SaFTBMBBB 1, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



IP 



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EXPRESS RATES 



ORDERED DOWN 



THE WEDQE HAS ENTERED. 



lUlnois Railroad Conuuission Acts. 



Of as great importance to florists as 

 to any other class of business men is 

 the aetion of the Illinois Eailroad Com- 

 miseion in ordering a sharp reduction 

 of the express rates charged within the 

 state. It is the entering wedge. The 

 companies already have announced that 

 they will fight to the last ditch, but 

 there is every prospect that if the 

 courts do not uphold the authority of 

 the commission, the legislature will pro- 

 vide the necessary authority by special 

 legislation. Then other states will fol- 

 low suit. The cut will mean an annual 

 saving of large sums of money to all 

 florists. 



Ghairman Berry, after giving out the 

 new schedule of the Illinois commission, 

 which becomes effective October 15, 

 made a statement in which he said: 



"Express tariff No. 1, promulgated 

 by the Illinois Railroad and Warehouse 

 Cfommission, will establish in the state 

 of Illinois a uniform scale of maximum 

 rates on merchandise per hundred 

 pounds, forwarded by one express com- 

 pany ever one ownership, management 

 or control, thus removing the great in- 

 equalities in such rates that are now in 

 effect. 



' ' The commission 'a tariff provides for 

 a maximum rate of 40 cents per hun- 

 dred pounds on merchandise for dis- 

 tances up to thirty miles, whereas, with 

 a few exceptions, the express compa- 

 nies' minimum rate for short distauces 

 on merchandise is 50 cents per hundred 

 pounds. The commission 's tariff pro- 

 vides for maximum graduated charges 

 on packages weighing less than 100 

 pounds moving between poinis located 

 on the line of one express company, 

 causing considerable reduction in the 

 existing charges of the express compa- 

 nies to be made. The percentage of 

 decrease in charges that is made in the 

 commission 's tariff is variable, depend- 

 ing en the weight of the package and 

 on what scale of merchandise the rate 

 applies. 



"The table of graduated charges will 

 make a considerable reduction in the 

 charges on small packages under the 

 new tariff even where the merchandise 

 per hundred pound rate between any 

 two points remains unchanged. In nu- 

 merous cases where the existing high 

 rates on merchandise per hundred 

 pounds is reduced to the new mileage 

 scale basis, the percentage of decrease 

 in the charges on packages weighing 

 less than 100 pounds will range from 

 twenty per cent to fifty per cent, or 

 even higher. 



"The commission has given a great 

 deal of attention to the matter of ex- 

 press rates, and so far as I am informed 

 our commission is the first commission 

 to undertake the issue of the express 

 tariff. It has been almost universal, if 



not entirely so, that commissions have 

 simply entered an order reducing the 

 rate ten, fifteen or twenty per cent, as 

 the case may be, while our tariff rate 

 undertakes not only to reduce the rates 

 throughout the state and put them on 

 an equal basis, but to equalize them as 

 well." 



WASHINGTON MUST ACT. 



Under the leadership of the Mer- 

 chants' Association of New York, of 

 which many florists and seedsmen are 

 members, over 100 of the leading com- 

 mercial organizations of the United 

 States have filed a complaint with the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission which 

 will require that all-powerful body to 

 pass upon the whole question of express 

 rates. Not only is it alleged in the 

 complaint that certain rates are ex- 

 cessive, but that express rates as a 

 whole are too high and that they afford 

 a profit out of all proportion to the 

 capital actually employed in the busi- 



ness or the hazard of the undertaking. 

 This is getting right down to the heart 

 of the question. The big shipping in- 

 terests are back of the complaint, and 

 they have been at work for months 

 getting ready for the actual filing of 

 the complaint, which was done Au- 

 gust 27. The best attorneys in the 

 country have been employed and a mass 

 of evidence gathered for the purpose of 

 showing that the express companies are 

 exacting an unjustifiable profit from the 

 people. It will necessarily be a long 

 time before the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission will hand down any ruling 

 in the matter, but it puts the express^ 

 companies where they must squarely 

 face the main issue. 



TAKING GLORIA BUDS. 



Will. The Review kindly state what 

 is the proper bud to take on Gloria 

 mums? We have a good-sized bed of 

 them this year, but are at a loss to 

 know whether to take crown or ter- 

 minal buds. E. P. 



The Gloria chrysanthemum will pro- 

 duce a good double flower from any 

 bud, and from August 18 to Septem- 

 ber 5 is considered the correct time, 

 although for our own stock this year 

 we took the buds August 12, and they 

 certainly appear just right. I con- 

 sider that any bud is safe from now 

 till September 5, though a crown bud is 

 preferable. Chas. H. Totty. 



SWEET PEAS FOR CHRISTMAS. 



Will you kindly tell me when to plant 

 sweet peas for Christmas, also how to 

 plant and take care of them in a ground 

 bed? Do they need much water when 

 growing? J. H. 



Sow the seeds at once. It is better to 

 start them in flats of light, sandy soil 

 or pure sand and transplant six inches 

 apart, than to sow in rows. The popu- 

 lar blunder of sowing too thickly causes 

 many sweet pea failures. If planted 

 thinly, the result is strong haulm and 

 much finer flowers, on longer stems, 

 than is possible where they are sown 

 thickly and not thinned. Use only such 

 winter blooming varieties as Mont 

 Blanc, Christmas Pink, Watchung, 

 Christmas White, Earliest of AH, and 

 others of the early flowering type. 



The rows should be not closer than 

 four feet apart. The most successful 

 growers allow five to six feet. The soil 

 should be heavily manured; cow 

 manure is the best. Work it down 

 deeply and be sure the drainage is good. 

 The plants want lots of head room; 

 none should have less than six feet and 

 some will attain nearly double that 



height by spring, under favorable con- 

 ditions. During midwinter, water must 

 be carefully applied. In ground beds 

 much less is required than if on benches. 

 Allow them to dry out fairly well be- 

 tween waterings and then soak well. 

 Start the night temperature at 46 de- 

 grees in winter and let it run from 46 

 to 50 degrees. Do not exceed the latter 

 figure. 



Toward spring top-dress with fine 

 bone or sheep manure once or twice and, 

 after applying, fork it in lightly. The 

 water supply will need increasing as the 

 days lengthen. 



±'or apnis, fumigate with tobacco dust 

 or nicotine fumigating paper. Keep 

 spider down with the hose. Carefully 

 watch dry parts of the house nearest 

 the heating mains. Avoid cold drafts, 

 which will start mildew. Give plenty 

 of fresh air on every possible occasion. 

 C. W. 



WINTER FLOWERING PEAS. 



I want to grow a bench of sweet peas. 

 Will you kindly inform me what tem- 

 perature is suitable for them, and what 

 varieties will be the best to grow for 

 Christmas flowering t I have a pile of 

 compost which I mixed last spring, con- 



