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16 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



March 2, 1911. 



rUMiaATION OF VIOIJITS. 



What effect would too much fumi- 

 gating with tobacco dust have on Marie 

 Louise violets? H. W. & S, W. A. 



Too much fumigating will hurt almost 

 any plants, violets being no exception to 

 the rule. The effect on Marie Louise vio- 

 lets would be to cause a browning of 

 the edges of the foliage and a bleaching 

 of the color of the flowers. Many of 

 the large commercial growers now use 

 hydrocj'anic acid gas for fumigation, 

 but this must be used with extreme 

 caution. A safe method is to use 

 one of the tobacco papers, which will 

 injure neither foliage nor flowers and 

 leave no unpleasant odor behind them. 

 C. W. 



THE BEST VIOLETS. 



1 have been growing violets for a 

 number of years, and thought of plant- 

 ing new stock the coming season. Is 

 Princess of Wales better than Cali- 

 fornia? I see the former is recom- 

 mended as a good violet. T have the 

 California, but think that I should have 

 new stock, as I have had the same 

 plants for nine years. Is Lady Hume 

 Campbell subject to leaf-spot, like 

 Marie Louise? J. F. J. 



Princess of Wales is a much superior 

 violet to California. The latter has 

 been discarded for some years by most 

 of the big specialists. You can obtain 

 voung plants of this finest of all single 

 violets from many advertisers in The 

 Review a little later. If you once try 

 it you will want no more California. 

 All the single violets should be left out 

 until they have had a few degrees of 

 frost. 



Lady Hume Campbell is sometimes 

 attacked by leaf -spot, but not so badly 

 as Marie Louise. Many who failed 

 with Marie Louise have good success 

 with Campbell. The latter is of a paler 

 color, however, than Marie Louise. My 

 own opinion is that, for those who can 

 grow it, there is no double violet which 

 yet equals the old Marie Louise. 



C. W. 



PROPAGATION OF PETUNIAS. 



Will you tell me what is the trouble 

 with my double petunias? When I make 

 cuttings the old plant generally dies. 

 The cuttings root well, but as soon as 

 I cut again over one-half die. What 

 temperature do they like? Do they want 

 shade or plenty of light? I give them 

 all the sun I can and plenty of water. 



J. J. K. 



Petunias root well in a bottom heat 

 of 60 degrees, with a top heat of 50 to 

 52 degrees. Any cutting bench suitable 

 for carnations or chrysanthemums will 

 answer equally well for petunias. A 

 warm propagating bench, such as is 

 necessary for coleus or alternantheras, I 



is unsuitable for petunias. Shade until 

 rooted and for a few days after potting, 

 until they become established; then give 

 full sun and a temperature of 50 de- 

 grees at night. Many of the cuttings 

 on old petunias are blind. They can be 

 rooted, but, like yellow marguerites, 

 which often act similarly, they will 

 never produce any growths, and if the 

 tops are cut off that ends them. Before 

 doing any propagating, it is a good 

 plan to head back the plants somewhat 

 and thus induce a crop of soft, succulent 

 cuttings, which are more likely to give 

 satisfaction. C. W. 



THE lERIOATOE FLOWEE POT. 



William Whitney Lewis, an architect 

 in Boston, Mass., has invented and pat- 

 ented a self -watering flower pot which is 

 extremely simple in its construction and 

 yet is so peculiar in some of its details 

 as to challenge attention, if not approval. 



The invention is called the Joy-0 Irri- 

 gator Flower Pot. As the illustration 

 shows, it consists of a pot within a pot, 

 and the interesting peculiarity of the in- 

 ner pot is that the bottom of it is not 

 perforated, as in common flower pots, 

 but is made of a porous quality of clay, 

 while the rest of the pot is thoroughly 

 waterproof. 



"This inner, or plant-holding pot," 

 Mr. Lewis says, "is made of the ordi- 

 nary clay or any material suitably por- 

 ous, but this pot is imperforate, and 

 more or less of the walls of the pot are 



waterproofed on the exterior surfaces. 

