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May 27. 1900. 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



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13 



Loading the Teams of Arthur Dumxnettt Mt. Vernon, N. Y. 



DUMMETT OF MT. VERNON. 



At Mt. Vernon, N. Y., Arthur Dum- 

 mett has its headquarters. "It" be- 

 cause Arthur Dummett is a corporation, 

 with Mr. Dummett, a young man full of 

 the progressive spirit, the head of the 

 concern. A branch is maintained at 

 White Plains, opposite the post-office, 

 and in the accompanying illustration the 

 Arthur Dummett teams are seen loading 

 up at the Mt. Vernon place with stock 

 for the White Plains store. Mr. Dum- 

 mett himself stands in the center, the 

 figure in gray at the head of the double 

 team. The company does a general busi- 

 ness in the nursery and landscape garden- 

 ing line, handling also plants, seeds, bulbs 

 and fertilizers, with all other stock that 

 goes to make up a horticultural depot. 

 Business this spring has been specially 

 good in the nursery and in landscape 

 work, and now the demand for soft- 

 wooded stock is becoming strong. 



POTASH FOR PIGMENT. 



If flowers are deficient in color, it is 

 usual to lay it to the light — too much or 

 too little — but it may be the soil. A 

 writer in an English gardening magazine 

 says he has found deficiency in potash 

 in the soil means poor color in the crops: 



* ' I grew Lychnis viscaria splendens 

 ])lena on a rather light soil for a num- 

 ber of years, but could not induce it to 

 produce the rich color I found on those 

 grown, to all appearance, on the same 

 kind of formation in another neighbor- 

 hood. Some of my friends remarked that 

 they must be different varieties, and in 

 order to prove that they were the same I 

 exchanged plants with the grower of the 

 more richly colored ones, with the result 

 that my soil and treatment produced the 

 pale-colored flowers I had always ob- 

 tained, and the soil of my neighbor con- 

 verted my plant into one of a more de- 

 cided hue of flower. 



"This was not merely an isolated case 

 among the plants I then grew, for even 

 geranimns, lobelias and all outdoor plants 

 lacked the distinguishing color of the 

 varieties they represented in a more or 

 less degree. This lack of color was most 

 marked in red and purple flowers. I 

 drew the attention of some eminent gar- 

 deners to the facts, and although all 

 gave advice, yet when it was put to the 

 test it proved valueless, so that I had al- 

 most despaired of arriving at a solution 

 of the problem. 



"At this stage, one of the professors 

 of an agricultural college happened to 

 "•all, and as we were looking at a plant of 

 Lychnis dioica fl. pi., which had washed- 



out flowers, I asked if he could explain 

 the deficiency of color. This he did by 

 stating that potash was the chief element 

 in organic coloring, and that my soil 

 was e^yidently deficient in this alkali. He 

 further explained that the chief constitu- 

 ent of the pigments just within the skin 

 of the apple was potash, and, owing to a 

 scarcity of this all-important ingredient 

 in the soil, I could not expect either 

 richly colored flowers or fruits. Pointing 

 to some rhubarb, a little later, this gen- 

 tleman remarked, ' That plant requires 

 an exceptionally liberal supply of potash, 

 and if you- find it languishing under 

 fairly generous treatment, you may 

 safely conclude that it is unable to get 

 sufficient potash to enable it to develop 



The Kdltor Is pleased 

 when a Reader 

 presents bis ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



t\tl^ 



As experience is tbe best 

 teacber, so do ^ve 

 learn fastest by aui 

 excbanee o( experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brougrbt out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling and gram-' 

 mar, though desirable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 doing your ^esu 



WK SHALX. BK GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM TOC. 



strong growth. ' I learned then, too, that 

 sulphate of potash and kainit were the 

 best sources of supply of potash, and 

 that the sulphate could be applied at any 

 time, but kainit should only be used in 

 late autumn and early winter. 



"In order to test the correctness of 

 those statements, I applied sulphate of 

 potash to various plants which were 

 growing side by side, of the same varie- 

 ties. The amount of sulphate of potash 

 employed was about one and one-half 



ounces to the square yard of surface of 

 ground, and the beneficial effect was ap- 

 parent at the end of the summer in the 

 healthier trees and larger and more 

 highly colored fruit. There was also evi- 

 dence of the dressings of this sulphate 

 when applied to bedding and other 

 plants, convincing me that I had found 

 the key to the cause of badly-colored 

 flowers and fruits, and inducing me to 

 employ it and kainit much more exten- 

 sively than I would otherwise have done. 

 Of course, it means time, and several 

 applications, before a soil poor in potash 

 can be made rich in this plant food con- 

 stituent, so that it took some years to 

 work it up to the desirable point, and 

 occasional dressings afterwards to main- 

 tain it at this standard. 



' ' If any other gardener has a difficulty 

 in securing color in his flowers or fruit, 

 all other essentials being provided for, I 

 would advise him to try the effect of a 

 dressing of sulphate of potash at the 

 rate stated, and note the result. , It takes 

 time to become diffused in the soil, and 

 to be taken up by the plants. ' ' 



KILLING OUT POISON IVY. 



Will you please let me know the proper 

 name of that poisonous vine commonly 

 known as poison oak or poison ivy? And 

 how can I kill it out of a stone wall? 

 Some of the vines are nearly an inch in 

 diameter. What can I put on my hands 

 and face while exterminating it, as my 

 skin is very sensitive and I get poisoned 

 while working near-by? W. M. 



The botanical name of poison ivy is 

 Rhus Toxicodendron. If leather gloves 

 are worn when handling this vine and 

 care is taken not to bring the gloved 

 hands in contact with the face, probably 

 no serious trouble will result. 



To exterminate it, all of the vino that 

 is visible should bo cut away with shears 

 or anything that can be used effectively, 

 and then during the growing season all 

 succeeding growth should be cut away. 

 If this fails, try a strong solution of salt 

 in hot water, using the solution while 

 still hot. If even that fails, try muri- 

 atic acid, being extremely careful not to 

 get any of the acid on any part of the 

 person. D. M. 



Lincoln, III. — The owners of the 

 West End Greenhouses have dissolved 

 partnership. Otto Hembreiker retires 

 from the concern and Hans Schmalzl re- 

 mains in charge of the business, which 

 has grown to a considerable establish- 

 ment as the result of the hard work both 

 partners have put into it. 



