16 



The Florists^ Review 



June 19, 1913. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Dendrobinms. 



Ail the Dendrobium nobile, many hy- 

 brids, D. formosum giganteum and D. 

 Phalaenopsis SchrcEderianum are now in 

 active growth and should be encouraged 

 • by keeping a humid, warm atmosphere, 

 spraiying overhead by the middle of the 

 afternoon and closing the ventilators so 

 as to bottle up a brisk heat. All the 

 groiying dendrobes respond well to this 

 treatment. Do not be afraid to run 

 the heat well up; 100 to 110 degrees, 

 with an abundance of humidity, is just 

 what they revel in, but air quite freely 

 on Warm days and never keep the house 

 closed up all day when the weather is 

 dull) Such thick-bulbed summer bloom- 

 ing varieties as D. chrysotoxum and D. 

 thyrsiflorum, which will still be in 

 flower, or recently passed, prefer cooler 

 and 'more airy growing conditions than 

 the nobile section. 



Odontoglossums. 



Odontoglossum grande, commonly 

 called the baby orchid, which is a fall 

 bloomer, is now in active growth. It 

 succeeds well in pots or pans of fern 

 fiber, either hung or stood close to the 

 glass in a cool, well-ventilated house. 

 O. citrosmum is now in flower. It does 

 equally well in baskets or pans. As its 

 racemes are drooping, the receptacles 

 should be suspended. I have seen them 

 tied up and exhibited in this w^y. Such 

 exhibits give one the horrors; the nat- 

 ural beauty of such flowers is entirely 

 lost if treated in this way. If you can- 

 not suspend your citrosmums, far bet- 

 ter not grow them at all. 



The O. crispum section, also O. Pos- 

 catorei, O. triumphans, O. Andcrson- 

 ianum and many other varieties should 

 from now on have a northern exposure, 

 if possible. If this cannot be given, 

 use lath shadings to keep the house cool 

 and air freely all the time. Spray the 

 plants twice a day if the weather is 

 hot and once a day when the tempera- 

 ture is more moderate. The most tryin<? 

 period of the year for these beautiful 

 orchids is approaching, and to carry 

 them in a creditable condition through 

 the heated period they should have as 

 cool quarters as are at command. 



Calanthes. 



The calanthes are now growing apace 

 and they can be watered more freely. 

 Feedrng should not be como'enred until 

 root action is more in evidence. When 

 giving stimulants, avoid everything of 

 a chemical nature and use only cow 

 manure water; there is nothing better 

 for calanthes and certain other terres- 

 trial orchids. Do not spray over the 

 plants as freely as ^ou would cattleyas 



or dendrobes. Be sure the foliage is 

 dry at night, or spot will soon develop. 

 The nights are often cool in June and 

 sometimes in July. One of the great 

 secrets in successful calanthe culture is 

 to prevent the house from ever having 

 a cold, clammy feeling. Therefore, a 

 little artificial- heat at night, even if 

 only a little wood is used, keeps a more 

 buoyant atmosphere and is relished by 

 the plants. A minimum of 70 to 75 

 degrees can be maintained, and when 

 the house is closed in the afternoon with 

 sun heat the temperature can run up 

 ii& from 90 to 110 degrees, as there are 

 fiew orchids which grow better in a 

 brisk, moist heat than calanthes. 



PABCEL POST INCLUDES C. O. D. 



Already parcels sent by mail may be 

 delivered by special messengers, just as 

 letters are given special delivery, on the 

 prepayment of a 10-cent fee, and last 

 week instructions were issued to post- 

 masters for handling C. O. D, parcel 

 post packages. Charges on packages 

 will be collected from addressees on and 

 after July 1, provided the amount on a 

 parcel does not exceed $100. The fee 

 for collection will be 10 cents in parcel 

 post stamps, to be affixed by the sender. 

 This fee will insure the package against 

 loss. 



The sender will get a receipt showing 

 the amount to be collected, the amount 

 also appearing on a tag attached to the 

 package. The addressee will receipt 

 for the package on the tag, which will 

 serve as an application for a money 

 order. To accomplish this a distinctive 

 tag will be attached to each C. O. D. 

 package. The form used consists of 

 three parts — the first to be detached and 

 handed to the sender, the second to be 

 kept on file in the mailing office and the 

 third to be attached to the parcel. 