 The pot is enclosed in a reservoir of any 

 material impermeable by water, and the 

 water is supplied to the plant by soaking 

 through the porous portion of the plant 

 pot, the porous surface being, on the 

 average, restricted to the bottom of the 

 pot. Water also rises, by capillary at- 

 traction, in the body of the upright 

 walls of the pot, and is given off to the 

 soil. One filling of the reservoir will 

 water the plant for from eight to fifteen 

 days, the length of time depending on 

 the temperature, humidity of the atmos- 

 phere, etc. The surface of the soil in 

 the pot is never caked over, but is al- 

 ways porous enough to admit air to the 

 soil. The soil is r jt washed away from 

 around the stem or roots of the plant, 

 as in the usual methods of watering, and 

 the plant receives a constant and suffi- 



cient supply of water without flooding 

 of the roots. In the case of plants re- 

 quiring much fertilizer, the lower por- 

 tion of the pot may, previous to filling 

 with soil, be packed to a reasonable 

 depth with sheep manure or other fer- 

 tilizer, which is slowly dissolved by the 

 percolating water and carried to the 

 plants. ' ' 



Conservative advocates of the different 

 sorts of self-watering devices generally 

 argue that these inventions, even if not 

 always useful to a practical, expert flo- 

 rist, may be helpful, nevertheless, to 

 many of that same florist's customers, 

 since the customers' methods of culture 

 are less skillful than those of the flo- 

 rist, and more in need of mechanical aid. 

 A contrivance, it is maintained, that does 

 not add anything to the success of an 

 adept may greatly increase the success of 

 an amateur. The action of a self -water- 

 ing flower pot, even if not absolutely per- 

 fect, may easily approach nearer to per- 

 fection than the action — or inaction — of 

 many unprofessional growers. And the 

 conclusion of the argument is, that self- 

 watering flower pots and the like may be 

 ejefellent articles, therefore, for florists 

 to keep in stock and sell to their patrons. 



In support of this opinion, mention 

 might be made of the Illinois Heater & 

 Mfg. Co., of Chicago, whose self-watering 

 flower boxes have been extensively sold 

 by florists. There is a good demand, too, 

 for the metal reservoir vases, which also 

 embody the self-watering principle and 

 are intended for use on lawns, and in 

 parks, cemeteries, etc. 



The inventor of the Irrigator Flower 

 Pot, in describing his own experience 

 with it, says again: "When the idea 

 is first broached to those interested in 

 flower growing, I am told that the plan 

 is impractical for many reasons, but 

 meanwhile the plants obstinately con- 

 tinue to grow and flourish as we never 

 before have had them do in the house. 

 In fact, our previous want of success is 

 what led my attention to the subject of 

 the self -watering pot," 



As to the future possibilities that are 

 involved in his invention, Mr. Lewis has 

 this to say: "My patent covers the 

 adaptation of the idea to window boxes, 

 tubs for large plants, etc., and is by no 

 means confined to the ordinary flower 

 pot. I hope to induce florists to adopt a 

 modification of the idea by which it 

 would be possible to automatically re- 

 plenish the water supply for an indefinite 

 number of pots, so that the water would 

 be supplied the year around with abso- 

 lutely no work or attention on the part 

 of the florist or his assistants. This 

 would be a money-saving device that 

 should be of great value in large con- 

 servatories. ' ' 



GOOD VABIETTES OF ASTEES. 



What are the best varieties of asters 

 for outdoor growing, and when should 

 the seed be sown? What is the proba- 

 ble number of plants to each ounce of 

 seed? K. W. 



The varieties of asters are quite 

 numerous. A few good sorts are: 

 Dawn of Day, double white, the earliest 

 of all to flower; Queen of the Market, 

 procurable in a number of shades, early, 

 of eirong branching habit, free flower- 

 ing; American Branching, robust, large 

 flowers, for late crops; Semple's and 

 Vick's are excellent, vigorous strains 

 for main or late crops; improved Vic- 

 toria, Crego of Comet typo and peony 



