

The Weekly Rorists' Review. 



Deckmbub 5, 1907. 



rived by the business in the future by 

 allowing tlie storekeeper to purchase at 

 the same price when the glut is on, there- 

 by enabling him to run a "special" or 

 use the extra quantity (which he would 

 purchase at the reduced figure) to make 

 a window display? The attention would 

 attract credit to that store, and, inci- 

 dentally, create a heavier demand for 

 the wholesaler by reason of the increased 

 patronage which the retailer would re- 

 ceive. 



True, the fakers move . stock we 

 couldn't; but is it right that we should 

 pay a higher price than' they for the 

 good stock we so often see upon the 

 street, when we in winter pay the price 

 which they will not? The up-to-date re- 

 tailer, if given a chance at low-priced 

 stock, will consider a display good ad- 

 vertising. The wholesalers claim the 

 fakers move stock which would other- 

 wise stand: When next overstocked 

 give us a chance to do a little moving 

 and the result will, I think, be a pleas- 

 ant, profitable surprise. 



Closer Relations Desirable. 



The retailer is a grateful, but inde- 

 pendent, man, and does not desire some- 

 thing for nothing, but only asks the 

 same desire to serve him in January as 

 is displayed in July, and his sun will 

 always shine bright. 



Discuss all subjects with your retailer 

 that concern him, inject into every club"* 

 meeting a social feature, and the dis- 

 trust now existing throughout the trade 

 will give way to a better feeling be- 



tween wholesaler and retailer and good 

 felhiwship will be the stepping stone to 

 a better understanding of each other. 



THE TABLE DECORATION. 



"Go hire a hall" is old advice where 

 friendly argument is long drawn out, but 

 Adolph Brix, of St. Louis, accepted it as 

 fitting his case when he concluded to give 

 a public flower show this fall. He not 

 only hired his hall but he filled it with 

 exhibits, all on his own responsibility 

 and as a demonstration of his facilities 

 as a retail florist. To say that Mr. Brix 

 was amply repaid for his enterprise and 

 expenditure is putting it mildly. The 

 hall was thronged with visitors through- 

 out the days of his display and as an 

 advertisement it was far and away ahead 

 of what any other retail florist has ac- 

 complished this fall. 



The illustration opposite shows a 

 unique table decoration which was a fea- 

 ture of the exhibition. It is supposed 

 to have been spread for a wedding feast 

 and plates are laid for twelve. It wiU 

 be noted that both low and high styles 

 of decoration are combined and that the 

 greatest objection to high decoration, the 

 obscuring of the view across the table, 

 is obviated by the character of the sup- 

 ports used. The flowers were rosea and 

 valley. 



As is almost always the case at flower 

 shows, the table decoration attracted 

 more attention than any other display of 

 the retailer's skill. 



CARNATION NOTES - EAST. 



System. 



' The beginning of this mouth should 

 see the pressure of work relieved and a 

 routine established. 



If the plants are clean of dead leaves, 

 the soil in good mechanical condition and 

 free from weeds, and if the supports are 

 in place, close attention can now be given 

 to watering, airing, disbudding and cut- 

 ting the blooms, each in its proper time. 

 By this is not meant that certain parts 

 of the day can be set apart in wiiich to 

 perform each operation, or that all claim 

 attention every day, but that we can ar- 

 range the work in such a way as will al- 

 low of its being done at the most essen- * 

 tial time ; in other words, at the plants ' 

 convenience and not our own. 



By this means one can drive the work, 

 instead of the work driving him. 



Every grower must, of course, ])lan his 

 work to make the most of his working 

 force and to best serve his trade, but 

 whether the place be large or small, there 

 should be a system — necessarily some- 

 what flexible, it is true, to meet changes 

 in weather. 



Watering and Airing. 



Watering and airing are operations 

 much dependent on weather conditions, 

 though it is a safe rule to take a look 



oyer tlio beds every morning and after- 

 noon in search of spots that may have 

 dried out more than the surrounding 

 soil, remedying this, if need be, what- 

 ever the weather may be. And it may 

 be said of airing that every day requires 

 more or Jess, it being more the amount 

 than the mere question of ventilation 

 that is dependent on outside conditions. 



