Decbmbeb 23, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



15 



Tomato Trials of the Livingston Seed Co. 



credit of over £1,000 and a membership 

 of 4,000. 



Page Eoberts was reelected chairman, 

 E. Mewley secretary, and G. W. Cook 

 treasurer. 



One of the special features of the 

 gathering was the presentation of the 

 first Dean Hole memorial medal to Eev. 

 T. Pemberton, in recognition of his con- 

 spicuous services as a rosarian, his suc- 

 cess in exhibitions and his literary works 

 on the rose. 



National Sweet Pea Society. 



The annual general meeting was held 

 December 10, followed by the annual 

 dinner and a conference on sweet peas, 

 at which the discussions were opened by 

 William Cuthbertson, on "The Imperfect 

 Seeding of Waved Sweet Peas," and 

 by W. J. Unwin, on "Sweet Pea Names 

 and Naming." The report shows a 

 membership of 938 and over 100 aflSli- 

 ated societies. 



In the past a one-day 's show has usual- 

 ly been held in London. In 1910 the 

 show will be a two -days' show, to be 

 held July 12 and 13. 



The trials will be continued and ar- 

 rangements are being made for a more 

 extensive and conclusive test of varieties 

 than has been possible hitherto. The 

 trials will be conducted at the Times 

 Experimental Station, Ladygrove Farm, 

 near Guildford, and will be conducted by 

 Charles Foster, to whom novelties (not 

 less than fifteen seeds) should be sent 

 before January 15. The charge is 2 

 shillings and 6 pence on each variety. 

 At the request of seed merchants, trials 

 will also be made for the purpose of 

 testing the correctness and purity of 

 stocks. For this test, not less than 

 twenty-four seeds must be sent and the 

 charge is 5 shillings. A special commit- 

 tee vnll investigate the various diseases 

 to which sweet peas are liable. 



N. N. Sherwood, of Hurst & Son, 

 London, was elected president for 1910; 

 E. Sherwood, treasurer; Commander 

 Humphrey, chairman of committee; C. 

 H, Curtis, Adelaide Koad, Brentford, 

 Middlesex, secretary. 



Royal Botanic Society. 



The one exception to the encouraging 

 reports is that of the Royal Botanic 

 Society. There are rumors of amalga- 

 mation with the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society, and joint conferences are at 

 present being arranged with a view to 

 bringing this about on a basis suitable 

 to each society. There are many diffi- 

 culties in the way and no one can fore- 

 cast the result. 



The Seed Trade. 



Concurrent with the foregoing, the 

 seed merchants have had a busy time 

 during the whole of the week in Agri- 

 cultural hall, showing their specimen 

 grains and seeds for 1910, as well as 

 large exhibits of seed potatoes, and the 

 produce of their 1909 crops in the shape 

 of giant mangels, turnips, cabbages, etc. 

 Eeports are varied as to the amount of 

 business transacted on this occasion, ow- 

 ing to the ruling prices being so high. 



The principal exhibitors were J. 

 Carter & Co., London; Sutton & Sons, 

 Eeading; Webb & Sons, Stourbridge; 

 E. W. King & Co., Coggeshall; Harrison 

 & Sons, Leicester, and John K. King & 

 Sons, Coggeshall. Bee. 



TOMATO TRIALS. 



Tomatoes always have been the spe- 

 cialty of the Livingston Seed Co., Colum- 

 bus, and it is probable that the firm each 

 year conducts the most extensive tomato 

 trials which are carried on in the United 

 States. Last season they had trials of 

 more than 250 different lots of seeds of 

 the standard varieties and, besides, they 

 had nearly 100 different varieties of seed- 

 lings. These latter were all grown staked 

 up, but of thS^-SiW trials of standard 

 varieties part were staked and part were 

 grown in the regulaV fashion, with the 

 plants spreading all over the ground. In 

 the accompanying illustration a corner of 

 the Livingston tomato trials is shown. 

 The rows in the foreground of the picture 

 are Livingston 's Globe, Hummer, Core- 

 less, Magnus, Beauty and some others of 

 the important standard sorts. 



