266 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



Deckmbku VA. 1903. 



please tell me whr my Batons did not 

 open in the center but turned black. 



L. IT. W. 



The plants may be moved from the 

 bench and replanted in boxes or pots or 

 planted closel.y together at one end of the 

 bench, whichever may be convenient. 

 There is no ditficulty in handlini; stock 

 plants if they are only placed in a cool 

 house for the winter months. If room is 

 very limited the cuttings may be taken 

 ofif now and rooted in sand. Then the 

 old plants may be thrown away entirely 

 and the stock increased in spring by top- 

 ping the cuttings rooted now. This lat- 

 ter course is preferable to setting the 

 stock plants under the bench, somewhere 

 where they are neglected entirely until 

 needed in the spring. 



With regard to the Batons turnine; 

 black, L. H. W. is only in the same pre- 

 dicament as manj' other growers. The 

 weather was too warm and the flowers 

 were very soft and spotted easily, the 

 consequence being that many varieties 

 suffered heavily. If his flowers were not 

 spotted except .iiist the center it is;pos-,!| 

 siWe that L. H. W. had been spraying 

 his plants too much after the bud showed 

 color. The cup-shaped formation of the 

 bud of Eaton is such that water l&ys in 

 it and spraying should be stopped as 

 soon as the bud shows color. 



BKrAX BoKX\ 



PRIMULA POISONING. 



Several subscribers having recently 

 written as to having been poisoned by 

 handling Primula obconica, we reprint 

 herewith notes as to remedies which have 

 been published when the question has 

 previously been under discussion : 



One reader writes: "As to a remedy 

 for poisoning by Primula obconica, would 

 say I have been poisoned several times_ 

 I used Luytie's Pinus ointment as a 

 local application and sulphur and cream 

 of tartar to purify the blood. I used 

 one-third cream of tartar and two-thirds 

 sulphur, mixed well. Dose, one teaspoon- 

 ful every morning in milk. Also take 

 good nourishment. I have never known 

 it to fail." 



Another sa.ys : ' ' Tell the sufferer to 

 try good thick sweet cream well and fre- 

 quently rubbed on as a lotion. This has 

 with us proved a sovereign remedy. ' ' 



A Connecticut reader writes : "It 



seems to me that the action of Primula 

 obconica poisoning is similar to that of 

 the poison ivy. The cure in both eases, 

 UK far as my experience goes, is a free 

 application of tincture of blood-root. 

 .\pply the tincture with a sponge or 

 clean cloth to the parts affected. T 

 hav(^ known of several cures by this 

 tincture where the poisoning has been 

 caused by either the ivy or the primula." 



' ' A few applications of peroxide of 

 hydrogen gave me relief, ' ' writes a 

 Pennsylvanian. 



An alcohol solution of sugar of lead 

 is recommended by the Department of 

 Agriculture as an antidote for rhus poi- 

 soning. It will probably cure primula 

 poisoning as well. An application of the 

 juice of Impatiens fulva is said to cure 

 rhus poisoning. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Easter Lilies. 



The new year will bring with it much 

 work in the houses, ilany crops have 

 been disposed of, or shrunk in volume, 

 and future crops will need attention. Of 

 as much importance as any crop is the 

 Easter lilies, both the Japan and Ber- 

 muda. I hear some growers still say 

 that they like the Bermuda variety the 

 bt>t ; that 's because they may have some 

 difficulty in getting the Japan-grown 

 bulbs in time. Those that have the Ber- 

 muda bulbs up seven or eight inches now 

 will certainly have no trouble in getting 

 them in bloom by Easter, even in a night 

 temperature of 55 degrees. 



1 know that some eastern growers do 

 not care about getting their Japan bulbs 

 into heat much before New Year's. If 

 they are well rooted and have but an 

 inch or so of growth at this time, they 

 have no trouble in flowering them in time. 

 To leave them in a cold frame till New- 

 Year's would have been, for us, risky 

 this year, for we have had a most steady 

 cold December. So we brought them in 

 early in the month and kept them in a 

 cool house and they are now not two 

 inches above the soil and, if well rooted, 

 that will do. From now on, for two or 

 three weeks, give them 55 degrees at 

 night ; then increase to 60 degrees and 

 the last month they will need 65 de- 

 grees. The degree of temperature must 

 be governed by the condition of the 

 plant. 



^' -h-m. ^.M, ' 



%'"#■ 



A House of the New Scarlet Carnation, Crusader. 



You cannot put a thousand lilies into 

 a house at any given temperature and 

 expect that the whole lot, or even half 

 of them, will bloom at the same time. 

 They will not ; there will be a difference 

 of several weeks. This is more notice- 

 able with the Bermuda than with the 

 Japan bulbs, showing that the Bermudas 

 we get nowadays are a very mixed lot. 

 So some handling, perhaps a good deal, 

 is needed to get ninety per cent in bloom 

 at the right time. I have found that 

 these lilies do not like to be taken at 

 once from a night temperature of 60 

 degrees and placed in 50 degrees. Un- 

 less their buds are about ready to open 

 they will just about stand still, but it 

 will be some time yet before that will 

 be necessary, and I will remind you again. 



No one has said positively what is the 

 cause of the tips of the lily leaves turn- 

 ing brown. It may be the constant fumi- 

 gating that is necessary and the slowly 

 burning tobacco dust is preferable to 

 burning stems_ There is more nicotine 

 and less hot smoke. There is, however, 

 no doubt that the twisting and bursting 

 of the buds is the result of a puncture 

 by aphides when the buds are very small, 

 and therefore a spraying with weak to- 

 bacco water into the heart of the crown 

 of the thickly clustered leaves is essen- 

 tial before the buds are visible. 



Dutch Bubs. 



Tulips and Von Sion narcissi can now 

 be brought in without much fear of 

 failure. The greatest essential to early 

 flowering is that they be well rooted in 

 the flats and those put into the flats 

 soon after received will now be in tliis 

 condition. For all of January and part 

 of February a strong heat is necessary. 

 It should be evident to all that the nearer 

 you get to their natural flowering time 

 the less forcing is required. This holds 

 good not only with bulbs but with all 

 the roots and shrubs we flower in the 

 greenhouse. 



Vermilion Brilliant, Y'ellow Prince, 

 Cottage Maid, Proserpine and La Reine, 

 among tulips, and Trumpet Major and 

 Von Sion narcissi you are sure to grow 

 and they will want a top heat of SO de- 

 grees at least. Only those forcing large 

 quantities have a house that can be called 

 such a hot box as that, but you can, by 

 putting some cheese cloth over them and 

 hanging it down in front of the bench, 

 easily confine the heat around them. I 

 am supposing you have a bench with two 

 or three hot water or steam pipes be- 

 neath it and you let the heat come up 

 between the wall and the bench. They 

 want no bottom heat; in fact, a strong 



