12 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



JULY 7, 1910. 



CALANTHES. 



Calanthes are now in active growth 

 and, as the roots are filling the pots 

 and pans nicely, a little weak liquid 

 manure once a week should be applied. 

 It is better not to use it too strong 

 just now. A little later, as the roots 

 become more matted in the pots, the 

 strength can be increased a little. 

 Avoid the use of all chemicals. We 

 have never seen any benefit from 

 their use on calanthes, but, on the con 

 trary, have seen considerable harm. 

 Calanthes like lots of heat while grow- 

 ing, with moisture in the atmosphere 

 in abundance. Go slowly, however, on 

 overhead syringing and let it be done 

 lightly when applied at all. Ventilate 

 freely on every favorable opportunity, 

 but never allow cold drafts to strike 

 the plants. If you use any fire heat in 

 summer, you will find that a little every 

 night in the year will suit the ca- 

 lanthes; even on the hottest nights a 

 slight warming of the pipes, with a 

 chink of air on. seems exactly to their 

 liking. 



SEASONABLE ORCHID NOTES. 



Is Interest in Orchids Declining? 



This query has been raised by a 

 writer in a horticultural journal, who 

 cites England as a terrible example. 

 The fact of the matter is that the 

 said writer knew little about the sub- 

 ject on which he wrote and the opin- 

 ions of dealers over there are at utter 

 variance with his conclusions. Orchid 

 culture is steadily increasing in Great 

 Britain among all classes. Auction 

 sales indicate no slump in valuations, 

 and at exhibitions they are still the 

 star features. In the United States 

 it is tolerably safe to say that orchid 

 culture is still in its swaddling clothes, 

 and this in spite of the tremendous in 

 crease in sales of both plants and flow- 

 ers of late years. While orchids will 

 never rival carnations and roses as the 

 flowers of the masses, their sale will 

 show a striking increase in the next 

 decade, notwithstanding all pessimistic 

 talk to the contrary. 



Are Orchids Difficult to Grow? 



A popular but erroneous delusion is 

 that orchids are hard plants to culti- 

 vate. There are, of course, many fussy 

 subjects among them and anyone with 

 an extensive collection needs all his 

 wits about him to keep it in good 

 shape, but in America, with a tendency 

 to restrict the culture to a few sorts, 

 the methods are much simplified and 

 it is safe to sav that anyone possessing 

 brains enough to grow good roses, car- 

 nations, palms or ferns can as easily 

 grow orchids. A few hours of neglect 



may ruin a house of roses. A lioisp 

 (f cattleyas or cypripediums is less 

 simsitive to such conditions. TIh' fiut 

 that a large proportion of our best or 

 chid growers were not trained s|)eiial 

 ists goes to show that there is no royal 

 road to success in their culture. The 

 man who can handle hard wooded plants 

 successfully in the United States is a 

 more skilled grower than any orchid 

 ist, climatic conditions being consid- 

 ered. 



Many orchid specialists witii Euro 

 l»ean training are comparative failures 

 iiere. They fail to lireak away from 

 their cherished cultural calendar, whicli 

 needs considerable modification here. 

 Oh, no! Orchids are not one whit more 

 difficult to handle than many other 

 greenhouse flowers. Common sense will 

 enable anyone to liandle them success- 

 fully, and the delusion that trained 

 specialists only can grow them pro]»- 

 erly has been long ago exploded. No 

 other plants, with the possible excep 

 tion of cacti, are slower to resent neg- 

 lect than orchids; on the other hand, 

 none show greater Improvement by in- 

 telligent culture. 



LILIUM CANDIDUM. 



I planted a lot of candidnms in beds 

 outdoors last fall, which were already 

 in growth when I got them, ranging in 

 ^ size from three and one half inches ti) 

 eight inches in circumference. I ma- 

 nured the bed with two or three 

 months' old horse manure, put two 

 inches of unmanured soil on top, dipped 

 the bulbs in flower of sulphur and put 

 them about nine inches apart. I then 

 covered them with three inches of un 

 manured soil and covered tliat with 

 three or four inches of old m;inure and 

 when cold weather set in I covered the 

 whole thing with leaves. Still in the 

 spring ten or fifteen per cent did not 

 come up. Then the cold spell we had in 

 May seemed to have killed quite a few, 

 for in one bed more were exposed tlian 

 others, and not half are left. Few 

 flower stalks are up, probably ten jier 

 cent of the whole, and lately the lower 

 leaves are turning yellow and brown. 

