Januaby 9, 1913. 



The Florists' Review 



19 



Frank J. Tarney. 



Robert Q. Shoch. B. EBchner. Arthur Zlrkman. 



The Incorporators of the M. Rice Co., Philadelphia. 



Raymond Brunswick. 



root rather than to grow and is more 

 satisfactory generally. 



An important point in propagating is 

 not to allow draughts to reach the cut- 

 tings. For this reason a bench in a 

 large house, shaded and well away from 

 the top ventilators, is better than a 

 bench in a small, narrow house, such 

 as is usually recommended for propa- 

 gating. 



Selecting the Cuttings. 



With regard to the condition of the 

 wood for propagation, almost any wood 

 will root, but if a regular strike is 

 looked for the wood should be in a 

 semi-ripened state. The harder the 

 wood, the longer it will take to root, 

 and when mixed with wood that is 

 greener an uneven strike is inevitable. 

 But it frequently happens that, owing 

 to scarcity of wood, everything must 

 be used and the results are fairly good. 

 One trouble is that some of the younger 

 wood roots more in the sand than is 

 good for it and consequently does not 

 transplant well. But where one has to 

 work up a large stock quickly, such 

 things have to be put up with. 



Renewing the Sand. 



The one detail more important than 

 any other is absolute cleanliness. Clean 

 sand should be put in at least for every 

 other batch of cuttings. It may be put 

 out in the sun after use, and used again 

 when thoroughly "baked" clear of all 

 fungous germs and other impurities, but 

 it should never carry more than two 

 lots of cuttings in the bench consecu- 

 tively. 



Where the old plants were pushed a 

 little for Christmas and New Year's, 

 there is almost sure to be a little red 

 spider left as a legacy from the extra 

 fire heat and a careful watch must be 

 kept for it. We shall probably have 

 plenty of bright days and the hose can 

 be used freely, especially about the 

 lower parts of the plants, where the in- 

 sects congregate most. No insect life 

 can long withstand cold water, forcibly 

 applied, and if its value were more ap- 

 preciated a good deal of money now 

 spent for insecticides could be saved. 



Belle Plaine, la.— Mrs. Sybilla Wood- 

 ruff, proprietor of the Belle Plaine 

 Greenhouses, has installed a new 

 Kroeschell boiler. She grows carna- 

 tions, chrysanthemums and bedding 

 stock. 



SEASONABLE CULTURE. 



The present season has been a some- 

 what peculiar one. We have so far had 

 no really cold weather. On many days 

 the weather has been more suggestive 

 of April than January. Hence, in spite 

 of abundant ventilation, the violet 

 plants, particularly the singles, are 

 making more leaf growth than we like 

 to see, and this always affects the crop 

 of flowers. The fall was unusually 

 warm and plants bloomed with great 

 profusion before housing and for some 

 time afterward. Now, however, the 

 crop is not as heavy as we should natu- 

 rally look for in midwinter. The plants 

 are healthy and vigorous, but the flow- 

 ers are not there. Weather conditions 

 are responsible for this and a continu- 

 ance of such conditions will mean a 

 running out of the plants earlier than 

 usual. 



To hold singles down to 40 degrees 

 at night has not been possible some- 

 times, even with the ventilators fully 

 open and the pipes cold. All we could 

 do was to keep the minimum as low as 

 possible. A few degrees higher will 

 speedily excite the plants and cause an 

 increased crop of leaves, which we do 

 not want. On the other hand, the 

 doubles in midwinter should be kept at 

 42 to 45 degrees at night, or they will 

 not open well. Keep runners picked 

 off; remove weeds and any spotted or 

 decaying leaves. At this season the 

 plants will not need frequent watering, 

 but sometimes the surface soil may 

 seem damp and that below be rather 

 dry. Violets like to have their roots 

 cool and moist, and anything like dry- 

 ness will injure them and make them 

 an easier prey for red spider if thev 

 chance to be near the heating pipes. 



Look out for green fly; it will speed- 



ily cause lots of trouble if permitted 

 to gain any foothold. Violets will not 

 stand heavy fumigation. Avoid, there- 

 fore, the use of tobacco stems and any 

 of the nicotine extracts. The nicotine 

 papers are perfectly safe. Many of 

 the largest growers now depend on 

 hydrocyanic acid gas. An exposure of 

 twenty to thirty minutes only should 

 be given. This should not be tried by 

 any but careful and experienced hands. 

 For a house 20 x 100, two jars, each 

 containing two ounces of sulphuric acid 

 and four ounces of water, with one 

 ounce of cyanide of potassium dropped 

 in each, applied at intervals of ten 

 days, have killed all aphis and caused 

 no injury to foliage or bleaching out 

 of flowers. In this case one hour's 

 exposure was given, but probably less 

 would suffice. No doubt other growers 

 can give better formulas. Some use 

 the gas stronger, but it is better to 

 err on the light side, 



THE M. RICE COMPANY. 



The firm of M. Rice & Co., dealers 

 in florists' supplies, 1220 Race street, 

 Philadelphia, was incorporated under 

 the laws of the state of Pennsylvania 

 January 6, 1913. The capital stock 

 of the new company is $100,000, fully 

 paid. The incorporators are B. Eschner, 

 Arthur Zirkman, Robert Q. Shoch, 

 Frank J. Farney and Raymond Bruns- 

 wick. 



The firm of M. Rice & Co. was estab- 

 lished in 1894 by the late Moses Rice. 

 The firm was successful from the start, 

 the business growing rapidly. Bernard 

 Eschner was admitted to partnership 

 January 1, 1898. The firm remained 

 unchanged in personnel and in name 

 from that time until Mr. Rice's death 

 last spring. Since then Mr. Eschner 

 has carried the entire weight of the 

 business on his shoulders, a heavy re- 

 sponsibility, as its scope is world-wide. 

 Wishing to keep the splendid organi- 

 zation together, to divide responsibility 

 and to increase the sphere of the firm 's 

 activities, Mr. Eschner decided to in- 

 corporate and infuse new blood by 

 joining with him the most promising 

 men of the house. The name selected, 

 the M. Rice Co., is a tribute to the 

 sterling worth of the founder of the 

 house. The officers are: President and 

 treasurer, B. Eschner; vice-president, 

 Arthur Zirkman; secretary, Raymond 

 Brunswick. 



Of the four young men who will as- 



