OCTOBBB 6, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



11 



'Wedding Decoration by the Stegafl Floral Co^ Texarkana, Ark. 



decoration makes the picture especially 

 appropriate for publication at this time, 

 when chrysanthemums are once more 

 abundant in wholesale markets. 



OPERATE VENTS BY POWEE. 



A Few Suggestions. 



Here is a suggestion for some green- 

 house man of an inventive turn or some 

 of the greenhouse building companies. 



It has often occurred to me that a 

 whole range of carnation or rose houses 

 takes a good deal of the time of the 

 best growers in looking after the ther- 

 momenters and ventilators, and with the 

 best of care no two section men will 

 have their vents just the same at the 

 same time or keep the temperature and 

 ventilation as nearly correct as might 

 be done by other methods in the cases 

 where all the houses in the section re- 

 quire the same amount of ventilation. 



Now, why not have one temperature 

 man look after the entire establishment 

 and do nothing else? Also, why not have 

 a system of raising all the ventilators 

 in any one range of houses at oncef 



Several Methods Possible. 



For instance, a line shaft with a 

 worm at each ventilating machine to 

 engage the cogs just the same as the 

 hand wheel does on the present -ma- 

 chines. Or, possibly by using compressed 

 air to open and close the vents by hav- 

 ing a cylinder at each machine similar 

 to those used by the automatic venti- 

 lating machines. In the latter case the 

 compressed air could be supplied 

 through an underground pipe to each 

 machine on the line at the same time 

 and the entire range opened or closed 

 at once by the engineer in the main 

 building or boiler room. Electrical and 

 thermostatic bells and indicators in the 

 engineer's room would show the tem- 

 perature and announce changes in dif- 

 ferent sections. 



Some Advantages. 



The temperature man could learn the 

 fine points more thoroughly and quickly 



than the many growers now doing this 

 work on the larger places. He would 

 learn to operate according to the sun, 

 wind and outside temperature and in a 

 surprisingly accurate manner, leaving 

 the growers all their time to other rou- 

 tine work, with no worry whatever 

 about even temperature and ventilation. 



The ventilating machines could be 

 arranged so that any one machine could 

 be disconnected from the system and 

 worked by hand in case that house 

 had different plants or needed a differ- 

 ent temperature than other houses of 

 the same group. 



On many of the larger and up-to-date 

 ranges, such a system, if perfected, 

 would be quickly adopted. Let the in- 

 ventors forget the airship and give us 

 something of practical value. 



H. G. 



VIOLETS IN SOUTHERN TEXAS. 



What variety of violets thrives best 

 outdoors in this climate — the climate of 

 the Texas coast country? Will the 

 Prince of Wales withstand the sum- 

 mers here? Would you advise the use 

 of northern-grown plants? H. & L. 



The hardiest of the violets in such a 

 climate, and the one that is best able to 

 withstand the hot, dry summers, is the 

 Viola odorata. The varieties of this 

 species produce strong runners, which 

 quickly make tap roots and soon densely 

 cover the bed with young, hardy plants. 

 I have seen neglected beds, directly in 

 the hot sun, during the summer with- 



stand the severest Texas droughts, but 

 naturally such beds cannot be expected 

 to produce a great quantity of flowers 

 per plant. The best way is to plant the 

 violets in shaded positions on the north 

 Side of houses, or on lawns where they 

 are more or less sheltered from the 

 noonday sun by trees, Violets of this 

 species bloom in Texas during, the en- 

 tire spring, frequently also during the 

 fall and winter, and can also stand with 

 impunity any frosts that are liable to 

 occur in that latitude. H. Ness 



TRANSPI»ANTINa HOLLYHOCKS. 



About what date in the fall should 

 hollyhocks be transplanted, in central 

 Indiana? jj p 



Hollyhocks should be transplanted as 

 soon as possible, and not later than the 

 middle of October in your latitude. 

 As they frequently winter-kill outdoors, 

 especially when there is little snow on 

 the ground, they should be carefully 

 mulched after sharp, frosty weather sets 

 in, using some light, dry material, like 

 pine needles, hay or forest leaves. It 

 IS a good plan to transplant a number 

 into coldframes, rather than risk all 

 outdoors. Q ^ 



CYCLAMENS. 



I am growing some cyclamens and 

 want them to be in bloom for Christ- 

 mas. They are beginning to flower 

 now. Should they flower this earlyf 

 If not, can I have them in bloom when 

 wanted? I live in the northern part of 

 South Carolina. J. M. J. 



Cyclamens often start to throw a few 

 flowers thus early. It will be best to 

 pick off the earliest blooms. Grow the 

 plants cool and well aired. In your 

 latitude they would be better in a cold- 

 frame a month longer, placing them in 

 a light house with an average night 

 temperature of 48 degrees about the 

 middle of October. In this house they 

 should be in good bloom for the holi- 

 days, c ^ 



