12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Sbftembbb 22, 1910. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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1 



Dutch Bulb Compost. 



The Dutch bulbs arc now arriving 

 and if the soil for these has not been 

 prepared, got a good pile ready now. 

 Two-thirds well decayed, turfy loam, 

 one-third well decayed cow manure and 

 sufficient sharp sand for porosity will 

 answer well. If no cow manure can be 

 had, old, well rotted hotbed manura 

 may be used to good advantage. It is 

 better not to use any bone or chemical 

 fertilizers in the potting compost. Some 

 growers mix in some leaf-mold and 

 this is a good plan where soils are natu- 

 rally stiif and heavy. In light soils, 

 however, it is better left out. Chop 

 the loam down thoroughly and after 

 mixing throw it up in a compost heap, 

 where it is much easier to throw off 

 heavy rains than when spread thinly 

 over a larger surface. 



Show Felargoniums. 



Pelargoniums, which were rested on 

 their sides for some weeks, pruned back 

 and kept well syringed but rather dry 

 at the root, will now have broken away 

 freely and should be shaken out and 

 repotted, using pots as small as the 

 roots can be conveniently gotten into. 

 The longest roots can be pruned back. 

 Water carefully until the roots find 

 their way around the sides of the pots. 

 It is an easy matter to rot the plants 

 after repotting. They are better kept 

 under glass, at least for a time. If 

 necessary, they can be kept in a cold- 

 frame until November, when the ma- 

 jority of the mums are out of the way. 



Cyclamens. 



The earliest cyclamen plants now 

 have quantities of flower buds show- 

 ing; here and there a flower is already 

 open. These should be picked off. The 

 earliest date when cyclamens are sal- 

 able is Thanksgiving, but sales at 

 Christmas are generally the best. Grow 

 the plants cool and airy, and as the 

 sun's rays are now steadily on the 

 decline, reduce the shading. Where 

 blinds are used, they can now be dis- 

 pensed with, except for three or four 

 hours in the middle of bright days. 

 Look over the plants every few days. 

 Throw away any sickly ones. Scratch 

 over the surface soil. Eemove any bad 

 foliage and weeds. Spray the plants 

 once a day, but do it sufficiently early 

 60 that they will be dry before night- 

 fall. Toward the end of the present 

 month place the earliest plants on a 

 bench in a house kept at 48 to 50 de- 

 grees at night. A shelf in a carnation 

 house will also do nicely. These plants 

 will be in fine shape for Christmas. 



The present is the correct time to 

 make a liberal sowing of seed. Do not 

 purchase anything cheap; the best 

 strains are always the cheapest in the 

 long run. As a general rule, red is 

 the greatest seller at Christmas; pink 

 also moves well. Pure white is indis- 

 pensable and sells almost any time. The 



dark maroon and purplish shades no 

 one wants at any price. A compost 

 of one-half well decayed loam and one- 

 half leaf-mold, with plenty of sand 

 added, makes a suitable soil in which 

 to sow cyclamen seed. Pans or flats 

 can be used. These should be well 

 drained. Make the surface soil smooth. 

 Scatter the seeds as evenly over it as 

 possible. Then, with a smooth piece 

 of board, press the soil to make it 

 quite level. Dust a little covering of 

 fine soil over this from a screen and, 

 after watering, place in a warm, moist 

 house, keeping the soil covered with 

 paper until the little seedlings appear. 



Brief Reminders. 



As tuberous begonias, gloxinias and 

 achimenes pass out of flower, place 

 them in a frame with glass protection 

 and do not discontinue watering at 

 once, nor throw them on their sides 

 under the benches to rest and be eaten 

 by vermin, as is too often done. 



Fumigation of all houses once a week 

 will keep aphides in check. Do not 

 wait until you see your plants alive 

 with them. 



To thoroughly ripen the wood on the 

 early pot grown rambler roses, reduce 

 the water supply, keeping the plants 

 in the fullest sunshine. 



Look over the smilax beds regularly 

 and do not neglect the strings. A few 

 days' delay will cause endless labor 

 disentangling the shoots. 



While dahlias are still in good bloom, 

 look over them and see that all are 

 correctly named. Look over collections 

 at your local fairs and make a note 

 of desirable kinds to purchase for an- 

 other season. 



Cinerarias and calceolarias want no 

 fire heat for some time yet. Keep 

 them in a coldframe, shaded from 

 strong sunlight, and do not allow them 

 to become potbound. 



Reduce the shading in the houses. 

 Outside of palms, some tropical plants 

 and ferns, the bulk of plants now need 

 full sunshine. 



This is a good season to attend to 

 any outside painting and glazing. The 

 work can be more comfortably done 

 now than during the hot summer 

 months. 



