26 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



DECEMBER 8, 1898. 



tiaue it. Those who want larger flow- 

 ers, and the additional labor and 

 stench, are welcome to it. 



W. T. BELL. 



INTRODUCTIONS OF '98. 



Perhaps a little review of such ot 

 the new varieties as have come under 

 my notice may be interesting to other 

 readers for purposes of comparison. 



Yellows. 



In yellows, Solar Queen is certainly 

 a very fine thing, and if the first crown 

 bud be taken, will produce a magnifi- 

 cent flower. Its foliage is dense, and 

 on that account this variety cannot be 

 grown closely in the bench, but the 

 better price obtainable for its large 

 flower will probably make up the dif- 

 ference. Solar Queen is here to stay. 



Australian Gold gives the same 

 shade of color as Bramhall, and since 

 the latter variety is deteriorating, may 

 possibly supersede it. It has rather a 

 long neck and is not the best of ship- 

 pers, but the build and petalage are 

 very good. 



Pennsylvania seems to flourish with 

 its originator by the report of the 

 Philadelphia show, but I regret to say 

 it did little with me. Its form is per- 

 fection and color goou, but flower is 

 small and foliage miserable. 



Yellow Fellow is nothing phenom- 

 enal, and as so many other good yel- 

 lows are clamoring xor a place, will 

 not, in my opinion, be grown exten- 

 sively. 



Whites. 



Gladys Vanderbilt is very like May- 

 flower, but not nearly so good in any 

 way, and I fail entirely to see why this 

 variety scored so high last year. 



R. G. Carey made a nice flower and 



will be grown again, the terminal bud, 

 as its originator stated, making the 

 best flower. 



Frank Hardy has been splendid with 

 me on late crowns. The terminal buds 

 throw a large percentage of turned 

 flowers, but why there is such a diver- 

 sity of opinion regarding this variety 

 I do not conceive. No white has tak- 

 en so many prizes this year, yet side 

 by side with its successes appear ac- 

 counts from other growers stating 

 that it is useless. Surely some of these 

 statements need verification. 



Mrs. Weeks is a very strong grower, 

 and while the flower with me was 

 hardly in proportion to the massive 

 stem, another year may see it in good 

 shape. I believe it will prove a valu- 

 able variety, though it takes up lots 

 of room in a bench and is rather soft 

 in the flower. 



Miscellaneous. 



Autumn Glory seems to be the only 

 pink variety of merit. It is a hand- 

 some grower and instantly recalls to 

 one's mind Inter Ocean, though sur- 

 passing that variety in some respects. 



Black Hawk as a dark variety is 

 certainly the best we have in that 

 class. Its coloring is superb, though 

 the flower is small, which, however, is 

 common in dark varieties. It does 

 not burn so easily as Seward or Childs 

 with us. 



To sum up. I think the introducers 

 may fairly lay claim to progress in the 

 right direction. Good whites and yel- 

 lows we have in abundance, but the 

 good, reliable, commercial pink has 

 not yet materialized (Autumn Glory 

 is not a true pink), though pink va- 

 rieties on the whole were much more 

 satisfactory this year than last. 



BRIAN BORU. 



RUST ON CARNATIONS. 



Will you please state the best rem- 

 edy to destroy bacteria on carnation 

 plants. JUNCTION CITY. 



The leaves enclosed did not show 

 any bacteria, but rust in the most 

 virulent form. Plants infected at this 

 rate are past the line to keep this dis- 

 ease in check. To keep rust in check 

 apply remedies when the first rust pos- 

 tules appear, that is, before it has 

 gained too much headway. We may 

 be fortunate enough to eradicate it ;f 

 noticed in time. Pick the affected 

 leaves off clean at the base, but if it 

 appears that the disease is confined to 



one or two branches remove them 

 wholly, as in this way there is a 

 chance of eradicating the disease alto- 

 gether. When it is spread to all parts 

 of the plant we can only keep it in 

 check by picking the affected leaves. 

 The whole of the vegetable growth of 

 the rust is seldom removed by this 

 procedure as it may have spread up 

 through the stem to other leaves, and 

 rust will break out again. The same 

 work of picking the leaves must be re- 

 peated, and the sooner it is done the 

 closer we keep a watch on the affected 

 plants, and the better is the chance 

 for a full eradication. Always remem- 

 ber this disease can only be attacked 

 with any show of success when the 

 fight begins as soon as it is noticed. 



In conjunction with this I advise the 

 observance Qt other rules and applica- 



tion of fungicides. The first is to keep 

 the foliage of the plants dry at all 

 times, no syringing should be allowed, 

 and guard against that dew formation 

 over night, by letting the temperature 

 run low without any fire heat. If the 

 house should be too warm with a lit- 

 tle fire, open the ventilators. This 

 dew is more conducive to all fungous 

 growth than is any syringing. As to 

 the use of a fungicide, sulphur is the 

 most destructive element, and I be- 

 lieve in using it pure and simple by 

 dusting same over all the plants in a 

 house where rust is present. When 

 no dusting bellows are at hand, put 

 the sulphur in a piece of cheesecloth 

 and dust over the plants. Follow this 

 up by shaking the plants in such a 

 way that the sulphur will roll into the 

 axil of the leaves, and thus the soil 

 directly under the plants will also re- 

 ceive a share. The withholding of 

 moisture from the foliage is to pre- 

 vent the germination of the spores, 

 and the presence of sulphur is to de- 

 stroy any germinating spores where 

 they may find moisture conducive to 

 growth. 



To make this plainer, I will give 

 my idea of how rust grows; I may be 

 wrong and in that case would be 

 thankful if corrected. The first start 

 is unquestionably from a rust spore or 

 seed. That spore will germinate and 

 enter the tissues of leaf or stem wher- 

 ever a favorable place may be located. 

 Now, I hardly believe, especially dur- 

 ing the field growth when stem and 

 leaves are of a harder texture, that 

 when rust postules are found on the 

 hard tip of a leaf or on a flower stem, 

 a spore had germinated and entered 

 there. It is more likely the rust spore 

 will lodge in the axil of the leaves, 

 where it flnds a softer skin to pene- 

 trate, and where moisture is retained 

 the longest. Moreover, the leaves are 

 protected with that bluish bloom, shed- 

 ding the water, and without moisture 

 the spores can not germinate. The 

 threatl-like vegetative growth is up- 

 wards through the tissues of the stem 

 and leaves, and when conditions are 

 favorable to its growth will produce 

 seed, called spores, which break 

 through the epidermis of the leaves, 

 and are scattered like seeds, which 

 produce new plants wherever condi- 

 tions are favorable. And here, again, 

 this thread-like vegetative growth is 

 like the ground runners of a plant, 

 where any piece left will grow on and 

 form a new plant, or when under un- 

 favorable conditions will remain dor- 

 mant. Thus we find rust break out on 

 plants that have been brought in from 

 the field apparently clean. 



I hardly believe that dry sulphur 

 will kill the dry spores so long as all 

 remains dry, hut as soon as the spores 

 come in contact with moisture, they 

 will soften and grow, but when sul- 

 phur is present it may destroy it. The 

 sulphur will not hurt the plant, for \t 

 cannot enter the leaves; if such were 

 the case it would undoubtedly not only 

 kill the rust growth but the plants 



