12 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Ai'KiL i:j. 1011 



IN FAR ALBERTA. 



ProLalily tlio ;iV(>r;i^'t' florist, if lie 

 knows MJicrc Alliorta is to bo foinid on 

 the TiKni, iii"ntaliy ];ofj;ards it as next 

 • loor to tlu^ jimiiiin.ijj oir i)la(M\ but the 

 fact is that many a j)rospcroiis llorist 

 is to be found in this western [>ro\ iiicc 

 of Canada. At Lethbridf^o. on a bramli 

 of the Canadian Pacific railroad. Fraclie 

 Bros, iiiadc a start in lOld. 'riic accom- 

 panying^ illustration sh(i\\s llieir estab- 

 lishment. It consists of two liouses, 

 one 32x140 and the other .'?2x200. Car- 

 nations are the only cut ilowers that 

 are iirown. Ferns, smilax, lettuce and 



latter durinjj the summer 

 occupy the balance of 



tomatoes, the 

 season only, 

 the space. The houses are of semi-iron 

 i-onstruction, with concrete walls and 

 concrt>te benches, iron ])urlins and iron 

 jiurlin supports. The houses are lieated 

 with steam carried at a fairly hijili 

 jiressure in the boiler and retaliated by 

 a ])ressuro reducinfj valve to the desired 

 low j>ressure carried on tlie coils. The 

 condensation is taken care of by auto- 

 matic return trajis, and altogether the 

 jilant is strictly \ip-to date. Business 

 has been jfood ovor since tlic houses 

 Avere completed, and an early addition 

 to the ran^'e is anticipated. 



BEDDING STOCK. 



Willi l!;istcr lldweiinfi ]ilants out of 

 till- way, it i-i now p(i>sibi(' t(i ji'i\(' the 

 ueriniimi"- tlie .-jijice wliich tiiey haxc 

 sorely llce(|rd I'ni suiiii' wecj^s. All nt' 

 them. iiniesN l;itc |ir()|i;iii;it(Ml, should 

 be in t iiirh pot-;. Tlic latest batch 

 vhiiiilil udt i;ii beyond ;!iii(h. They "will 

 not retail t'nr as much as the larger 

 ones, but e\('ii it customers are not 

 found tor them all they will come in 

 useful to pl;ii,t (Hit t'ov stock. AVhcn 

 sprea<liiiy nut the plants, pick them 

 over and remove any weeds. If any. 

 pcrch.'ince. liave a slimy surface, scratch 

 them over. This sumetinies hapjiens. al- 

 thoufih it shdiild not if the jilants were 

 properly watered. If any of the earliest 

 jiotted b.ati-h are showing siyiis of 

 stiirvat ior., a liKhr toji (lressn<j of fine 

 bone mixed with loam, or a waterinfj 

 with nitrate of sod;i or weak cow ma- 

 nure, will tone them up. .\ pinch of 

 < 'lay's fertilizer will also have a ma;j- 

 ical efl'ect on <>iicli plants. It can be 

 satel\' ;i|iplie I once in ten days, either 

 in liipiid form or as a to|i dressiuj;. 



After the middle of A]iiil it is jier- 

 fectly safe to jihu-e a (piantity of the 

 lai;rest yeianiiims in frames. It' a tew 

 inches <if warm manure* and leaves are 

 moistened, w.-ll mixecl and tr.'imped firm- 

 ly, .and if a lavci' ot" line ashes three to 

 four inches th^i k is sjiread o\er this and 

 the yeraninm jiots paitially jilunjfed. 



\CII1 will be slll|ili-ed to llot(> how Well 

 they thrive. ( I reeiilioii>e ^jiai-e i< v;ilii- 

 able until .Memorial day is past and the 

 colclframev make ;i valuable oveillou, 

 which eaii now be tiilly ;i|ipreciated. 



Some roVi-llll;; will ~t I 1 1 lic' lieecjecl on 



i-oM iiiL;hts. Iiiit ventilation i-an be t'ree- 

 Iv .'1 11 III. |e. I on ;ill plea-ant days. 



lull'-- then- j- a ileiiiand t'oi- p|:inl- 



i'all\ III tie- -c'a-oll. it i« lietti r to keep 

 the liower I I I wc^ p|il<i'i| .ill until to 



\\ a id- tlie end oi April, 



Sollie Lirowel- make ijilite :i lillje 



biisjiie-- Ml L;ei ;i II i II in- ai l!a-ief .-iikI 



lliele I- e\ el \ le.asoii why thev should 

 be more ll-ed ;il tlli- |e-Iiv;il. They ale 

 ^oliietliin^ Jieople o| liiocjelale llie.aii- 

 vvaiit and can easilv l;iow .•iioI no-e I 

 inch jiots i-aiTviiiL: a ^^oo.l truss each 

 slioul<l sell, specially it' the Aiiriet ies 

 are u]i to-da+e .-ind einlir.aci- the mo-t 

 jiopiilar slimle- ot' color. 



