Makcu 23, I'Jll. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



15 



kcoji your plants constantly wet at the 

 root, (icraniums arc jiot a(juatic"S, but 

 some growiTs treat them as though they 

 Avere. Allow a thorough drying out be- 

 tween ^vaterings and Uccp (h'ad leaves, 

 weeds, etc., carefullv removed. <.'. \V. 



TROUBLE WITH GERANIUMS. 



I have lieeii ]ia\iiig troidile with my 

 geraniums and encddsc a fair sample of 

 my plants. 'I'lic discasi' is spreading all 

 over my stock. Will ydu jdcase tell me 

 what is wrong ami wlial Pi do to stoji it.' 



V. A. K. 



The foliagi' of the spcc-iriiciis r(M-eived 

 was quite Ijadly attacdvcd with bacteria. 

 Without knowing soniething of cultural 

 and otiier conditions, it is dithcnlt to 

 suggest even what the cause of the trou- 

 hie may lie. 1 wouhl advise you to thrt)w 

 away the woist affected plants. Pick the 

 worst foliage from any others. l)o not 

 :dlow them to stand crowded. Uo not 

 keep them constantly wet at the root and 

 do not grow Ihem too \variM. A\oid using 

 any animal manure in tii(> ])otting soil, 

 unless it is old and decayed. This causes 

 .•I too rank and soft growtii, which is an 

 I'asy mark for bacterial diseases. (Uve 

 the plants tlie fullest possible sunshine, 

 an abundance of fresii air and a night 

 tem])erature of 4.") to .lO degrees. Do not 

 exceed the latter figure, unless it may be 

 on ■warm nights. When watering, soak 

 the jiots wi'U and .always allow tlieni to 

 <lry out quite well betwei'u the water- 

 ings. Do not syringe the ])lants o\'er- 

 head. Tliis A\ill .also tend to m.ake the 

 foli.-ige soft. C. W. 



HOTBEDS WITHOUT MANURE. 



Tlie inquiiy of K. L. J\., who asked 

 in ,1 recent issn(> of The Iteview with 

 ii'gard to oil bni'Mcrs, leads me to send 

 you the enclosed photograph, with some 

 description of my apparatus. How many 

 li;i\"e been confronted with the necessity 

 of ?naking liotlieds without ]nannr(».' 

 Where I am ]ocate<l it is lu^xt to im- 

 possible t(> get together enougli manure 

 'iuitable for hotbed ]iurposes. Last year, 

 while planning my spring woi'k, I was 

 confronted by the s.ame old diflficulty in 

 aggi'avated form. As a solution, it oc- 

 curred to me thai I might rig u]) a 

 I iant similar to those used in heating 

 laiiroad coaches. ] therefore bought an 

 upright boiler. lSx3G inches, containing 

 twenty L'l'^-inch fines. The picture shows 

 the boiler in ])osition at the eiul of a 

 hotbed OxoO feet, ^'ou \\\U mite T have 

 markcfl the exp.ansion tani<, which J 

 ligged up on a tripod, and also the 

 valve for steam escajie. The flow pipe 

 •<lrops six inches in the fifty feet and 

 then there are four 1-incii returns level 

 to tiie boiler. In twenty minutes from 

 firing the entire system is hot, and 1 

 have ])erformed the feat of making hot- 

 bed'; without manur(>. Tln^ hotbeds last 

 \'ear gave me the best success I ever 

 have had in a long .and successful ex- 

 perience in the trade. There were only 

 two difficulties. One of these was the 

 neci-ssity for firing and the other was 

 th.at the ashes, snudvc and soot fell on 

 the glass ami sifted into the hotbed 

 wlienever I attem])ti'd to ventilate. As 

 a result, and this brings me to the in- 

 (|uiry of K. L. K., I decided to find an 

 fiil burner and got in touch with C. Y. 

 Koop, ()!.'} West iMftli street, Kansas 

 city, whose name was given me as the 

 manufacturer of oil burners for every 

 purpose. I purchased a burner for the 

 boiler and, while I have not yet given 

 it a test that is conclusive, I think I 



Making Hotbeds Without Manure. 



h;n-e found the solution of the only 

 trouble in heating ;i hotbed without 

 manure. W. L. Leeka. 



THE HORTICUIiTURAL GRADUATE. 



I noted the letter of J-'. Williams on 

 page 10 of The Keview of March 2, 

 under the title of "The i^eginner," and 

 1 certainly do not accept all that he 

 says without certain reserxiitions. i do. 

 however, agree with liim reg.arding the 

 general imju'ession among peojde who 

 are not fully informed, that the voca- 

 tion of a florist is the direct road to 

 wealth. 



1 ])eliev(' the comm(>rcial flower busi- 

 ness would compare favorably, in regard 

 to its op])ortunities for the inexperi- 

 enced, with any other business. Take the 

 groceiy Inisiness, for instance, and you 

 would find thousands entering it every 

 d.ay without previous tr.aining. 7 be 

 lieve tin' .average, fairly intelligent man 

 would be as liable to succeed in one 

 business as he would in another, jirovid 

 ing all things were ecpial. 



To my mind, the jirincipal reason for 

 so numy failures is lack of capital with 

 which to operate. A man must use much 

 ])erseverance and sweet oil, ))lus the 

 necessary capital, to succeed. I'nder 

 any circumstances, a certain inherent 

 business ability is necessary to success. 

 There are many successful growers to- 

 d.ay who do not have the al.ilitv to con- 



duct .a busini'ss on tludr own acc(nint; 

 and there .a I'c sncc 'ssful business men 

 who coidd certaiidy succeed in oper- 

 iiting a flower estalilishment without 

 any pre\ious exjierience whatever. 



Mr. Williams seems to think lightly 

 of the jirivate g.ardener at ''colleges 

 presided oxer by learned professors,'' 

 and he believes that the horticultural 

 scdiools whi(di do not give special at- 

 tention to the teaching of commercial 

 growing "only tend to increase the 

 number of incompetents.'' It seems to 

 me thiit the graduate of such a school 

 is in a far better position to begin the 

 practical cultivation of florists' crops 

 than he who has spent only four years 

 in the ordinary commercial establish- 

 miMit. The theorist can readily adapt 

 hims(df to most conditions. He knows 

 the })rim-iples of plant culture; iiis 

 km)wl(Mlge is so general that he can 

 enter into ainuist any phase of the busi- 

 ness; he can work at the branch he 

 likes best. An intelligent man can read- 

 ily acquaint himself with the "small 

 details," and, though some few would 

 balk at the hard work and drudgery, 

 most men would knuckle down and take 

 the jiepjier with the salt. 



The j)rivate gardener at a college 

 which boasts of a plant liouse and a 

 campus of any size is obliged to have 

 a f.ar more extensive and general knowl- 

 edge of the plant world than the florist 



