8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



July 23, 1908. 



shifted to the ^-inch size, being again 

 moved into 4-iDch when ready. In this 

 latter size most of the geraniums for 

 Memorial day trade are sold. To describe 

 fully how geraniums should be grown 



from start to finish would occupy con- 

 siderable space, but as these will be fre- 

 quently referred to in the Review, you 

 will be able to glean any points not given 

 now. C. W. 



CARNATION NOTES.- WEST. 



Housing the Plants. 



If . you are not already bringing in 

 your carnations, it is time now to begin, 

 if you want to begin cutting blooms 

 early in October in good quantity. This 

 cannot be done from plants that are 

 housed late in August or early in Sep- 

 tember, which is the time many growers 

 still house their carnations. True, a few 

 varieties will throw up flower shoots at 

 once and give blooms six weeks after be- 

 ing housed, but that does not make it 

 pay to delay the planting. If the first 

 buds are removed and the plants allowed 

 to become well established, the blooms 

 produced in October will be far superior 

 and more in number, even on those varie- 

 ties which come into bloom quickly. To 

 us it seems that everything is in favor 

 of the early housing, providing the 

 houses are at your disposal. 



Favorable Gmdhions. ;. 



I have on previous occasions men- 

 tioned the advantage of transplanting 

 when the plants are in proper condition, 

 etc.; that is, making very little growth. 

 During the last month or more we have 

 had little rain and the plants in the 

 field have grown slowly, but in spite of 

 that they are in fine condition to trans- 

 plant and large enough, in most cases, 

 for this early. Plants benched during 

 last week are taking hold finely, and 

 seem to be enjoying the moist soil and 

 the more pleasant growing atmosphere of 

 the greenhouse. They are really much 

 better than plants which have had much 

 rain and are consequently more soft and 

 sappy. 



If your plants are undersized on ac- 

 count of dry weather, do not make the 

 mistake of leaving them out for the 

 purpose of making larger plants before 

 you bench them. Bear in mind that a 

 small plant will recover more quickly 

 and easily than a large one, and, what is 

 more important, your plants will grow 

 faster in the greenhouse than they will 

 in the field, especially if the dry weather 

 continues. 



Soil Should Be Mellow. 



So, if the soil is in proper condition to 

 dig well, do . not delay housing your 

 plants for any of the above mentioned 

 reasons. If, however, the soil comes up 

 lumpy, so that the roots will be much 

 broken, it will be better to wait for a 

 good, soaking rain. You want all the 

 roots you can get of the smaller, fibrous 

 kinds, and these are the ones you lose 

 in digging up lumpy soil. If the soil is 

 mellow and all drops off on account of 

 being dry, without tearing the roots, it 

 will do no harm. In such case the plants 



should not be out of the ground long, 

 as the plants suffer quickly if th§ roots 

 are exposed to the air. .We preflfejf to 

 get the plants up with a ball of soil as 

 large as your fist, but this cannot always 

 be done, especially if the soil is of a 

 sandy nature. 



Plants Should Be Fresh. 



In lifting plants in dry weather, there 

 is one thing you should be careful of: 

 Do not dig up plants which are wilted. 

 No doubt you have noticed how poorly 

 -a bloom will keep if it is cut from a 

 plant which is suffering for want of 

 water. Plants which are suffering for 

 water to the extent of flagging will be 

 slow in taking hold of the new soil and 

 will wilt badly for a long time, with a 

 consequent loss of foliage and plants. 

 You will find during a dry spell, even if 

 the plants flag some during midday, that 

 they will be fresh and crisp iji the morn- 

 ing hours on account of the dew. While 

 they are fresh is when you want to dig 

 as many plants as you will need for 

 the day's planting. Place them in deep 

 trays, set them in a cool shed where no 

 draughts will strike them, sprinkle and 

 cover them with burlap until needed for 

 planting. Plants handled in this manner 

 will suffer very little, and in no case 

 should they be allowed to stand around 

 in the sun or draught. Always corer 

 them as the trays are brought in, unless 

 they are planted at once. 



Shading Should Be Moderate. 



Previous to last year we always shaded 

 our houses quite heavily, either with 

 lime or with a mud-wash. The idea was 

 to exclude the sun and to reduce the 

 temperature, thereby preventing the 

 plants from wilting. When the plants 

 are soft and sappy I believe this is a 

 good idea, but with plants in the proper 

 condition we find this to be a mistake. 

 Last season our plants were in nice con- 

 dition and we put on no extra shading 

 above what had been put on earlier for 

 the old plants. We found that our plants 

 held up splendidly and took hold more 

 quickly than when a dense shade was 

 applied. More syringing and damping 

 down was required to keep the atmos- 

 phere moist, on account of the more 

 rapid evaporation. 



