■^YtV^WS^ 



Januabt 21, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



■ •'K' T^- 



Store and Conservatory of A. Wieeand & Sons^ Indianapolis. 



Sow the seeds at once. Good varieties 

 are Queen of the Earlies, known in some 

 seed lists as Queen of the Alarket, and 

 Comet. The first named I would advise 

 using, as it is a prolific bloomer and the 

 flowers possess rather more substance 

 than the Comet. Prick out in flats when 

 of suflicient size to handle, and from 

 these to benches. Allow the plants eight- 

 een inches between the rows and nine 

 inches between the individual plants. 

 Compost such as you would use for car- 

 nations or mums will grow good asters. 

 Give the plants no shade, and a minimum 

 temperature of 48 to 50 degrees when 

 benched. C. W. 



EDUCATION IN FLORICULTURE. 



A Course in Designing. 



"What course would you advise for a 

 young man desiring knowledge in the art 

 of floral designing? I am working in a 

 florists' store, but the class of work done 

 does not afford a chance, nor does it cover 

 the finer and higher points of the art. 

 Are there any works treating on the sub- 

 ject! E. J. W. 



[If there is any way for this young 

 man to secure the knowledge he seeks, 

 other than hunting another job in a bet- 

 ter store, the Eeview will welcome the 

 opportunity to tell its readers about it. 

 What do you suggest!] 



Wanted— A Correspondence Course. 



Would you inform me if there are any 

 agricultural schools that give correspond- 

 ence courses in floriculture or landscape 

 gardening! I have made investigations 

 in regard to several of the correspond- 

 ence schools, but fail to find anything 

 in that line. 



I think correspondence courses in flori- 

 culture or landscape gardening would be 

 a great thing, as so many young men who 

 are working at the florists ' trade, and ex- 

 pect to follow if as a life business, have 

 no opportunity to attend the Massachu- 

 setts Agricultural College, or any other 

 agricultural college, for that matter, but 

 could easily spend an hour or so every 

 day with their text-books and papers. 



Good books that treat on all branches of 

 floriculture are obtainable, but books 



often leave out the details on which suc- 

 cess in plant culture depends. A course 

 of this kind would not only give details, 

 but would create an interest in the work. 

 The student could watch the progress he 

 was making and would gain a great 

 amount of encouragement and confidence, 

 and feel that he was accomplishing some- 

 thing. 



I believe it would be a great thing if 

 the agricultural colleges would adopt cor- 

 respondence courses. It would be a great 

 benefit to the young men who have de- 

 cided to learn this business, and would 

 elevate the florists' trade at large. 



G. T. D. 



BEGONIA REX. 



in the Review of December 10 I no- 

 ticed an article on how to root Bex be- 

 gonias by cutting the mature leaves in 

 one and two-inch squares, by standing 

 erect in sand in a regular j)ropagating 



bed. In this article it is directed to pot 

 off "as soon as the little plants appear. ' ' 

 I now have 200 Rex begonia% started as 

 above. Shoujd I leave them in the sand 

 until the small plant leaves appear above 

 the sand?' I have always taken them out 

 of the sand as soon as rooted, but it 

 takes a long while for the small plants 

 to appear and then they grow very 

 slowly. G. C. H. 



You will have better success if you let 

 the little plants appear before potting 

 off the portions of leaves. When repot- 

 ting, use 2-inch pots and a compost of 

 leaf-mold and sand. Give a good bottom 

 heat for a short time and they will grow 

 fast. Remove to a cooler location when 

 rooted around the sides of the little 

 pots. ^C. W. 



VHITE FLY. 



I send you a box with some leaves of 

 ageratums, which at times are covered 

 with a little white insect like a little 

 miller or fly. I would like to know 

 what it is and how to kill it. What 

 harm does this white bug do? I have 

 to be careful what I use, as my dwelling 

 is connected with my greenhouse. 



E. T. O. 



The shoots received were infested with 

 white fly, one of the worst pests the flo- 

 rist has to contend with. The only 

 real remedy, one which will exterminate 

 it, is fumigation with hydrocyanic acid 

 gas, but situated as you are, with your 

 dwelling attached to the greenhouse, I 

 can hardly advise the use of the gas. 

 The next best remedy I can suggest is 

 syringing your plants with soap and 

 water every third or fourth day. Use 

 any hard soap, one pound to ten gallons 

 of water. Syringing with warm water 

 also kills many of the pestg, but if you 

 try the soap and water you will speedily 

 reduce the flies in nunnber. 



If at any time you decide to use the 

 gas remedy, you will find thie formula 

 in frequent past issues of the Review. 

 Many growers now fumigate with noth- 

 ing else. C. W. 



Hac.erstown, Md. — C. C. Hoover will 

 build a greenhouse, 28x31. 



Store of A. Wiegand & Sons, Indianapolis. 



