8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



September 2, 1909. 



all parts of the United States a^e pass- 

 ing their vacations. 



Cottagers at such places as Newport 

 and Narragansett Pier have been quick 

 to seize upon this fact, and their dis- 

 plays of magnificently bearing plants, 

 the flowers ranging in color from white 

 through pink and various shades of blue, 

 delight the eyes of visitors at this time 

 of the year. Some are in pots and many 

 have been set out, as at Mr. Foster's 

 place, as borders for driveways and 

 walks, where they turn a common path 

 into a princely approach. 



The Foster hydrangeas, which border 

 the long driveway from the Warwick 

 Neck road up to the house on the crest 

 of the hill, were originally ten in num- 

 ber. From this nucleus cuttings planted 

 from time to time have produced the 

 rest. All are large, but none quite 

 equals the forty-foot bush in size and 

 beauty. 



The Care of Hydrangeas. 



James Burke, Mr. Foster's gardener, 

 maintains that the hydrangea is a deli- 

 cate plant, requiring constant attention. 

 It is quite probable that his success in 

 growing them is due to working on this 

 theory, and that where ftdlure has been 

 the lot of those who have ventured on 

 hydrangeas it is attributable to their 

 acceptance of the common belief that the 

 hydrangea is exceptionally hardy. "Good 

 soil, plenty of water and let nature do 



Dhe rest, ' ' is the common advice of works 

 )on horticulture. 



The good soil and plenty of water meet 

 with Mr. Burke's hearty approval, but 

 he is wUling to go a step farther and 

 assist nature in doing the rest, especially 

 in winter. Each fall the great bushes are 

 buried under the sod, root and branch, 

 there to remain until growing time comes 

 around again. To bury them does not 

 require that the roots be removed from 

 the earth in the first place, but the 

 shoots are gathered into a bunch and 

 bent over until they lie flat in a trench 

 prepared by removing the sod, and the 

 latter is then replaced neatly, forming a 

 warm covering for the dormant plants. 



To provide plenty of water has been 

 a problem during the present summer. 

 It has been solved by the adoption of a 

 system of watering. Ten minutes of 

 sprinkling with a hose twice a week for 

 each plant has been the rule, and to its 

 efficacy the condition of the hydrangeas 

 testifies. 



The flowers of this shrub naturally 

 run from pink to blue, says Mr. Burke, 

 depending on the soil in which they 

 grow. Their color may also be con- 

 trolled by doctoring the soil. The rule 

 which governs hydrangea color is that 

 iron means blue and absence of iron, 

 pink. Hence a little attention given to 

 the earth in which the shrubs are grown, 

 whether in tubs or not, will bring almost 

 any result desired. W. H. M. 



PREPARING FOR COLD WEATHER 



The Roofs and the Heating Plant. 



While the good weather holds, the 

 roofs of the houses should be looked over 

 and all necessary repairs done, such as 

 glazing, repainting, etc. This work is 

 much easier of accomplishemnt when 

 conditions are right, as they ought to be 

 at this season. If the work is deferred 

 till the cold, wet days cape, the work 

 will not be so perfect, noRvill the same 

 speed be made. 



It is also time to look over the boilers, 

 furnaces and piping and put them in 

 good order for the winter work. 



Those are duties that are often left 

 over till the last minute, and so, when 

 firing has to be resorted to, we are likely 

 to find everything out of order and a cold, 

 wet night on our hands. The conse- 

 quence is a serious set-back to the stock 

 and probably a dose of mildew which 

 takes months to get rid of. 



Mulching and Potting Material. 

 This is also a good time to provide and 



store mulching and potting material for 

 winter and spring use. By allowing this 

 material to lie outside in the cold rains 

 of September and October, much of its 

 value is dissipated and lost. A store- 

 house for this purpose is absolutely in- 

 dispensable where best results are re- 

 quired. 



After the planting is done, there is 

 usually a host of pots lying around. 

