Deckmbek 23, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



illustration, but the color is something 

 that must be seen in the original to be 

 appreciated. There never was another 

 auto colored like it. Without being a 

 color expert one would say that it was 

 neither purple, mauve nor lilac, but some- 

 thing of all three. At any rate the color 

 is striking and attractive. 



It is said that the Fleischman auto in 

 shape and color was designed by B. 

 Eubel, president of the Fleischman Floral 

 Co. It was built by the Stoddard-Dayton 

 people. It has only been on the street 

 a few weeks, but as an advertisement it 

 has already proved its worth and it has 

 every indication of demonstrating its 

 practicability as well. It is figured that 

 the automobile will do the delivery work 

 of three teams and in case of rush orders 

 it will save much time. 



CHRISTMAS CUT FLOWERS. 



Eetail florists who protest at the ad- 

 vance in prices which takes place at the 

 holidays seldom give a thought to the 

 fact that the demand suddenly swells to 

 several times its previous volume; they 

 call for four or five times as much stock 

 as they have taken before and write with 

 the order to "of course send nothing but 

 fresh flowers, " that day's cut, without 

 stopping to consider how the stock is to 

 be supplied. But someone has to give 

 the supply more than a passing thought. 

 Here is a letter that a far-sighted com- 

 mission man sent to all his growers De- 

 cember 15: 



"There are a great many more flowers 

 wanted for a holiday than any other time, 

 and the growers are expected to furnish 

 this extra supply. There are several ways 

 of doing this — some time their regular 

 crop to be at its heaviest; others grow 

 special crops for the holidays ; others hold 

 their regular cut and put it all on the 

 market at once. 



' ' The former two ways are commenda- 

 ble, and we are glad to say that most 

 of our growers handle their crops that 

 way, but the latter practice is condemna- 

 ble if overdone, and it is on this that we 

 want to make a few remarks. If you 



New Delivery Auto of the Fleischman Floral Co. 



feel that you must hold some stock, then 

 please don 't overdo it. Carnations should 

 not be cut and held in water over twenty- 

 four hours. Don't keep roses too cold. 

 Remember that stock shipped Wednesday 

 and Thursday is expected to be in good 

 condition Christmas day and Sunday. 



"Grade the stock carefully, and mark 

 up for us what is shipping stock, and 

 what we should sell to local trade for im- 

 mediate use. This will be a great help 

 to satisfy the trade, and our satisfied 

 customers are your best friends. Let us 

 work together. 



"Wednesday, December 22, and Thurs- 

 day, December 23, will be the heavy ship- 

 ping days. Let all the stock come on 

 these two days in equal proportions. Drop 

 us a line on receipt of this, or inform us 

 otherwise, as to the amount of stock you 

 expect to have. We will be extremely 

 busy these two days, and any help that 

 you can give us in careful selecting, 

 packing and marking up your stock will 

 be greatly appreciated. ' ' 



I SEASONABLE '=^^^^ 

 I -^^^ SUGGESTIONS | 



Sweet Peas, 



The sale for sweet peas is usually 

 somewhat sluggish during the chrysanthe- 

 mum season. From Christmas onward 

 they are in much better demand, at im- 

 proving prices. Growers who planted 

 early and have a house in good crop now 

 will find them a paying investment, for 

 the weeks following Christmas usually 

 find the market comparatively bare of 

 flowers. Exercise care in temperatures; 

 we find 48 to 50 degrees a safe average 

 at night. It may run a little higher on 

 mild nights, and can advance to 60 to 65 

 degrees, with sunshine, during the day. 

 With cold nights, when more fire heat is 

 required, a close watch is necessary in 

 order to keep red spider in check. Dampen 

 the house more frequently where the heat 



is the most drying, and on clear days use 

 the spray nozzle on the plants. Let this 

 be done early, so that they will be dry 

 before nightfall. Avoid anything in the 

 nature of a too humid and close atmos- 

 phere. This, with cold drafts, will start 

 mildew, which plays havoc with a crop. 

 During midwinter the plants need little 

 feeding. If the earliest ones show any 

 signs of exhaustion, give them a top- 

 dressing of sheep or cow manure. Let 

 the latter be well decayed and stir the 

 surface soil before watering it in. With 

 the clearing out of Christmas crops, it 

 is now possible to give some additional 

 space to peas. ^ Any vacant beds or 

 benches can novp be planted with them. 

 Never use old soil for them. They are 

 strong feeders and the best compost you 

 have is none too good for them. Always 



plant where there is ample head-room and 

 abundant light, and remember that the 

 bigger the house the better the peas will 

 do, if properly cared for. 



Poinsettias. 



The sale for cut poinsettias is largely 

 limited to Christmas week and the de- 

 mand for the brilliant bracts is slight 

 after that date. We hope you managed 

 to dispose of all your flowers at profita- 

 ble prices. Do not omit the saving of an 

 adequate number of stock plants for 

 another season. Year after year we see 

 people scurrying around for stock plants 

 about the time propagation should be 

 under way. If you want stock and in- 

 tend to grow a quantity another year, 

 now is the time to buy it. If in pots or 

 pans, simply lay them on their sides 

 under a bench in a house kept at 45 to 

 50 degrees at night. If lifted from beds 

 or benches, they can be heeled closely in 

 boxes of soil and kept in a cellar or shed 

 where the right temperature is main- 

 tained. Do not do any pruning now; that 

 can be done when you start them, which 

 need not be for several months yet. 



Speaking of poinsettias, some inquiries 

 reach us as to the value of the white 

 variety. It has little commercial value, 

 but the so-called double variety, plenis- 

 sima, is a good thing and not seen so 

 much as it ought to be. Of course, poin- 

 settias are in reality euphorbias, and that 

 reminds us that another useful member 

 of this family, E. jacquiniseflora, should 

 not be subjected to as severe drying as 

 the poinsettias. 



Amaryllis. 



Where an early crop of amaryllis is 

 desired, a batch of these may now be 

 started. If the bulbs are in pots of suf- 

 ficient size and well established, a liberal 

 top-dressing may sufiice. If, on the other 

 hand, the pots are crowded with active 

 roots, they should have a shift. A suita- 

 ble soil consists of three-fourths fibrous 

 loam, with all the finer particles screened, 

 one-fourth well rotted cow manure and 

 sufficient sharp sand and broken char- 

 coal to keep the whole porous and sweet. 

 When starting them, stand them on a 

 bench if possible, under which steam or 

 hot water pipes run. They like some bot- 

 tom heat. In Europe the common prac- 

 tice is to plunge the pots in tan bark 

 or other such materials. This is unneces- 

 sary, although it is an excellent plan to 

 adopt with tlie plants all through the 



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