50 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Septbmbeb 23, 1909. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



A POETKAiT and brief sketch of S. B. 

 Chester, South Brooklyn, O., will be 

 found in the Obituary department this 

 week. 



BEST TOMATO FOR FORCING. 



Will you kindly give me your judg- 

 ment of the best tomatoes to grow under 

 glass, for fruit from April to September? 

 Our inclination has been toward English 

 varieties. A. E. C. 



This is the paramount problem with 

 hothouse tomato growers all over the 

 country. Until recently English varieties 

 have been used exclusively, but never 

 with entire satisfaction. They seem to 

 fruit more abundantly than our American 

 varieties, but in quality and size of fruit 

 they are greatly inferior to our American 

 or outdoor varieties. The difference is so 

 marked that it is readily noticed by the 

 customers. Of all the imported varieties 

 Comet is considered the best. Sutton's 

 Perfection and Eclipse are also good. 

 The French variety Marvel of the Mar- 

 ket is fairly good, but nearly all the 

 other varieties have serious faults and 

 most of them are either too crooked or 

 so small that they are almost worthless 

 and unsalable varieties. 



For fall and winter I still feel safer 

 with Comet than any other, but for spring 

 and summer growing inside I believe that 

 the improved New Stone is the best. It 

 has been given careful tests and proves 

 itself to be a good forcing variety, espe- 

 cially in the spring, when it is necessary 

 to compete with the outdoor grown toma- 

 toes from the south, which are usually 

 large and good. H. G. 



CHANGING THE SOIL. 



I am located in Spokane, Wash., and 

 have a small greenhouse which I built 

 last fall to grow vegetables in. I grew 

 one crop of lettuce and one of cucumbers, 

 which I took out a month ago. The soil 

 is dry and hard and looks as if it were 

 not of much account. It is black soil of 

 good quality, but it seemed to get hard 

 when the lettuce was in it last winter. 

 Now, I should like to know if there is 

 any way for me to get this soil to last 

 this winter. The lettuce was slow of 

 growth, taking between 100 and 130 days 

 to mature, and then was small. I shall 

 be grateful for any information you can 

 give me. H. B. 



Your soil is evidently well spent and 

 you will be wasting time and money in 

 trying to get along without changing it. 

 Both lettuce and cucumbers like best a 

 good, black soil, made soft, light and 

 loose by mixing in a good deal of well 

 rotted manure and a generous supply of 

 sand, if the soil seems to be too sticky. 

 My soil is sticky, like putty, and I find 

 it necessary to use one load of sand and 

 two loads of rotted manure to three loads 

 of soil, to make the soil right for let- 

 tuce. For cucumbers I do not care if 

 the manure is not rotted, as fresh manure 

 is best for cucumbers, but it should be 

 well mixed with the soil. Most black 

 soils have some sand in them and would 

 require little or no more. Plenty of well 

 rotted manure will usually loosen the soil 

 in good shape. 



I would suggest that you empty the 



N 



If You Grow Mushrooms 



and want fhe best spawn made, use 



% ANGLO-AMERICAN 



^^^ An ezceptlonaUy fine lot of Spawn ready for Bblpment. II 



your dealer cannot supply you write direct to ua. 



Anglo-American Spawn Co., Kennett Square, Pa. 



Meutioti The Review when you write. 



VEGETABLE PLANTS 



CABBA6S— Succession, Flat Dutcb and Savoy, 



Sl.OO per 1000; S8.60 per 10,000. 

 CXLKRT— White Plume and Golden Self 



BlaDchtngr. $1 00 per 1000; $8.50 per 10,000. 

 PARBL.KT-25C per 100; 11.23 per 1000. 

 Cash with order. 



R.VincBntJr.,&SonsCo,^"*;?.""'- 



house and refill it with new, fresh soil, 

 well mixed, using about one load of rotted 

 manure to three of soil and adding a 

 little sand if necessary. See that the 

 benches have good drainage — plenty of 

 cracks in them. This should grow you a 

 nice crop of lettuce. Later, before plant- 

 ing cucumbers, put a thick coat of fresh, 

 short horse manure on the beds and turn 

 it under thoroughly, breaking up the 

 lumps, etc. H. G. 



