AiGLST 12, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



III: 



i.oard attached. They say they re- 

 that other florists have devised 



,v good forms of concrete bench, but 



believe their own idea meets the 



- of the average florist at least as 



as anything else they have seen. 



iicrete benches are well known to be 



ically indestructible, to be econom- 



in first cost, and cheap in the long 



but there is one point which it ap- 



> growers generally may have over- 



,'d. Freedom from the necessity of 

 nsive and laborious rebuilding is no 

 tcr advantage than the freedom con- 



,' construction gives from those pests 

 h inhabit decaying wood, and which 

 among the most difficult to exter- 

 itc of any the florist is called on to 



hat. 



1 ANCHE FERRY SPENCER PEA. 



lie trade at large, and the sweet pea 

 n Id especially, owes a great deal to the 

 ,; ;inator of Countess Spencer. No va- 

 I V ever did so much to revitalize in- 

 h ■^t in this ever-popular flower. The 

 .11 five character of Countess Spencer 

 li:. . led to the introduction of a great 

 II iMiber of so-called Spencer varieties, 

 r.i. Ii possessing the type of the original, 

 \\:\h variatioiiii in color wliich have run 

 iiii.ost the entire gamut. If some varie- 

 iii< closely alike in color have been dis- 

 -. ininated under different names, and if 

 -..IMC of the new sorts have j)roved inade- 

 i|ii;itcly fixed, it nevertheless is due to tiie 

 \:i liable character of the parent that so 

 j;it>at an impetus has been given to sweet 

 I'las in recent years. Had the Spencer 

 i\|it' possessed the staid qualities of the 

 "hlcr sorts, the sweet pea and floricul- 

 iiiral world would have missed a great 

 ■ Ira! these recent years. 



Many of the seed catalogues for 1910 

 vmI! feature new Spencer sweet peas, 

 I here being several new shades of color 

 11! these coming out this season. One of 

 tiK'se is the Blanche Ferry Spencer, orig- 

 iiKited on the farms of the Routzahn 

 >"''cd Co.. in California, and shown in 

 lii'- accompanying illustration. The va- 

 Mi'ty has pale rosy standard, with white 

 " iiigs. 



CYCLAMEN. 



Starting the Seedlings. 



It is time to sow cyclamen seeds once 



i'>re. Of course the operation may be 



■ ferred until as late as December, but 



> sowing thus early you can depend 



i'on having excellent stock for sale by 



iiiistmas, 1910. Secure, if possible, the 



w crop of seeds which dealers should 



'W have on hand. Do not purchase a 



'lap mixture, but the best possible 



lains. As a rule, white and pink are 



'• best selling colors, but at the holidays 



•Is always take well. 



Ilie seeds can cither be sown singly, 

 "Mit an inch apart each way, in shallow 

 ''s, or more thickly in flats or i)ans. 

 ■me growers seem to prefer the tliiu 

 *\ing, claiming thoy get stronger 

 nits. Whichever plan is adopted, the 

 '■'Is should be dropped evenly. Too 

 ''11 we see pans with a crowded bunch 



seedlings at the edges and notliing in 

 ' middle, often the result of careless 

 iiering. For compost use plenty of 

 it-mold of a rather flaky nature; two- 

 irds of this to one-third of loam, to 

 'liidi is added some powdered charcoal 

 '1 sand, will answer well. Make the 

 'ifiico smooth by using a light board 

 I'Jie Bowing, and cover the seeds with 



New Blanche Ferry Spencer Sweet Pea. 



a thin coating of finely screened leaf- 

 mold and santl. 



Place the seed receptacles in a north 

 house, or even a frame. After watering 

 cover with paper and kec[i well shadcij. 

 Watch the soil carefully, ainl always 

 water through a can with a tine rose. 

 \e\<M' use tlie hose for these or any other 

 seedlings. The soil should he kept uiii 

 forinly moist, but not wet, ;iiid if ymi 

 hav(> secured good seeds you will soon sec 

 tliem swelling up into little luiliis. 



Plant in Frames. 



With the arrival of simiewliat ciK)ler 

 nights, cyclamen plants in the frames are 

 commencing to grow much faster. Keeji 

 the surface soil stirred, weecls iind any 

 decaying leaves removed and pirudi out 

 any buds which may be showing thus 

 jirematurely. It will be necessary to 

 space the plants more frecpiently. Do 

 not let the plants become crowded, nr 

 their symmetry will be spoileil. Half the 

 charm of a well grown cyclamen is in its 

 cir(de of clean, handsome foliage. Kx- 

 ci'pt when heavy rains threaten, the 

 sasiics need ne\t>r he over tlit^ jilaiits, but 



keep the lath or other shadings over the 

 plants during bright sunshine. 



Keep a sharp lookout for aphis and 

 thrips. In dry weather the latter )iest is 

 liable to be destructive. The sashes once 

 a week sliould l)e placed on tiie frames 

 and ;i fumigation given. Between the 

 fumigations spray the plants with a nico- 

 tine solution, and you will elfectively 

 contr(d the insects. Attend to any neces- 

 sary jKitting. The final shift for plants 

 wanted for midwinter blooming should 

 lie given not later than September 1. 



Hkooki.ixi:. Mass. — William Almy has 

 purclias(>il from fJ. L. Stone a live-acre 

 tract of land on W.arren street, with a 

 residence, stable .•ind greenhouse. 



(lnAM) Island, Xkb. — John F.llsworth, 

 [)residt'nr ot the Ellsworth (ireenhouses, 

 Inc., has C4immenced the erection of four 

 greenliouses, one; L':2xl4U, one SOxl^.l, 

 and two KixlOO feet each. With this 

 addition, the range will incUule 4.~,000 

 S(|u:ire feet of glass. He is using the 

 Wittbold lieiieh sy-teni .and the MoB- 

 inirer \entilator. 



