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The Weekly Florists* Review. 



SKPtKMBGB 3, 1908. 



in the preceding decorations. This 

 should always be done when simulating 

 growing plants. 



Now, what is one way of displaying 

 carnations to good advantage? After 

 a little study of the flowers and the 

 habits o^ the plant we receive the impres- 

 sion that we are in the company of some 

 demure, old-fashioned body, in contrast 

 with the traditional stateliness of the 

 rose. A flower lover was once heard to 

 remark that he always liked a carna- 

 tion, for it is "such a neat flower." 



A Scene in an Old Garden. 



In the grandmothers' gardens the 

 pinks grew in clumps and we naturally 

 associate them with the old-time ribbon- 



grasBvaud growing next to the garden 

 walks. * Try this for a carnation window 

 sometime. The mechanical contrivance 

 will be much like the foregoing. Leave 

 plenty of space between the clumps, be 

 generous with foliage, and the only lack 

 will be a gentle breeze to set the flow- 

 ers swinging. 



Peonies grow with a wealtn of dark, 

 rich foliage. Arrange sparsely, with no 

 other flowers, ranging the colors care- 

 fully from the rich red down through 

 the rose-pinks to the lightest tints, called 

 by courtesy white. Darkest colors should^ 

 be placed nearest the light side of the 

 window. The light ones will show them- 

 selves from the back of the window. 

 Gertrude Blaie. 



PROPAGATING GERANIUMS. 



The Use of Outdoor Wood. 



At the recent meeting of the Iowa 

 State Florists' Association, William 

 Trillow, of Des Moines, made a brief 

 talk on a subject of his own selection, 

 ' * Propagation of Geraniums from Cut- 

 tings Taken from Outdoor Plants." Mr. 

 Trillow said that his reason for choos- 

 ing this subject was not so much to 

 impart information as to get it, as his 

 own success had not been especiaJly 

 gratifying. The substance of his talk 

 and the discussion which followed it was 

 about as follows: 



*'My observation is that writers do 

 not devote as much attention to the ge- 

 ranium as they should. The propaga- 

 tion of carnations, roses, chrysanthe- 

 mums, etc., is hashed over at conventions 

 and in trade paper articles several times 

 a year, while the old-fashioned geranium 

 is hardly taken any notice of. Some 

 say that anybody can grow geraniums. 

 That is true under normal conditions; 

 anyone with ordinary knowledge of the 

 business can root ninety-five per cent of 

 the geranium cuttings from wood grown 

 under glass, but it is unusual for the 

 best of growers to get more than fifty to 

 sixty per cent from wood taken from 

 plants grown out-of-doors. My own ex- 

 perience ha^ been about this propor- 

 tion. ' ' 



In the discussion which followed, J. 

 S. "Wilson, now located in Des Moines, 

 said that from fifty to sixty per cent 

 was as much as he could get until he hit 

 upon the plan of potting the cuttings 

 on a bench exposed to full sunlight, 

 giving one soaking of water and not 

 giving any more unless they became 

 dust-dry. 



J. T. Temple, of Davenport, suggested 

 the same treatment, while Mr. Polland, 

 of Eldora, la., says his plan is to 

 dibble the cuttings in shallow flats of 

 soil and sand, watering thoroughly and 

 placing in full sunlight on a level place 

 outdoors. He says by this method he can 

 root ninety-five to 100 per cent. He'says 

 that, with the exception of the first 

 watering, they gdt no more moisture ex- 



cept that which they may get from 

 rain and dew. 



"To the man with a small greenhouse, 

 growing and selling a general line at re- 

 tail," says Mr. Trillow, "I think the 

 geranium is just as much a bread and 

 butter plant as the rose or carnation, 

 and the greater percentage we can root 

 from outdoor wood in the fall saves that 

 much extra l^bor in the winter, besides 

 making better plants for spring sales. 

 True enough, these can be grown rap- 

 idly indoors during the winter, and every 

 cutting will root, but the same space 

 that it takes to grow them in will grow 



a few hundred extra carnation plants, 

 the flowers of which will add materially 

 to the year's revenue. 



"This is propagation month and an 

 opportune time for those interested to 

 give their experiences through the Re- 

 view and tell how to root 100 per cent 

 of the geranium cuttings frofli outdoor- 

 grown wood." 



SOIL FROM MUM BENCHES. 



Will soil taken from mum benches 

 grow good geraniums for spring sales? 

 I grow about 2u,000, in 4-inch. Or can 

 soil of mum benches be used again next 

 year by heaping it outdoors, adding sev- 

 eral layers of good cow manure and 

 allowing it to remain outdoors all win- 

 ter? I have plenty of well prepared soil 

 outdoors, but thought of saving time 

 and labor by using indoor mum soil, 

 which was well prepgired, mulched and 

 fed with manure water. H. J. H." 



Soil taken from, chrysanthemum 

 benches, piled up and allowed to freeze, 

 is quite good enough for spring ge- 

 raniums. A sprinkling of bone meal, 

 added at the time of using, will be of 

 great benefit. 



New soil is preferable for mums, but 

 by carefully adding potash and bone 

 meal to the old soil and turning it over 

 a few times in spring before using it 

 again, good stock can be produced. This 

 old soil will naturally require more feed- 

 ing than new soil, both by way of mulch- 

 ing and liquid feeding. Ribes. 



St. Joseph, Mo. — On the testimony of 

 three physicians, August 22, a jury in 

 the probate court decided that John W. 

 Krumm is insane. A guardian was ap- 

 pointed and he was committed to a hos- 

 pital. Mr, Krumm had not been ra- 

 tional since he suffered a stroke of apo- 

 plexy more than two months ago. 



MILDEW ON ROSES. 



Enclosed you will find a branch of 

 Bridesmaid rose with some kind of for- 

 eign substance on it. Can you tell us 

 what it is? This is the first time we 

 have seen anything of this kind. This 

 and one other branch of the same kind 

 are the only ones we have found so far. 



D. P. V. 



These plants are affected with mildew, 

 a common trouble at this season. 



Dust the foliage with flowers of sul- 

 phur, choosing a bright day for the op- 



eration. Close the ventilators to cause 

 the temperature to rise to 95 degrees, to 

 liberate the fumes, taking care not to let 

 it remain so very long, as it may cause 

 burning. Repeat this once a week. 

 When firing commences, paint the pipes 

 with the following mixture, of about 

 the consistency of paint: Sulphur, 

 two parts; air-slaked lime, one part; 

 water sufficient, and close the house for 

 an hour or so during the coldest part 

 of the night. Repeat until the trouble 

 disappears, Ribes. 



CULTURE OF BEAUTY ROSES. 



We wish to ask a few que^nons about 

 Beauties, as we have never grown any 

 before. We have 3-inch Beauties, planted 

 July 29, good plants in solid benches, 

 grown as follows: ±irst we put in some 



