The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Maech 19, 1908. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



The numerous growers of leaf let- 

 tuce north of Chicago are feeling more 

 cheerful; the price of their product has 

 advanced materially in the last few days. 



GREENHOUSE VEGETABLES. 



Chicago, March 17. — Cucumbers, 75c 

 to $2 box of 2 doz.; leaf lettuce, 30c to 

 35c case; watercress, 15c to 25c doz.; 

 radishes, 30c to 40c dozen bunches; 

 mushrooms, 30c to 50e lb. 



Boston, March 16. — Cucumbers, $2.50 

 to $10 box; tomatoes, 40c lb.; parsley, 

 $1.25 to $1.50 box; lettuce, 50c to 75c 

 box; mint, 75c to $1 doz.; rhubarb, 7c 

 lb.; escarolle, 75c doz.; romaine, $1 doz.; 

 chicory, $1 doz.; mushrooms, $2 4-lb. 

 box. 



New York, March 16. — Cucumbers 

 closing, dull and weak. Lettuce also 

 moving slowly and outside quotation ex- 

 treme. Other kinds without material 

 change. Beet tops, $1 bu. box; No. 1 

 cucumbers, 75c to $1.25 doz.; No. 2 cu- 

 cumbers, $3 to $4 box; head lettuce, 25e 

 to 60c doz.; mushrooms, 20c to 45c lb.; 

 radishes, $2 to $4 per 100 bunches; rhu- 

 barb, 40c to 50c doz. bunches; tomatoes, 

 15c to 25e lb.; mint, 30c to 40e doz. 

 bunches. 



METHODS OF CULTURE. 



I wish to give to such readers as 

 B. J. P., whose inquiry appeared in the 

 Beview of February 20, page 28, the 

 benefit of nearly thirty years' experience 

 in growing some of the plants which he 

 wishes to grow. 



Tomatoes, in my latitude (Okla- 

 homa), I always sow about February 

 15, in a bed with a temperature of 75 

 or even 80 degrees. They nearly always 

 come up in four or five days. I sow 

 them fairly thick, in rows six inches 

 apart. If too thick I thin down so as 

 to permit air and light. After they are 

 about three or four inches high I spot 

 out in a coldf rame 5x5 inches apart, with 

 three or four inches of manure in the 

 bottom and two inches of sandy soil on 

 top. After they have grown so as to 

 nearly cover the ground, I take a hoe and 

 straighten it out with the handle, and 

 cut each plant out by itself. By this 

 means you may lift four on a shovel at 

 one time without disturbing or breaking 

 the roots. Each plant can be separated 

 the same way, by using a piece of 

 shingle about four inches wide to lift 

 them from the wagon and put them 

 where wanted to grow. Cabbage I sow 

 a few days later, but try not to have 

 BO much heat, as they do not require 

 it. I sow the same as tomatoes, thin- 

 ning out if required for stocky plants. 

 I tie in bundles of 100, wrapped in damp 

 moss or newspapers. 



Eggplants and peppers require more 

 heat to germinate, so I run my house 

 at about 90 degrees until they are up, 

 when I reduce the temperature to about 

 65 degrees. The tomatoes, eggplants, 

 peppers and cabbage will all do well now 

 in the same temperature. 



Now, in regard to sweet potatoes, if 

 Mr. Scott's method were followed it 

 would require a good deal of capital to 

 raise sweet potato sprouts for commer- 

 cial purposes and naturally they would 

 be very expensive to the buyer. Here 

 is my way: Take plenty of fresh stable 

 manure and get it quite hot in the usual 



A BED or MUSHROOMS 



Balaed from our Spawn, will bear loncer aad yield better than from anj other rartoty or 

 Spawn. Thla la proves by facts. Full partloolars and Information how to succeed In maahrooia 

 raialnf free. We warrant you if ualnr our method of rrowlnr muahrooma that all will ro well 



KIRKEBY & GUNDESTRUP, sS^SHZ, 4273 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago 



Mention The ReTlew when yon write. 



VEGETABLE PLANTS ! 



TOMATO. Mayflower, Lorillard, Earl- 

 iana, Early June Pink and Early Jew- 

 el, 30c per 100, $2.00 per 1000. 



BEETS. Egyptian and Crosby's, 20c 

 per 100, $1.25 per 1000. 



CELERY. White Plume & Golden Self- 

 Blanching, 20c per 100, $1.25 per 1000. 



PARSLEY. Moss Curled, 30c per 100, 

 $2.00 per 1000. 



CAULIFLOWER. Early Snow Ball, 

 50c per 100. 



LETTUCE. Grand Eapid8,$1.00per 1000 



PbPPER & EGG PLANTS. Ready for trans- 

 planting, 40c per 100, $2.00 per 1000. 



