riKCKMBKU 20. r.Kll. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



J 53 



View in the Store of A. Wiegand & Sons, Indianapolis, Ind. 



A short description of this pest and 

 its habits may in the present case be of 

 some value. Tlie hirva? and pup;p, wliieli 

 are as large as the perfect insect, are 

 yellowish white and may be found in 

 groups feedinfr on the under sides of 

 leaves where undisturl^d by the syringe. 

 The recently hatched but perfect insect 

 either lies close to the ribs or roves 

 about in search of a mate. The color of 

 tlie jierfect in.sect is a dull deep black, 

 with the point and sometimes the whole 

 of the abdomen of a rust color. The 

 wings are dirty white, the horns and 

 legs yellowish and the extremity of the 

 horns black. It attacks the plants by 

 piercing the under sides of the leaves, 

 but when it attacks a bud any part of 

 the petals seems to suit it. 



On examining it with a glass a globule 

 of blackish fluid will be noticed at the 

 tip of the tail. This lluid when deposited 

 on the leaves closes >ip the pores and por- 

 tions of the surface become blotched ; 

 when deposited on the buds it seems to 

 entirelv stop that part of the petal from 

 further development. 



In rose houses where they are con- 

 tinually disturbed by the syringe they 

 are usually found in the soil or mulch 

 (luring the day and only ascend to feed 

 during darkness. ]!y fumigating or va- 

 porizing after dark at night or before 

 daylight in the morning a certain per 

 cent will be destro.ved at each operation. 

 Patience and persistence are needed in 

 large quantities to effect their destruc- 

 tion. Some authorities claim that 

 Scotch snuff applied to soil and foliage 

 will destroy them: this I have not tried, 

 rrequent dustings of air slaked lime is 

 worth a trial. There arc numerous ter- 

 mites which arc frecpiently mistaken for 

 thrips as they very much resenddc the 

 larva;. 



To remove the nuilch at this time 

 would expose and destroy the feeding 

 roots which it has encouraged to the 

 sm'face and most certain'v harm the 

 plants. The mulcli is not the cause of 

 thrips but only a convenient hiding 

 place. RiBES. 



ROSE TROUBLES. 



I have a house of Brides and Maids 

 that were planted out of '2-inch pots the 

 second week of July and that are not up 

 to my expectations. They are bearing a 

 good crop but the blooms are under size 

 with comparatively weak stems. 



The compost was chopped and stacked 

 the fall previous, rather light than 

 heavy, with one part of good, strong, 

 well decomposed cow manure to five of 

 the soil. A good sprinkling of Ixme 

 meal and a little slaked lime was mixed 

 in l)eforc planting, and the compost was 

 about four inches deep on the bench. 



I also top-dressed in November with 

 about half an inch of a mixture of half 

 loam and half manure with a sprinkling 

 of bone meal added. I fumigate three 

 times everv two weeks and syringe every 

 favorable day. Night temperature, 55 to 

 58 degrees as nearl.v as possible, with a 

 rise to VO or 75 during the day with 

 sun heat. 



What can 1 do to remedy the trouble? 



M. D. 



Brides and Bridesmaids planted in the 

 middle of duly and from 2-inch pots are 

 not the kind of stock to expect high 

 grade blooms from in December. The 

 stock would in all probabilit.v be in a 

 stunted condition as it would he almost 

 impossilde to have rose plants in 2-inch 

 pots in any other state after six weeks of 

 hot summer weather. 



The soil being light one part manure 

 to four of soil would not make it too 

 rich. Using bone meal and lime in the 

 compost at planting time is verv cbtri 

 mental to the rose as it releases more 

 ammonia than even strong vigorous 

 plants require. There is no condition 

 in the life of a rose plant when such a 

 mixture can be used with safet.v. 



;\r. B. does not say if he cultivates 

 regularly and this is one of the most 

 essential elements to success. Otherwise 

 his treatment of the stock is right and 

 hid his plants .Ven strong and bem-hed 

 three weeks earlier, he would without 

 donbt be cuttini; some fine blooms by this 



time. By being careful in his watering 

 and not pushing his stock too hard he 

 will later on get some good results. 



ElBES. 



LETTUCE FORCING. 



Referring to the experience of "Max" 

 in growing lettuce in a carnation house 

 it may not be amiss to give my experi- 

 ence, which may be a slight help to 

 others. 



I do not grow lettuce as a regular crop. 

 lint merely to occup.y space that I need 

 towards spring for bedding stock. The 

 house I grow it in is an even span hous»? 

 22 feet wide, having two carnation 

 benches six feet wide and two side 

 benches three feet wide. The north side 

 bench is where I grow lettuce. In the 

 early summer I clean out the soil and let 

 the bench dry out, then fill it loosely 

 with the soil from the carnation beneti 

 anil by stirring it up occasionally during 

 the s\unmer it dries out thoroughl.v. 



When housing carnations in September 

 I add to the soil in the lettuce bench 

 about one-sixth of stable manure, well 

 rotted, with some sand and a pint of un- 

 leached wood ashes to six feet in length 

 of bench. All this is well mixed ami 

 leveled off, where it remains until the 

 lettuce, sown in flats Sept. 15, is readv 

 to plant. The soil is then watered and 

 stirred thoroughly and allowed tn stand 

 a day or two. then planted. I plant in 

 rows four inches apart, or seven plants 

 across the bench, and five inches between 

 the rows. 



The only cultivation given is by means 

 (if a strip of board two inches wide 

 through one end of which is drawn two 

 S-penny wire nails an inch or so apart. 

 With this the surface can be thoroughly 

 scratched an inch deep. When the plants 

 fairly cover the ground I give a 

 s|irinkling of dry ashes between the rows, 

 letting it stand' a day before raking in. 

 This is all the fertilizer I use and the 

 crop is in first-class condition for Christ- 

 nuis. I am careful in watering, ysing a 

 .(■an with a spout that I can get between 

 the rows. 



