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J 890 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



May 9, 1007. 



over to the shipping departmeut, after 

 making a record, marking date and time 

 of his release of said packages. 



The shipping department must be 

 under the supervision of one who knows 

 how, when and where, to ship; first, by 

 the most expeditious and cheapest route ; 

 second, at a time when safe against 

 severe, weather; third, to a point most 

 accessible to the consignee. He is to 

 be provided with the latest shipping 

 guides, and be in close touch with carry- 

 ing companies, so as to keep himself in- 

 formed of the most expeditious routes. 

 Thus it requires one of keen scrutiny 

 regarding shipping rules and conditions, 

 so that the perishable stock he delivers 

 is ^promptly and safeW transported to 

 destination, marked carefully and with 

 certificate of inspection of state ento- 

 mologist attached. 



The modern horticultural establish- 

 ment should, have a corps of travelers, 

 who have a knowledge of the stock, be- 

 sides their catalogue information. They 

 must anticipate the wants of their 

 patrons, knowing the special line of each. 

 They should be practical plantsmen, and 

 in all their transactions advance the in- 

 tegrity of their house. 



The Catalogue. 



The catalogue of the modern horticul- 

 tural establishment is now an indispensa- 

 ble medium, finding its way into the 

 remote corners of the globe. It is the 



feature on which the mail trade depends, 

 as well as that of the customers who are 

 within reach. This medium must be new 

 every year, and full of information, in 

 order to appeal to the prospective buyer. 

 Since the half-tone process from pho- 

 tography gives such real reproductions, 

 the plant catalogue, like the magazine, 

 becomes a household pleasure and* must 

 be in the hands of the patrons early 

 enough to be consulted before the close 

 of winter, when open-air work is being 

 eagerly anticipated. 



The work of compiling this volume 

 must be in the hands of one who has 

 practical experience in all departments, 

 as information given through a reliable 

 catalogue is taken as authentic. It has 

 become as niuch of an educator as the 

 horticultural magazines, and must there- 

 fore be resplendent with new matter and 

 illustrations. As photography enters 

 largely in its compilation, a fully 

 equipped department must be provided 

 to observe every opportunity through the 

 seasons for the reproduction of new 

 features. 



The one having all catalogue matter in 

 charge should also provide the adver- 

 tising matter, fresh and varied, for the 

 trade papers and other mediums. 



In Other Lines. 



I - have touched only superficially on 

 the subject of equipment and organiza- 

 tion, and have only cited that of the 

 plant producing industry. A large, if 



not the greater part of those engaged in 

 commercial horticulture, are interestetl 

 in cut flower growing. 



Near the busy marts of this country 

 and of Europe are to be found extensive 

 glass structures which find ready market 

 for their immense product. These, too, 

 are almost entirely given up to special 

 ties, such as are best suited to soil, di 

 mate and conditions of their locality, 

 and to these all forces are concentratol^l 

 I have visited some of these establisli 

 ments in the east, and note from the ex 

 cellent system adopted, and the success 

 achieved, that it is entirely through 

 proper organization and up-to-date equip- 

 ment. The structures are modern h] 

 every detail. The force is divided intu 

 sections, and to each of these is allotte<( 

 the care of a block. The cutting, pack 

 ing and shipping is in the care of ex- 

 perts who, through long experience, hav<> 

 learned to confine their efforts to types 

 and varieties susceptible to the greatest 

 improvement under intense cultivation. 

 It is true, also, that the quality of the 

 produce from improved varieties has 

 greatly increased the demand and en- 

 gendered a wider taste. 



Proper organization is essential to the 

 economical and successful operation of a 

 modern horticultural establishment, raor.c 

 especially that it does not and should not 

 increase the detail of labor of the man- 

 agement, but be divided among the 

 various heads of departments, in whom 

 confidence should be reposed. 



EAHLY PLANTING. 



The Advantages. 



Many of the best growers in the east 

 bench their stock this month, and it is 

 from this early planted stock that most 

 of the finest exhibition flowers are cut. 

 I long since proved to my own satisfac- 

 tion that the longer season of growth 

 produced a heavier flower, and the man 

 who plants late in June or early in July 

 need not expect, other conditions being 

 equal, to win many prizes. 



Early planted stock has more time 

 to ripen the wood, and this ripening is 

 one of the essentials in producing large 

 flowers. True, there is an extreme in 

 ripening, also, and Ave do not attempt 

 to ripen our wood so much as does the 

 British cultivator, who, with his outdoor 

 culture, finishes his plants with bark on 

 the stem like a young tree. We, owing 

 to the almost universal system of ex- 

 ' hibiting flowers on long stems, must have 

 those stems so they will absorb water 

 to sustain the flower, and this a stem 

 cannot do if hardened too much. There 

 is a big ditference between ripening the 

 wood in the fall and getting the young 

 plants hide-bound at the present time. 

 See that they are well supplied with 

 water, particularly on those days when 



we get bright sunshine and a brisk and 

 drying wind. Just now, for a week or 

 two when everyone is busy, plants are 

 apt to be neglected and when a plant 

 gets dried out a few times it becomes 

 hard and wiry in the stem. It is not 

 an easy matter to get such a plant back 

 into a healthy, vigorous condition after 

 planting. 



Some varieties make a spindly growth 

 naturally in early spring, Appleton 

 being one of them, but they are merely 

 the exception that proves the rule. Start 

 with the good, fat cutting if possible, 

 and keep it fat during its early growth ; 

 or, in other words, keep your young 

 stock in a soft, growing condition. I am 

 an advocate of placing the young stock 

 out in a coldframe for a few weeks be- 

 fore planting, so that the plants will not 

 get drawn up or spindly, as they so 

 easily do when grown close together in 

 a house, often with other and more ten- 

 der subjects. Holding the plants in 

 good shape till planting time is very im- 

 portant, and if the house is ready and 

 the soil in shape, do not delay the plant- 

 ing longer than you can help. 



Soil and Head-room. 



We will assume, of course, that the 

 soil was stacked and composted last fall 

 and chops down in fine, mellow condi- 



tion. Such a soil, with the addition of 

 a 6-inch pot of fine bone to a barrowful 

 of soil, will grow mums in fine shape. 

 Get it in dry and fill the bench level 

 full, so that a little firming after plant- 

 ing leaves the soil about half an inch 

 below the top of the outside board, giv- 

 ing plenty of room for water. 



The distance apart to plant should be 

 not less than 9x9 inches for this early 

 planting. The plants will make long 

 stems and the bed will be completely 

 shaded from the sun. If it is not a ques- 

 tion of money, but only just how fine 

 you can grow the stock, as it is in sonn 

 private establishments, I would say 

 plant 9x12 inches. With early planting, 

 of course, one must figure on the head 

 room, and unless you have six feet clear 

 above the bench it is better to top th*' 

 plants over and wait awhile. The dwari 

 kinds, such as C'heltoni. Beatrice May. 

 May Seddon, Xellie Pockett and Merzii. 

 will not get o\-er four feet planted now. 

 but many of the general run of varieties 

 will, and it will not pay to plant early 

 and then have to bend the stems all ways 

 to get the flowers away from the glass 

 \n the fall. Foresight is better than 

 hindsight in figuring out such problems 

 as these. If you cannot plant early i» 

 the bench you can always have some i" 



