NOTBMBEB 25, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



59 



of these farmers a few years ago com- 

 menced the growing of violets in a small 

 way, and a season's results showed that 

 the rich sandy land and moist atmosphere 

 were peculiarly adapted to the growth of 

 these flowers. Immediately after San 

 Francisco's big fire their culture was 

 kept up only in a desultory fashion, but 

 with the advent of the tremendous de- 

 mand of the last two seasons, more grow- 

 ers have entered the field and more acres 

 have been devoted to the growing of 

 ' violets. 



In a few isolated instances, the grow- 

 ing" of violets has been tried in Alameda 

 and portions of San Mateo counties, but, 

 owing to the fact that both these locali- 

 ties are not strictly within the fog belt, 

 only partially successful results have been 

 obtained. 



The Princess of Wales violet has been 

 for the last ten years the only variety 

 that has been grown here in quantity, 

 and from present indications it appears 

 to supply every want of the flower-loving 

 public. It is only within a radius of five 

 miles that it can apparently be grown 

 with profit. It was formerly supposed 

 that the violet could be grown reason- 

 ably well on almost any soil, but we have 

 found out that in California at least, the 

 atmospheric conditions have quite as 

 much to do with the successful growing-^ 

 of this flower as has the ground in which 

 it is planted. Long, cool nights, foggy 

 mornings and sunshine in the afternoon 

 are the ideal conditions, and these, to- 

 gether with deep, rich, sandy soil, fertil- 

 ized for years for vegetable growing, 

 have proven violets to be one of the best 

 paying crops to which it is possible to 

 devote the land. 



As before stated, the Italian growers 

 have absolute control of this industry, 

 in the same way that the Chinese have 

 monopolized the sweet peas, asters and 

 chrysanthemums. 



On the approach of the holidays, it is 

 the custom for shippers, who buy and 

 send the flowers to out-of-town points, 

 to make an effort to control the holiday 

 crop by offering a bonus on the ruling 

 rates until after the holidays. This they 

 can well afford to do for several weeks, 

 as the interior florists, as well as those 

 in Washington and Oregon, are perfectly 

 willing to pay good prices for these 

 flowers at such times. This works quite 

 a hardship on the local dealers. Flower 

 buyers are so accustomed to seeing large 

 quantities of violets on all the street 

 corners during the season, that they seri- 

 ously object to the extra price which it is 

 necessary to charge them, by virtue of 

 the fact that for a few weeks out-of- 

 town buyers will pay a handsome advance 

 on San Francisco market rates. G. 



GLADIOLI ON PACIHC COAST. 



We have read with interest the articles 

 in the Review's San Francisco corre- 

 spondence, and beg the privilege of 

 making inquiries in regard to gladiolus 

 culture on the Pacific coast. Will you 

 kindly gfivevus some idea of the demand 

 and the average price per hundred for 

 cut flowers, the length of the season, and 

 also the demand for bulbs in the fall? 

 Would it be wise for one to go there ex- 

 pecting to make a living growing gladioli 

 for a time, at least until one could be- 

 come acquainted with other farming or 

 fruit-growing methods there, that might 

 be better? Of course, we understand 

 that it is necessary to irrigate. We have 

 been growing gladioli here, in Ohio, suc- 

 cessfully for many years and thoroughly 



Rooted Carnation Cuttings 



Showing: a Portion of Our Field 



Ib there any comparison to be made between cuttings grown on plants that 

 have been raised in the open under the most favorable climatic conditions, with 

 plenty of water and good, deep cultivation, and those grown on plants that have 

 been raised under glass? 



Our Cuttinsa 'will be ready for early December Delivery 

 WATCH THIS SPACE FOR PRICES 



Loomis Carnation Co., 



D. F. RODDAN & S0^ 

 Proprietors 



Loomls, Gal. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



Rooted Carnation Cuttings 



All the best varieties for Dec. 1 delivery. 

 Send for price list, now ready. 



Field- STOTTn plants yet for sale 



Bassett's Floral Gardens 



LOOMIS, CAT,. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



understand the business in this part of 

 the country. We are growing the new, 

 large varieties exclusively. 



A. H. A. 



The demand shown by the flower buy- 

 ing public for gladioli during the past 

 season shows that this well-known flower 

 has come to stay. This was particularly 

 noticeable with the newer varieties, and 

 such kinds as America, Augusta, Easter, 

 1900 and many others were not produced 

 in anything like sufficient quantity to 

 cover the market. The comparatively 

 high prices asked for flowering bulbs 

 kept many growers from planting them, 

 but those who did so had no difficulty in 

 getting from $5 to $6 per hundred stems 

 and retained their stock bulbs for an- 

 other season. The older and poorer 

 strains are being gradually superseded 

 by the better article and, if the demand 

 is as general next year as it was in the 

 season that has just passed, gladioli will 

 be another good paying crop. 



Gladioli seem to flourish in almost any 

 soil that is neither too heavy nor exces- 

 sively sandy. Good sediment ground, 

 with a generous drainage, suits them 

 best. Regarding watering, unless the 

 season is exceptionally dry or the soil al- 

 lowed to get hard, a couple of good 



ROOTED 



Carnation Cuttings 



•••Our Specialty... 



Write For Price§. 



California Carnation Co., Loomis, Cal. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



RAHN ft HERBERT 



Wbolesale Grow^ers 



PORTLAND, ORK. MT. TABOR, P. O. 



Per 100 

 Oeranlnms, 2^2 in. pots ..per 1000, 125.00; $ 3.00 



Cyclamen, 4-ln.. buds and flowers 25.00 



Frimnla Obconica, 2'a-in. pots 4.00 



Mams, stock plants 5.00 



Palms, Fern, and Beaao.xable Planta. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



soakings will be all that is necessary to 

 induce the bulbs to put forth their great- 

 est efforts. In places in California 

 where the rainfall is very light it would 

 be necessary to keep the ground arti- 

 ficially watered oftener than this. Again, 

 in localities where the natural moisture 

 stays in the ground all season, no extra 

 waterings need be provided. 



Good cultivation, freedom from weed 

 pests, no excessive manuring and a new 

 situation every few seasons, is all that 

 is required either by an amateur or an 

 old established grower to produce a 

 profitable crop, provided the best varie- 

 ties are planted and the crop is produced 

 near enough to market to be advan- 

 tageously handled without paying too 

 high tribute to the express company. 



By a judicious succession of plantings 

 it is possible to have flowers from June 

 until the end of November. G. 



