MARCH 1. 1900. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



379 



Nc V Scarlet Camilion Eskllc. 



inch roses and upon unpacking tliem 

 found tlie soil had a great deal of the 

 cinders that are taken from the front 

 of a locomotive boiler, and 1 never 

 saw finer plants with better roots, so 

 I am sure the cinders will be rathei' an 

 advantage than a detriment. I would 

 prefer not having the soil more than 

 six inches deep. I would make the 

 coal ashes four or six inches deep 

 rather than two or three inches. 



A. O. T. 



ROSE GROWING WITH CHEMICAL 

 FERTILIZERS. 



We have received a printed report 

 of some very interesting experiments 

 in the use of chemical feitilizeis on 

 roses that have been carried on by 

 Prof. Wm. Stuart. Assistant Botanist 

 of the Indiana Agricultural Expe: i- 

 ment Station at Lafayette. The re- 

 port covers a great number of trials of 

 different chemicals, under various con- 

 ditions, and results are shown by half- 

 tone engravings from photographs of 

 the plants. 



Prof. Stuart concludes his report 

 with the following summary: 



"There is every reason to believe 

 from the results obtained in the sev- 

 eral experiments enumerated, that 

 chemical fertilizers when properly 

 used may be made to serve every need 

 of the rose plant so far as food is con- 

 cerned. 



"The use of raw bone meal in every 

 instance gave an increased yield over 



that of the control plants, as well as 

 giving a greater percentage of gain 

 than did those receiving other forms 

 of phosphoric acid. 



"Pure bone meal is not injurious to 

 rose plants, even when applied in 

 amounts largely in excess of the re- 

 quirements of the plant. 



"The acidulated bone meal which 

 has been used by florists and supposed 

 to be harmful, did not produce any 

 noticeable injury, even when used in 

 large amounts. 



"As a rule, a combination of phos- 

 phoric acid and nitrate of soda gave 

 better results than one of phosphoric 

 acid and muriate of potash. 



"Two or three applications of pot- 

 ash during the season was found to 

 be preferable to a single application, 

 although in some instances no injury 

 from the single application was ap- 

 parent. 



"A larger number of Perle roses 

 were produced from plants grown in a 

 black than in a clay loam, while the 

 Kaiserin gave reverse results." 



THRIPS ON ROSES. 



In combating thrips on roses Prof. 

 Wm. Stuart, of the Indiana Experi- 

 ment Station, reports that frequent 

 spraying of the plants with a-'weak 

 solution of Rose Leaf extract of to- 

 bacco, one part of the extract to 7.5 

 parts of water, proved efficacious. The 

 spraying was done in the evening, 

 and followed up in the morning by a 



hard syringing with water. Three or 

 four applications were generally suffi- 

 cient to destroy or drive away the 



thrips. 



WETTING COAL. 



I would like to hear from any flor- 

 ist.s who have experimented with wet- 

 ting soft coal before using it. Is there 

 any benefit in it? 



I notice that all the railroads do it 

 and all coal used on locomotives is 

 wet before being used. Some benefit 

 miLst result or railroads would not de- 

 mand it of their firemen. 



I would like to hear from anyone 

 that has tried it. P. S. 



We referred the inquiry to a large 

 dealer in coal, who replies as follows: 



"It is sometimes considered a good 

 plan to wet coal before using, especi- 

 ally where there is much fine coal, the 

 idea being that not only is the dust 

 kept down, but the coal gives a longer 

 flame when burning, by the heat de- 

 composing the water into oxygen and 

 hydrogen, which are afterwards burnt 

 in the flues. This plan is therefore 

 used when the flues are long. On the 

 other hand, the advantage of this plan 

 is questioned by many engineers, ow- 

 ing to the fact that the benefit derived 

 from the longer flame is offset by the 

 loss of heat required to decompose 

 the water. Speaking generally, how- 

 ever. We would say that in boilers 

 where the flues are long it would un- 

 der any circumstance be advisable to 

 wet the coal, but where a long flame 

 is not particularly desirable, the only 

 bi-nefit derived from wetting the coal 

 would be to keep down the dust." 



The editor of "The Black Diamond." 

 Chicago, a periodical devoted to the 

 coal industry, says: "There is no di- 

 rect benefit obtained from wetting coal 

 prior to consumption. There is. how- 

 ever, an indirect benefit — that which 

 obtains from the concentration of the 

 smaller particles of carbon and dust; 

 olher than this there is none." 



OBITUARY. 



E. S. Carman. 



E. S. Carman, tor twenty-five years 

 editor of the Rural New Yorker, died 

 yesterday (F'ebruary 28) at his home 

 in New York, of pneiimonia, aged 61 

 years. He leaves a widow, son and 

 daughter. 



Mr. Carman was a man of marked 

 originality and ability and he made 

 his paper a potent factor in the ad- 

 vancement of horticulture. He car- 

 ried on very extensive experiments 

 upon his own grounds and his crosses 

 between various grains, potatoes, ber- 

 ries, etc., as well as roses and other 

 ornamental plants, brought forth some 

 striking and useful results that have 

 made his name known in every state 

 in the Union. 



He was a man of strong convictions 



