16 



The Florists' Rev}^ 



Octosam t, litl4i 



Vegetable Forcmg 



vegetabij: men in session. 



The Vegetable Growers' Association of 

 America opened its seventh annual con- 

 vention in Philadelphia October 6, to 

 continue four days. There is an excel- 

 lent attendance, as usual, for this has 

 proved to be one of the liveliest of the 

 many special organizations in the trade. 

 While the market gardeners have not 

 become interested to the extent that 

 was expected, the men who grow vege- 

 tables under glass have found the asso- 

 ciation helpful and a splendid percent- 

 age of the membership attends, those 

 present sticking close to the sessions, 

 which are lively. The president is W. J. 

 Ritterskamp, of Princeton, Ind. 



There is a good trades' display. 

 Among the seedsmen showing are Henry 

 A. Dreer, Inc.; W. Atlee Burpee & Co., 

 and Walter P. Stokes. Mr. Stokes de- 

 livered a stereopticon lecture on the 

 evening of the opening^ day, showing 

 the seedsman's side of vegetable grow- 

 ing. He said, among other things, that 

 America depends on Europe for half of 

 the vegetable seed it sows, but that we 

 can and must grow our own seed. 



There is a long program of reports, 

 essays, lectures and tours to points of 

 trade interest. 



OUCUMBEB CUI<TUBE. 



We have a small house which we 

 wish to try out for cucumbers. ?t is 

 now run with raised benches. What 

 kind of soil should be used? What is 

 the best variety for forcing? When 

 should we plant them to have a crop in 

 January and February! Is it necessary 

 to poUenize, and, if so, howl How 

 thickly should they be planted! 



M. A. J. E. 



While the majority of commercial cu- 

 cumbers are grown in solid beds, they 

 can also be grown well in raised 

 benches. They do best with some bot- 

 tom heat in winter, and in this respect 

 the benches are an advantage. Give 

 six to eight inches of soil; if possible, 

 lay some sods or coarse material at the 

 bottom to help the drainage. Well de- 

 cayed sod, with one-fourth cow manure 

 added, is suitable. Of course, cucum- 

 bers are strong feeders and liquid ma- 

 nure can be freely applied once fruit 

 has formed. Set the plants twenty- 

 four to thirty inches apart in the rows. 

 Seedlings can be started in small pots 

 or pieces of turf; pots are preferable. 

 Cucumbers must have a minimum tem- 

 perature of 62 degrees; 65 degrees is 

 better, but on severe nights it njay fall 

 to 60 degrees. There should be a rise 

 of 15 or 20 degrees with sunshine. 



As there are few poUenizing insects 

 in midwinter, it is necessary to resort 

 to artificial aids. Of these, a bive of 

 bees is decidedly the best, and these 

 useful insects are now used in nearly 

 all large commercial cucumber estab- 

 lishments. Shaking the vines at mid- 

 day helps, while the work may also be 

 done by hand, but this takes much 

 time in even one house of considerable 

 size. Cucumbers, unlike tomatoes, re- 

 quire a moist atmosphere. 



The most populsar forcing cucumber 

 in America is White Spine. Of this 

 there are some fine special strains. The 

 long English type is most popular on 



private estates. A hybrid of the two 

 is now grown a good deal and brings 

 a better price than the old types. The 

 White Spine type matures a crop more 

 quickly thaa the English telegraph 

 type; the latter bears profitably over a 

 long period. It is SL-coaunon And good 

 practice to grow two or three crops of 

 lettuce and follow them in the late 

 spring with cucumbers. Use galvanized 

 or annealed iron wire for treUises. Bun 

 these both lengthwise and crosswise. 

 Tie the shoots with raffia. 



Aphis must be overcome by fumiga- 

 tion, but cucumbers will not stand a 

 heavy dose. A too close, warm at- 

 mosphere or cold draughts will cause 

 mildew to appear. Sulphur must be 

 used for this at once, or the plants will 

 soon be ruined. There are one or two 

 other diseases and other cultural de- 

 tails which, I am afraid, would occupy 

 too much space to give here, but The 

 Review will always gladly answer any 

 inquiries. C. W. 



FUBC^Ura- BADlBUiSS. 



We are adding a small house, in which 

 we wish to grow radishes. Can you 

 give me some instructions as to culture! 



