T»»C\f"-'^j"7f)fT''. 7^ "^■^" 



Apbil 18, 1907. 



The Weekly Rorists^ Review* 



1669 



Indoor Window-box Filled With Martha Washington Geraniums. 



ence of insects, in whatever degree the 

 spots appeared. Close observation, how- 

 ever, convinced me that such was not 

 the case and for a time caused me to 

 doubt the whole stigmonose theory. We 

 have seen many instances where a whole 

 bench of certain varieties would become 

 80 full of these spots as to make the 

 plants look yellow, when at the same 

 time the grower would be positive that 

 there had never been enough insects 

 present to produce one-tenth of the spots. 

 This has led to the conclusion that the 

 disease is first started by tne punctures 

 of insects and that the poison remains in 

 the plant, even though it may ap- 

 parently outgrow it, only to reappear at 

 any time conditions are unfavorable to 

 the plant, such as dark weather, over- 

 watering, overfeeding, severe starving, 

 etc. 



By promoting a strong, sturdy growth 

 and avoiding everything that would have 

 a tendency to soften the growth or check 

 it, you can help the plant to overcome it 

 and in time become entirely free from 

 it. It is said that plants are seldom en- 

 tirely free from insects, even though you 

 may not discover any when examining 

 with the naked eye, and therefore here 

 and there a plant may become punctured 

 and inoculated when you thought them 

 entirely clean. This shows how im- 

 portant it is to apply your insect de- 

 stroyers as preventives rather than as 

 cures. Don't wait until insects become 

 numerous enough to be seen in passing 

 along, but destroy them before they are 

 old enough to puncture the leaves. The 

 old saying that an ounce of prevention is 

 worth a pound of cure certainly applies 

 in this case. 



Your aster seedlings are no doubt suf- 

 fering from the common aster blight, 

 which does such great damage in the 

 field. I wish I knew what causes it 

 and what will cure it, but up to date I' 

 have heard of no cure after it gets a 

 fair start. The best cure is under the 

 boiler. Get rid of them and make a 

 fresh sowing. Do not plant asters on 



the same soil where they were the year 

 before if there was any sign of this 

 disease, else you will have trouble. 



A. F. J. Bauk. 



INDOOR WINDOW-BOXES. 



One of the distinct features of the 

 American flower market, as far as the 

 disposal of the rank and file of flower- 

 ing pot plants is concerned, is its out- 

 spoken dependency on seasons; that is, 

 the concentration of business on Christ- 

 mas, Easter and Decoration day. Con- 

 ditions as to Christmas and Easter are 

 similar in other countries, but, in spite 

 of increased holiday trade, its influence 

 is not as decisive there as it is with us. 

 Our national custom has, however, one 

 great advantage for us. It affords the 

 possibility of systematically concentrat- 

 ing our energies on a certain end. In 

 this case it means for the grower to 

 have his stuff in the best salable shape 

 when the harvest days arrive. The re- 

 verses are: long intermediate periods of 

 quietness, with little or nothing doing; 

 more or less severe losses, on stock, which 

 for one reason or another was not com- 

 ing in just in time, and the impossibil- 

 ity of growing any pot plant species 

 which cannot be had at their best during 

 the days our customers are in the habit 

 of buying. 



As the volume of business at holiday 

 seasons is, indeed, very large, there ap- 

 pears to be no obvious reason for being 

 dissatisfied, much less to study condi- 

 tions with a view to enlarging the mar- 

 ket by trying to stimulate the desire to 

 purchase more flowering pot plants in- 

 dependent of seasons. This is, however, 

 only the surface aspect; for as soon as 

 we begin to look closer into affairs, we 

 find that year after year the amount of 

 unsold surplus stock grows. Then the 

 lower grades of flowering pot plants 

 usually go begging first. It seems to 

 be the inevitable outcome. Still, if we 

 more carefully look over the recent trade 

 reports, we find the fact repeatedly re- 

 corded that the new, attractive designs 



of baskets and jardinieres are often in- 

 strumental in selling large numbers of 

 the lower grades of pot plants, which 

 otherwise could not have been disposed 

 of at all. 



Trade reports, to many, may appear 

 only as matter of passing interest, but 

 most of us take a fleeting glance over 

 them and, perhaps, verify the statement 

 of the local correspondent with our own 

 experience. Keview correspondents are, 

 however, frequently in the laudable 

 habit of giving us brief information as 

 to the how and why of things. The oc- 

 casional practice of supplementing the 

 reports of the bare facts with explana- 

 tory or suggestive remarks cannot be 

 too highly appreciated. It enables the 

 thoughtful reader to not only determine 

 the actual condition of business but it 

 will also, in many instances, aid him in 

 the intelligent drawing of conclusions 

 as to the future trend of business. 



Ijet us return to the jardiniere and 

 plant basket, and in doing so I wish the 

 window-box included. When mentioning 

 the latter I do not, in this instance, 

 refer to it as an outdoor decoration. 

 What I desire to call attention to are 

 the winter window -baskets, as represent- 

 ed by the accompanying illustration. 

 Tliis basket is filled with the so-called 

 ^lartha Washington geraniums. It is 

 that convenient size that fits on the 

 inner window sill. Florists' supply 

 houses, I believe, carry at present very 

 attractive designs of jardinieres, win- 

 dow boxes and baskets. 



We have been planting them princi- 

 pally with ferns and other foliage 

 plants, ex;-ept at holiday seasons, when 

 flowering plants and especially bulbous 

 stock is also freely used. The use of 

 window-baskets, simply as ornamental re- 

 ceptacles for flowering pot plants of 

 the common, every-day class, is an inno- 

 vation. It is doubtless a good one, 

 wliich deserves every encouragement. 

 Such baskets or boxes could, of course, 

 always have an inner tin box to hold the 

 dripping water. The convenient way of 

 exchanging plants and the simple man- 



