120 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Decembek 10, 1903. 



proved useful iu the liaiuls of the hv- 

 bridist, some exeelleut crosses haviu}; 

 been made with cattleyas. It is best 

 grown in a basket hung from the roof. 



L. cinnabarina requires similar treat- 

 ment to"Li. flava. It has also been useful 

 to the hybridist, tho striking orange scar- 

 let color of its flowers being prominent 

 in its progeny. L. cinnabarina comes 

 from Brazil, as does also L. harpophylla, 

 which is generally considered as far su- 

 perior to h. cinnabarina. 



Other species are L. magaiis, which pro- 

 duces very large flowers and needs to he 

 kept dry and very cool during the win- 

 ter, a very fine species; L. i)ayana, a 

 very dwarf midwintA- flowering species, 

 and L. Digbyana, better known probably 

 as Brassavoia, Digbyana. This latter 

 species produces single flowers very strik- 

 ing in appearance, of a creamy white 

 color with a lip very deeply fringed. This 

 species has also been used considerably 

 in crossing. 



There axe other species but the fore- 

 going are probably most generally known 

 and cultivated. SpeaJdng generalh-, 

 laolias are not so useful to the florist as 

 cattleyas, because the flowers individuallv 

 are smaller, and consequently not so 

 showy, but many species have such long, 

 graceful stems that they can be used t" 

 excellent advantage in vases where cat- 

 tleyas would be too short. We ma.-? 

 safely predict that the demand for these 

 orchids will increase as time goes on. 

 Scale is a troublesome pest on some 

 species, but ordinary care and spongir - 

 once in a while will keep it down. 



C. T. 



PENTSTEMONS. 



Those who have not cultivated or seen 

 the newer forms of pentstemons cannot 

 have any idea of the great improvement 

 that has been made during the last few 

 years. Instead of the small, tube-Uke 

 blossoms which characterize many older 

 varieties, we now have varieties with 

 blossoms fully two inches in diameter, 

 and finely formed spikes of flowers quite 

 twelve inches in length. The colors, 

 moreover, are so decisive, bright scarlet, 

 with a pure white throat ; in other cases 

 purple accompanies the lighter coloring. 

 White flushed or edged with pink is a 

 distinct and attractive combination of 

 colors. I am surprised that people grow 

 the small-flowered varieties, now the 

 larger flowered forms are so readily ob- 

 tainable. There is a certain amount of 

 pleasure in cultivating a batch of seed- 

 lings, but with the finality of present- 

 dav varieties so much more satisfaction 

 is derived from those which have been 

 selected and named. 



Pentstemons are easily grown, an open 

 position, deeply dug and well-manured 

 soil being all that is required during the 

 summer to ensure finely-developed flower 

 spikes. If the weather is fairly moist 

 both growth and flower production will 

 be encouraged. Pentstemons do not, in 

 fact, suffer from a continuance of show- 

 ery weather when in bloom, which is a 

 po'int in their favor, more especially in 

 districts with a heavy rainfall. Strong 

 plants bedded out will quickly become 

 established and come into bloom, but the 

 best results are obtained by planting in 

 April. When planted out pinch out the 

 point of growth, to ensure a bushy plant 

 capable of producing from four to six 

 stout flowering stems. 



The following is a brief selection of 

 varieties that cannot fail to give satis- 

 faction if reasonable culture is given: 



Eachel, w-hite, flushed pink; Lord Lister, 

 bright scarlet, pure white throat; Mrs. 

 Forbes, rich crimson, throat veined crim- 

 son, extra large flowers; N. Barnes, dark 

 crimson, flowers large, with open white 

 throat; Thomas Cook, rosy crimson, 

 veined and maculated chocolate; George 

 Howe, enormous flowers, bright scarlet, 

 with a pure white throat; General 

 White, rich rose, pure white throat; Hec- 

 tor Macdonald, an extra fine spike of 

 large, rich rose blossoms, each having 

 a clearly veined chocolate throat; Mag- 

 nificence, rosy crimson, white throat ; 

 Talma, light rose, edged dark rose ; 

 Verdi, purplish-crimson, wliite throat ; 

 Titian, white, shaded lilac; Mrs. Nor- 

 man, rose-pink, white throat ; Triumph- 

 ant, clear rose, spotted with carmine on 

 the under lobes; and Miss Dawson, rich 

 rose, white throat. — S. P., in Gardeners ' 

 Magazine. 



