14 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Dkckmbkk 9, 1909. 



Ili.'Hi words, tlic ;i((iPMi|iaii,vin-i illiistiji 

 timis will j^ixc ilic nut r;i\('Ii'i| ;iii iilca ut' 

 what is iKiw i('(|iiiii'il in a liisl class 

 lliiwiT stiiiT ill the I'ai-ilic coa.st states. 

 Tills is the iicw stiiif lit' tlir S|i(ikaiii' 

 l''l()rist <'(i,. Sjiukanc, Wasli.. |iliut(i- 

 uraiili('<l (111 tiif ij.ay nt' its i-ccciit njicniii;^. 



The stole is e(|iii|i|ie(| witii iiiinors mi 

 liotli siijes. with a laryc diie in the en 

 Ii'aiu-e and in the re.ar nt' tiie ^vill(ll>w, 

 ci\t'rlifa<l. ()n tlie ii|ieiiiii;^ day there 

 were shown a 'I'lianks^ix in^; table, a 

 mantel decnrat inn and ;i nninlier ut' .speci- 

 ineii designs and lia^ket aiiaiii;('ineiit.s, 

 liesides vasi's nf lini' spei-iinen clii'vsan 

 theiniiins, of whidi the most |iroiiiineiit 

 wer(> .M;nid Dian. Madonna, (hadwiek. 

 I'l.'iton .and (oddeii Wedding. Anioiij;' the 

 ri)ses ino^t used were P.eant ies, Kate 

 \loiilton iind i^ii-hinond. The Tliaiiksyi\- 

 inj; decor.'it ion was done in a|i|iles. ears 

 of roiii. s|iray^ ot' wheat, smil.ax ami 

 l-laton ninins. randlc'^ .and yellow rliif- 

 I'on liow^ <-oiii|dete(| llie srheiiie. The 

 mantel deior.aiion was done in tlio same 

 ehrysant lieiniims. with tlieir hiiij^ stems 

 in oi-;iret'iil \ase>, A i|ei-or;ited <:ilt mir 

 ror was e-«]iecially oniid. The decoration 

 was a o|()n|i of ihrco ;^ilded ina;iiiolia 

 wreath.'^ liiiiio o\er one id' llie iijiper 

 eoriieis. with a laii^i' ^|iiay ot' Inickle- 

 lien\ . 



lions made siii^jrest ixc decorative anil gift 

 pieces. Among the plants were clioice 

 c\ (d.anieii-; ami Sinioii Maidiier a/.ale.as. A 

 siigysi i\ (• wall de;-oration of gilded jiiiie 

 cones in a comcntion.al festoon was one 

 of the lie.'^t features. 



Music was fiirnisheil liy an orchestr.i 

 ill the lialcony. .Mr. Kipp w;is well 

 jdeased \\itli the attendance and the re- 

 sults ot' his efVoi'ts, 



DOBBS' DESIGNS. 



Win. (i. Dolibs, jiroprietor of the Inisi- 

 ss comliK'ted ns J)i)hbs & Son, Auburn, 



v.. staiiils ill the accompanying illus- 

 itioii showing two of tlio designs re- 

 nt ly turned out in his cstablisliinont. 

 lese designs are of interest as showing 

 e character of work the average florist 



a small city is called on to do time 

 ter time, though in this case the size 



the ]iiei-es was greater than usual. 



m 

 .\ 



tr 

 ce 

 Tl 



th 

 ill 

 af 



of 



AVERAGE PRICES. 



I wain to make an average jirice for 

 standard varieties of carnations and vio- 

 lets to a prospective retail customer for 

 Hie season. Can you suggest a reason- 

 able tigiire? ' J. M. 



If tiiis question is correctly read, tliis 



Designs by Dobbs & Son, Auburn, N. Y. 