SOCIETY OF AMEBICAN FLOBISTS. 



Smith Memoiial. 



The committee appointed by the So- 

 ciety of American Florists at Chicago 

 last year to solicit funds for the erec- 

 tion of a suitable memorial to the late 

 Wm. R. Smith at the national capital 

 has about completed the preliminary 

 work and is ready to start an active 

 campaign to see what can be done. The 

 committee, which consists of W. F. 

 Gude, chairman; J. K. M. L. Farquhar, 

 H. Papworth, .T. A. "Valentine and R. 

 Vincent, .Tr., has sent the following let- 

 ter to the secretaries of all trade or- 

 ganizations of which it has record: 



"Your committee, charged with the 

 securing of funds wherewith to erect a 

 suitable memorial to the late Wm. R. 

 Smith, who was for over sixty years 



superintendent of the United States 

 Botanic Garden, and father of the char- 

 ter of the Society of American Florists, 

 has so far completed all preliminary 

 steps, and is ready to receive subscrip- 

 tions towards erecting a memorial 

 worthy of the man. 



' ' The form which the memorial shall 

 take cannot be definitely decided until 

 we have an approximate idea of the 

 amount of money at the committee 's 

 disposal. When this has been ascer- 

 tained the committee will then formu- 

 late plans and submit them to the So- 

 ciety of Amferican Florists, which will 

 finally pass on them. 



' ' The committee therefore asks that 

 you take immediate steps with your or- 

 ganization to further this cause, and 

 forward subscriptions to Wm. F. Gude, 

 chairman of the committee, Washing- 

 ton, D. C." 



TO CUBTAIL EXPBESS SEBVICE. 



Law Will Stop Sunday Work. 



Illinois florists who find need for ex- 

 press service on Sunday should at once 

 write to their representatives in the 

 state legislature protesting against the 

 l)assage of Illinois House Bill No. 766. 

 If the bill becomes a law in the closing 

 days of the session, now at hand, it 

 will greatly curtail the Sunday service 

 of all express companies operating in 

 Illinois. The bill is as follows: 



A BILL for an Act regulating the time of 



employment of expressmen and baggagemen In 



the State of Illinois. 



Section 1. Be It enacted by the People of the 

 State of lUinoiB, represented In the General 

 Assembly: That, no expressman or baggageman 

 employed by any express or railroad company 

 within this State shall be required or allowed to 

 work biore than six days in any one week. 



St'c. 2. Any railroad or express company guilty 

 of violating the provisions of the foregoing sec- 

 tion shall be fined not less than $100 nor more 

 than $1,000 for each and every offense. 



In most towns where the express 

 companies have more than one man on 

 duty the law could be obeyed by doing 

 as already is done in many instances, 

 giving the men who work Sunday some 

 other day off, but where there is only 

 one express employee in a town the 

 jtassage of the bill would mean the clos- 

 ing of the office on Sunday. Also, in 

 many cases it would mean that many 

 runs would be discontinued on Sunday 

 because no messenger is available who 

 would not be working seven days a 

 week. 



This is the way it is put by G. C. 

 Taylor, general manager of the Ameri- 

 can Express Co.: 



"On many minor runs and at local 

 offices where but one or two men are 

 employed it would be necessary in 

 many cases for the express companies 

 to entirely discontinue Sunday service, 

 which would make it impossible f<'r 

 us to handle or complete the transpor- 

 tation on that day of flowers and sim- 

 ilar perishable commodities. 



* ' If the matter can be so present* il 

 to your proper representatives at Sprin^'- 

 field, we believe the injustice and haril- 

 ship of the measure will be apparent 

 to them, as it will be depriving tlic 

 public of a convenience to which they 

 have heretofore been accustomed." 



Every florist who is interested in the 

 matter, and this number includes grow- 

 ers and wholesalers as well as florists 

 in the smaller cities of Illinois, should 

 at once write his representatives nt 

 Springfield, as the session is nearing its 

 end and the bill will be passed in the 

 next few days if at all. 



