

12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Mauch 24, 1910. 



Casey. It was a night long to be re- 

 membered and reflected great credit upon 

 W. F. Sheridan and J. B. Nugent, Jr., 

 ■who had charge of the arrangements. 



FLORISTS' COURSE AT AMHERST. 



The short course in floriculture at the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, Am- 

 herst, Mass., closed March 11. It is to 

 be regretted that so few took advantage 

 of the excellent opportunities to avail 

 themselves of practical and. theoretical 

 information along floricultural lines, and 

 it is hoped the course may be more 

 largely attended next year. While it is 

 diflficult to arrange a course which will 

 meet the needs of all classes of students, 

 the aim is to give the beginner as much 

 elementary information as possible, with- 

 out neglecting those who are more ad- 

 vanced, and at the same time to make 

 the work sufficiently scientific to satisfy 

 the needs of those who have been longer 

 in the business. 



The talks by the various practical men 

 who have generously assisted in the 

 course have again proved most valuable. 

 Aside from the speakers previously noted, 

 C. H. Totty, of Madison, N. J., gave a 

 most excellent talk on chrysanthemums. 

 J. K. Shaw, of the horticultural division 

 of the Experiment Station, spoke on the 

 principles of plant breeding, and H. D. 

 Haskins, of the chemical division of the 

 Experiment Station, gave a valuable talk 

 on fertilizers for greenhouse crops. 



All the young men had positions when 

 the course was completed and several 

 more might have been placed. The de- 

 mand for men was greater than the sup- 

 ply. 



Some important changes are planned 

 for the course next year. The morning 

 will be occupied in class-room work and 

 lectures will be given on such subjects 

 as the management of greenhouses, green- 

 house crops, fertilizers, insects, diseases 

 and like subjects. In the afternoon the 

 class will be divided into two sections. 

 One section will consist of those students 

 who have little knowledge of floricultural 

 work, and the time will be spent in prac- 

 tical work in the greenhouses. The other 

 section will consist of men of consider- 

 able practical training, and the afternoon 

 will be spent on assigned reading or some 

 special branch of research. It is hoped 

 in this way to meet the needs of all 

 taking the course. 



The Saturday observation trips proved 



especially profitable. The following are 

 among the ranges visited : H. W. Field 's, 

 Northampton; A. N. Pierson's, Crom- 

 well, Conn.; the Montgomery Co. 's, Had- 

 ley; Smith College Conservatories, North- 

 ampton; Mt.. Holyoke College Conserv^.- 

 tories. South Hadley; Waban Rose Cour 

 servatories^ Natick.; Wm. Nicholson 'a 

 and S. J. Goddard's, i^ranilngham J! Bufc-.' 

 terworth's,' Bouth Framingham; Peter 

 Fisher 's,';Ell}s; Geo. Sinclair's, Holyoke, 

 and Wm.' Sim 's, Clif tondale. Full notes' 

 on eachof '^hese trips were required. 



The Massa!chusett& Agricultural Collegfe- 

 stands ready to assist the state florists 

 in every way possible; the mission of the 

 floricultural department is to be of serv- 

 ice to the practical growers and retail 

 men. This can be accomplished only 

 through the most cordial cooperation. 

 The support the college is receiving from 

 these practical men is most gratifying. 



TEN WEEKS' STOCKS. 



Should ten weeks' stocks be grown 

 in flats or singly in pots and are they 

 used for cutting or pot plants? E. C. 



Ten weeks' stocks can be pricked off 

 in flats or potted singly. The latter 

 method entails more labor, but is the 

 more satisfactory. These stocks can be 

 sold as pot plants, but are but little used 

 in this way. They are excellent for cut- 

 ting. Outdoor grown flowers are usually 

 inferior in length of stem and purity of 

 flowers to such as are produced under 

 glass. By sowing seed at once and bench- 

 ing when of sufficient size, you will get 

 a crop by June. If, however, you have 

 seedlings ready to transplant, you could 

 get them in for Memorial day in a night 

 temperature of 45 to 50 degrees. 



C. W. 



LUPINES FOR WINTER. 



When should seed of the blue lupine 

 be sown to get stock for winter forcing? 

 Please give brief cultural directions and 

 state the temperatlrre required. 



E. C. 



Seeds of the annual blue lupine, if 

 wanted for Christmas or during January, 

 should be sown about August 20. The 

 annual pink lupine is a better winter 

 bloomer and by getting in the seed about 

 September 10 it can be had for Christ- 

 mas. Seeds sown during October will 

 bloom during February and March. Sow 



the seeds on a bench and thin the blue 

 varieties out to ten inches apart in the 

 rows, allowing eighteen inches between 

 the rows. . The pink varieties can go 

 much closer, being of more slender 

 growth, with small foliage. A cool house, 

 not over 45 degrees at. night in winter, 

 suits them, best. While the pink vari- 

 eities come in;- crop alfnost at once, the 

 blue forms bloom for a number of 

 weeks. Soil such as i^ used for chryftan- 

 themums'is all right., »■/,;'' C. W. 



BEDDING PLANTS IN SHADE. 



I have several beds to plant for cus 

 tomers and want to get the right stock in 

 soon. Some of the beds are situated 

 either partially or wholly in th^ shade of 

 trees. Aside from zonal geraniums and 

 coleus, what other plants could be used 

 to good advantage in such places? Will 

 you name a half dozen or so good carpet 

 bedding plants, also a few of the best 

 flowering cannas that could be used in 

 partial shade? L. R. K. 



While the bulk of the bedding plants 

 prefer full sunshine, there are quite a 

 number which will succeed well in partial 

 shade, while a few do well in quite heavy 

 shade. For the latter position tuberous 

 rooted begonias are the most showy, per- 

 sistent flowering and generally satisfac- 

 tory plants. Fuchsias do well in fairly 

 heavy shade, but are a failure in full 

 sunshine. The fibrous rooted begonias 

 do splendidly, no matter whether planted 

 in full sun, partial shade or heavy shade, 

 and flower continuously until cut down 

 by frost. Good varieties of these are: 

 Vernon, Erfordii, Vesuvius and gracilis 

 rosea. 



None of- the flowering cannas do well 

 in shade, but where they will get two or 

 three hours of sun daily they will bloom 

 satisfactorily. A few reliable varieties 

 are: Souvenir d'Antolne Crozy, Crimson 

 Bedder, Antoine Wintzer, Tarrytown, 

 Queen Charlotte, Alphonse Bouvier, 

 Beaute Poitevine and Yellow Bird. 



A few carpet bedding plants you could 

 use in partial shade are: Altemanthera 

 brilliantissima, A. aurea nana, Santolina 

 maritima, Echeveria metallica, E. se- 

 cunda glauca, Lobelia Emperor William, 

 Alyssum Little Gem. 



The following other plants will grow 

 and flower satisfactorily in partial shade : 

 Salvia splendens, Vinca rosea, V. alba, 

 verbenas, pan ies, Nicotiana affinis, N. 



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Short Course Students in Floriculture, Massachusetts Agricultural College, Winter Sessioft, 1910. 



