April 6, 1911. 



TheWccIdy Florists' Review, 



31 



Crocuses and Scillas in Appropriate Receptacles are Fine Sellers. 



to go into detail now, because any hints 

 I could give would be a repetition of 

 the old story. Be in a perfect state of 

 preparedness and put nothing oflf. Pro- 

 vide yourself with plenty of efficient 

 help. Other trades take on a lot of 

 extra help at the rush time, and if it 

 is not as efficient as your steady help, 

 no harm can come of it, for your cus- 

 tomers, seeing the place full and a rush 

 of business, will not expect the same 

 treatment thej^ would get in ordinary 

 days. 



The trimming or decorating of all 

 plants sent out nowadays has grown to 

 be a great feature of the business. You 

 must keep to the front in this, as well 

 as in other features. The smallest plant 

 is never sent out or handed to a cus- 

 tomer unless the pot is enveloped with 

 green paper tied with ribbon to match. 

 As the article rises in value the decora- 

 tion becomes more elaborate, and if you 

 do what you ought you will charge 

 enough to cover the cost. Many a plant 

 of poor appearance or imperfect form 

 is sold through the judicious use of 

 accessories. 



The retailer who has only a limited 

 area of a city store is terriblv con- 

 gested at Easter, and the man who has 

 a conservatory at his back, or a range 

 of glass in connection, is to be con- 

 gratulated. 



Division of labor is a great thing. It 

 does not take a great schooling to teach 

 a young man to trim a plant tastefully, 

 and the most handy at that may be a 

 poor salesman. Good salesmen should 

 not be expected to do the work that 

 much cheaper help can do as well. 



OnjB of the most trying things con 

 nected with these busy times is the de- 

 livery. At least eighty-five per cent of 

 our sales have to be delivered. It is 

 money made, and made quickly, to have 

 a man who understands the city and is 

 able to map out the trips in their suc- 

 cessive, prder. Give particular attention 

 to this end of the business. 



W. J. Vesey, Jr. 



Newark, N. J. — The Magnolia Floral 

 Co. has been incorporated here, with a 

 capital stock of $25,000. to engage in 

 both wholesale and retail business. 



THE USE OF LEAF-MOLD. 



I should like to know whether leaf- 

 mold is good for carnations and gera- 

 niums, as I have a chance to get as 

 much as 1,000 loads right from the 

 woods. If well rotted, would this make 

 a good soil for greenhouses? If you 

 have had any experience with this kind 

 of soil, I should like to know all 

 about it. C. W. C. 



Leaf-mold is a most excellent potting 

 medium for many varieties of plants, 

 but it is too light to be of any value 

 for carnations and geraniums. While 

 they will grow fairly well in soil con- 

 taining a proportion of leaf-mold, they 

 succeed much better in loam. How- 

 ever, for sowing seeds of nearly all 



kinds a large proportion of leaf-mold, 

 with some sand to give it porosity, is 

 the best compost procurable. There 

 are also many plants, such as Lorraine 

 begonias, ferns of many varieties, 

 many foliage plants and quite a few 

 bedding plants in the earlier stages, 

 which grow better in a compost con- 

 taining plenty of leaf-mold than in 

 anything else. By all means secure a 

 quantity of the leaf-mold. You will 

 find it invaluable for many purposes; 

 in fact, no florist is properly equipped 

 without a supply of rotted leaves. For 

 mixing in soil for benches it is not 

 equal to well decayed manure, but if 

 you have a naturally stiff, retentive 

 loam, a little may advantageously be 

 added. ^ G. W. 



^m 



-r ■^. 



GBOWINQ FERNS FROM SPORES. 



Please give us a brief description of 

 the process of growing small ferns from 

 spores, G. S. C. 



Having the spores ready for sowing, 

 the first step is to prepare some pots 

 in which to sow them. Take a suffi- 

 cient number of clean 0-inch pots — new 

 pots are best for the purpose — and fill 

 them two-thirds full of drainage mate- 

 rial ; either broken pots or clean cinders 

 will do. Then fill up with fine soil to 

 "within half an inch of the top, press- 

 ing down the soil smoothly and firmly. 

 The best soil is a peaty mixture con- 

 taining a fair proportion of sand, but 

 no manure. In order to kill weed seeds 

 and fungi, the soil should be sterilized. 

 Give the soil in the pots a good water- 

 ing and allow it to drain for an hour 

 or two before sowing. 



The spores should be sown thinly on 

 the surface of the soil, and the pots 

 should then be plunged in sand or ashes 

 in a propagating frame, in order to 

 retain the moisture. If no frame is 

 available in .the propagating house, 

 cover the pots w^ith panes of glass and 

 protect from the sun. The object of 

 this is to conserve the moisture, so that 

 no watering will be needed before the 

 spores germinate. 



As soon as the seedlings show signs 

 of making a leaf — or, rather, when the 

 first growth or prothallus reaches full 

 size — the seedlings may be pricked out 

 in small clumps into other pots or into 

 flats, in which they may remain until 

 large enough to pot off. The seedlings 

 require shade during all the early 

 stages of their growth, with a night 

 temperature of 00 to 65 degrees, and 

 should always be kept moist. 