 These ought to be collected, assorted, 

 cleaned and stored, to be in readiness for 

 the next season's work. If allowed to 

 lie around, as frequently happens, to be 

 overgrown with grass and weeds and pos- 

 sibly get frozen, there is great waste 

 and inconvenience. 



The coal supply for the season should 

 also have our attention, as by taking 

 time by the forelock we can frequently 

 make better bargains than if we leave 

 such matters until the material is really 

 required. 



By attending to these matters in due 

 season a great deal of trouble can be 

 evaded and the winter work made pleas- 

 ant and profitable. Bibes. 



WORMS IN ROSE BED. 



I wish you would give me a little in- 

 formation in regard to worms in my rose 

 bed. I have a fine soil, upon which, 

 after planting, I put some rotten cow 



manure which had been lying eighteen 

 months. Now I find that this manure is 

 full of small worms, about two inches 

 long. Would you please state what I can 

 do to get rid of the worms and what 

 may have caused thisf The rose plants 

 are in fine shape so far. G. K. 



It could scarcely be necessary to put a 

 mulch of cow manure on your young stock 

 so soon after planting, thus excluding the 

 life-giving rays of the sun from the soil, 

 preventing proper cultivating and ham- 

 pering evaporation. To give your young 

 stock a show, this ought to be removed 

 and the surface stirred up one inch 

 deep. 



These little manure worms are quite 

 harmless to the stock and are of great 

 use in preparing the manure for the use 

 of the plants. They can be easily de- 

 stroyed by using a mild decoction of lime 

 water on the bench, but if they do not 

 injure the plants or interfere with the 

 drainage, it is better to leave them 

 alone. Bibes. 



HYBRID DELPHINIUMS. 



Some years ago Willis N. Eudd, that 

 close observer of flowers and accurate 

 judge of their possibilities, remarked to 

 me that if one would obtain a good 

 strain of hybrid delphinium seed, and 

 grow them, he would obtain many beau- 

 tiful and interesting blooms, with most 

 exquisite and charming blendings of 

 colors. I took the hint and bless him 

 for it. 



Each year since then I have grown 

 some 200 seedlings, and the pleasures of 

 anticipation and realization have added 

 greatly to the charms of gardening. 



I select or reject as fancy dictates. 

 Each opening spike is a new revelation, 

 and has to stand the test of close criti- 

 cism and receive its sentence. It may 

 remain, to grow and thrive and lend its 

 charm to its surroundings, or it may be 

 doomed to the dump-pile and thus end its 

 existence. 



Last season I made a special effort to 

 obtain choice seed direct from two lead- 

 ing European firms, English and French, 

 both known for the excellence of the 

 strain they grew. I also bought of 

 Henry A, Dreer some which had been ob- 

 tained from Luther Buvbank. 



All were sown at the same time, re- 

 ceived similar subsequent treatment and 

 were grown on one plot of ground. 

 Within two weeks from the time of trans- 

 planting, the Burbank plants were easily 

 recognized, even at a distance, by their 

 more advanced growth and more sturdy 

 habit. But, best of all, they gave a much 

 larger percentage of choice blooms than 

 either of the other batches, and were es- 

 pecially prolific in the pleasing lighter, 

 delicate tints and in doubles and semi- 

 doubles. They bloomed a week earlier 

 than their foreign companions. Seed- 

 lings raised from European seed, espe- 

 cially those producing the finest blooms, 

 are apt to have a weak constitution and 

 many die within a few years. The robust 

 nature of the Burbank seedlings promises 

 to give us a long-lived race, with the 

 choicest flowers. Plants from seed sown 

 in heat, in March, will bloom in July. 



W. C. Egam. 



Clean, N. Y.— The Olean Plant & Cut 

 Flower Co. has been incorporated, with 

 a capital stock of $50,000. The incor- 

 porators are D. R. Herron, E. I. Baw- 

 lings and others. 



