Jandabt 16, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



M 



^f'* -j^^ 



Hyacinths in pots and flats should be well 

 sprouted now and, if kept dark and warm 

 for a time, will have stems of good 

 length. Boman hyacinths and Paper 

 Whites come on very fast, even in a 

 comparatively cold house, and no forcing 

 will be re(juired for them now. 



Keep ixias, sparaxis and tritomas on 

 a shelf or bench in a cool house; 45 

 to 48 degrees at night will suit them. 

 Be careful not to overwater them. Freesias 

 as they pass out of flower should, if 

 possible, be afforded a light position, if 

 the bulbs are to be retained for stock; 

 otherwise throw them away at once. Look 

 over the hippeastrums (amaryllis). Some 

 will be pushing flower spikes. See that 

 the drainage is efficient. Either repot 

 or give them a top-dressing of loam and 

 cow manure. Place in a warm house 

 and do not water very freely until the 

 spikes are well advanced. 



Seed Purchases. 



Seed catalogues are now arriving with 

 every mail and will soon make a formid- 

 able pile. Flower seed novelties seem 

 to be less numerous than usual, and no 

 very startling additions are promised. It 

 is well to buy sparingly of new things, 

 unless we really know the worth of what 

 we are purchasing, but nevertheless every 

 up-to-date grower should try at least a 

 packet of the more promising novelties. 

 The cost will not be great, and as prob- 

 ably one variety at least will be worthy 

 of more extended culture another sea- 

 son, the money will not have been wasted. 



It is well to place seed orders early. 

 It is better for you and a great benefit 

 to the seedsman, who appreciates such 

 action on your part, giving him, as it 

 does, a better chance to fill your order 

 carefully, and relieving in at least a small 

 measure the inevitable congestion of 

 trade which comes his way a little later 

 in the season. Purchase what seeds you 

 think you will need the coming season. 

 It is poor policy to wait until you are 

 ready to sow particular subjects and 

 then send your seedsman a special de- 

 livery letter to forward it per return 

 mail. 



Brief Reminders. 



Bambler roses for Easter should be 

 started at once. If you wait longer, 

 harder forcing will be necessary and 

 the chances are that your plants may 

 be a little late. 



Hybrid perpetual roses in pots and 

 boxes may now be pruned, top-dressed 

 and started in a temperature of 45 

 degrees at night. Prune the shoots back 

 quite hard if you want strong shoots 

 and fine flowers. 



Spiraea Japonica and its varieties will 

 now force quite readily. Start these in 

 a brisk heat. 



If you are a little short of any mums 

 and want to work up a good stock for 

 l)enching, get some cuttings in at once. 



Single violets are now making an 

 iibundance of runners. Select the best 

 :ind*root in clean, sharp sand. Doubles 

 may be similarly treated. 



Do not allow the little geraniums to 

 ;,'et potbound. Shift into a size larger 

 pots. Spread the plants out as they 

 irrow, and put in cuttings as fast as 

 'obtainable. 



Propagate verbenas from cuttings 

 uhere you have carried over stock plants. 



Propagate coleus in a brisk heat. Get 

 rid of the old plants for the sake of 

 ■leanliness. 



Start dahlias where some are wanted 

 'or indoor blooming. It is much too 



Godfrey Aschmann. 



early to start either these or cannas 

 Avhere they are wanted for bedding 

 plants. 



Sow a good batch of Asparagus 

 Sprengeri. This always useful plant 

 is not overdone yet, and you will find 

 sale for all you can grow. 



ASCHMANN PLANS EXPANSION. 



Godfrey Aschmann has outgrown his 

 location, in Philadelphia, and is laying 

 plans for building a plant outside the 

 city, where he will have room, air and 

 soil. The heart of a city is no place for a 

 plant factory, or even for storing im- 

 ported stock while awaiting shipment, for 

 while Mr. Aschmann has been building 

 greenhouses, his neighbors have been 

 building residences, until now every foot 

 of land not covered by glass is ©ccupied 

 by a typical Philadelphia urban domicile. 

 It is a case of go outside or stop growing, 

 but by going outside the city escape will 

 be had from conditions which have not 

 operated to make success easy. Indeed, 

 it has been only by moving stock rapidly 

 that the business has been kept on the up 

 grade and few men would care to say 

 they could do as well if similarly placed. 



Godfrey Aschmann was born Decem- 

 ber 3, 1848, in Langnau, in the canton 

 of Zurich, Switzerland. He is the only 

 son of John Aschmann, a prosperous 

 planter and vine grower. After attend- 

 ing the public schools until he was nearly 

 15 years of age, he was apprenticed May 

 1, 1863, to Heinrich Temperli, the man- 

 ager of a large horticultural establish- 

 ment at Uster, in the canton of Zurich. 

 His apprenticeship extended over a pe- 

 riod of three years, under the strict reg- 

 ulations peculiar to that time and place. 

 By the terms of the contract, he was not 

 only compelled to work diligently, but 

 also to pay for his tuition the sum of 

 200 francs, or about $38, which un- 

 doubtedly looked like rather a formid- 

 I able amount in those days. The thor- 



ough training that he received, however, 

 in botany and in the needs of all sorts 

 of trees and plants, probably repaid Mm 

 well for his outlay of money and labor. 

 At the expiration of his apprenticeship, 

 in 1866, he continued his practical edu- 

 cation by entering the service of a land- 

 scape architect and gardener in Zurich. 



In April, 1869, Mr. Aschmann came to 

 America, bearing a letter of introduction 

 to Henry A. Dreer, and was immediately 

 put to work in Mr. Dreer 's nurseries at 

 Riverton, N. J., which were then a new 

 branch of Mr. Dreer 's business. After 

 being employed here for a month on 

 trial, Mr. Aschmann was engaged by the 

 firm for a year. 



At the end of his year's engagement 

 at Riverton, Mr. Aschmann began busi- 

 ness on his own account, in Philadel- 

 phia. He had no greenhouses then, but 

 did landscape gardening, undertaking 

 some large contracts. In February, 1887, 

 he started in the greenhouse business, be- 

 ginning with one house, 15x35 feet, on 

 Thayer street. This house he tore down 

 one year later, to make room for a 

 larger one. From that time he steadily 

 increased the size of his establishment, 

 buying additional ground nearly every 

 year and erecting houses on it, until he 

 had thus acquired and occupied all the 

 available land in the block, on both sides 

 of Thayer street. This range of houses 

 on Thayer street is located at the rear 

 of his office on Ontario street. As no 

 more city lots can be purchased in that 

 neighborhood, he is now planning to buy 

 a few acres of land a short distance 

 from town, where he can build more 

 greenhouses, especially for azaleas and 

 roses and the housing of imported plants 

 As indicating the substantial qualities, it 

 may be mentioned that all of the prop- 

 erty occupied is owned bv him and is 

 free of incumbrance. 



Mr. Aschmann has three sons, John 

 Edward and Howard, all of whom have 

 reached the age of manhood and are en- 

 gaged in the business with their father 