R.VINCENT,Jr.&SONSCO.,WhiteMarsh,Md. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



FI.OBISTS have a splendid oppor- 

 tunity of raising Moalirooina by 

 utilizingr the waste apace under the 

 benches, and then utilizingr the waate 

 material of expended mushroom 

 beds in growing: flowers. £iainbert'a 

 Pare Culture MUSHROOM 

 SPAWN, the best Spawn in the market, is sold by all 

 leading seedsmen. A fresh sample brick, enough for 

 a trial oed, together with illustrated book on "Mush- 

 room Culture," will be mailed postpaid upon receipt 

 of 40c in postage stamps. Address American 

 Spawn Company, St. Paul, Minn. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



way. Put it in about two feet thick, and 

 cover with three inches of soil. Test the 

 heat, and do not let it go over 80 de- 

 grees, as then your seed might rot. Now 

 put your potatoes down and let there be 

 room for your finger between them. Cov- 

 er with two inches and a half of good 

 soil. After they are well up, give plenty 

 of light and air. If intended for ship- 

 ping, tie the offsets in bundles the same 

 as cabbage; if not, simply pull them up, 

 being careful not to pull the tubers up, 

 as they will sprout again. I sometimes 

 pull from the same bed three times. This 

 way will save the expense of pots. I 

 would not like the idea of potting about 

 30,000 sweet potatoes every year. The 

 method that I have described is the New 

 Jersey way, only that New Jersey peo- 

 ple use fire instead of manure beds. 



J. F. Donald. 



FORC3NG RHUBARR 



Ehubarb forcing has become an in- 

 dustry of considerable importance. In 

 some cases rough houses with sash are 

 built over the plants in the field. The 

 sashes are kept darkened and steam or 

 other heat applied. One large forcer 

 in the east uses long sheds, planting 

 the roots thickly in large batches. Light 

 is excluded. Steam pipes are used and 

 a night temperature of 58 to 60 degrees 

 maintained. Very good results are se- 

 cured here. Where only a small quan- 

 tity is forced, any dark cellar or shed 

 will answer very well, and any place 

 which will answer for the forcing of 

 mushrooms and chicory will do equally 

 well for rhubarb, provided the neces- 

 sary head room is given. 



Forced rhubarb is red in color. The 

 darkness tends to diminish leaf growth 

 and elongate the stalks. If wanted quick- 

 ly, rhubarb can be forced in as high 

 a temperature as 75 degrees at night, 

 but the cooler it is grown, the larger 



With the Skinner Sys- 

 tem of Irrigation ONE 

 MAN can do the work 

 of FORTY MEN 

 watering with a hose. 



The Skinner Irrigation Co. 



TROY, O. 



Mention The Review when yon write. 



Rhubarb Crowns 



WANTED 



We want from 2000 to 5000 No. 1 

 crowns for forcing purposes. They must 

 be at least two years without pulling, 

 and in prime condition. Address No. 

 147, care Florists' Review, Chicago. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



will be the crop. In lifting clumps for 

 forcing, care should be taken not to 

 .break the roots. They should be well 

 frozen before being housed and soil must 

 be packed about them to prevent any 

 shriveling. Eoots which are forced are, 

 of course, worthless for planting again. 

 If covered and forced where they are 

 grown in the field, the roots will recuper- 

 ate in a couple of seasons. Boots for 

 forcing should not be less than four 

 years old, if from seed. Our expori- 

 ence of seedlings has been that a large 

 proportion are valueless; divided plants 

 are far preferable. Victoria is probably 

 the best forcing rhubarb. Linnaeus is 

 also good. W. 



WINNIPEG, MAN. 



The Florists' Association. 



The florists of Winnipeg, after sev- 

 eral meetings held at the Koyal Green- 

 houses, on Notre Dame avenue and Prin- 

 cess street, have formed an association 

 whose aim is to further trade interests 

 and to promote social intercourse among 

 its members. 



It was decided the name should be 

 "The Winnipeg Florists' Association," 

 and the officers elected were: President, 

 Mr. Burchart; vice-presidents, Mr. 

 Stolper and Mr. Akins; secretary, Mr. 

 Birch; treasurer. Miss Siddle; corre- 

 sponding secretary, Mrs. Kempster; com- 

 mittee, Messrs. Antenbring, Lloyd and 

 Riddle. 



The general meeting, held at the Royal 

 Greenhouses February 27, was a huge suc- 

 cess. The first part of the evening was 

 devoted to the business of the association, 

 followed by a pleasant social hour. Light 

 refreshments were provided by Mr. 

 Stolper. 



