Florists' review (microform) (1912) (16673893276)

Title: Florists' review (microform)
Identifier: 5205536_40_3 (find matches)
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors:
Subjects: Floriculture
Publisher: Chicago : Florists' Pub. Co
Contributing Library: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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NOVBMBER 1, 1917. The Florists^ Review 15
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Where John Kirchner> His Wife and Their Assistants Make Funeral Designs by the Dozens. seed for our own use, and we needed *' ^ome seed to grow our usual output of several hundred thousand plants. That these reserved plants received special care and were watched like a baby, need hardly be mentioned. For some reason or other, it took them unduly long to get ready to bloom; at least, that is the way it seemeil to us. And when they did start, a period of dark weather set in, lasting much too long to please us. To make sure of the best possible fertilization, we jiollinated whenever wo had a cliauce, but the re- sults were so discouraging that nothing but the liope of doing better, the will and the necessitv for success kept us at it. Well, we did succeed at last, even if it was late in the season when we gathered our main crop of seed. It was April— too late for many of the seeds to do mucli good. First Crop of Seed. As to tlie quantity of seeci obtained from thi' :i,oOO plants—eight and three- fourths ounces—it is so little that it is hard to believe it. Yet anyone ac- quainted with the production of seed will readily understand the situation, and we ourselves know that our results this season will be much better and should bo normal in another year. The cost of the eight and three-fourths ounces of seed obtained in our first trial can easily be figured. The plants were in prime condition before the Christmas holidays in 1916 and could have been sold over and over again at 25 cents each. Then the bench room, ),8nn square feet, could have been used for anot)u'r crop till the end of April, which is as long as the plants occupied th.is space, A like quantity of seed would have cost us in Germany about $250. Tliis high cost of a tiny quantity of seed we consider simply a tuition fee for learning something, and the more tlie cost the better the lesson will stick. We awaited anxiously the results of tlie home-grown seed. Would the blooms be the same in quality as they always liad been, or would they be inferior? The Blooms from Home Seed. We are glad to state that we arc agreeably surprised with our results in obtaining flower.s, wliich are not only as gooil as they always have been, but so much better that several years of im- l)rovement seem to lie l)etween our j)rcs- ent quality and tlie quality of a year ago. We attribute this result, first of all, to the selection of our seed-bearers from thousands wlieii in bloom, with the particular attention wliich we gave to color, shai>e and si/e of llower, and habit of plant in general. Another cause is the i)ainstakiiig pollination, eliminating entirely self-fertilization, which often results in deterioration. We are jtrocecding with the work more confidently this season, feeling tliat we have laid tlie foundation for a Viranch of our business which will prove profitable and make us independent of European sources. Aside from the finan- cial results, the production of seed in combination with hybridizing offers so much fascination that it is well worth all efforts which we can muster. Every now and then a new flower will attract our attention through its superiority in some particular. Wonders never cease. J. L. Schiller. FOLLOWING THE FLORIST. The argument advanced in the issue of The Eeview for September 13 that outdoor displays by florists have an in- fluence upon sales of bedding plants is amply proved by the neighborhood near the establishment of Frank Oechslin, 4911 West Quincy street, Chicago. Mr. Oechslin's ))lant range occupies the better part of a block in a section of Chicago that is not completely covered with buildings, neither is it what might )»e termed a high-class residence sec- tion. But around his establishment Mr. Oechslin has planted cannas in the parking between the sidewalk and the curliing. Under the care of this expert grower, the cannas were exceptionally attractive during the summer. The effect of this outdoor display can be seen in the yards of tlie homes near- by. Many of them have elaborate flower beds; there are many shrubs and a few hedges, but in almost every in- stance the lawns are exceptionally well kept. There is no doubt that much of this planting is due to the example set bv Mr. Oeclislin. Wilkes-Barre, Pa.—The Marvin Floral Co., 2.) South Franklin street, held a dahlia exhibition September 29, which attracted great crowds. Exhibits by local growers filled the large conserva- tory. The show was so successful that it was announceil the exhibition will be made an annual affair.

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