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14 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Jancabx 20, 1810. 



in the bench and allow the leaf to just 

 touch the sand. If the sand is not suf- 

 ficiently porous, it can be improved by the 

 addition of some finely broken up char- 

 coal. This also helps to keep it sweet. 

 A brisk bottom heat, say 75 to 80 degrees, 

 and 60 degrees overhead are suitable tem- 

 peratures, and with protection from the 

 sun, careful watering and the avoidance 

 of drafts, few leaves should fail to root. 

 From these early cuttings big, handsome 

 plants can be grown for next Christmas. 

 There remain, of course, some months 

 in which propagating can be done. By 

 trimming off all flowers and cutting the 

 plants back fairly well, then keeping them 

 tolerably dry for a time and later starting 

 them up again, a fine crop of young cut- 

 tings can be had. Nice little plants can 

 be grown from stock placed in the cut- 

 ting bench as late as the end of July. 



Campanula Medium. 



Easter comes so early this year that 

 few Canterbury bells are likely to be seen 

 in fiower. They are, however, a salable 

 plant if nicely grown at any time during 

 the spring months. If not yet started, 

 some of the plants potted late last fall 

 should now be introduced to heat. They 

 cannot tolerate hard forcing and the 

 night temperature should not exceed 50 

 degrees. As the pots become filled with 

 active roots, feed them liberally and they 

 will well repay for any extra labor be- 

 stowed upon them. White and pink are 

 the best selling colors and single varieties 

 are decidedly preferable to double ones. 



Dutch Bulbous Stock. 



A batch of Golden Spur and other 

 narcissi, also as many flats or pans of 

 the various tulips as demand exists for, 

 should be housed from time to time. 

 The tulips will be better for some drawing 

 up in the dark, but the various narcissi 

 should not now require it. Examine the 

 general lot of bulbous plants for forcing. 

 Most of them probably appear moist, but 

 if shaken out are dry. Given good drain- 

 age, there is far more danger from under- 

 watering than from overwatering. For 

 Easter sales, hyacinths, tulips and nar- 

 cissi must be kept as cool as possible. 

 They will not require starting before 

 March 1. Do not subject tulips to bot- 

 tom heat, or you will spoil them. They 

 will stand hard forcing, but not at the 

 root. 



Erica Melanthera. 



Cuttings of Erica melanthera root read- 

 ily in an ordinary cutting bench, such as 

 may be used for carnations or geraniums. 

 Rub the cuttings off with a heel, as these 

 root more quickly than those cut directly 

 through with a knife at the bottom. 

 Keep them well watered and few will fail 

 to strike root. Place in 2-inch pots when 

 ready and plant outdoors early in May, 

 in an open, sunny spot where they can 

 be watered and syringed during the sum- 

 mer months. 



Lobelias. 



The drooping lobelias, such as are used 

 for window boxes or vases, are easily 

 grown from seed sown early in February. 

 Where a few old plants were lifted in 

 the fall, of the compact growing sorts, 

 like Emperor William, adaptable for 

 edgings or carpetings, the present is a 

 good time to take a good batch of cut- 

 tings, which will have been freely pro- 

 duced of late. Many of these can be 

 taken off with roots attached, and a few 

 weeks in the propagating bench will see 

 them all fit for small pots or flats. If 



an extra large stock is desired, they can 

 be pinched and the tops rooted, while the 

 old stock plants wUl yield another crop 

 a month hence. 



Petunias. 



Petunias make such rapid growth from 

 seed that it is still a little early to start 

 them, except in the case of the so-called 

 double varieties. Only a small fraction 

 of these will come double, no matter how 

 expensive seed may be bought, but in 

 every case the weakest ones are likely to 

 be what we want. A common practice 

 is to discard weak seedlings. In the case 

 of petunias this policy will not pay, as 

 but few doubles will appear. The best 

 way to secure a good lot of doubles is 

 from cuttings. If some old plants were 

 carried over, they should now give plenty 

 of cuttings and those rooted right away 

 will grow into nice 4-inch pot plants for 

 May sales. 



Cleaning: Foliage Plants, 



January and February are months 

 when there is usually more time to devote 

 to general greenhouse work than at any 

 other season in the year. Advantage 

 should be taken of long spells of severe 

 weather, when general work is well 

 caught up, to overhaul and clean palms, 

 crotons, dracaenas and other foliage 

 plants. In most cases clear water will 

 be all that is needed. Where scale in- 

 fests the foliage, use some whale oil soap 

 in the water, or weak kerosene emulsion. 

 It is always better, after sponging with 

 any of these insecticides, to give the 

 plants a thorough hosing with clear 

 water. This helps to prevent any burn- 

 ing which may result from using too 

 strong insecticides. 



Seed Supplies. 



