NoVKMIilOK 7, 1!>'I7 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



wwl <#^ <<^ <#^ <*^ <<^ <#^ '♦^ <^in.<<%<#^'^^'#^<#^<#^'<^'^^'*^'*^ 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



^M^^tfc»>^Mf»)^fcfc»>^U:»>^Ur».'' 



:yT^yT7>' 



1 



I 



ARTISTIC ARRANGEMENTS. 



Pussy Willows. 



Tlie imssy willow luis a peculiar ciiuini 

 10 the llowor lover, being the first har- 

 Miiger ol' spring. This design is exqui- 

 sit(^ iu its simplicity. An additional 

 lunch of life has been added in Ihc 

 shape of the live pussy, the mascot of 

 I he Sign of the Rose, Philadelphia, 

 where this was considered one of the 

 most tasteful baskets made by Charles 

 Hciiiv Pox. 



TEACHING HORTICULTURE. 



'I'lie Massachusetts Agricultural Col 

 li'ge at Amherst has just issued an illus- 

 I rated booklet on the Division of Horti- 

 i-ulture. In a letter to the alumni Presi 

 • lent Kcuyon L. Butterfield says: 



"It is my opinion that M. A. C. nuu 

 h.is the l)est equipment for teaching hor- 

 lii'ulture — in buildings, apparatus and 

 uicn — of any institution in the Tniteil 

 Slates, and probably in the workl. I 

 ^ay this advisedly. And wiiy should not 

 ihis ]>e so.' Massachusetts agriculturr 

 iiuist necessarily concern itself to a very 

 hirge degree with fruit-growing, market 

 ^^ardening, grt>enhoiist^ work, kindscape 

 L^ardeniiig and related line* 



'"I hope you will take pain?? to make 

 1 hcsi- facts known among your friends 

 i-verywhere. We are able to offer sjK'cial 

 facilities to young men going into prac 

 lical work, as well as to those preparing 

 lor invest ig;itional service; in fact, we 

 "iiylit. to liine here ;i large inuidier of 

 uiadiKile students in horticulture."' 



FERNS. 



What is the most satisfactory way tot 

 I llorist with a small i>lace, where bench 

 room is scarce, to grow ferns, beginning 

 at'ter the bedding .season is over, say tlu' 

 middle of .luiie.' Wouhl you buy 1'''^- 

 iiich (ir ."linch stock, jdant them out in 

 a bench or grow in ]iots.' I will need 

 between L'du and 30U plants in .1 inch 

 and (j-iiicli, rea<ly to sell by October 1. 

 I should like suggestions in regard to 

 vvateriiig, shading, etc. If the pot plan 

 1^ advised, what size would vou start 

 ^^ith.' ■ O. T. 



If ytni use your benches for any other 

 ' io|. after bedding stock is gone and 

 li'i\c some coldframe sash at disj>osal, 

 >oii lan grow splendid ferns in them. 

 I lie sashes will need shading and the 

 I'ols shonld be stood in a bed of coal 

 ashes, not allowing the tops of the ferns 

 'o fpiite to\ich the gla.ss. Ferns will 

 make just ua good and in some varieties 

 better growth in frames than in green- 

 liouses from Jun«' to the end of Sep- 

 '•■ndter. .\s you do not say what par- 

 'iculai terns are needed, 1 presume 

 'liat in|ihi(depis. the most salable sort 

 • ornmercially. are specially in mintl. If 

 \on do not need your benches after bed- 

 ding stock is gone, you can plant your 

 iie|)hrolepis right in the benches, using 

 iour to five inches of loam and leaf-mold, 



and if your young stock is in :i',j incii 

 pots you will have excellent stutt" ready 

 for potting u|i for winter sales in Sep- 

 tember. Th(! Boston fern still leads all 

 others as a seller. Probably N. Whit- 

 mani is the Vtest of the sports and with 

 least signs of reversion. X. Scottii has 

 many admirers. It has narrower fronds 

 than the Boston and makes a nice, com- 

 ))act plant. N. Klegantissima is similar 

 to N. Whitmani. 



Adiantums are always in demand. A. 

 cuneatum still leads all others in popu- 

 larity. It should be grown in jiots, not 

 benched. The same applies to any of 

 the pteris, siKdi as Wimsetti, Cretica, 



be unwise jo .shift. I'loin the siiialh-r si/e 

 to G-iucli. Try your adiantums and 

 pteris in a frame and plant oiil the 

 nepliiole|(is. Vou will find this will give 

 good results. * '• ^\'- 



ENGLISH IVY. 



English ivy needs some kind of winter 

 protection almost e\ery where in this 

 cotintiy. Small and medium sized plants 

 may,, jierhaps, b(; as cheaply and con 

 veuiently preserved for future use by be 

 ing lifl(.'d and [xitted and winteri'd over 

 in a I'ool gieeidiouse as iu any other 

 way, but such a method is altogether 

 out of the question uiien it comes to the 

 wc>rk of jirotecting large plants on trel 

 Uses or wails, or even those of like size 

 trailing on the ground. The safest man- 

 ner of protecting ivy on walls or trel- 

 lises is that of covering them with cheap 

 burlap. Spruce or liemlock branches, 

 however, make a much cheaper covering 

 than burlap and, if care is taken that 

 tiiey are r properly put on, they will 

 answer the puri)ose nearly as well as the 

 nuu't! expensive material. 



It must not 1)0 foig(dten that during 







. !'%. 



Pussy Willows. 



cristata, Mayii and others, and Cyrto- 

 mium falcatum and otln-r ferns useful 

 as pot [dants. 



.Xephrolepis need less shade than the 

 other sorts named. All the ferns enjoy 

 a moist atmosi>here, but do not need 

 spraying overhead; in fact, it is hurtful 

 to some. Plants in •J'_.-inch pots will 

 be all right to start with. If kept in 

 pots these will soon need a .shift to 

 4-inch and later to 6-inch pots. It would 



winter ivy suffers fully as nuich from 

 the etfect of freezing and thawing at 

 tlie roots of tlie plants as from the ef- 

 fect the same lia\e on tlie wood and 

 foliage. For that reason, then, it will 

 111' Well to put a gocxl co\ering of manure 

 111 leaves o\er the roots. .Manure is pref- 

 erable to leaves, l)ecause of the moisture 

 it helps to retain in the soil. 



No plant likes a soil frozen dry; con 

 serve moisture bv mulch. >f. 