♦Early morning or late afternoon is 

 the proper time to cut blooms — the for- 

 mer preferred. 



It is said that ' ' woman 's work is 

 never done ' ' ; this is likewise true of 

 disbudding; so that there need be no 

 lack of something to fill out the routine. 

 To go into details of all these operations 

 in one batch of notes is not possible, 

 but each will be dealt with in due time. 

 Meanwhile keep this matter of system 

 well in mind. 



The Christmas Crop. 



Tlio time is very near when growth 

 in plants is naturally at its lowest ebb; 

 every minute of daylight is needed to 

 keep tilings moving and to forward the 

 holiday cut. 



You may have noticed in former years 

 what unfavorable weather we usually ex- 

 perience during the week previous to 

 Christmas. In any event one cannot go 

 far wrong in taking this circumstance 

 into consideration, for if the period 

 should prove fine this year, so much 

 the better. Geo. S. Osborn. 



CARNATION NOTES-WEST. 



The Holiday Cot. 



All your plants will be well established 

 now and should be making a strong 

 growth, if they are not in full crop even 

 now. No doubt you are beginning to 

 figure up what your chances are for a 

 big cut for the holidays, and I may add 

 that it is not too early to do whatever 

 you find it necessary to do, to get your 

 crop as heavy as possible at that time. 

 There will be a scant three weeks from 

 the time you get this until Christmas, At 

 this time of the year it is not wise to 

 hurry a crop too much by running the 

 house warm. With the lack of sunshine 

 and the short days the plants and blooms 

 giovf soft enough under normal condi- 

 tions, and hard forcing will likely make 

 your cut worthless for the greatest part 

 of the season. 



However, if you see that your crop i^-"^ 

 going to come a few days late, you can 

 speed them along moderately by raising 

 the temperature 2 degrees from now on 

 and giving light top dressings of wood 

 ashes and lime two weeks apart. Before 

 watering it into the soil, rub it into what- 

 ever loose material there is with the 

 hand. This rubbing over the loose sur- 

 face material will help as much as the 

 dressing itself. In fact, you will find 

 that one of the best things you can do 

 is to repeat it every two weeks through- 

 out the season. It opens up the soil and 

 lets the air in. It acts the same as cul- 

 tivating in the field. With this extra 

 heat must go a proportionate amount of 

 extra ventilation, even though you may 

 find it necessary to run an extra pipe 

 part of the time. If you neglect this 

 part you will find yourself the possessor 

 of a lot of fine big blooms which will go 

 to sleep the day after you cut them. The 

 carnation's great popularity is based 

 very largely on its fine keeping qualities, 

 and to destroy these qualities is a mis- 

 take you cannot make up with size of 

 bloom or in any other way. 



Beware of Overfeeding. 



If your crop is right and coming along 

 nicely, with blooms of fair size and good 

 texture, etc., be reasonable. It is a great 

 temptation when one has fine, strong 

 plants, in excellent health. One wants to 

 push them just a little harder, to get 

 extra size and more blooms, and feeding 

 is the first thought which presents itself. 

 Many a fine crop has been ruined by it 

 when applied by overzealous hands. Much 

 of the splitting of calyxes is also caused 

 by overfeeding. For instance, take En- 

 chantress and such varieties ; when there 

 is a good crop of buds, if the encourage- 

 ment is confined to keeping the top soil 

 stirred slightly and careful watering and 

 ventilating and firing, fine blooms will be 

 cut and very few splits. But give them 

 a dressing of sheep manure or any other 

 of the common feeding materials and at 

 once you w}]\ see a large percentage of 

 splits, to say nothing of soft texture. To 

 avoid the splitting you will raise the 

 temperature, only to aggravate the soft- 

 ness of bloom and stem. Later, when 

 the days are longer and the sun is strong 

 enough to necessitate a good deal of ven- 

 tilating, the plants will be able to take 

 the feed and then they will enjoy it and 

 give it back to you with interest in th6 

 blooms. 



Some Early Propagating. 



It is a little early yet to begin propa- 



