The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Ski'ti:.\ii!i:k .".it. I'.Mj; 



{o judpt'iiy \\;itrr, mix soil, jiot, etc. Tlic 

 mail may ilo all tlicsc tliinys ai-c(ir<liii<i to 

 the licst 111' Ills aliility ami yet liis plants 

 will in'Ncr j;rci\\ and ijIimIucc like tliosr 

 111' the iiiaii who lias the iiituitixr kiKiwi- 

 ciljic to i'<'aliy.<' till' little iiccils and to 

 make tlio cnninlat ivc ctlccts of his knowl- 

 i'di;c t'cit jnst in tilt' i'ij;lit way and at 

 the riiilit time. 



Tile iiatnial grower is the oni' in 

 iliai'yc o1 ai-ics of <;lass, in which almost 

 cxi'i'y jilaiit sfcms to sprint into \i;4()i'ous 

 yro'.vtii so lolly as his watchful eye is 

 upon it and his hand is present to j^uide 

 it into till- \ ai'ioiis <ipeiat ions. Of course 

 tliiTe are always simie little tliiniis which 

 will slip th<' eye of the j^rowev in busy 

 seasons, lint those are exceptions. Tliei'i' 

 fore the natural, successful j;rower is 

 horn, not made, for it is not a (|iiestioii 

 of mechanics, luit one ot' inherited loxc 

 for the plant line, which is the j^reatest 

 ;:ift ot nature. With Nixc for tlio work 

 .and an nnderstandiny of the needs of the 

 plants in their various (•ircumstances. sue 

 cess will in the end result. 



Wii.l.lAM \'()ssi:n. 



HARD COAL SOOT. 



Is hard coal soot suitable for ]ilants. 

 or ilo llorists [[<!• only the soft coal soot? 



C. K. G. 



Siit't coal soot is much richer in fer 

 tilizinj;- properties than that ]irocured 

 from hard coal. The latter is, of course, 

 not wholly valueless and is useful to 

 sjiread on the laiul. Soft coal .soot is 

 larycly used by tlorists, the best being 

 iiii[)(jrtod. C. W. 



NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 



The dalilia season has lieeii a disaji 

 |iointiny' one with Knjilish lirowcis. It 

 has been impossible to [Hit up imposing 

 displays at the shows and the competitive 

 ida.sses have not been well filled. The 

 lieoiiyflowcred varieties continue to in- 

 crease in pojiiilarity. 



N'iola cornuta purjnirea, introduced by 

 (iiinii (.V: Sons, Alton, liirininghani, i''ng 

 land, is a distinct acquisition. It has 

 brilliant, royal |inrple tiowcis, like large 

 \iolets, and [iroduces an abundance of 

 flowers from eai'ly spring until late in 



the aiitumn. 'I'lie plants are liter,- 

 smothered with blooms all the time, . 

 it is a \aliiable ]>lant for bed<ling oni 

 The new montbreties introduced b\ 

 Wallace iV: Co., Colchester, Kngiaud, i 

 tiniie to grow in fa\(ir. The best a 

 llereward, jiale orange flowers, \vii| 

 exiianded and recurved, as in a Marta; 

 lily; King Edmund, rich, golden-yel 

 flouer.s, fully three inches across; ]., 

 Hamilton, erect stems studded with 

 low flowers; T.i()rd Xelson, deep oran 

 scarlet; Norvic, large yellow tlowi 

 staineil red; Prometheus, the finest 

 all, flowers four inches in diameter, if 

 orang(! with crimson ring round the i 

 of free habit and robust. Be? 



NAME OF PLANT. 



Kindly tell us the name of the eiicln- 

 daiit and where wo could buy same. 



C. K 



Sediini s]iectabile. You can obtain ti; 

 hardy perennial from any of the ma: 

 <U'alers in hardy stock who advertise 

 the K'KVIKW. W. N. C. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Boxing and Housing. 



The majority nf the Diitcji bulbs are 

 already to hand :iii<l the balance will 

 soon be here. ( »|| tlii' whole the i|ualit\' 

 (.if the bulbs is extra good. Tlicy ar<' a 

 few days l.ater than nsiiui in arriving ami 

 it behoii\es us to get such as .•iic wanteil 

 for eai'ly forcing into the soil as speedil\' 

 as possible. Tile W liolf ipiestion ot' the 

 giiiwiuy of these llower loots has been 

 thrashed out so iniich each yr-AV that 

 there is little luiw that can be said. These 

 notes ;ire primarily intended tm the 

 small u'owers, and of tiicse there are con 

 stantly iie\> additions, liuiled ilown. the 

 inipoitaiit things to leniember in indoor 



bulb culture are: Select a s,,il which is 



liyht and nioder:itely lidi ; tiie manure 

 must be old and such ;is \\i|| break up in 

 one's hands readily. Sand and fine 

 chaicnal are iisefnl ao lit iun^. .\fter the 

 bulls are placid in the v,,i| they can be 

 stood oiitdours ;ind ciiNeled with soil or 

 •i^hcs. o|- better -till phiced ill a cool, 

 dark ce|l;ir. The latter i- milrh to be 

 plel'erreil. .a- llie l.dxe-, ;ind puts are 



irmre e:isi|y M,,iieii .-ii and cared for. 



