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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Februaby 24, 1910. 



DAHUAS AND GLADIOLI. 



We are specialists in sweet peas, asters, 

 pausies, etc., but have never done any- 

 thing Mrith dahlias and gladioli and are 

 thinking of growing some of these, both 

 for the bulbs and the cut flowers. We 

 shall be grateful if you will inform ua 

 if wholesale and retail florists buy cut 

 dahlias or gladioli in mixed colors. We 

 know, of course, that in asters and sweet 

 peas they do not. Is it as j)ractical to 

 grow dahlias from seed as from bulbs or 

 from roots? Will you kindly name a few 

 of the best dahlias and gladioli for either 

 the retail or wholesale cut flower market f 



S. F. G. 



Neither Avliolesale nor retail florists 

 will care to handle either gladioli or 

 'lahlias in mixed colors. No matter what 

 flowers you grow for market, they must 

 be bunched in separate colors, or they 

 are practically unsalable. Dahlias are 

 easily raised from seed and will flower 

 the first season, but you will get every 

 imaginable color and type from seed — 

 good, bad and indifferent, the two lat- 

 ter classes usually predominating. It is 

 probable that few would be of such colors 

 as the market called for. In the case of 

 gladioli, it takes longer to flower bulbs 

 raised from seed and it is only specialists, 

 who grow them in big quantities and 

 wlio go in for cross fertilizing, who trou- 

 ble to raise them in this way. 



If you want to grow dahlias and gla- 

 dioli, try the tubers or bulbs from re- 

 liable specialists. Kestrict yourself to a 

 few varieties and grow these in quantity. 

 Dahlia catalogues contain ten times too 

 many varieties and these are confusing to 

 anyone lacking a knowledge of them. 



can be confidently recommended: Coun- 

 tess of Lonsdale, Clara G. Stredwick, 

 Harbor Light, Keynes' White, Kriem- 

 hilde, Strahlein Krone and H. J. Jones; 

 in decoratives Catherine Duer, Mme. Van 

 den Dael, Souvenir de Gustave Douzon, 

 Henry Patrick and Nymphsea; in peony 

 flowered, Glory of Baarn, Queen Wilhel- 

 mina, Baron G. de Grancy and Bertha 

 Von Suttner; in double shows. Grand 

 Duke Alexis, A. D. Livoni, John Walker 

 and Mrs. Langtry. The dainty little 

 pompons are fine for cutting^ A few 

 good sorts are: Vulcan, White Lady, 

 Catherine, Guiding Star and Little Her- 

 man. . C. W. 



AUTOMOBILE DELIVERY. 



The accompanying illustration is of an 

 automobile used fey the S. S. Pennock- 

 Meehan Co., Philadelphia, for the past 

 three months for delivering orders. It is 

 a two-cylinder, twenty horse-power car, 

 with a maximum speed of thirty-eight 

 miles an hour. A governor set for twen- 

 ty miles an hour is used to reduce the 

 speed to the law requirements, within the 

 city limits, the governor set for this 

 speed being proof that the law is not ex- 

 ceeded. The vehicle was made by the 

 Autocar Co., of Ardmore, Pa. It has 

 sliding gear, valve transmission and solid 

 tires. It will carry 2,000 pounds, a ca- 

 pacity double that of an ordinary delivery 

 wagon. Five eases of wild smilax can be 

 put on one load. There is an adjustable 

 shelf that can be put in position or re- 

 moved at will. 



When asked about the value of the car 

 from a business point of view, Mr. Pen- 

 nock said that it is a convenience in de- 

 livering flowers quickly to distant points, 

 but that it has not yet proved an econ- 



Deltvery Autocar of the S. S. Peaaock-Meehaa Co., Phtladelphia. 



Gladioli are less numerous. Some excel- 

 lent varieties of the latter are rather too 

 high priced to plant for supplying cut 

 flowers, but it will pay you to work a 

 good stock up for bulbs. For cutting, 

 the mixtures of white, scarlet, pink and 

 crimson are often planted; white and 

 pink are probably the best sellers, scarlet 

 following. 



