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OcTOsm 12, 1911. 



The Weekhr Florists' Revidv. 



19 



advocate a larger quantity of manure, 

 but we find the plants do not need it 

 in their earlier stages of growth; also, 

 the wood is firmer and ripens better 

 than where nitrogenous mattet is 

 abundant. We prefer giving food later, 

 when the plant is strong and the roots 

 active. 



Those who wish to utilize old soil 

 will meet with good success by using 

 half new and half -pi^. We prefer 

 plaelsg the new at the bottom of the 

 bench and, if prepared compost is not 

 at hand, fresh cut sods chopped and put 

 through a soil mixer will make an ex- 

 cellent substitute. .... 



Time to Plant. 



♦j- :■ 



1^' 



As previously stated, the early sorts 

 should be planted if possible early in 

 May. We have calls for early varieties 

 for planting late in July, but the fal- 

 lacy of such a course is apparent when 

 we consider that, instead of planting, 

 the grower should be selecting "buds. 

 The midseason and late varieties will 

 do well if planted in June. It is true 

 fairly good results are thjBoutcome 

 when this operation is defeMl^^ the 



i^oeed^g month, but the' ^PWQre are 

 seS^m ^0 large and fine In finish as 

 thoi^^which have had ample time to 

 develop a strong plant before selecting 

 the buds. 



Early planting in only mod< 

 rich soil gives the best stem and f( 

 for the commercial grower; namely, 

 smaller leaves, on short-jointed and 

 firm-wooded stems. With the founda- 

 tion constructed thoroughly and com- 

 plete, the building of the bloom will 

 practically take care of itself. 



It is unnecessary to go into details in 

 the operation of tying. This work 

 should be done when the plants are a 

 foot in height, or at least before there 

 is danger of their toppling over. From 

 this time until the buds appear weed- 

 ing and watering are the most urgent 

 matters requiring attention. Less 

 water will be required during the first 

 stages of growth, with increased quan- 

 tity as the plants gain strength and 

 more foliage. 



Taking the Buds. 



The date for the buds to appear is 

 governed to a large degree by the cli- 

 matic conditions. During my visit in 

 California, the state of many climates, 

 I was much impressed by the fact that 

 those portions of the state enjoying a 

 cool air produce the earliest blooms 

 and| the late ones are from localities 

 more torrid. At Los Angeles I was 

 told the first in the market come from 

 the: growers near the coast, while the 

 late ones come from the foothills of 

 the' mountains only twenty milefs dis- 

 tan|^ No fixed dates can be given, as 

 they vary according to the conditions 

 of the weather during July and -Au- 

 gust: The cooler, the earlier, and* the 

 warmer, the later, this change in con- 

 struction takes place. On one occa- 

 sioii we 'had W. H. Chadwick immedi- 

 ately follow Ivory and at other times 

 thej^ have been sixty days apart. 



"VVith an average season in this sec- 

 tion, flowers for' September are from 

 bu(te selected about July 1 to 15; for 

 Octbber, August 1 to 15; for November, 

 August 25 to September 15; for De- 

 cen^ber, September 20 to ^ctober 10. 

 The) dates given are only "approximate 

 at Best, aa some ^varieties develop more 

 rapidly than others. 



The bulk of chrysanthemums are 



Elmer D. Smhh. 



planted from June 15 to July 15 and 

 those best adapted for this purpose 

 are such as produce perfect blooms 

 from buds selected from August 25 to 

 late September. 



Many of the kinds shown at the ex- 

 hibitions look beautiful but are often 

 misleading to the novice, for, when 

 placed under the conditions which 

 usually prevail on commercial places, 

 they are useless. It is far better to 

 rely upon the judgment of some com- 

 petent person than to select from the 

 show boards unless you are well 

 versed in these matters. 



I am pleased to state that shading 

 is not practiced as much as in former 

 years. Sunlight is a prime factor in 

 producing strong, sturdy growth. A 

 light shading is, however, highly bene- 

 ficial to all varieties showing color be- 

 fore October, and it is often necessary 

 to continue later, provided bright sun 

 prevails and . the temperature rises 

 above normal. 



The Best Fertilizer. 



What form of nourishment to supply 

 is a topic of considerable importance. 

 Few growers entirely agree on this 

 subject. Bone meal, cow, sheep and, 

 in fact, almost any kind of manure, is 

 beneficial, but the real value depends 

 upon the amount of plant food they 

 contain when considered in ratio to 

 price paid. All or part of those men- 

 tioned may be essential in the produc- 

 tion of the largest blooms which find 

 their way to the exhibitions, btit if my 

 object was solely the production of high 

 grade commercial stock I would prefer 

 a complete concentrated chemical fer- 

 tilizer, say one containing about fifty 

 per cent plant food. While it costs 

 more per pound than the natural 

 products, it will supply nearly 100 

 times the amount of the required ele- 

 ments, namely, nitrogen, potash and 

 phosphoric acid. 



To make this comparison more com- 

 prehensive,, one pound of such chem.- 

 icals is equal to nearly 100 pounds of 

 manure. The first cost would be great- 

 er for the chemicals, but we should 

 bear in mind that the entire fifty per 

 cent of plant food is available as. soon 

 as put into solution. On the Qtber 

 hand, the manure requires consideXJ|ble 

 labor to bring it into such a form. ,, In 

 the first place, the chemicals are placed 

 in a tank of water and in a few hours 

 are ready to apply with a hose; in the 

 second case, the material must either 

 be used in the form of top dressing or 

 reduced to a liquid before it is avail- 

 able. 



I am frank to admit that there is 

 less danger of injuring a crop with 

 manure than with chemicals, unless the 

 latter are judiciously applied. Most of 

 such materials are used too strong. Ten 

 years ago we were applying at the rate 

 of one ounce to five or six gallons of 

 water; now the ratio is one to twenty. 

 Weak solutions are much safer, afford- 

 ing perfect control. 



Varieties of robust constitution, 

 which are usually able to assimilate 

 more food, can be treated at shorter 

 intervals with the soil recommended. 

 Thirty pounds of such concentrated 

 chemicals at a cost of I§ss than $10 is 

 sufficient for 30,000 to 40,000 plants. 

 The labor in preparing manure for 

 such a number would alone far exceed 

 the figures given. 



Combating Insect Pests. 



There are a few insects which must 

 be kept in check if our plants are to 

 be kept in a healthy condition. Aphis 

 are the most abundant. The last two 

 years we have used hydrocyanic acid 

 gas with most satisfactory results. Its 

 advantages over the various forms of 

 nicotine are that it kills every aphis in 

 the house, and they do not reappear for 

 a month ori more. We have fumigated 