When you come to think of it, it 

 stands to reason that the plants will re- 

 sume their natural growth more quickly 

 when the conditions are kept as near 

 normal as possible. Under the dense 

 shade the plants soften quickly and, by 

 the time root action is resumed, the 

 plants have become so tender that the 

 shade must be removed with great care, 

 else they will suffer again. Root action, 

 too, is more active under a strong light 

 than it is under a heavy shade. Under 

 this method there will be far less trou- 

 ble experienced with stem-rot and spot 



diseases and they are less active under 

 a strong light. While the atmosphere is 

 kept just as humid, yet it is kept in 

 that condition a shorter period of time, 

 as the plants reestablish themselves more 

 quickly. 



In this latitude we do like a little 

 shade over the plants, however, to break 

 the fierce rays of the hot sun during 

 July and August. Nearly all plants 

 seem to enjoy it during this time and, 

 if it is not too dense and is taken off 

 early^n the "fall, we can see no harmful 

 results. A. F. J. Baur. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



Railroad Rates. 



No reduction in railroad rates to the 

 convention have been obtainable from 

 the west, except the usual summer excur- 

 sion rates to Niagara Falls. From points 

 east of Buffalo, including Pennsylvania, 

 West Virginia, Maryland and the city of 

 Washington, a rate of a fare and three- 

 fifths on the certificate plan has been 

 secured. 



Hotel. 



Applications for hotel reservation 

 should, be addressed to Mr. Isaacs, man- 

 ager Cataract House, Niagara Falls, 

 N. Y. The entire hotel will be set aside 



for the florists if sufficient reservations 

 are made. 



Convention Program. 



The preliminary program for the con- 

 vention is as follows: 



First day, Tuesday, August 18 — Opening ses- 

 sion, 2 p. m. Address of weicome and respon- 

 sive address. 



Annual address of the president. Reports of 

 secretary, treasurer, state vice-presidents, com- 

 mittees and otlier officers. 



Judges will examine and prepare tbelr re- 

 ports upon the novelties and new inventions in 

 the trade exhibition immediately after the close 

 of the opening session. 



Annual meeting Florists' Hall Association, 

 4:30 p. m. 



President's reception, 7:30 p. m. 



Second day, Wednesday, August 19 — Morning 

 session, 9:30 a. m. 



The members of the Canadian Horticultural 

 Association will attend this session. 



Welcome to our guests, by President Traendly. 



Response by President Walsh. 



Paper, "Fertilizers and Fertility," J. F. 

 Cowell. Discussion. 



The selection of the location of the next 

 meeting (polls open one hour) and nomination 

 of officers for next year will take place at this 

 session. 



Ladies' Auxiliary of the S. A. F., 10 a. m., 

 annual meeting. 



Afternoon, 2:30 p. m. The members of the 

 S. A. F. . are invited to attend the session of 

 the Canadian Horticultural Association at the 

 Clifton House, Niagara Falls, Ontario. 



Evening session, 7:30 p. m. Illustrated lec- 

 ture by J. Horace McFarland, "How Florists 

 May Aid In the Crusade Against Ugliness." 



The members of the Canadian Horticultural 

 Association are invited to be present at this 

 meeting, and the public will be admitted. Ad- 

 mission by ticket, to be obtained from Secre- 

 tary Ewlng. for members C. H. A.; Secretary 

 Rudd, for members S. A. F. All tickets not 

 applied for by 12 o'clock noon, Wednesday, will 

 be distributed to the public, and members de- 

 laying their application beyond that time must 

 take their chances of tickets being available. 



Third day, Thursday, August 20— Morning ses- 

 sion, 9:30 a. m. Paper, "Out-of-Door Roses," 

 W. C. Barry. Discussion. 



Election of officers. Polls will be open at 

 10:30 a. m., and remain open two hours. 



The following amendments to the constitution 

 and by-laws of the S. A. F. have been recom- 

 mended by the executive board: 



To amend Article 1. by striking out the words 

 "regularly organized" In the seventh line; Ar- 

 ticle 2, Section 2, by inserting after word 

 "one," in the sixth line, and before the word 

 "state," the words "or more"; Article 3, (1) 

 by inserting after the word "treasurer," In the 

 fifth line, the word "and"; (2) by striking out 

 the words "and the duly accredited delegates 

 of," "cooperative societies as hereinafter pro- 

 vided," in the fifth, sixth and seventh lines; 

 Article 4, Section 2, by striking out the sec- 

 tion entire and inserting in place thereof the 

 following: "Any eligible person may become a 

 member of the society on the payment of |5, 

 and such payment shall cover annual dues for 

 the balance of the calendar year." "The annual 

 dues shall be f3 per year, payable in advance 



