16 



The Florists^ Review 



Jaxcaby 23, 1913. 



"The cause coming on to be heard 

 on August 6, 1912, F, A. Thompson & 

 Co. entered an appearance and filed a 

 plea of nolo contendere, and on the 

 same day the court imposed a fine of 

 $25. ' ' 



The trade always has understood that 

 the nicotine products in general use are 



approximately sixty per .cent water, 

 the pure nicotine not being useful for 

 insecticides, as it will not mix with 

 water under the usual conditions. Con- 

 sequently, the insecticide manufac- 

 turers make the solution, after which 

 it can be further diluted at the user's 

 pleasure. 



STOCK FOi^BEDDINa. 



PropAgationllB in Order. 



The Avorl^^f pnjjpagation of gera- 

 niums shoiijjf now be pushed right 

 ahead. The sand in the cutting blench 

 is steadily warm at this seasdfl^ilihd 

 the percentage of loss from dampfng 

 oflf should b^small. If the cuttings 

 are inserted wifely in 1%-ineh or 2- 

 inch pots, usin^ sandy loam, and stood 

 on a bench ^n the full-^niii^ wheilB they 

 can also hat>e some^ottom* heat, they 

 should be makingWKs within a month. 

 This latter plan iHlJlls somewhat more 

 work, but it is ij|Rf>' the best, as the 

 cuttings are liafateirt^J)e left too long 

 in the propagatingflpenches, and of 

 course when lifttfi»'^Biny roots are de- 

 stroyed. 



It will be necessa?^' to keep a sharp 

 watch on the plants now in i)ots. It is 

 easy to spoil them by neglecting neces- 

 sary potting. I do not believe in large 

 shifts. A plant put into a 4-inch pot 

 from a 2-incii, or a 2V4-inch size, may 

 do well if carefully watered, but it 

 would be more certain to thrive if 

 first potted into the 3-inch size. A 

 common error is to give generous shifts, 

 the idea, of course, being to economize 

 on labor. Few plants, and those only 

 the most vigorous growers, will suc- 

 ceed under this treatment. Try, for 

 instance, moving ."^-inch stock of prim- 

 ulas, cyclamens, calceolarias, or fibrous- 

 rooted begonias into (i-inch pots and 

 you will find that i)lants given an in- 

 termediate shift casilv beat them in 



Rapid Growth Comes Now. 



Geraniums are now making <|uite 

 rapid growth and some spacing out on 

 the l)enches will frequently be needed 

 or much of the lower foliage w\\\^ be 

 lost. When spreading them out, be 

 sure to remove dead and decaying 

 leaves and weeds, and scratch over the 

 surface soil of any requiring it. Gera- 

 niums ))refer a dry, airy house and 

 should not have their foliage sj)raye<l 

 over. This makes the leaves soft and 

 they prove an easier jirey to bacteria. 

 Geraniums are not semi-aquatics and 

 it is one of the greatest mistakes made 

 by some growers to keep the soil con- 

 stantly damp. The moister they are 

 kept at the root, the ranker and softer 

 will their growth be, but it will al- 

 ways be at the expense of flowers. Of 

 course, flowers are not needed now, but 

 continue this overwatering and you 

 will be wondering in spring why your 

 plants do not bloom as they should. 



Always avoid, also, a soil containing 

 fresh manure, and for that n^atter 

 manure should be left out altogj^ther 

 unless old and well decayed. Spent 

 mushroom manure is serviceable and 

 some fine bone should always be added 

 at the final potting. This builds up a 

 short, stocky growth which will give 

 an a^jmdance of flowers. 



While increasing the stock of zonale 

 bedding varieties, do not overlook the 

 popular scented-leaved kinds. Every 

 purchaser each year wants a few of 

 these, and the old rose, apple, Ipmon, 

 nutmeg and similar sorts are useful not 

 only for their delicious fragrance in 

 the gardens, but the individual leaves 

 are used considerably as a background 

 for small boutonnieres and finger 

 bowls, and the shoots arranged in bowls 

 impart a refreshing odor to the living- 

 room; therefore work up a good stock 

 of these. 



Some Dependable Varieties. 



Geraniums are still easily far in the 

 lead of all other bedding plants in 



popularity, and no one can go far 

 wrong in stocking up heavily on them. 

 For the benefit of those who may not 

 be acquainted with the best bedding 

 varieties, and who may require to buy 

 stock, I give the names of some of 

 proven merit: Beaute Pol te vine, semi- 

 double, a fine light salmon variety; 

 S. A. Nutt, more grown than any other 

 dark red variety; Marquise de Castel- 

 lane, reddish crimson, fine trusses; 

 Mme. Jaulin, peach pink with white 

 border; Jean Viaud, bright mauve 

 rose; Mme. Buchner, pure white; 

 Countess de Harcourt, pure white, 

 grand trusses; Alphonse Eicard, bright 

 vermilion, a great favorite; Jean 

 Oberle, peach pink, lighter edge; La 

 Favorite, a grand white; Mrs. Law- 

 rence, salmon pink, and Mme. Landry,, 

 salmon apricot, white eye. The fore- 

 going are a safe, reliable lot of doubles. 

 In singles a few varieties of excel- 

 lence are: Snowdrop, pure white; Paul 

 Crampel, bright vermilion scarlet; 

 Jacquerie, crimson scarlet, large 

 trusses; Bosalda, rich pink, splendid 

 constitution, immense trusses; Gran- 

 ville, rose pink, white blotches on up- 

 per petals; Mrs. E. Eawson, bright 

 scarlet; Tiffin, rich scarlet, fine bedder, 

 and Claire Freuit, huge trusses, light 

 rose, veined with rosy salmon and 

 shaded with delicate pink, an attractive 

 and desirable sort introduced in 1908. 



AMERICAN BEAUTY GERANIXJM. 



•Tohn Bauscher, who has something 

 over 100,000 feet of glass at Freeport, 

 111., and who does a large business in 

 bedding plants, thinks that his lucky 

 star was in the ascendant the day he 

 discovered in one of his novelty collec- 

 tions the geranium he now calls Ameri- 

 can Beauty. It struck him as being 

 such a good thing that he has been 

 busy working up stock for several sea- 

 sons. He has been using it on his local 

 trade and claims it to be one of the 



New Geranium American Beauty. 