Keep seedling biennials and peren- 

 nials weeded and constantly cultivated, 

 to keep them growing well. 



The nights are getting a little cool 

 for poinsettias in frames or unheated 

 houses. A little warmth in the pipes 

 at night only is needed. Avoid much 

 heat until the bracts show. 



Keep primulas spaced apart frequent- 

 ly, especially the Chinese section. Pick 

 off anj' flowers showing thus early. 



Stake pot chrysanthemums, which 

 have grown in bush form, now that the 

 buds are set. The less conspicuous 

 these supports are, the better. 



Lift and pot a batch of Coreopsis 

 grandiflora. These will prove useful in 

 late winter and early spring. 



BOSTON. 



Census Count Is 670,585. 



While there is as yet no great activ- 

 ity in cut flower circles, the demand is 

 slowly improving, and the dullness, 

 which has prevailed for some time, is 

 gradually passing, for which growers 

 and salesmen are devoutly grateful. 

 Roses are quite scarce and have ad- 

 vanced in price. Quite a few show con- 

 siderable mildew on the foliage, but 

 others are of good quality. The sum- 

 mer varieties, Carnot and Kaiserin, are 

 less in evidence. More Killarneys are 

 coming in. Richmond as yet is poor. 

 Bride and Maid are fewer. Such Beau- 

 ties as arrive meet with a fairly steady 

 sale. Carnations, while more plentiful, 

 do not as yet cut much figure, the 

 flowers being small and the stems short. 

 The chrysanthemums seen are chiefly 

 Golden Glow, which make $1J30 to $2 

 per dozen. A few single violets have 

 already appeared. 



Dahlias are selling well, although the 

 quality leaves much to be desired. 

 Asters are less abundant and no fur- 

 ther glut of these is now likely. Gla- 

 dioli are getting smaller, but make 

 fairly good prices, the best selling at $4 

 to $6 per hundred. Lily of the valley 

 is scarce and higher in price. There is 

 an adequate supply of lilies. There are 

 plenty of cornflowers at 50 cents per 

 hundred; also cosmos and other outdoor 

 subjects. 



Gardenias are not plentiful, but the 

 demand is light. Cattleyas are much 

 more plentiful, especially Cattleya 

 labiata. Vanda caerulea, Dendrobium 

 Phalaenopsis and other sorts are also 

 seen. A slight improvement is notice- 

 able in sales of asparagus and adian. 

 tum. The demand for ferns, palms and 

 other foliage plants is picking up. All 

 the stores are stocking them heavily at 

 present. 



* New England Dahlia Society. 



The third annual exhibition of the 

 New England Dahlia Society was held 

 in Horticultural hall, September 16 to 

 18, and proved a fine one, the exhibits 

 entirely filling the main hall and loggia. 

 The show was surprisingly good, in view 

 of the fact that no money prizes what- 

 ever were awarded, blue, red and white 

 ribbons taking their place. The quality 

 of flowers shown has never been sur- 

 passed here, and their arrangement was 

 excellent. It was pleasing to see so 

 many entries in the class for vases of 

 eighteen blooms in distinct shades of 

 colors on long stems, of all the various 

 types, the cactus, decorative and pom- 

 pon showing up particularly well. The 

 cactus varieties, as usual, brought out 

 fine entries. The awards were as 

 follows: 



Forty-eight blooms In distinct varieties, J. P. 

 Bodge, first; W. D. Hathaway, second; Llnd- 

 vall & Delury, third. 



Twenty-four varieties, W. D. Hathaway, first; 

 J. P. Bodge, second; N. A. Lindsay, third. 



Twelve varieties, W. D. Hathaway, first; 

 E. W. Ela, second; N. A. Lindsay, third. 



One hundred cactus, for which the Newport 

 Horticultural Society offered a silver medal. 

 George H. Walker won with a beautiful lot of 

 blooms. Particularly noticeable In his collection 

 were: Snow Queen, California Beauty, Mercury, 

 VarlBbllls, Furst Puckler, Clara, Dlavolo, Heine 

 Amelia, Master Carl, Golden Glory, Mr. Keith, 

 Marguerite Bouchon, Rev. A. Bridge and Elsie. 



Twenty-four varieties decorative, A. E. John- 

 son, first; W. D. Hathaway, second. 



Twelve decorative, J. P. Bodge, first; W. F. 

 Hall, second; E. W.. Ela, third. 



Forty-eight varieties show, W. D. Hathaway, 

 first. 



Twenty-four varieties show, E. W. Ela, first. 



Twelve varieties show, E. W. Ela, first. 



Pompons were finely shown by J. K. 