rile s lil nill-l be w.-ileied I ImOi lUi^ ii I \ : 

 lOie lilliiig up iv nut usually siillicielit. It 

 is impoitant th.-it the soil shall never be 

 come ,|ry. or indifVerent results will fol 

 low. Where many failures result is from 

 a too Keen desire to force the bulbs. This 

 I'Mist not be done until the llats or pots 

 are full of roots and the ;^iowtlis two or 

 three inches long. With tulijis and nar 

 cis-i. dining the eail\ winter months it 

 i^ alw.-iys best after housing tlieai to 

 ki'ep them (lark and ino(lerately warm 

 for a few d.-iys. This assists in yivilii; 



length of stem. If placed directly in tin 

 light the steins will be short, even if tin 

 bulbs are in a brisk heat. ()f course dur- 

 ing l'"ebruarv and .March this is unneces 

 sarv. -Avoid the use of chemical fertilizers 

 in bulb coiii|Kist. Soot, however, makes a 



useful addition to the soil. I'ut g I 



ilrainageiii all flats, pots or pans. .Vt'ter 

 they have been well watered a layei of 

 cinders, sand or some heavy material can 

 I.e s|,|-ea(l over them, but examine them 

 occasionally ami never let the soil a|i 

 proadi dryness. 



Hyacinths. 



Ilvacinths are not as p<i]iular as either 

 tiilijis or narcissi coiiimerci:illy. hutch 

 growers are making great efforts to 

 further popularize tlieiii. especially for 

 bedding purposes, planting them tiiiidilv 

 s(. th.-it little earth w ill show. The call 

 for first size hyacinths is here lestricteii 

 to pliv.ate gardeiieis. b'ealizable |uice-. 

 are i iisnfhcieiit . even for well grown 

 spikes in pots, to leave aiiv margin ol' 

 profit. The secoinl si/e bulbs are. how 

 ever, foicecl (piite ;i little. <)f t liese a 

 few useful varieties are: (iertrude. rose; 

 (lig.aiitea. shell pink; l-iaroness ven 

 Tliuyll, white; l.a t Irandesse. white; 

 (^lieen of the Itllies, liyhl blue; King of 

 till' l'>llles. ijeeji blue; <'liarles l)ickeilS. 

 lii^iit rose. What are calle(l Dutch 

 lioiiian-- or miniature bulbed l>ut(di liva 

 cinths are inex|iensive and po|)ular in the 

 trade. These can be planted thickly in 

 thits like white I'rench iuuniiiis, and are 

 useful for ciitliiiL;. The tops ot' hvacinth 

 bulbs slioilhl just peep above the soil 



after watering. 



Tiiere is ;i >'n:i|| call at some stores for 

 h V :i( I III lis ill gl:is<es. 'file best ijliality 

 bulbs should be used for these. The 



water should barely touch the bottom 

 the bulbs. ( )iie or two pieces of charc" 

 help to keep the w;!ter pure. The glas- 

 should be placed in a dark (doset in 

 cool room until sprouted a couple 

 iiii Iks. Then let them have a night tc 

 per;iture of .")."') to (Jii degrees until ■ 

 V (doped. It is necessary to ;i(|(l a lit" 

 water to the glasses occasioiiall.v a 

 change any which sliow any signs 

 stagnancy, as the roofs will speedily 



111 sue 



Narcissi. 



The l''reii( h Triiin|iet Ma.jors 

 .already in the soil and rooting iiic 

 Tor early forcing these are useful. I 

 they ;ire not ei|iial in size or i|ualitv 

 the l)utch varieties. Sin<4le \'oii Si 

 usually sold as Truinpet .Major, is a t 

 soli. .Many growers grow the don' 

 \'(iii Sioiis heavily. We could never 

 anv great beauty in them, but they si 

 which is ;i prime consideration. <>f ' 

 L;(il(!en trumpet varieties (bddeii S| 

 cannot be beaten. No grower who wa' 

 a lot of line golden trumpets can go 

 wrong in planting this heavily. Ibi 

 Irving is another valuable sort. |]mp( 

 for hate use can be gi'ov\ii to a nindei 

 extent, but pniidiaseis iisuall.v pre 

 (ioldeii spurs. 



\moi!g the bicolor Trumpet socti 

 I'liiicess is cheap :iiii| still heavily gro^ 

 The llower has not the siibsf.ance of ol' 

 forcing narcissi, but owing to its I 

 price it I'einains popular in the .\ineri' 

 trade. \ ictoiia is now so moderate 

 piKc that any grower can alVoi^l it. 

 cannot, however, be force(| early, but 

 by long odds the finest bicolor Trun 

 of moderate price. l-anpress. with 

 snow v\liite perianth and golden veb 



