Dbcoibeir 17, 1008. 



.■iv >l 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



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lisbmeut, they learn roses and roses only, 

 and are totally ignorant as to the culture 

 of carnations, the forcing of bulbous 

 stock, or the propagation and treatment 

 of house aiid bedding plants for the 

 retail trade. There are many young men 

 who would be glad to prepare themselves 

 for the florists' business if there was any 

 school in which they could obtain prac- 

 tical instruction. 



The Ordinary Agricultural G)lles;e. 



During the past year I have corre- 

 sponded with most of the agricultural 

 colleges of the United States, but I find 

 that none of them is prepared to train a 

 young man in commercial floriculture. 

 Although the Missouri Botanical Garden 

 and the Illinois Agricultural College have 

 courses which would be of considerable 

 benefit, they are far from complete. 



There is no school in the country bet- 

 ter prepared to instruct a student on 

 such subjects than the Iowa Agricultural 

 College, as it has a corps of teachers, 

 along the various lines, who are not sur- 

 passed by those of any school, I believe, 

 in the country. Such a course of study 

 could be arranged without interfering 

 greatly with the other work of the school, 

 and I am convinced, from talking with 

 the professors, that they would be glad 

 to undertake it, if they received proper 

 support and encouragement. 



A Suggested Course of Study. 



As a colJege course for florists, I 



would suggest the following outline: 



Principles 'of Botany 

 Practical Botany for Florists 

 Vegetable Physiology 

 General Bacteriology 

 Pathology or Diseases of Plants 



Fnngous and Parasitic Plants 

 Propagation by Seeds 



Cuttings 



Dormant Wood Cuttings 



Root Cuttings 



Root Divisions 



Layering 

 Grafting and Budding 

 Plant Breeding 

 Sorts- 

 Chemistry of 



Analysis of 



Soil Physics 



Fertiliiers 



Sterilizing 

 Entomology — 



Insects in Greenhouse 



Insects on Outdoor Flowering Plants 



Spraying — Liquid and Dnst 



Fumigating , 



Cut Flower Growing 

 WintiT Forcing of Bulbs 

 Winter Forcing of Shrubs, etc. 

 Greenhouse Management — 



Heating 



Ventilation 



Watering 



Pruning and Training ' 



Potllpg Plants 

 Vegetable Crops in Greenhouse 

 Hotbed and Coldframe Management 

 Horticulture — 



Study of Flowering Plants, Shrubs, Shade 

 Trees and Herbaceous Plants 

 Floral Work- 

 Bouquet Making 



Design Making 



Color Arrangement 



House Decoration 

 Greenhouse Construction 



Practical Plumbing as Applied to Greenhouses 

 Field Growing of Shrubs 

 Field Growing of Herbaceous Plants 

 Field Growing of Bulbs and Tubers 

 Aquatic Plants 



Cold Storage of Dormant Plants and Bulbs 

 Landscape Gardening — 



Landscape Architecture 



Drawing 



Civil . Engineering 

 Lawn Making and Management 



Y^u will notice that this is quite com- 

 plete, including the study of the plants 

 themselves, and the manner of propaga- 

 tion and care. It might be arranged in 

 the way of an optional or elective course, 

 certain parts of which could be taken by 

 students in other branches of the college, 

 as, for instance, the landscape gardening, 

 which would be of great assistance to the 

 farmers of this state in beautifying their 

 surroundings. 



G}rsage Shield with Violets. 



Good Teachers Available. 



This course would include instruction 

 by Professor Pammel, the state botanist, 

 by Professors Beach and Erwin on horti-, 

 culture, and by Professor Stevenson on 

 the study of soil, both in the greenhouse 

 and for "outdoor planting. Professor 

 Summers, the state entomologist, could 

 instruct on the destruction of the many 

 insects with which the florists have to 

 contend. In fact, there are specialists 

 already in the employ of the state who 

 are thoroughly competent and capable of 

 imparting the needed informiSfion to the 

 student on every >gpic named, including 

 landscape gardening,; civil engineering, 

 practical plumbing and greenhouse con- 

 struction. I have talked with some mem- 

 bers of the state legislature and they say 

 that this course can be added to the 

 curriculum of the Agricultural College 

 if the florists and horticulturists of this 

 state really desire it. 



Iowa is undoubtedly in the front rank 

 on most agricultural and horticultural 

 topics. Why not now forge ahead along 

 this line and be the first to adopt a prac- 

 tical course of instruction in commercial 

 floriculture? 



The Growth of the Florists' Trade. 



There are many reasons why the 

 florists of the state should be banded 

 together for mutual interest and should 

 work unitedly for the common good. The 

 business is becoming more important 

 every year and, from corresponding with 

 the florists of this state, I estimate t'hat 

 the trade in greenhquse and bedding 



plants and in shrubbery has increased 

 fully 200 per cent in the last ten years, 

 while the demand for cut flowers has 

 increased at least 500 per cent during 

 the same time. Iowa is still a virgin 

 field for the florist and the trade can be 

 increased many-fold during the next 

 decade, if we heartily join together in 

 working for it. 



Every florist in the state should be a 

 member of the Society of Iowa Florists, 

 .^nd should cooperate with it in stimulat- 

 ing the interest in the adornment of both 

 public and private grounds by setting 

 out shrubs and flowering plants, as well 

 as planting trees and making lawns. 



Let us strive together for the advance- 

 ment of all branches of horticulture and 

 try to make the world more beautiful. 



VINCA ALBA. 



Please give me the name of the en- 

 closed cutting of a plant. It is a con- . 

 tinuous bloomer, but florists here do not 

 spom to know what it is. J. W. 



The name is Vinca alba, commonly 

 known as the Madagascar periwinkle, 

 good alike for pot culture and summer 

 bedding. There are several colors of this 

 flower. 



Paducah, Ky.— C. L. Brunson & Co. 

 furnished the bridesmaids' bouquets for 

 the recent Jobe-Russell wedding in Jack- 

 son, Tenn. The bouquets, six in number, 

 were the old-style flat designs, just now 

 returning to favor. 