Amoii:^ the desii^ii'- weic ;i harp ot' 

 gilded m;igiioli;i |ea\es on a ba^e of long 

 stemmed ^'ellow Maloii--. and a broken 

 \\lieel made Solid with fjiclia nt res^ car 

 nation-., with a spi.ay ot' \alley on one 

 side (d' the rilll and a loose cluster of 

 Uride roses on the opposite siih'. A 

 number of dainty hampers and handle 

 basket.'^ ill \al|e\-, \iidet-; and pink c.aina 



stock is to be sirjd ;it retail. Ill that case 

 it should no! be dilliiMilt to set a price 

 for the seasiui. .\b(st ret.ailers maintain 

 f.airly uniform ]iiice>, ri'gardless of the 

 fliictii.at ions of wholesale prices, so that 

 all one has to ilo is to name about his 

 usual retail jirice. lie may not inake 

 much at hidi<lay time, but he will a\erage 

 up ill -spring. 



If the all-season price is to be estab- 

 lished between grower and retailer, that 

 is another matter. In such a case many 

 factors would enter, but the grade of 

 stock would be the chief consideration. 

 AVhero one grower's carnations might 

 be worth a 4 cent average, another's 

 wdiild not brinir half that. 



SALE OF COMPOST. 



In tiie Review of November 18, page 

 IL', i\ A. Forbes inquires about the sell- 

 ing of compost in small quantities for 

 jiotting house plants. In reply to his 

 (|uestion, I might say that it all depends 

 upon the size of the city and the mode 

 of procuring the ingredients of the com- 

 ])ost. Our firm is located in a town of 

 about lo.dOO inhabitants and our soil 

 costs nothing except for the hauling. At 

 first we sold it at 15 cents per bushel, 

 later at 20 cents and at present we get 

 2.") cents. This, liowever, only pays for 

 the trouble of delivering it, but as the 

 people have better results from their 

 plants with our compost than with their 

 own, they are encouraged to buy more 

 jdants. Thus the accommodation ]iavs. 

 C. F. C' 



SMILAX AND PLUMOSUS. 



Will you kimll.v give me some advice 

 on growing smila.x and .Vsp.aragus plu 

 mosus for sprays? When and how should 

 they be started, and wIkmi ]danted to bed 

 or bemdi .' How much manure should be 

 useil at jilanting time, and how muidi and 

 liow often thereafter.' What kind of 

 iiijinuie or phosphate is preferable? 

 When ;ind how long should the jilants 

 ha\e a rest? When should they be 

 syringed, if at .'ill.' Do you shade in 

 summer, and if so, \\liat <io you use and 

 when do you put it on? Does smilax 

 glow faster if syringed everv few days? 

 Any other information you can gi\e me 

 will be thankfully received. I!. J. P. 



The solid bed system is the one most 

 used for the culture of both smilax and 

 .\s|iaragus plumosus, but with this diflfer- 

 I'lice, n.amely. that many growers prefer 

 to replant smilax each year, or at most 

 to inn it for two seasons and then re- 

 jilaiit. while Asparagus plumosus may be 

 grown for eiglit or ten years from the 

 one planting, ])rovide(l the bed is deep 

 I'lioiigh and th(' compost rich enough to 

 bear the strain of production for so long 

 a peiioil. 



.'^inila.K is grown from seed sown in 

 .lanuary or February, shifted fui into 

 :'. imdi |iots as the young plants neecl it, 

 .•iiel |danted out about Sxlo inches ajiart 

 ill till' lied in .Tnl.v. A temperature ot' CO 

 degrees .at night is rc^quired to kee|i the 

 pl;iiit< ill growing condition, and the <id! 

 should be comjiosed of four ]>;iitv of 

 goo(l loam to one part of old cow manure. 

 A di'ptli of six to eight inidies ot this 

 compost is required in the lied. 



Thorough syringing slioiild be gi\eii to 

 both siiiiliix and asp.'iragiis on every 

 bright day, in order to keep down thrips 

 and reil spider, and at times it may be 

 necessjiry to give a dusting with insect 

 jiowder in order to destroy caterjiillars. 



.\sp;iragus jil.ants should be good, 

 strong stock from 1-inch jtots at the time 

 of planting, and should be jdanted in a 

 greater ilejith of soil than the smilax. 

 Some growers ni.'ike the beds two feet 

 deep and give a lib(>ral coating of manure 

 ill the bottom. o\cr the drainage mate- 

 rial, the latti'r being composed of lirick 

 bat^, cinders or stone. A similar com 

 po-t til that suggested for smilax wilt 



