18 



Tht Florists' Review 



Sbptbmbbb 24, 1914. 



HOW TO HANDLE THEM. 



Unpack at Once. 



The Dutch bulbs have all come to 

 band quite a little earlier than usual 

 this year. The thrifty Hollanders have 

 ^ade earlier shipments in order to catch 

 steamers still running, and because to 

 America they must naturally look for 

 an outlet for their heavy crop owing 

 to heavy cancellations by the countries 

 at war. A heavy surplus seems a cer- 

 tainty, but if newspaper dispatches are 

 correct, tulip flour added in the propor- 

 tion of one part to three of rye or wheat 

 is being used and is found toothsome. 

 This is certainly vastly better than de- 

 stroying the bulbs, as was in some cases 

 advocated. 



No time should be lost in unpacking 

 and spreading out the, bulbs. There 

 were numerous complaints last season 

 that narcissi and tulips did not flower. 

 This would no doubt follow too hard 

 forcing when insuflSciently rooted and 

 started, but was more probably caused 

 by the bulbs being kept too near the 

 boilers, becoming heated in transit. 

 Some of the narcissi, such as Victoria, 

 poeticus ornatus and Horsfieldii, are 

 easily injured by heating and should be 

 carefully examined after unpacking. 

 Cut one or two of the bulbs across the 

 center with a knife and if the embryo 

 buds are fresh the bulbs are all right. 



Qood Demand a Possibility. 



It is too early yet to plant bulbs out- 

 doors, but for forcing purposes the 

 sooner they are in the soil the better. 

 We hear some pessimistic talk regarding 

 a probable glut of bulbous flowers the 

 coming season, which may not be well 

 founded. Wealthy Americans will be at 

 home and not abroad this winter. We 

 may liave to worry along without lily 

 of the valley, and white bulbous flowers 

 such as freesias, Roman hyacinths, etc., 

 will have, in a large measure, to take 

 its place, along with sweet peas. TJmd 

 azaleas may be b sw o r tium mnal mbA 

 for this reason there may be a b«tter 

 call for other blooming plants, Dutch 

 bulbs included. 



Storing in Flats. 



As a general rule flats four to five 

 inches deep answer well for about all 

 bulbs; a convenient size is 12x24 inches. 

 Where to stand the bulbs after planting 

 is another question. If no special place is 

 ready, stand them outdoors. Soak well 

 with water; then give the flats a cover- 

 ing of sand. Over this lay two or three 

 inches of coal ashes. If later on more 

 ashes are added and then a thick bed 

 of straw or leaves, the bulbs can be 

 kept out all winter where the climate 

 is not too severe. One would advise, 

 however, storinff in coldframes or cel- 

 lars, where such places are available, 

 as they are more readily got at during 



severe weather. If, however, the bulbs 

 ar^ needed quite late, say for Easter, 

 a good plan is to make a dug-out for 

 them on a southern slope. Bury well 

 with soil as cold weather advances and 

 later with a warm mulch. Nevertheless, 

 one would- always prefer a good cool 

 cellar, as each year we are able to keep 

 back hyacinths, tulips and narcissi as 

 late as the middle of May in such a 

 place, and there is no frozen earth to 

 dig away when a batch is needed for 

 forcing. 



Hyacinths. 



Hyacinths are not of great value com- 

 mercially, compared with tulips and nar- 

 cissi, but there always is a fair call for 



Judge the Tree 

 by Its Fruit 



In sending you remittance to pay 

 for two insertions of a 4-line Clas- 

 siUed ad. we can say that this 80 

 cents sold for us an even $100.00 

 worth of poinsettias. 



Hbinl & Weber, 

 Sept. 19, 1914. Terre Haute. Ind. 



them. For cutting the miniature bulbs 

 are inexpensive and to be recommended. 

 White is the leading color; then pink 

 and blue. For culture in pots, pans and 

 glasses, named varieties are preferable, 

 as they are sure to be the same shade 

 of color. They cost a little more than 

 the unnamed sorts sold for bedding and 

 forcing, but are well worth the differ- 

 ence. Double hyacinths are of little 

 value commercially. A few good, inex- 

 pensive singles are: Gertrude, Charles 

 Dickens and Moreno, pink; L 'Innocence, 

 Baroness van Tuyll and Grandeur a Mer- 

 veille, white; Queen of the Blues, Grand 

 Lilas, light blue; Grand Maitre and 

 King of the Blues, dark blue. 



Early Tulips. 



Tulips are of great value, both in 

 pans and for cutting. By using a proper 

 selection, flowers can be had from 



Christmas until Memorial day, which is 

 a fairly long season. The little Due van 

 Thol, which is grown in such quantities 

 for the European Christmas markets, is 

 not much used here, but is worthy of 

 increased culture. Forced in flats and 

 later made up in pans with some small 

 ferns among them, they make desirable 

 Christmas plants. 



Among the early tulips La Beine, pink 

 early in the season and white later, is 

 far the most popular. White Havrk, 

 also called Albion, is a beautiful pure 

 white sort which can be had as early as 

 La Beine. It is more expensive, how- 

 ever, but makes a more fancy flower. A 

 few other good forcing tulips are: Yel- 

 low Prince, golden yellow; Vermilion 

 Brilliant, rich scarlet; Thomas Moore, 

 apricot orange, fine for cutting, a popu- 

 lar shade; Mon Tresor, a splendid yellow 

 for cutting or pans; Keizerskroon, red 

 and yellow; Cottage Maid, white bor- 

 dered ,pink.. 



A few tulips a little higher in price 

 which are good for market are: Fla- 

 mingo, pink and white; Prosperity, deep 

 pink; Rose Hawk, white tinged pink; 

 Prairie Queen, sulphur yellow; Queen of 

 the Netherlands, delicate pink. 



Only a few doubles are of value. The 

 best are: Couronne d'Or, yellow, tinged 

 orange; Murillo, deep pink, grand for 

 cutting and pans; Tea Rose, also called 

 Brimstone Beauty, beautiful saffron yel- 

 low; White Murillo, also called Schoon- 

 oord, pure white; Imperator rubrorum, 

 bright scarlet. 



ILLINOIS STATE FAIB. 



Flower Show Makes New Record. 



The Illinois State Fair, at Springfield, 

 is on this week and the flower show is 

 making a new record. It is larger, bet- 

 ter staged and more interesting than 

 ever before. A number of new exhibit- 

 ors have appeared, for the advertising 

 value of the show, in a retail way, has 

 come to be widely appreciat'ed. It has 

 little trade advertising value, since the 

 attendance of florists^^ limited prac- 

 tically to the exhibi|oxs^ but to the local 

 florists it is the great chance of the 

 year to get before the people. Also, a 

 winning at the state fair has adveriis- 

 ing value to retail florists in other towns 

 than Springfield, which results in 8 

 larger number of entries. 



John Bauscher, of Freeport, is judging 



the show this year. Other florists from 



outside Springfield whose presence was 



noted include: 



Kuhl. George A., and asnlstanta, Pekin, III. 



I.ongren, A. T., Chicago. 



Peterson. P. W., Jollet, 111. 



Hey, Albert T., wife and two song, Maywoa. 



ni. 



Relnberg, Peter, Chicago. 

 Gullett. C. E., Lincoln, ill. 

 Poehlmann, Aagui>t, Morton Grove, III. 

 Anderson, C. O., Morton Grove, 111. 

 Anderson. A. K.. Morton Grove, ill. 

 Pantly, Wm., Wllmette, 111. 



The Boses. 

 There were as many as half a do/c" 