Many seed catalogues are already to 

 hand. The seedsmen always appreciate 

 early orders, and growers who want to 

 be sure of securing stocks before they 

 are exhausted, as many are likely to be 

 this year long before the selling season 

 ends, should sit down and write out their 

 list now. Try one or two novelties; not 

 half of those offered will probably be 

 any better than the older varieties, but 

 one good new thing is a rich reward for 

 the trial of many. Never buy the cheap 

 mixtures. The best seed always pays for 

 itself in the end. It may be quite a 

 while before you want to sow some of 

 the seeds, but you can get them speedily 

 and with the vexatious delays of the 

 spring season cut out, who would not 

 take time by the forelock and do his 

 seed ordering nowf 



Painting. 



While winter is not the time when the 

 woodwork is as dry as could be wished, 

 there are few days when it is not dry 

 enough to paint. Midwinter is a good 

 time to go over houses or some portions 

 of them which are in need of painting. 

 It is not possible to do this work in 

 structures where there are growing crops 

 in benches, but in houses carrying a gen- 

 eral line of pot plants, or between crops, 

 it is possible to get over a good deal of 

 indoor painting before the spring rush 

 comes along. It pays to paint; not only 

 does it preserve the wood, but it keeps 

 the house free from drip, makes it 

 neater and, best of all, lighter. There 

 may be a quantity of hotbed sashes not 

 now in use, and which are crying for a 

 coat of white lead and oil. Get these 

 under cover and, as time permits, paint 

 them over. 



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BOSTON. 



The Market 



Another blizzard reached us January 

 14 and, with a foot of additional snow, 

 accompanied by a howling northeaster, 

 business suffered temporarily. Fortu- 

 nately, the snow was lighter than we had 

 December 25, and damage was less. Now 

 we are dug out once more, and business 

 moves along quite serenely. On the 

 whole, trade is quite good and shipments 

 are cleaned up nicely, funeral orders call- 

 ing for large quantities of flowers. 



In roses some fine American Beauties 

 are coming in; the best now bring $6 

 per dozen. Bride and Maid are the poor- 

 est sellers, and are likely to be dropped 

 entirely here another year. Bichmond 

 sells well, as do both Killarney and 

 White Killarney. Some good My Mary- 

 land are seen. It seems to be well liked, 

 but as it needs a higher temperature 

 than other roses in winter, is less profit- 

 able than others. 



Carnations are none too abundant. 

 Their quality leaves nothing to be de- 

 sired. The various Enchantress shades, 

 beacon, Fenn, Melody, Winsor, Fair 

 Maid, Queen, Helen Goddard and White 

 Perfection are mostly in evidence. Pink 

 Delight and May Day being the more 

 popular novelties. Violets do not open 

 fast and hold their price well. Some fine 

 mignonette is seen, also extra good free- 

 sias. Rather more tulips are appearing, 

 and Golden Spur narcissi are becoming 

 more plentiful and sell well. Camper- 

 nelles and Trumpet Majors are slower 

 sellers. Paper Whites and Romans are 

 still abundant, as is stevia. Some good 

 wallflowers, pansies, sweet peas and snap- 

 dragons are coming in. Lilies and lily 

 of the valley sell well. 



In choicer flowers, Cattleya Trianse is 

 now in good supply and sells well. Cypri- 

 pedium insigne is plentiful. A few den- 

 drobiums of the Wardianum and nobile 

 types are appearing. Gardenias of good 

 quality are arriving, and are quite popu- 

 lar. Green stock of all kinds meets with 

 a satisfactory sale. 



Qub Meeting. 



The January meeting of the Garden- 

 ers' and Florists' Club always draws out 

 the largest attendance of the year and 

 the meeting January 18 proved no excep- 

 tion to this rule, many ladies being in- 

 cluded in the audience. The newly elected 

 officers were installed, all but the worthy 

 treasurer, Edward Hatch, being in at- 

 tendance. Each made brief and opti- 

 mistic addresses. The lecturer of the 

 evening was E. H. Wilson, of the Arnold 

 Arboretum. Mr. Wilson's internationa] 

 fame attracted members from long dis 

 tances and all were well repaid for at- 

 tending. For about one and a half hour - 

 he kept them interested with a graphi'! 

 description of his several Chinese tripJ- 

 The vast mountain ranges, some of thR 

 peaks 21,000 feet high, with others not 

 yet on the maps, but believed in somo 

 cases to equal the highest of the Hima- 

 layas; the difficulties and dangers to be 

 encountered by the collector, and last, 

 but not least, the marvelous vegetation 

 of this wonderful region, as yet to a 

 large extent unexplored, were each 

 brought out realistically by means of 

 numerous splendid lantern slides. After 



answering many questions, a rising 



and 



enthusiastic vote of thanks was tendered 

 the lecturer. 



There were, as usual, some good ex- 

 .' hibits and the membership roll received » 



