 

 add about one-sixteenth to secure best 

 results. 



' ' Besides its fertilizing qualities, sheep 

 manure makes the soil more porous and 

 more easily pulverized or crumbled. It 

 is very good for top-dressings of any 

 kind." 



Nitrate of Soda. 



"This is the great stimulant. But, 

 like whisky for the human being, it has 

 little or no food value in itself, while 

 promoting the food value of other fer- 

 tilizing ingredients. It materially stiff- 

 ens the stem and increases the color of 

 carnations and makes the plant very vig- 

 orous. The rule here is: Nitrates for 

 foliage. On young roses, where size of 

 plant is wanted before flowers, it is a 

 valuable stimulant to both plant and 

 leaf." 



These are only brief extracts from the 



wealth of money making information 

 contained in these "Wise Words." All 

 through the booklet, which growers 

 should send for and read, definite direc- 

 tions are given as to the amounts of each 

 kind of fertilizer which are to be used 

 in any given case. The book is worth 

 preserving after reading. 



VIOLETS AS TRAVELERS. 



• 



If you had asked a man, not' so very 

 long ago, about the .shipping/ qualities 

 of the violet, he would in—all proba- 

 bility have said it hadn't any; that it 

 wouldn't travel any distance and be 

 salable. But he didn't know. 



Nowadays the violet ranks right up 

 with the top-notch shippers. True, its 

 fragrance soon is lost; gives place to 

 odor; but what of that if the flower 

 still will sell at a good price? For sev- 

 eral years the Rhinebeck violet growers 

 have been shipping violets in steadily 

 increasing quantities to the commission 

 men in Chicago — a thousand miles. That 

 is farther from home than any other 

 flower finds a regular and profitable 

 market in quantity. But that isn't all. 

 The Chicago commission men reship the 

 Rhinebeck violets to retailers in other 

 cities; at seasons like Easter they ship 

 them by tens of thousands. Winnipeg, 

 Manitoba, gets its violets in Chicago, 

 not every day, but pretty regularly, so 

 that Rhinebeck violets must still be 

 blue 2,000 miles and four or five days 

 from the greenhouses. In spite of the 

 fact that this Easter most of the 

 violets heated and spoiled on the way 

 to Chicago, still some of them were 

 reshipped and reached Winnipeg in 

 salable condition. What other flower 

 sold in quantity ships better than that? 



CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES- WEST. 



Propagating and Planting. 



The chrysanthemum grower is now in 

 the midst of the busy propagating sea- 

 son. If he has not already taken steps 

 to provide himself with the stock he 

 will need, he must do so at once. Chrys- 

 anthemums grow very fast at this season 

 and cuttings taken now will root very 

 rapidly, so that care must be taken that 

 they are not neglected or permitted to 

 remain too long in the sand. 



Be sure to get all your early varieties 

 into the sand at once, if you have not 

 already provided young stock of these 

 sorts. The dwarf varieties will not get 

 too high and should be planted in May 

 to grow the best blooms. 



However, the chrysanthemum is an ac- 

 commodating plant in many respects, and 

 early as well as late varieties may be 

 propagated in May, if the grower has 

 given thought to how he will handle the 

 stock. The late propagation will be just 

 the kind of stock for the low, flat houses 

 which a great many growers have to 

 use, especially those growers who follow 

 the chrysanthenmm with lettuce. They 

 also will do where the benches are un- 

 usually high, or under any circumstances 



where there is not the usual amount of 

 headroom required for chrysanthemums. 



For instance, take Glory of Pacific or 

 Estelle. These will produce a good av- 

 erage flower by planting them in the 

 latter part of June. On such benches it 

 is always best to have the stem a little 

 shorter, topped by a good bloom, than 

 to have the stem too long for the amount 

 of headroom. In the latter case, the 

 neck would be crooked or the flower de- 

 formed, frozen or burned by contact 

 with the glass. Joseph P. Brooks. 



HOODED SWEET PEAS. 



The sweet peas with bold standards 

 are preferred by many growers, but 

 some of the best sorts for outdoor culti- 

 vation for cutting are of the hooded 

 form. One of these is an old favorite, 

 says a writer in a British journal. It is 

 Lady Grizel Hamilton, an exquisitely 

 lovely lavender-colored variety that is 

 beloved of the ladies, and is dainty and 

 cool for the decoration of the dinner- 

 table in the summer-time. It is a fine 

 garden variety, branching freely and 

 flowering profusely over a long period 

 under ordinary care, and it continues in 

 bloom almost as long as Countess 

 Spencer. 



