Septbmbbr 20, 1010. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



9 



School Children at Christ Winterich's for Start in Geranium Growing Contest. 



then the leading retail lady florist of 

 Springfield, and two lively young boys 

 now make life interesting to both. 



Mr. Schmidt is an athletic enthusiast, 

 was at one time president of the local 

 Deutsche Turnverein, devotes Saturday 

 afternoon to baseball during its season, 

 and an evening or two a week in the 

 gymnasium of the Y. M. C. A. 



Ge Dale. 



WINTEEICH'S BKIOHT IDEA. 



Did you ever get a whole summer's 

 advertising out of a few hundred 2-inch 

 geraniums? If you didn't, this is how 

 it may be done. Christ Winterich, 

 Defiance, 0., originated the process, but 

 it is not covered either by patent or 

 copyright, nor would he patent it if he 

 could. Everybody is welcome. 



An annual event at Defiance is the 

 fall festival; pretty nearly every town 

 has something similar, a county fair or 

 some other event at about this date. 

 Knowing that the fall festival would 

 take place in September, last spring 

 Mr. Winterich advertised in his local 

 paper that on a certain afternoon he 

 would give to each school child five 2- 

 inch geraniums, these to be grown on 

 for exhibition at the festival in Septem- 

 ber, when prizes would be awarded to 

 those showing the best plants. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 a part of those who came for the plants 

 in the spring. The picture is so much 

 reduced it may not be apparent, but 

 each child in the group has a package 

 of geraniums in his hand. You can 

 imagine the talk in that town when so 

 many youngsters lined up at the wire 

 to get their start in the race. 



When the fall festival came around 

 the school children's exhibitions were 

 one of the star features. Quite natur- 

 ally it was the center of interest for 

 the children, and consequently for their 

 parents. Those whose geraniums had 

 enjoyed only a fleeting existence were 

 on hand to see what the more successful 

 ones had accomplished, and it is just 

 within the possibilities that some of 

 the plants Mr. Winterich sold in 3-inch 

 and 4-inch pots during summer were 

 bought to take the place of one or more 

 of those given away that had not with- 

 stood amateur cultural methods. 



Anyway, it was a big ad for Mr. 

 Winterich; a big ad in the spring, a 

 good ad all summer long, and an- 

 other big ad in the fall. The 

 local newspaper gave the display half 

 a column write-up, from which it is 

 gleaned that "Lois Stonebreaker won 



the first prize, a large palm. She had 

 five plants which were uniform in size, 

 Paul Fahy won the second prize, a large 

 fern. Clarence Kost won third prize, a 

 beautiful cyclamen. Isabelle Davis 

 won fourth prize, a bed of geraniums. 

 Lucile Schlembaugh won fifth prize, a 

 bed of cannas. Irene and Edmund 

 Nickle won a special prize of a large 

 fern. They had grown their ten plants 

 in one large tub. Paul Duerk has the 

 best single plant. Many of the children 

 had less than five plants, and for these 

 honorable mention was given to sev- 

 eral." Their names followed. 

 Next season the show will grow. 



PACKINO VIOLET PLANTS. 



What is the best way of packing field- 

 grown violet plants for shipment I Some 

 of them measure ten to fourteen inches 

 in diameter. Should I leave much soil 

 on the roots? E. A. P. 



A good way in which to pack violet 

 plants for shipment is to put a thin 

 layer of excelsior in the bottom of the 

 box, and then pack the plants upright 

 in straight rows across the box, press- 

 ing the roots firmly together in the 

 row. If the plants are to be shipped 

 far, there should be a narrow wooden 

 cleat nailed across the box between 

 every other row, in order to keep the 

 plants in place. Then nail a slat cover 

 on the top of the box, so that the 

 plants will have plenty of ventilation. 



Do not remove all the soil from the 

 roots. In case the soil is light and falls 

 away from the roots too much, it is 

 best to pack a thin layer of damp ex- 

 celsior between each row of plants in 

 the box. Pack tightly, but give the 

 foliage all the air you can, to avoid 

 heating in the box. W. H. T. 



Wakefield, Mass.— Otto Eunge has 

 opened a new store on Albion street and 

 is enjoying a marked increase in his 

 business. 



AUCUBA JAPONICA. 



Can you give me some information 

 regarding the summer treatment of 

 Aucuba Japonica, both green and 

 variegated? I have had some fine plants 

 turn black and die, and am at a loss to 

 know how to prevent the same thing 

 occurring again. P. N. D. 



Aucubas, both green and variegated, 

 will do well planted in any good garden 

 soil in summer, where they will get full 

 sun. If placed with azaleas, ericas and 

 other hard-wooded greenhouse plants, 

 within reach of the hose, they will make 

 splendid growth. If kept in tubs, all 

 they require is plenty of water and 

 an occasional dose of liquid manure. 

 Probably your plants were kept t6o 

 dry in winter, which would cause their 

 turning black when the warm weather 

 came on. Keep them in a temperature 

 just clear of freezing in winter. Some 

 frost will not hurt them. C. W. 



PALMS. 



Which is considered to be the best 

 all-round palm for florists' use, for 

 decorations indoors and outdoors? Is a 

 house running east and west or one 

 running north and south best adapted 

 for growing palms? Is a solid concrete 

 bed filled with ashes considered good 

 to grow them on? F. H. W. 



If limited to one species of palm for 

 general decorative utility, Kentia 

 Forsteriana would doubtless receive the 

 most votes in its favor. 



Houses running east and west are 

 favored by most palm growers, but 

 from the fact that most palm houses 

 are shaded to some extent for a large 

 part of the year, the direction does not 

 make so much diflference. 



A solid bed filled with ashes is ex- 

 cellent for growing palms in 6-incn 

 pots or larger, but the young stock is 

 more under control when grown on side 

 benches, where they will have the 

 benefit of the heating pipes beneath 

 them. W. H. T. 



Hot Springs, Ark.— The Johnson 

 Floral Co. says that trade is rather quiet 

 at present, and it takes only a little 

 stock to supply the demand. A funeral 

 now and then is about all, but they are 

 busy repairing and fixing up for the 

 coming season. This month being just 

 between seasons here they do not expect 

 much real business. Flowers are scarce. 



