130 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



JUNE 28, ISOO. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Bay Trees. 



Under Buffalo notes some weeks ago 

 I spoke of the advisability of the Swiet 

 Bays having their tubs sunk in the 

 ground. The season of sale is r.bout 

 over and any you have left over Sjh(juld 

 now be sunk to the rim in the sod or 

 wherever you keep them. If more con- 

 venient, you can pile some litter round 

 the tubs, but do something. The sun 

 pouring down on the tubs is liard on 

 them and in that condition they would 

 want water three times a day. 



They will exist and even make a 

 growth with their roots suffering, but 

 not the healthy growth they would if 

 given reasonable treatment. I repeat 

 that it is wonderful that sucn a ni;isii 

 of growth, wood and foliage can be 

 nourished by so little soil. 



Palms. 



We stand out our big palms during 

 summer, that is, the kentias and lata- 

 nias, and both those and the sweet 

 bays are greatly benefited by a mulch 

 of two inches of cow manure. It is not 

 so easy to see when they are in need 

 of water, but in these hot months it is 

 almost impossible to over-water large 

 palms in tubs and boxes, and quite im- 

 possible with the sweet bays. 



Arecas brown up so much in the sun 

 we prefer to keep them indoors. Phoe- 

 nix of all kinds do splendidly out of 

 doors, and that is the place for over- 

 grown rubbers, unless you are prop.a- 

 gating from them, which can be done 

 at all seasons. 



Sweet Peas. 



There are a few crops»that it is use- 

 less during such "Sahara" seasons as 

 this to have out of the reach of the 

 hose. First is sweet peas. Water they 

 must have, but a mulching of two 

 inches of manure over the whole space 

 between the rows will help greatly. IE 

 you expect to pick peas for any length 

 of time, keep them cleanly picked; 

 whether there is a sale for them or not, 

 keep them picked; going to seed is 

 their finish. 



Dahlias. 



Dahlias must be mulched and copi- 

 ously watered twice a week. Keep the 

 lateral growths pinched off. 



Asters. 



Asters are no good without water, 

 and if they are a good size give them 

 a final hoeing and then mulch over the 

 whole surface; then you can water 

 without the necessity of hoeing ufier 

 every watering. 



Refuse Hops. 



One of the finest materials for 

 mulching is refuse hops; not fresh 

 from the brewery, or it cakes. It is 

 also an excellent material for the land. 

 I have seen fine crops of wheat, cab- 

 bage and carrots from land dress sd 

 with hops, as well as fuchsias and be- 

 gonias. The output of hops is not so 

 large in Buffalo as it forniirrly was. So 

 ttany florists have got married and 

 others quit. But I understand that in 

 Philadelphia it is greater, and it's like- 

 ly to be very plentiful in New York 

 after August. 



Sub-Watering. 



This is the season of repairs aiid 

 some of you will be trying experiments 

 with sub-watering. I saw a very fair 

 test of a bench last year. Side by side 

 in the same house, same variety, the 

 orthodox sub-watering (that is, brick 

 on edge, with the means of .looding 

 the bricks) was not as good as the (dd- 

 fashioned boards; but a brick on edge 

 on boards and 5 inches of ^arth on 

 the brick, and watering on the Gurface, 

 was better than either. Possibly the 

 brick held moisture and gave it l)ack 

 to the soil when it became dry, but I 

 think the chief merit in it was perfect 

 drainage. 



Tile Bench Bottoms. 



Mr. Gasser, of Cleveland, and others 

 are strong advocates of 2-inch square 

 drain tile for the bottom of all rose 

 benches. They would naturally be the 

 finest of drainage, but not better than 

 the brick, and would not hold the 

 moisture as long. Covering your boards 

 or plank with common brick for car- 

 nations and roses is about the ideal, 

 and wherever expense is not a serious 

 item it is to be highly commended. 

 Next best to the above is the brick 

 flatwise, which will save in first cost 

 at least one-third. 



I am not informed whether the 

 boards rot out as quickly with the 

 brick on them, but should say they 

 certainly do not, and there is :;ome 

 saving. No method could be employed 

 to rot boards quicker than the alte!-- 

 nate wet and dry that the boards are 

 subjected to with the soil on them. 



Board Bottoms. 



I still see many growers use 1-inch 

 boards for the bottoms of benches. I 

 don't believe in it. It is great economy 

 to use 2-inch plank, 6 inches wide, and 

 the cheapest and best material with us 



is hemlock lumber. If we were in the 

 land of cypress, that would be far bet- 

 ter, or what the Canadians use, larch, 

 or as they call it, tamarack. They 

 are closely allied trees, being decidu- 

 ous conifers. In their absence we have 

 the choice of white pine or hemlock 

 and the latter is much the best at the 

 price. 



Hydraulic Cement. 



I have not given up the practice of 

 giving the surface of all new benches, 

 as well as every part where wood rests 

 on wood, a heavy coat of hydraulic 

 cement applied with a white wash 

 brush just as thick as you are enabled 

 to spread it. If it prolongs the life of 

 a bench only two years, which I am 

 sure it does, you have saved 100 times 

 the cost of material and applying. 



Butted Glass. 



I have been such an advocate of 

 butted glass this past five years that 

 I was called recently In some corre- 

 spondence "Billy the Butter." With all 

 this raillery and Mr. Ward's cracks, I 

 see no reason to change my opinion. 

 Its all in the building and laying. If 

 you have the money to erect iron 

 houses with the small bar and lapped 

 glass, put up by a first-class horticul- 

 tural builder, do so by all means; but 

 if you want a most substantial house 

 at about half the cost, then use the 

 cypress bar and cap and butt the glass. 

 The butted glass man has one advan- 

 tage in particular: If a house needs 

 painting, it is little trouble to remove 

 the glass, give every particle of the 

 bar a thorough painting, clean the 

 glass, and relay it without breaking a 

 light. You can, in fact, take out, paint 

 and relay a house quicker than you can 

 paint the lapped house outside and in. 

 WILLIAM SCOTT. 



THRIPS. 



[Continued from issue of June 14] 

 Not having been troubled to any ex- 

 tent with thrips on carnations out of 

 doors, I am not in a position to give a 

 decided answer as to remedy. Would 

 suggest your subscriber trying Rose 

 Leaf Extract diluted in water and ap- ' 

 plied just before the buds show color. 

 A solution of Ivory soap in water, us- 

 ing it strong enough to whiten the 

 water pretty well, will also prove bene- 

 ficial. First syringe the plants with 

 clear water, then apply the mixtures. 

 Fumigation is the most effectual rem- 

 edy when indoors. 



Ellis, Mass. PETER FISHER. 



Am sorry that I have had no prac- 

 tical experience with this pest on car- 

 nations in the field. I have used kero- 

 sene emulsion for thrips in open field. 

 on cabbage and onions. This killed 

 the thrips, but the plants, which had 

 epidermis of the leaves destroyed by 

 the work of the pest, were injured by 

 the insecticide. 



