12 



The Florists' Review 



September 5, 19l_' 



Dinner Table Centerpieces Make Steady Customers. 



CENTERPIECES. 



The social season is again with us 

 ami (iiif of the items of steady luisinoss 

 will lie furnishing (■(Miterj)ieces for iliii- 

 ner tallies. Tliis is a line of work 

 whicli ean lie made extrcimdy profitable, 

 for once a customer uses llowers for the 

 talile. that taldc never again seems 

 complete without them. It will {)ay 

 any retail florist to encourage his cus- 

 tomers to use his centerpieces, even at 

 some slight expense for getting them 

 started; get one hostess in a social set 

 to start the fashion and .vou soon will 

 ha\e all the meniliers of that coterie 

 following suit. 



The acc()ni|ianying illustration shows 

 a centerjiiece of Mrs. .lardine roses ar- 

 range(l hy .lohn Mangel, Chicago, for a 

 dinner given to (leneral (Jrant in the 

 French room of the r?lacl\ stone hotel. 

 This was an oval talde with twenty- 

 five covers. Three similar centerpieces 

 were used, the one at the center of the 

 table somewhat larger than the two 

 comjianion bunches toward the ends. 



NO CAUSE FOR ALARM. 



]''\'ery little while someone sends 

 The Ix'eview a funeral notice that says 

 "Please omit flowers," or a news- 

 pajier clip]>ing containing an argument 

 for economy in funerals, including the 

 elimijiation of flowers. The subscriber 

 always thinks the florists are about to 

 be ]iut out of business. Nothing to 

 it at all. The incr(>ase in the wealth 

 of the nation is making flower bu.vers 

 mu(di faster than any sporadic in- 

 fluence can unmake tliem. 



There is one little jKiint in this 

 matt(>r of funeriil flowers that is in- 

 teresting and illuminating. Note the 

 customer whose family circle is liroken 

 for the first time; oliser\(>, aft(>r that, 

 how mucli more frequently that cus- 

 tonu>r sends flowers to funerals. It 

 isn't the desire to rejiay: it "s the ex- 

 )ir(>ssi(in of the way the flowers touched 

 ills own heart in his sorrow. 



Worcester, Mass. — Francis A. Kinni- 

 lutt, of .")ti i;im street, re<'ently ob- 

 tained a ]iermit for several improve- 

 ments, iiK biding the erection of a 

 greenhouse ,ind a garden shelter and 

 the enlargement of his residence. 



A NEW PEST. 



I should like to know whether any 

 other florists are bothered with the rose 

 leaf roller.' At least that is what 1 

 think it' is, although this caterpillar 

 folds its(df uji in the foliage of an.v 

 jdant it may be on, having been noticed 

 on carnations, mums, begonias, gerani- 

 ums and pelargoniums; in fact, J have 

 not found any plant that is immune. 



Although I have spent a lifetime at 

 this business, I have never seen any- 

 thing like it before. I find that the 

 eggs are laid by a small brown butter- 

 fly, and seem to hatch about every six 

 weeks. Thev started in March in the 



iCW, 

 Illy 



it 



Wri 

 re. 

 in 

 ho 



Til 



he 



greenhouses and, being something 

 they got a good start before I o: 

 foreman discovered what a pe- 

 really was. 



The caterpillar when fully g 

 turns into a small cocoon, whicl 

 mains curled up under the leaf at 

 a short time develops into one of 

 little brown butterflies, which in 

 must lay hundreds of eggs, from 

 way the pest spreads. In a week n 

 a small caterpillar, almost too sma 

 be seen with the naked eye, devel s, 

 spun in a small web under the I t. 

 As the caterpillar develops he curls i o 

 a small cone and begins feeding on ,. 

 young foliage, stripping the plants. 



I have tried Slug Shot and I'a s 

 green. While the latter will kill i ,■ 

 pest, unless every leaf is kept cover, i 

 with the poison, so that every cat( i 

 pillar is killed, you cannot get rid c! 

 them, as one that escapes will develi;i 

 into the butterfly and before long ye i 

 have them all over the house agaii.. 

 We have tried hand-picking in on. 

 house every day for a month, but the; 

 keep coming, and I must say that of ail 

 the insects ever seen in a greenhous.- 

 this is the worst. 



1 noticed, a few da.vs ago, an article 

 in one of our local papers from a cor 

 respondent in an ad.joining county, stai 

 ing that a new insect had been dis 

 covered there, which, according to hi< 

 descrijition, is the above describ(>.l 

 cater[iillar, and which he says is de 

 stroying the fcdiage on trees, shrubs, 

 vegetable and flowering plants. I should 

 like to hear through The Review from 

 any one in the trade who has had expe 

 rience with similar insects and also to 

 advise those who may discover any of 

 the above described insects to destroy 

 them before they get any foothold. 



Missouri. Chas. H. Gelven. 



3C 



3C 



3 



IF SEASONABLE ^ IF 



SUGGESTIONS jl 



31 



3C 



3C 



3C 



Amaryllis. 



The amaryllis })lants still will have 

 dark green foliage and it is unwise to 

 attem|>t to rest them now. I have seen 

 me!) who were su]i]iose(t to be good grow- 

 ers throw their jdants under the benches 

 after flowering, allowing them to re 

 main there until they wanteil to start 

 them the following season, the pre.v of 

 sowbugs and other vermin. And then 

 thev wondered why the jdants flowered 

 so sjiarsely and feebly! As a Tiiatter of 

 fact, amaryllises succ(>ed best wh(>n thoy 

 still ha\'e green foliage adhering to 

 them when shaken out and started up. 

 They are too often half ruined by oxer 

 resting. They still will reipiire ;i good 

 wat(>r suiijil^' and stand the fullest sun- 

 s]iin(> from now on. It should also be 

 i-emenibereij that unflowereil seedlings 

 should iie\er be rested at all until 

 after the.v have bloomed. As be- 

 tween planting out amaryllis seedlings 

 in the open and growing on in pots, I 

 find I get larger bulbs and heavier 

 foliage outdoors, but the i)lants sustain 

 so much check when lifted that the pot- 

 grown stock Vieats them out. Where, 



however, climatic conditions are suffi- 

 ciently mild to permit the bulbs stay- 

 ing in the open over winter, that meth- 

 od of culture is the simplest and best. 



Hydrangeas. 



The ]iot-grown hydrangea plants are 

 those which we must depend upon for 

 Faster, 1913, coming, as it does, so 

 nnich earlier than usual. Their growth 

 will now be practicall.y completed, but 

 in order to assist in ripening the wood 

 the water supydy should be gradually 

 reduced, not to the extent of causing the 

 foliage to wilt, but a good deal less 

 water can now be given and the leaves 

 still kept plump. Hydrangeas are not 

 su(h great favorites at Faster as are 

 azaleas, rambler roses, genistas and 

 spiraeas, but a fair number can be sold 

 and, as forcing must start early to have 

 them in bloom for March 23, plants 

 must be prepared for it now. 



While there is no immediate rush 

 about potting up the field stock, so long 

 as ilamaging frosts keep away, jdants 

 dug and jiotted now will get better 

 established than those left until the 

 foliage is falling. They should be lifted 