PLANT DISEASES. 



The following are the general remarks 

 on plant diseases with which Prof. George 



Violets in Basket, with Blue Ribbon. 



E. Stone, of Hatch Experiment Station, 

 prefaced his address on diseases of the 

 chrysanthemum at the recent New I'ork 

 meeting of the C. S. A.: 



The diseases to which plants are sub- 

 ject under glass require different meth- 

 ods of prevention than those employed 

 outdoors, since in greenhouses the 

 crop conditions are largely under control, 

 whereas in outdoor crops they are left 

 to the mercy of the weather and whims 

 of the season. To meet the unforeseen 

 seasonal conditions to which outdoor 

 crops are subject it is necessary to resort 

 to methods of prevention each year. 

 Such methods consist in spraying crops, 

 or applying other methods of treatment, 

 before certain pests have made their ap- 



pearance. There is, however, very little 

 need of the application of spraying mix- 

 tures to greenhouse plants, since the 

 conditions which give rise to diseases 

 can be. and are, controlled to a very 

 large extent by expert gardeners. The 

 recommendations, therefore, for a gen- 

 eral system of spraying for indoor crops, 

 such as is expedient at the present time 

 for outdoor crops, would be irrational, 

 and would constitute a step in the wrong 

 direction. Every expert grower realizes 

 this, and the more skilled the gardener 

 is, the fewer diseases he has to contend 

 with. 



The gardener who can turn out a near- 

 ly perfect crop as regularly as a man- 

 ufacturing establishment turns out its 

 products, is qualified for the severest 

 tests of proficiency. The increased pro- 

 duction of high priced greenhouse prod- 

 ucts has been the means of training 

 and developing a large class of men as 

 eificient growers, and with this increased 

 skill and knowledge there has come about 

 a better understanding of the causes of 

 diseases and the methods of controlling 

 them. Were greenhouse men on the 

 same level, as regards knowledge of plant 

 production, with the rather backward 

 aud conservative outdoor growers, the 

 number of diseases which they would 

 have to contend with would far exceed 

 those which confront them at present. 

 In this respect there exists a great gulf 

 between the ordinary farmer and the in- 

 telligent floriculturist. It is, indeed, 

 only where absolute care and manage- 

 ment of plants falls under the supervi- 

 sion of gardeners, that we are likely to 

 see manifested an intimate knowledge 

 of the plants' normal functions and lim- 

 itations. We have often been amazed at 

 the superior skill and knowledge dis- 

 )ilayed by gardeners, and would affirm, 

 without hesitation, that some of them 

 possess a most profound knowledge of 

 facts pertaining to practical plant physi- 

 ology. 



The greater part of our knowledge 

 concerning the control of greenhou3« dis- 

 eases has been derived from the intel- 

 ligence and skill of the progressive gard- 

 eners, whereas, in a case of outdoor 

 crops, the experiment station specialists 

 have been foremost in offering sugges- 

 tions and discovering remedies for their 

 control. The trained agriculturist can 

 consistly give information in regard to 

 the control of specific diseases affecting 

 outdoor crops, in which he is more or 

 less familiar, but in cases of green- 

 house crops, the methods of treatment 

 are so ditferent, and require such an in- 

 sight into the crop requirements, that 

 it is almost necessary that one should be 

 an expert grower, or, at any rate, one 

 must understand something about the 

 normal requirements of the crop before 

 his judgment and advice can be of much 

 value. It is necessary, at least, that he 

 should possess a thorough understanding 

 of the influence on plant growth of the 

 three cardinal factors, heat, light and 

 moisture, and the role which they play 

 in the production of normal crops, to- 

 gether with their relationship to the de- 

 velopment of pathogenic or disease pro- 

 ducing organisms. 



Such matters as soil texture and soil 

 fertility also constitute important fac- 

 tors which must necessarily be under- 

 stood. The great attention that must be 

 given to such matters as heat, moisture, 

 light and the circulation of air in green- 

 house culture is only appreciated by the 