We haye grown a few radishes, but 

 they were all pithy. What is the eaiue 

 and the remedy! E.P. M. &S. 



Radishes for towing should have a 

 night temperature of 45 to 50 degrees, 

 with a rise of 20 degrees on snnshiny 

 days and 10 degrees on cloudy days. 

 They must have plenty of fresh air and 

 all possible light. The best compost is 

 a light and moderately rich one; they 

 will make feeble growth in poor soil. 

 They succeed well in four to five inches 

 of soil in benches or in solid beds. 

 Radishes do much better where the soil 

 temperature averages 65 degrees, but a 

 higher atmospheric temperature will 

 cause pithiness, as will a lower one. 

 Radishes can be sown in rows four or 

 five inches apart and should be thinned 

 in order to get nice roots. As the seed 

 is quite variable in size, many growers 

 screen it and use two sizes; the larger, 

 of course, produces the finest radishes. 

 If the soil is dry at sowing time, soak 

 well; then wait until the seedlings are 

 well above the ground before watering 

 again. Use the turnip or oval radishes 

 for forcing, such as Early Scarlet Globe, 

 Non Plus Ultra and Early Deep Scar- 

 let, olive-shaped. C. W. 



EABLY FLOWEBINa GLADIOLI. 



How long does it take gladioli for 

 early spring to come into bloom, and 

 are they best planted in boxes, pots or 

 benches! E. P. C. 



I presume you refer to the nfinus 

 section, of which Peach Blossom, Blush- 

 ing Bride and The Bride are lavorite 

 varieties. These can be grown in 

 benches or flats. The latter should con- 

 tain four inches of soil, and seventy- 

 five to eighty-five bulbs can go in a 

 flat. Treat these the same as Paper 

 Whites, as they soon start to grow. 

 They require a cool house and will not 

 stand hard forcing. Bulbs planted in 

 October or November will not flower 

 before the early part of April. Large 

 quantities are kept each year for 

 Memorial day, when they are most sal- 

 able, and right along until July. C. W. 



bulb in each row. If a second row is 

 to be planted, we repeat the operation 

 on the south side of the bench. 



Plant the bulbs about the first part 

 of December for best results. There 

 will be little growth until late winter. 

 Hence, by the time the gladiolus plants 

 cast much shade, the light will be strong 

 enough to prevent any harm to the car- 

 nations. When warmer weather comes, 

 you will need to watch for red spiders, 

 for they are partial to gladioli. That 

 is about the only objection I have to 

 this double cropping of the carnation 

 beds. A. F. J. B. 



GLADIOLI IN CABNATION BEDS. 



Would you advise the planting of 

 gladiolus bulbs in a carnation bed, 

 where the rows are twelve inches apart 

 and the plants are nine inches apart in 

 the rows! C. M. 



We have for several years planted 

 gladioli between our carnations with- 

 out any apparent injury to the carna- 

 tion crop. Care should be taken not 

 to overdo it, and also to plant the gladi- 

 olus bulbs so that they will not inter- 

 fere with the watering or working of 

 the carnations. We plant one or two 

 row;s leagtkwiae <rf a S-foot bench. If 

 one row is planted, we set in the bulbs 

 right in the carnation rows and be- 

 tween the first and second plants on 

 the north side of the bench, setting one 



TO BEPLACE OABNATIONS. 



Would it pay to replant carnation 

 beds now with gladioli! Much space is 

 vacant from plants dying, and I do not 

 care to try to fill the space with carna- 

 tions this season. Can you suggest for 

 such space aa^hing better than gladioli 

 that will fa|bom during the winter 

 months! M. J. B. B. 



You can plant such gladioli as Peach 

 Blossom, Blushing Bride, Mathilde, and 

 others of the nanus type in the vacant 

 places among your carnations. These 

 will not flower before April 1, however. 

 The large-flowered gladioli, like Amer- 

 ica, Mrs. F. King, Augusta, etc., cannot 

 be planted for three months yet. You 

 could use some Spanish iris if you 

 wished. Other bulbs which would give 

 winter flowers earlier than the ones 

 named are freesias and Paper White 

 narcissi. The former would bloom in 

 January, the last named even earlier. 

 C. W. 



Middletown, O. — G. A. Beckmann has 

 opened a store at 428 East Third street. 