IMPERIAL GLASS CO. A GO. 



The Imperial Window Glass Co., the 

 combination of independents or hand- 

 made window glass manufacturers, has 

 at last become a reality, after the pro- 

 moters have been struggling for more 

 than a year to organize it. Final steps 

 of the consolidation, affecting firms and 

 plants valued at $6,000,000, were taken 

 at a meeting of directors last week. 



A practical monopoly of the American 

 market is assured the combine because of 

 the strike in the plants of the American 

 Window Glass Co., which by the use of 

 machines produces one-third of the coun- 

 try's supply. Promoters of the new con- 

 cern declare that almost three-fourths of 

 the independents were on the verge of 

 bankruptcy. 



In spite of denials that the purpose of 

 the organization is to boost prices, rates 

 have been raised twice, five per cent each 

 time, since the consolidation project gave 



promise of success early in October. Only 

 six of the hand-make plants in the coun- 

 try remain outside of the corporation. 

 Two of these are in western Pennsyl- 

 vania, one in West Virginia and one in 

 Ohio. All are expected to come within 

 the fold within a few weeks. 



All plants concerned have been as- 

 sessed at the rate of $100 to each pot. 

 As 2,200 plants of 2,400 have come into 

 the company, the amount raised to launch 

 the company will be $220,000. 



TTie active officers are: President, 

 Myron L. Case, Bowling Green, O. ; treas- 

 urer, J. G. Sayre, Columbus, O. ; secretary 

 and sales agent, J. B. Johnston, Indian- 

 apolis, Ind. M. J. Healey, of Bradford, 

 is vice-president, and there are fifteen 

 members of the board of directors. 



BURKI'S ASPARAGUS. 



Fred Burki grows an immense quantity 

 of asparagus, both Sprengeri and plumo- 

 sus, at the Bakerstown plant of the 

 Pittsburg Cut Flower Co., and he has a 

 limited quantity of elongatus. But the 

 latter is simply an experiment; cannot 

 yet tell if there is a market for it. One 

 house largely filled with Sprengeri is 

 19x350 feet. The benches are raised, and 

 have five inches of soil, with a surface 

 dressing of rotted manure. When he first 

 grew Sprengeri there was scarcely any 

 market for it in Pittsburg and he had to 

 sell it in Chicago, but now all he has is 

 sold at home. His plumosus house is 

 40x350 feet and in it are five benches. 

 The soil is ten inches deep on tile bot- 

 toms, but the tiles are six inches apart. 

 The temperature is 60 degrees at night 

 and 70 degrees during the day. 



He saves his own seed and from this 

 raises a fresh stock of plants every year. 

 He grows them on in pots for a year, 

 then plants them out in beds, two beds a 

 year. He keeps his plants until they are 

 four years old, but no longer, for after 

 that the old plants produce too many- 

 long, naked stems to be profitable. He 

 throws out the two oldest beds each year 

 and plants two new ones, thus keeping 

 up a full crop and succession of paying 

 vines. The young plants branch fromi 

 the bottom up. Wm. Falconer. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS, 



Appointment of Committees. 



President Valentine has appointed! 

 John K. M. L. Farquhar, of Boston, as 

 chairman of a committee on Federatioo 

 and Affiliation of Amateur Societies, 

 This appointment is made in pursuance- 

 of a recommendation by President Valen- 

 tine at Cincinnati, and endorsed and! 

 ordered put into effect by vote of the 

 society. 



W. N. EUDD, Sec'y, 

 December 17, 1909, 



EocKLAND, Me.— Charles T. Spear ha^ 

 fitted up his flower store, opposite the 

 establishment of the Burpee Furniture 

 Co. 



Ardmore, Okla. — Schuman is fitting 

 up his office building on West Main 

 street and in a few days will have for 

 sale all kinds of cut flowers and ferns. 



Morrison, III. — The coal famine is so 

 serious along the line of the Northwest- 

 ern railroad that florists are seizing the 

 railroad's coal here to tide them over 

 until the road brings in their .own. 