CONVENTION OF GROWERS. 



The second annual convention of the 

 Greenhouse Vegetable Growers' and Mar- 

 ket Gardeners' Association of America 

 will be held at Ashtabula, O., Tuesday, 

 Wednesday and Thursday, October 12, 

 13 and 14, 1909. This association was 

 organized in Cleveland, O., last year and 

 numbers in its membership vegetable 

 forcers in the states of Massachusetts, 

 Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, 

 Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and 

 Kansas. 



The meeting at Ashtabula promises to 

 be largely attended. An interesting pro- 

 gram is being prepared, which will in- 

 clude addresses and papers by prominent 

 authorities on vegetable forcing and dis- 

 cussions by practical growers from all 

 sections of the country. In addition 

 there will be an exhibit of greenhouse 

 supplies and materials and of greenhouse 

 products. One feature that will draw 

 many to the convention will be the op- 

 portunity afforded visitors to see the 

 famous greenhouse establishments at 

 Ashtabula, where many acres of glass are 

 devoted to vegetable culture. 



All who are interested in greenhouse 

 vegetable growing or market gardening 

 will be welcomed at the meeting. Those 

 who wish programs and additional infor- 

 mation should write the undersigned at 

 508 Walker building, Louisville, Ky. 

 S. W. Severance, Sec'y. 



ROCHESTER. N.Y. 



The Market. 



It is almost impossible to give any 

 particulars on market conditions prevail- 

 ing here, for, with the exception of de- 

 sign work, there is practictdly no busi- 

 ness. Asters are plentiful, the bulk of 

 the stock being shipped to the large mar- 

 kets, as there is practically no local de- 

 mand. This section being devoted to 

 asters, everybody has his own supply. 



The aster business will no doubt be 

 far from satisfactory to the growers, 

 values being far below those of any 

 pr^ious year. There are far too many 

 grown for the" demand, and" it ia to be 



No Grower of Vegetables under glass can 

 afford to do without the Wittbeld system of 



Waterina 



—because with it a boy can do as much 

 as two men can do in a whole day with 

 the hose— and do it better. 



The system is equally valuable out- 

 doors, and for many other crops besides 

 vegetables— wherever yon need water. 



Send for our booklet— with testimon- 

 ials- reatl and you'll send in your order. 



E. H. HUNT 



Exclaslye Sales Acent 

 76-78 Wabash Ave., CHICAOO 



Mention The Review when you write. 



There are no Dry Spots 



with The Skinner System 

 o! Garden and Greenhouse 

 Irrigation. ^=^^^^^=^= 



The Skinner Irrigation Go. 



TROY, O. 



Mention Tfie Review when you write. 



hoped the overambitious aster grower 

 will not attempt to grow all the asters 

 himself another year. Overproduction 

 is certainly responsible for the gluts we 

 have had, and we shall continue to have 

 them as long as the grower ignores the 

 law of supply and demand. 



Club Meeting. 



The first fall meeting of the Commer- 

 cial Florists' Association was held 

 September 8. The chief business of the 

 evening was the discussion of the flower 

 show, to be held in Convention hall, No- 

 vember 2 to 4. Considerable interest was 

 shown by the members present, and no- 

 body seemed to have any doubt but that 

 the show would be a success. However, 

 it seemed necessary to Chairman C. H. 

 Vick to urge that members enter into 

 the. spirit of the show to a greater de- 

 gree than heretofore shown, and in 

 view of this it was decided to make C. 

 H. Vick director general of the show, 

 with full power to select committees, to 

 give each man his work to do and to see 

 that he does it. 



It was decided to hold the first annual 

 outing in the way of a clam-bake, to be 

 held "Wednesday, September 22. George 

 B. Hart was unanimously chosen as di- 

 rector general for this occasion and, 

 from wMt can be gathered from the cir- 



