July 17, 1002. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



221 



Arrangement of Sweet Peas, 



iu regard to tlio behavior of his carna- 

 tions aucl the circumstances connected 

 therewith are very meager, to say the 

 least, and I can only guess at a probable 

 cause of his trouble. He does not say 

 that they have made a fair growth, but 

 he does say that they are full of buds 

 of some kind. If the growth is healthy 

 and the buds are there I cannot see why 

 they should not open up into blooms un- 

 less they are attacked by some insect. A 

 very bad dose of thrips might possibly 

 cause them to act thus, but we have never 

 had them work such serious damage to 

 our carnations. Eed spider would also 

 act similarly if they are numerous 

 enough. Too much moisture would rather 

 cause stem rot, but too much manure 

 might aggravate the case. 



Mr. M. says they are growing in the 

 same soil in which they used to do well 

 and that ought to prove that it is not 

 the soil which is at fault. Let lam exam- 

 ine some of the plants and buds care- 

 fully, and perhaps ho will discover the 

 cause, or let him send me a plant show- 

 ing the trouble iu its worst stage and I 

 will see what I can make of it. Take 

 tlie plant up carefully and wrap the roots 

 in damp moss and send it by the quickest 

 way direct to me at 33U W. 3Sth street, 

 Indianapolis, Ind., also a good handful 

 of the soil in which they are growing. 

 I do not wish to intrude on Mr. Scott's 

 territory, but I will just tell Mr. M. that 

 the cause of his trouble with his asters 

 is the well-known blight and the best 

 way to fight it is to burn up every plant 

 that shows a sign of it and never plant 

 asters on that same ground again. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



CARNATIONS FOR SMALL HOUSES. 



What carnations would be best to 

 plant to insure a continuous crop of 

 bloom, white and pink, in a small house 

 20x50? C. B. 



I suppose Messrs. C. B. want varieties 

 that will give them a continuous crop of 

 fair commercial blooms, since they only 

 have a small house to plant in carnations. 

 Among the newer white varieties I believe 

 that Queen Louise will give them a stead- 



ier cut than any of the others, but Lorna 

 will produce larger blooms and longer 

 stems during the winter months. By all 

 means plant a hundred or two of Flora 

 Hill. There is nothing on the market 

 now to take its place, and although it 

 has faults a plenty, yet it is indispens- 

 able. 



Mrs. Joost, among the older pink ones, 

 is early and continuous, and will give 

 you a lot of fair commercial bloom, while 

 among the newer ones Dorothy is a mar- 

 vel for productiveness as well as earli- 

 ness. My advice to Messrs. C. B. would 

 be to plant Flora Hill an'd Queen Louise 

 for white, and Mrs. Joost and Dorothy 

 for pink. A. F. J. Baur. 



ROSES. 



Seasonable Hints. 



To get mulching material in good con- 

 dition for fall and winter use it ought 

 to be prepared now, as the manure and 

 soil can bo got in any condition desir- 

 able. 



A compost consisting of two-thirds 

 well decomposed cow maiuiro and one- 

 third good flbry loam should be put into a 

 neat pile and allowed to lie for two or 



three weeks; it should then be chopped 

 up fine, much finer than compost for rose 

 planting, and turned over two or three 

 times at intervals of ten days. "When 

 in a fine mellow condition it should be 

 put through a three-quarter-inch screen 

 or a fine sod crusher. It is now ready 

 for use and should be stored where it 

 can be protected from rain. The bone 

 meal (if any is to be used) can be add- 

 ed just previous to spreading it on the 

 bench. 



Whilst in the pile and at all times the 

 compost should be kept clear of weeds, 

 as these attract insects, which will make 

 it a breeding place. Material which has 

 been lying in an unsightly, neglected 

 heap and covered with weeds all sum- 

 mer is not fit to be put in a mulching 

 compost, as it is invariably swarming 

 with insects such as thrips, etc., which 

 delight in such undisturbed quarters, and 

 wflieh multiply rapidly when taken into 

 the genial atmosphere of the rose house. 

 1 have no doubt that this accounts in 

 many cases for the swarms of thrips 

 which appear in rose houses just after 

 mulching. By getting the material ready 

 now it may save some hours of anxious 

 worry during the dark, wet days of win- 

 ter. 



It will also be wisdom to look after 

 the soil required for potting the young 

 stock. To have soil in good condition 

 for this purpose constitutes one of the 

 elements of success. RiBES. 



THE ROSE CURCULIO. 



Eoses grown out of doors, particularly 

 in the western states, are sometimes bad- 

 ly injured by a snout-beetle popularly 

 known as the rose curculio (Ehynehites 

 bicolor Fab.). Although pre-eminently 

 a rose pest and an out-door species, it at- 

 tacks at times ripe blackberries and rasp- 

 berries, puncturing the fruit with its 

 beak, and causing it to decay. In the 

 Eeview of June 26 this insect was also 

 reported as injuring the stems of paeony. 

 Its appearance in different localities ap- 

 pears to be dependent upon the weather 

 and as is usual in such cases its first oc- 

 currence seems to be coincident with the 

 budding or blooming of the rose, particu- 

 larly wild rose, which is its favorite nat- 

 ural food plant. In some localities it 

 confines its injury to rose bushes, punc- 

 turing the flower buds, destroying the 

 flowers and depositing its eggs in the 

 fruit, in which the young mature. Some- 



Sweet Peas in a Glass Bowl. 



