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jANUAKt 6, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



CHADWICK A KEEPER. 



November 20 I cut a vase of Golden 

 Ohadwick mums for one of our churches. 

 I saw these flowers again at Christmas 

 time, December 23, and not only were 

 they still in good condition, apparently as 

 though first cut, but actually showed up 

 better than any mums I saw in the mar- 

 ket at Christmas time, though we had 

 Nonin and J. Kosette in the finest pos- 

 sible shape. 



I should like to have the opinion of 

 other readers of the Review on this point. 

 Is durability a recognized quality of 

 Chadwick, or is it probable that its be- 

 havior, in the case I have related, was 

 simply the result of some accidental cir- 

 cumstance? W. J. Olds. 



GOOD COMMERCIAL VARIEtlES. 



Kindly advise me as to what you con- 

 sider the best commercial varieties of 

 chrysanthemums, early, midseason and 

 late, in the colors, white, pink and yel- 

 low. F. H. W. 



The following list, while it may not be 

 the best in cultivation with everyone, was 

 highly satisfactory with me, and F. H. 

 W. could go farther and fare worse: 



Early white, October Frost ; early pink. 

 Pacific Supreme; early yellow, Golden 

 Glow. 



Midseason white, Beatrice May; mid- 

 season pink, O. H. Broomhead ; midseason 

 yellow, Yellow Miller. 



Late white, Chadwick or Mrs. Swin- 

 burne; late pink, W. E. Brock; late yel- 

 low, Nagoya. 



October Frost must be taken on the 

 early bud to get the best results and 

 Beatrice May needs careful handling, but 

 the balance of the list offers no serious 

 obstacle to successful culture, handled in 

 just the same way as the average com- 

 mercial grower would handle them. 

 Chadwick is not an absolutely pure white, 

 althoilgh it is good and reliable. Swin- 

 burne in some sections is much the better 

 flower. Chas. H. Totty. 



NITRATE OF POTASH FOR MUMS. 



Though living in New Zealand, I de- 

 pend largely on the Review for my horti- 

 cultural information, and I noticed that 

 Chas. H. Totty, in a recent L?sue of the 

 paper, mentioned the use of nitrate of 

 potash — saltpeter, I believe — as a fer- 

 tilizer for chrysanthemums. I should 

 like to know more about this, as I grow 

 them. How much of the fertilizer is used 

 to a gallon of water? "When should I 

 start using it, and how long should I 

 continue? J. H. R. 



Nitrate of potash is a valuable, quick- 

 acting fertilizer for chrysanthemums. It 

 is the saltpeter of commerce and, as I 

 understand it, is produced by boiling 

 down the muriate of potash and nitrate 

 of soda together. When used in conjutic- 



tion with bone meal, which supplies the 

 phosphoric acid, it makes a complete fer- 

 tilizer, supplying both nitrogen and pot- 

 ash. 



A safe proportion to use is one ounce 

 to a 4-gallon can of water. We have used 

 it constantly at the rate of one pound to 

 a 50-gallon barrel of water. As to how 

 often to use it, the operator must be 

 governed by the condition of the plants. 

 When the plants are accustomed to its 

 use, they can be fed with it at every 

 other watering, and it can be used right 

 up until the bud shows color. The time 

 to start applying this fertilizer is when 

 the plants are well established, which ia 

 about eight to ten weeks after being 

 planted in their flowering quarters. 



J. H. R., living in New Zealand, prob- 

 ably grows his plants outside, as is done 

 in Australia. In this section of the 

 United States, which is, of course, the 

 antipodes to New Zealand, we plant out 

 on the benches in May and then com- 

 mence feeding the plants at the end of 

 July. He must govern himself according 

 to his own season, concerning which he 

 knows much more than I do. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



IRIS FROM SEED. 



Can Spanish and English iris be grown 

 successfully from seed in this country, 

 and if so, will they bloom the second 

 year from seed? H. H. G. 



Both Spanish and English iris can be 

 raised from seed, but they will not 

 flower before the third year. We do not 

 know of any successful attempt being 

 made to raise them in this way in 

 America. The low price at which they 

 are purchasable in Europe would tend to 

 discourage the raising of home seedlings. 



Seed, when ripe, should be sown in flats 

 of sandy loam and kept in a coldframe or 

 cool greenhouse. It will not germinate 

 until the following spring. The simplest 

 method of propagation for these irises 

 is by bulb offsets, which are freely pro- 

 duced. C. W. 



TIME TO START CANNAS. 



When should cannas be started to make 

 good, salable plants in spring? R. F. 



It is too early to start cannas. Ex- 

 amine them to see if any show signs of 

 decaying. The end of February or first 

 half of March is quite as early as they 

 need to be started. Seasonable cultural 

 notes on these will appear in the Review 

 later in the season from time to time. 



PFEIFFER'S HOUNDS. 



There is a sentiment about a pack of 

 good dogs that appeals even to those who 

 never by any chance will come in touch 

 with rural life or hunting, and in the ac- 

 companying illustration of the hounds of 

 Charles Pfeiffer a special interest at- 

 taches from the fact that the dogs play 

 an important part in the care of their 

 owner's carnation plants. Located at 

 Fort Thomas, Ky., Mr. Pfeiffer finds that 

 the rabbits with which the neighborhood 

 abounds consider the young carnation 

 plants a most toothsome delicacy ; in fact, 

 so fond of the carnation is bunny that it 

 would be next to impossible to grow the 

 plants in the field were it not for the 

 services of the hounds. All summer long 

 the dogs act as guards over the carna- 

 tions, keeping the rabbits away. In the 

 winter Mr. Pfeiffer and his friends em- 

 ploy the hounds for hunting, and many a 

 florist has enjoyed their work. 



Chas. Pfeiffer's Hounds, Bred in Old Kentucky. 



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