GERANIUM FOLIAGE SCALDED. 



(an you tell mo what is the trouble 

 with my jjeraniums, of whiidi J send 

 some loaves.' The trouble started last 

 ■ lanuary near the heater and on a levtd 

 near the to|) and J thought sonie hot 

 water must have come from overhead 

 and scalded the leaves, .\boiit a wecdc 

 or two ago the trouble <^ot mucii worse 

 ;ind 1 risked spreadinji it by moviiio the 

 l)lants and it is a little better, ('alias, 

 where the {geraniums stooil. now have 

 their loaves ladl,v spotteil. 'an you 

 tell me what causes this.' .1. I". T. 



.\ number of the leaves had :i mindi 

 scalded appearance and the mere fact 

 that callas jilaced where the <ieiaiiiunis 

 had boon <j;rowinfT wore similarly at- 

 fe(dod, would go to show that hot water 

 was the probable cause of the scalding. 

 The sjiots on some of the loaves (in 

 batch .\o. 2) may have been caused by 

 a sun scald, duo to inferior glass, or 

 may have been induced to some extent 

 liy growing the plants soft .and warm 

 and keeping the atmosiihere too damp 

 and -stuffy. Tiie compost, too. has to be 

 t.aken into consideration. If you have 

 used nuudi deca,ved m;iiiuii' in your soil, 

 it jiromotos a rank and soft growth, 

 which falls an ea-y jirey to disease. On 

 the other ha. id. bv using little maiinie 

 and that old and well .|e.-aye.|. ;ind 

 some fine Ijone at the rate ot a 1 inch 

 jiot to each bii-liel ot' -oil, y..n will pro 

 mote a firm t:io\\tli vvlii.-li will yive you 

 slioit jointed woo. I. whic-h will liower 

 freelv. 'i'heii auain. vnu -h.nil.l alwavs 



]uit firixily. Loosely jiolted plants 

 never a 'success. 



(Jeraniums are not usually from 

 with any disease if soil and other co 

 tions are to their liking. Never co- 

 them; 45 to .50 degrees at night is w 

 enough. Do not treat tluMii as -. 

 acpiatics, but let them dry out well 

 tween waterings. Do not make a li 

 (d' ])laying tne hose on tlu; foliage. T 

 ilo not need it and if you have s. 

 pocu- glass, scaliling may be the . 

 (-onie. Ventilate freely and never 

 your liousi* have ;i clos(\ stuffy feeli 

 as such conditions are exactly vv 

 geianinins dislike. Pick olf all tht> l),-i 

 ;iffected leaves. (Iive';is much spac- 

 jiossible. Pick over W(>ekly. and 

 wlii("li m;iy have a starved look will 

 inipiovcil by :, weak dose of nitrate 

 soda w .-It er. < '. \\ 



CUTTINGS. 



Making and. Rooting. 



Cuttings may be made of lea\<-, 

 shoots, branches or roots, but for t'v-.e 

 purposes of these notes I shall only dcnl 

 with the cuttings of soft wooded planis 

 and tho.'^e which are to some extent 

 hardy, the whole subject being large 

 enough for a small book. The time and 

 manner of taking cuttings, the kind cf 

 parents they are taken from, the matf 

 rial in which they are placed, the treat 

 nient to be given them afterward, and 

 many other details are so varied that I 

 can do no more here than mention a few 

 general principles upon which success m 

 rearing cuttings rests, says Alger Petts 

 in an article in the Gardeners' Magazine. 



First, as to the best kinds of material 

 for cuttings. When a piece of zonal 

 pelargonium, for instance, is separated 

 from the parent plant, if the cutting, as 

 it now becomes, is put into a suitable 

 medium, a thickening, or callus, is formed 

 along the cut edge, and from this roots 

 are subsequently emitted. If the shoot 

 had remained on the plant the leaves 

 would have continued elaborating plant 

 food for use in the formation of new tis 

 sive in all parts of the plant, including 

 the roots. As tissue forming material 

 cannot get down to the roots of a new- 

 cutting, it gets as far as it can — the cut 

 end — and there accumulates. 



The Right Cuttings. 

 The cutting selected, then, must havr 

 enough inherent energy not only to mail; 

 tain itself while it is without roots, but 

 also to form roots; in other words, tb- 

 substance of the cutting must contain ■ 

 sutticienl jiroportion of solid matter, wit 

 leaves in the full vigor of plant life, 

 is obvious that if a shoot is not in 

 coiiilition to make fair growth while c 

 the plant, it will not he able to grow aL : 

 form roots iu addition when made into 



Establishment of Frache Bros., Lethbridgc, Alberta. 