The following gladioli in named sorts 

 arc suitable for your purposes: Amer- 

 ica, the most popular of all market sorts; 

 Augusta, May, Shakespeare, Ceres, 

 Bn nchleyensis and Mrs. Francis King. 

 In dahlias the following cactus varieties 



omy. He attached importance to keeping 

 the car moving, saying that when idle for 

 any length of time during the day it rep- 

 resents a loss to the business, just as does 

 unused floor space in the store. Phil. 



HANGING BASKETS. 



Will you give us some idea as to the 

 time to start hanging baskets, with sug- 

 gestions as to the best plants for the 

 purpose? M. & J. 



Wire baskets from ten to eighteen 

 inches in diameter are the best to use; 

 popular sizes are twelve to fourteen 



inches across. It is best not to All th^. <« 

 until two or three weeks before you ne 1 

 them. In order to help keep moisture u 

 them, place a layer of rough sphagm. ■ i 

 or wood moss next the wire. This ai • 

 helps to keep the soil from washing oi. 

 The soil should be tolerably rich; tw 

 thirds loam and one-third rotted cow m 

 nure is about right. 



You do not state whether you war 

 baskets of green or flowering plants. J 

 the latter, some useful varieties to uf- • 

 are: Ivy-leaved geraniums. Lobelia grn 

 cilis, Aubutilon vexillarium. Begonia Vi: 

 suvius, and for the centers of the bas 

 kets tuberous rooted begonias and thos< 

 of the fibrous section, such as Erfordi: 

 and Vernon, fuchsias, petunias, lantanas 

 and verbenas. 



Among green plants, Boston sword 

 ferns make good center plants. Other 

 ferns may also be used. Asparagus Spren 

 geri makes a splendid basket plant when 

 grown by itself. English ivy, varie 

 gated and green vinca, glechoma, Kenil- 

 worth ivy and maurandias are also fine 

 for this purpose. It is better not to mix 

 foliage and flowering plants. All the 

 baskets will be better if protected from 

 the sun's direct rays and require copious 

 supplies of water. Liquid manure, in 

 addition, wiU greatly assist them when 

 the baskets are crowded with roots. 



W. C. 



ASPARAGUS VS. CARNATIONS. 



Does it pay better to grow asparagus 

 than carnations? If so, what is the best 

 way to grow it, in strings or bunches? 

 When is the best time to plant it? How 

 long will it be when fit to cut and ship? 



J. B. 



I would certainly think that it will pay 

 you much better to grow carnations than 

 asparagus. In growing the latter there 

 is a considerable wait after planting be- 

 fore you can cut a string. Then it re- 

 auires much more fire heat than cama 

 cions. The strings are usually sold in 

 lengths of six to eight feet and bunches 

 contain twenty-five sprays each. If, as I 

 assume, you are a comparatively small 

 grower, my advice would be to leave the 

 asparagus to the big specialists and stick 

 to carnations. You will find the latter 

 are more of the bread-and-butter type 

 than the asparagus. 



If you refer, however, to Asparagus 

 Sprengeri, it wiU pay you better than 

 carnations, especially if your house is not 

 an up-to-date one. The Sprengeri will do 

 well ^n even a dark, almost sunless house. 



C. W. 



ASTERS ON CORN LAND. 



I have a lot, 70x100, in northeastern 

 Illinois, which was planted to com last 

 year. Would you advise me to plant it 

 to asters this year? How much seed will 

 I need and how should they be planted ? 



W. J. K. 



Asters should do well on the land you 

 speak of. Plow it, manure it liberally, 

 and thoroughly harrow it in April. If 

 barnyard manure cannot conveniently be 

 procured, use a good commercial fertil- 

 izer, at the rate of 600 to 800 pounds per 

 acre. Run the rows thirty inches apart 

 for such strong kinds as Vick's Branch- 

 ing, Crego and Semple's. Comet and 

 Queen of the Market can go a little clos- 

 er. Assuming that you allow thirty 

 inches between the rows and nine inches 

 between the plants, you will require about 

 2,600 plants. One ounce of good seed 



