18 



The Florists' Review 



Aphil 23, IQH. 



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 ^ ^ SUGGESTIONS j 



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Cyclamens. 



With Easter stock out of the way, 

 jjiving much valuable bench space, it is 

 possible to do a little more justice to 

 The cyclamens. Neglect of these, or, 

 for that matter, any other plants, spells, 

 if not failure, at least something ap- 

 proaching it. Cyclamens are beautiful 

 and popular winter-flowering plants 

 and to succeed with them they must be 

 kept moving nicely all the time. The 

 place for them for some time yet will 

 be in a greenhouse where they are 

 close to the light. Give a light shad- 

 ing as the power of the sun increases 

 and keep a minimum temperature of 52 

 to ')') degrees. The larger plants should 

 now be in 4-inch pots, some probal)ly in 

 a size larger. Be sure to use a light 

 compost, one containing a good deal of 

 leaf-mold not too much decayed, with 

 some old cow manure and loam. Equal 

 l>arts of the three make an ideal com- 

 post. When potting, firm the plants 

 well, leave a^iberal basin for water and 

 be sure not tobury the corms. 



Of nearly all plants there is more or 

 less surplus yearly, but there is prob- 

 ably less surplus of cyclamens than al- 

 most any other plant. The earliest 

 flowered plants sell well for Thanksgiv- 

 ing. At Christmas they are in greatest 

 demand, but they can be held until 

 INIarch or later in a cold, shaded house. 

 The house or houses containing them 

 should be freely ventilated, but always 

 avoid cold draughts. Early in the after- 

 noons of clear days a light spraying 

 overliead will be much appreciated. 



Nerines. 



Those bulbous plants, the nerines, 

 commonly called Guernsey lilies, among 

 the briglitest and most charming of fall 

 flowers, which come in season at a time 

 wlien greenhouse flowers are far from 

 l)lentiful, are not much grown commer- 

 cially. For one thing, the bulbs are 

 ratlier too costly. Although the high- 

 class stores are glad to get them during 

 October and November, they cannot be 

 retailed at a price which would com- 

 mend them to the average country flo- 

 rist. These nerines, which have been 

 wintered in a cool greenhouse, will 

 show by their yellowing foliage that 

 tliey are nearing their resting period. 

 Remove them to a coldframe, air freely 

 and give the plants plenty of sun. Do 

 not withhold water suddenly, but grad- 

 ually decrease the supply so that by 

 the third week in May all the foliage 

 will have ripened off and after that 

 the plants can be laid on their sides for 

 the summer in a hot, dry location where 

 they can have a thorough baking and 

 where they can remain until the flower 

 spikes appear, which is usually toward 

 tiie end of September. 



Canterbury Bells. 



In order to get good sized plants of 

 Canterbury bells for the spring or 

 early summer of 1915, sow the seeds 

 now in a coldframe, which should be 

 kept quite close until the seeds germi- 

 nate, after which give more air. Trans- 



plant, when of sufficient size, into flats, 

 and from these set the plants out in 

 nursery rows two feet apart, with fif- 

 teen inches between the plants. Any 

 wanted for indoor culture can be potted 

 in • October. Others either may be 

 planted out where they are to flower, 

 or, in the colder states, kept over win- 

 ter in coldframes. Single white, deli- 

 cate pink and mauve are the best for 

 l)ot culture. Many people like the Caly- 

 canthema or hose in hose variety, but 

 doubles are too heavy to be pleasing, 

 riants in pots, which are wanted for 

 flowering in May, should be grown in 

 a cool, ally house. Several stakes will 

 be needed in each pot. If these are not 

 placed in the pots ertrly the stems will 

 become badly twisted or may be broken. 

 For Memorial day, Canterbury bells are 

 not half so mucli grown as their merit 

 warrants. Eitlier as pot plants or for 

 cutting, tliey are splendid and anyone 

 who succeeds in timing a batch for this 

 holida\-, not at all a difficult feat, will 

 make a big hit with them. 



Memorial Day Crops. 



There is a shorter period than usual 

 between Easter and Memorial day this 

 year, which makes it more difficult to 

 get crops for the latter holiday on time. 

 Weather conditions, over a large part 



of the country, up to the middle of 

 April, were decidedly cool and plants 

 under glass lacked the solar heat which 

 sends them along at such a rate in 

 spring. Of course climatic conditions 

 change quickly and often too severely. 

 One hot week will send along at a sur- 

 prising rate crops of which one has al- 

 most despaired. 



The crops of ten weeks' stocks, dou- 

 ble feverfew, candytuft and other flow- 

 ers which are always so useful for 

 Ms^y 30 should now bo well looked 

 after. Keep the soil free from weeds, 

 stirred and carefully watered. Don't 

 coddle any of them; it will not pay. 

 All tliese crops want the fullest sun 

 until they are in flower, and if they 

 reach this stage a little early it will be 

 an easy matter to give the glass a light 

 shading to assist in keeping them 

 cooler. 



Asters. 



Now that we have at last got set- 

 tled weather the ground on which asters 

 are to be planted should be thoroughly 

 harrowed and later pulverized well with 

 a smoothing harrow. This is presum- 

 ing that the ground was manured and 

 plowed last fall. If the ground was 

 not broken up at that time, manure it 

 liberally, plow and pulverize it well at 

 once. Such early sorts as Early Won- 

 der and Queen of the Market should be 

 gradually hardened off and planted out 

 early in May, by which time danger 

 from frost will have disappeared in all 

 but the more northerly states. Place 

 the plants ten to twelve inches apart 

 in the rows. The distance between the 

 rows may be two feet where hand cul- 

 tivating is done, and three feet where 

 a horse is used. 



THE DUTY ON ORCHID PLANTS. 



Officers of the United States govern- 

 ment do not feel that the public treas- 

 ury has received everything that was 

 coming to it by reason of the importa- 

 tion of orchid plants. There has been 

 a lot of friction over the valuation of 

 importations. 



Because of the unpleasant features 

 of administering the old tariff law, the 

 orchid importers got together and went 

 to Washington with a request that the 

 duty on orchid plants be made specific 

 instead of ad valorem in the new demo- 

 cratic tariff. But they were too late; 

 the bill had jtrogressed too far toward 

 the president's signature for the orchid 

 men to get the change asked. In the 

 new law the duty on orchid plants is 

 the same as under the old law, twenty- 

 five per cent ad valorem. 



The customs authorities read in the 



newspapers about some multimillion- 

 aire having paid a fabulous sum 

 (usually overstated in print) for some 

 rare orchid plant and they try to 

 trace the plant in the customs house 

 record. Of course, it cannot be done. 

 The importer declares his entries at 

 no more than the plants cost him in 

 the country whence they came; he 

 pockets the profit that comes with the 

 discovery of an occasional valuable 

 plant. 



But the fact is that the methods by 

 which the orchid importing business is 

 handled are undergoing more or less 

 change which justifies the government 

 in demanding higher invoice values. 

 When the industry was small the col- 

 lector went into the woods and brought 

 out his plants. There was no market 

 in the country of origin by which the 

 "import valuation could be established. 

 As the business has developed, however, 

 there are natives who make a business 

 of collecting orchids and selling them 

 for export. They gradually have es- 

 tablished a market and, if the Amer- 



