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December 12, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' Review 



25 



been killed outright in certain sections of 

 several northeastern states. 



Notwithstanding such happenings, I do 

 not believe in covering ivy to the extent 

 of excluding the light of day from it 

 absolutely, as is sometimes done by the 

 use of burlap. I rather think that such 

 coddling weakens it, and renders the 

 plants incapable of surviving or of cling- 

 ing to the wood after the covering is re- 

 moved and they are exposed to light in 

 early spring. If, instead of being cov- 

 ered 80 closely, the plants are partially 

 shaded by means of spruce or hemlock 

 branches, and a good, heavy mulching of 

 manure, in a half rotted state, is placed 

 over the roots, there will not be so many 

 dead plants in the spring. M. 



ORCHIDS FOR A COOL HOUSE. 



What are the best orchids to grow in 

 a house where the temperature at night 

 does not exceed 48 or 50 degrees? 



J. 0. B. 



The Song of the Violet. 



bench to bloom for Memorial day? Are 

 these usually profitable? W. C. H. 



Snapdragons should be sown without 

 delay, if wanted in flower in good shape 

 for Memorial day. A better plan would 

 be to take cuttings from the sides of the 

 flowering shoots of any plants you may 

 now be growing and root in sand in a 

 moderate bottom heat. A bench which 

 will root carnations will be equally good 

 for antirrhinums. Pot off as soon as 

 rooted and plant in the benches when 

 nicely established in the pots. Adopt 

 the same plan with any seedlings raised. 



It is too early to sow seeds of ten 

 weeks stock. The middle to the end of 

 February will be about right, if you use 

 White Column and a good selected strain 

 of ten weeks. Pot off the seedlings as 



advised for antirrhinums and bench be- 

 fore they become matted in the pots. A 

 certain percentage always come single. 

 Pull them out as soon as they show them- 

 selves, as they are of little value. 



A temperature of 50 degrees at night 

 is suflBciently high for either of these 

 plants. A warmer house would be un- 

 suitable. As to whether they are profit- 

 able crops, much depends on the quality 

 of the stock you grow and your facili- 

 ties for selling it. If you have a good 

 local trade, you should have no trouble 

 in disposing of ftiem. It will be better 

 to grow separate colors than mixtures. 

 In stocks, white, lavender, pink and flesh 

 are always popular, although for Me- 

 morial day scarlet and crimson would 

 take well. In snapdragons, white, yel- 

 low, pink and scarlet are suitable. 



A few desirable sorts are: Cypripe- 

 ilium 4nsigne, C Sallieri, C. Sedenii, C. 

 villosum and C. Harrisianum; Coelogyne 

 iristata; Dendrobium nobile and D. 

 splendidissimum ; Lycaste Skinneri, L. 

 Deppii and L. aromatica; La;lia anceps, L. 

 autumnalis, L. flava, L. acuminata and 

 L. albida; Epidendrum vitellinum majus; 

 Cattleya citrina ; Oncidium " varicosum' 

 Rogersii, O. tigrinum, O. ornithorhyn- 

 chuin and O. incurvum; Zygopetalum 

 Mackaii and Z. crinitum ; Sobralia mac- 

 rantha and S. xantholeuca; Sophronitk 

 grandiflora; Maxillaria picta and M. 

 Harrisoniae; Cymbidium eburneum, C. 

 Lowianum and C. Mastersii. C. W. 



SNAPDRAGONS AND STOCKS. 



When is the proper time to sow snap- 

 •Iragons and ten weeks stocks, and what 

 is the proper time to plant them in the 



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SUGGESTIONS 



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Bulb Stock. 



While a few La Beine and Van Tholl 

 tulips appear on the market at Girist- 

 mas each year, they are invariably short- 

 stemmed and would have been much bet- 

 tol left until a month later. The same 

 holds good of the trumpet narcissi, for 

 while the French Trumpet Major niay 

 be had of fair quality, the Dutch stock 

 is too late. We doubt if the forcing of 

 these bulbs for Christmas pays, even at 

 somewhat enhanced prices; better far to 

 have them from the middle of January 

 onwards, when decently long stems are to 



be had and better prices realized. 



For the commercial grower. La Eeine 

 is the forcing tulip par excellence and 

 is rarely overdone. Its delicate pink 

 color during the winter months is pleas- 

 ing, more so than when it later assumes 

 its n^itural pure white shade. Succes- 

 sional batches of this tulip should be 

 housed every ten days. Do not bring 

 them in unless the plants are well started. 

 Keep them dark for a few days, to as- 

 sure presentably long stems. It is rather 

 early yet to force Cottage Maid, Keizers- 

 kroon, Proserpine, Yellow Prince and 



