June 27, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



formity with them is none the less use- 

 ful. A bouquet is a symphony of odors, 

 and should we not grant that in making it 

 we must follow rules as rigid as those 

 of harmony? It is a heresy to hold that 

 flowers should be grouped with a view 

 solely to the pleasure of the eye, since 

 they have perfume; and if the theory of 

 complementaries governs the assemblage 

 of colors, we should not forget that there 

 are also complementary odors, and that 

 odors have value and intensity which 

 should be combined happily when we de- 

 sire to achieve a really artistic result." 



CULTURAL REFERENCES. 



In the issue of May 30, Mrs. K. S. 

 EstiH" generously pays tribute to the Ee- 

 viEW, to which she concedes her great 

 indebtedness, telling of her frequent con- 

 sultations of the back numbers when in 

 doubt on any question of growing or 

 management, feeling assured, as she 

 writes, that she "can always find light 

 by looking long enough. ' ' 



By adopting my plan, I think, with 

 some little labor — which, however, is en- 

 tirely pleasurable — she can always find 

 light, and the necessity of a long search 

 will be entirely obviated. After accu- 

 mulating two years of the Review, when 

 the nights grew long, I commenced cut- 

 ting out all the instructive articles on 

 timely subjects to which I knew I would 

 sooner or later have occasion to refer, 

 making the selections broad, even be- 

 yond the topics in which I was inter- 

 ested at the time, or in which I expected 

 to be interested in the near future. 

 Somewhere on each clipping, in ink, I 

 noted the date when the article appeared. 



I had previously purchased a large 

 scrap book, 12x15 inches, bound, contain- 

 ing sixty pages of quite heavy paper, 

 but when my clippings were all gotten 

 together, I realized that they would more 

 than fill the one book, leaving no room 

 for additions in the future; so I in- 

 vested in a second scrap book of the 

 same size, giving me two volumes. I set 

 aside an appropriate number of pages 

 of the first volume for each letter of the 

 alphabet up to and including M, while 

 the second volume was apportioned 

 among the remaining letters down to Z. 

 Having classified my clippings by sub- 

 ject-matter, alphabetically, during the 

 winter evenings, when there was leisure 

 time, I pasted them in under the appro- 

 priate letter. My classifications may not 

 always have been the best, but they 

 were known to me and have answered 

 the purpose. I recall I classified arti- 

 cles specifying remedies for all diseases 

 and enemies to plant life under I — ' ' In- 

 sects. " To glance at those particular 

 pages would occasion surprise that so 

 much has been published concerning cy- 

 anide as a destroyer of the white fly, in- 

 cluding even the experience of the florist 

 who used a flower pot for holding the 

 mixture and then stood calmly in the 

 door, curious to see how the old thing 

 worked. 



I have Wni. Scott 's book — yes, I might 

 almost properly say his three books, for 

 his contributions to my two scrap books 

 are so frequent, so voluminous and so 

 highly valuable as to entitle him to be 

 termed the author — almost. But then, 

 there are Totty, Ribes and the others, all 

 interesting and instructive, who are able 

 collaborators with the grand old man. 

 I am constantly referring to these scrap 

 books for needed information. They are 

 excellent reading after the daily paper 

 and magazines are disposed of. Xext 



Fourth of July at R. W. Barrow's, Merideo, Conn. 



winter I shall add the clippings of this 

 year. 



Sometimes an article in the last col- 

 umn laps over on to the first column of 

 the following page. I can generally save 

 both sides by pasting the clipping all 

 along one margin, so it can be folded 

 over, permitting the reverse side to be 

 read. 



From these books one can best form a 

 correct idea of the magnitude and value 

 of the work being accomplished by the 

 Review. From the standpoint — a selfish 

 one — of a comparatively recent recruit to 

 the florist aggregation, its value could be 

 possibly increased during the summer, 

 when inside work is much diminished, by 

 devoting two or more pages weekly to 

 the planting, caring for and protecting 

 of outside plants, not only the more rare, 

 but the ordinary ones — the roses, asters, 

 dahlias, etc. Many young men whose 

 only education is the practical one re- 

 ceived inside, find themselves minus ex- 

 perience or familiarity with outside work 

 when they make an onward step and 

 branch out for themselves. But without 

 that, the Review is all right, and long 

 may it live and flourish. W. A. S. 



BEGONIAS FOR BEDDING. 



Will you kindly let me know where I 

 could get a few Begonia Vesuvius and 

 Begonia Erfordii? Also tell me if they 

 can be raised from seed as easily as 

 Begonia Vernon, and when to sow them, 

 in spring or in fall, for spring bedding. 

 I have read an article in the Review 

 about them and would like to try a bed 

 of them. How should they be cultivated 

 for next spring? L. A. G. 



It is now a little late to purchase 



begonias of the semperflorens type for 

 bedding this srason. They are easily 

 raised from seed, however. The best 

 time to sow seed is in January or the 

 early part of February, in a house where 

 a night temperature of 60 degrees is 

 maintained. Use pans or shallow flats 

 and a compost of fine loam, leaf-mold 

 and sand. Make the surface perfectly 

 smooth, water through a fine sprinkler 

 and then scatter the seeds on the sur- 

 face. Scatter a little very fine sand over 

 the seed, but no loam. The seeds are 

 dust-Uke and need careful handling. 

 Keep moist and covered with paper un- 

 til the seeds germinate. Prick off into 

 flats when large enough to handle, and 

 later transfer to other flats or, better 

 still, pot them singly if you want fine 

 plants. This class of begonias stands 

 full sunshine, except in the early stages 

 of growth, and is invaluable for carpet 

 and other forms of bedding. 



There are quite a number of desirable 

 varieties of bedding begonias. Vernon 

 has red flowers and bronze red foliage. 

 There are also pale rose and pure white 

 colors. Of Erfordii, the old type has 

 green leaves and rosy carmine flowers. 

 A new variety has deep red flowers and 

 coppery foliage. The Vernons average 

 four to six inches high, tne Erfordii six 

 to eight inches, while Vesuvius or La 

 Vesuve, which is more graceful in habit, 

 with scarlet flowers, attains a height of 

 eight to sixteen inches. All stand sun- 

 shine well, which is more than can be 

 said of the tuberous-rooted section. 



C. W. 



The Review will send Herrington's 

 Chrysanthemum Book, with complete 

 cultural details, on receipt of 50 cents. 