 Would Bordeaux mixture do them good .' 

 Is there anything wrong about the treat 

 inent to keep them from sending up 

 flower stalks or cause tlieni to die and 

 now turn brown? I have watered tlieni 

 a couple of times before and after tliev 

 were up with laundry water nid diluted 

 night soil around the roots. Woidd th;it 

 hurt them? They do not sufTer for wniit 

 of water. T also have sprinkled some 

 nitrate of soda around them. 



•T. J. H. 



The bulbs of liiliuin camlidnin should 

 be planted as soon after being received 

 as jtossible, as they (piickly commence 



u, make both ro..ts a"*i,l'^^^«'ffi,i';,° 

 sider four to five inches sufficiently 

 deep to cover the bulbs, and rt is a 

 good practice to dip them m Aower "f 

 sulphur prior to planting. It is better 

 not to bring anv fresh manure in direct 

 contact with the bulbs of ei her these 

 or any other lilies. Some well decayed 

 manure properly incorporated in the 

 soil will prove beneficial. Cover the 

 bulbs with sand when in the ground 

 before covering with earth. Lilium 

 candidum, while one of the most beau- 

 tiful lilies, is uncertain outdoors and 

 not infrequently all the foliage will 

 disappear before the flowers open, io 

 check this disease, which seems to be 

 started not infrequently by late sharp 

 frosts, spraving with Bordeaux mixture 

 ns soon as *the spikes start to push up 

 should be done once a week. A good 

 water supply is appreciated. Laundry 

 water is good, but chemicals and ma- 

 nures are unnecessary and liable to be 

 injurious. C. W. 



OBITUARY. 



Louis A. Smith. 



Louis A. Smith, of Wheeling, W. Va., 

 died June 27, at his home, 600 South 

 Kuron street. He was 48 years of age 

 and was the son of Mr. and Mrs. .John 

 Smith, pioneer residents of the Island. 

 He was born May 4, 18(53, at the old 

 Smith homestead and resided there all 

 his life. ITis father was one of the 

 best known gardeners of that section. 

 .\bout twenty years ago the young man 

 establish a florists' business, in which 

 lie was quite successful. 



^Ir. Smith was married in 1891 to 

 Miss .Jennie Cowl, of Wheeling, and to 

 the union was born one son, Robert, now 

 Ifi years old. In addition to his wife 

 and son, he is survived by the following 

 brothers and sisters: George Smith, 

 Harry Smith, Charles Smith, Miss 

 Kmma Smith and ^[rs. Thomas Meek, 

 all of Wheeling. 



Mrs. Gus A. Geng, 



Mrs. Malvina Sapina Geng, wife of 

 (ins A. Geng, passed awav at the family 

 home in Livingston street, Youngstown, 

 0., Monday, .Tune 27. Death resulted 

 from a complication of ills of several 

 weeks' duration. She was 42 vears of 

 age. 



Mrs. Geng was born in Butler countv 

 Pa., and moved to Youngstown thirtv- 

 sevcn years ago. She was married to 

 Mr. Geng October 11, 1888. She is sur- 

 vived bv her husband and bv four sis- 

 ters and one brother. She also leaves 

 a nephew William Hook, who made his 

 home with the Geng familv. 



Mrs. Geng was^a woman "who believed 

 m doing good Many a sick room bore 

 testimony to Mrs. Geng's charitable dis 

 position in the flowers which she alwavs 

 sent to her friends who wereTjf Tl 

 voted wife, a kind neighbor and a'good 

 < hristian woman, she will ho «,^ \ 



l.y a host of friends mourned 



June"'^"^ ^[^!''"V' '^^''1 Thursday, 

 lune M), with interment at Belmont 

 I ark cemetery. oeimont 



Oakland, Md.-The H Weber ,«■ ci. 

 Co. has closed up its branch a fi?-^".' 

 mont, W, Va. 'branch at Pied- 



nicmf ims en^teJe^?' ,?°°"-Robert De- 

 staff ord Floral Co! ""P'^-^ «* *»»« 



