April 28, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



1209 



with a scale insect .075 gram of ninety- 

 eight per cent potassium cyanide should 

 be used for each cubic foot of space 

 to bo fumigated, not deducting the space 

 occupied by the plants. Length of expos- 

 ure, twenty minutes. Adiantum cuneatum 

 and A. Ballii have been tried on a small 

 scale and were not injured by the treat- 

 ment. 



Coleus — Golden Bedder, Verschaffeltii 

 and others; 24,000 plants in pots, badly 

 infested with the white-tailed mealy bug. 

 The house contained 15,587 cubic feet of 

 space. Treated at the rate of one-tenth 

 of a gram of ninety-eight per cent 

 cyanide of potassium per cubic foot of 

 space for twenty minutes, one hour after 

 dark. Mealy bug all killed and plants 

 not injured in the least. All other means 

 of destroying mealy bug had been tiied 

 without effect. Large numbers of the 

 common mealy bug were also killed by 

 this treatment, but it was not nearly so 

 effective as for the white-tailed mealy 

 bug. All coleus cuttings made by the 

 United States Propagating Gardens for 

 the past two years have been fumigated 

 before being prepared for the cutting 

 bed. 



Double Violets — Marie Louise, Lady 

 Campbell and others. For plant lice and 

 general fumigation fifteen-hundredths of 

 a gram of ninety-eight per cent cyanide 

 of potassium for each cubic foot of space 

 is required. The exposure if made ac- 

 cording to directions will not hurt the 

 plants in any stage of growth. The gas 

 has been used on a large scale in fumi- 

 gating violets for the past three years 

 with the greatest success, only a few 

 treatments during the season being re- 

 quired. Length of exposure, twenty to 

 thirty minutes. Leaf-eating larvse, slugs, 

 millipedes, cutworms, etc., when exposed 

 are killed as well as plant lice. Bed 

 spiders, however, are not entirely eradi- 

 cated by the treatment. The foliage of 

 single violets, like California and Princess 

 of Wales, are sometimes slightly injured 

 by the stronger dose of gas. A weaker 

 dose (one-tenth of a gram potassium 

 cyanide per cubic foot) should be used 

 vrhen they are to be treated. 



Eoses — Perle des Jardins, Mermet and 

 • Bride. The young growth on roses is 

 particularly sensitive and has been more 

 or less injured in all our experiments. 



Carnations— Scott, Garfield, Meteor and 

 McGowan will stand one-tenth of a gram 

 ninety-eight per cent cyanide per cubic 

 foot of space for fifteen minutes without 

 material injury. This will kill about 

 ninety per cent of the plant lice, but 

 will not kill thrips. The use of the gas 

 for carnations needs to be more care- 

 fully investigated before it is recom- 

 mended. The same is true of chrysan- 

 themums, on which it has been tried with 

 only partial success, the young growth 

 being very sensitive. 



BOSTON. 



The Market. 

 Cut flower prices have hardened con- 

 siderably during the past week, continued 

 cold weather and an increase in social 

 activity each assisting. American Beau- 

 ties bring $25 for the best, but quite 

 good stock is to be had for from $10 to 

 $15. Brides and Bridesmaids are of 

 good quality, $6 to $8 being the ruling 

 price, extra fine stock selling at from 

 $10 to $12 per hundred, and poor grades 

 down as low as $8 per thousand. Liberty 



brings $20 to $25, and a variety of 

 hybrids from $2 to $16. Carnations 

 bring from $1 to $2, fancy stock being 

 $3 to $4, and a few selling even higher. 

 Quality continues first-class. Violets 

 are still fairly plentiful at 40 to 50 

 cents per hundred for the best. Liliuiu 

 candidum is more plentiful, and sells 

 better than Lilium longiflorum. Sweet 

 peas seem to be as numerous as in July, 

 the best going for $1, ordinary grades 

 selling for one-fourth that price. Antir- 

 rhinum, stocks, pansies, violets, lilacs and 

 other flowers are plentiful. Gladioli are 

 seen in one or two stores. 

 Club Meeting. 

 The last meeting of the Boston Gar- 

 deners' and Florists' Club, on April 20, 

 was very successful, about fifty members 

 being present. Five new members were 

 elected. President J. A. Pettigrew was 

 appoiuted chairman of a reception com- 

 mittee, which wiU include members from 

 the various horticultural interests in Bos- 

 ton and vicinity, for the coming meetings 

 of the C. S. A. and A. R. S. in Boston. 

 It was voted to award $50 in special 

 prizes at each of these exhibitions. 



Peter Fisher's paper on carnations, 

 elsewhere reported, caused a very inter- 

 esting and instructive discussion in which 

 many of the members participated. For 

 commercial growers it seemed to be the 

 opinion that indoor culture will eventually 

 supersede the present plan of lifting 

 from the field, but the fact that it pays 

 growers to run their plants the last of 

 June may prevent its general adoption. 

 In regard to fertilizers, Mr. Fisher uses 

 sheep manure and bone. In using the 

 latter he mixes one-half with his com- 

 post in the fall, the remainder in the 

 spring; he did not measure quantity 

 used. He considers horse manure equal 

 to cow manure, especially if the latter 

 is fresh. Mr. Patten has had excellent 

 results from placing two inches of cow 

 manure in the bottom of his benches 

 and mixing none in his compost. He 

 has grown equally good carnations in 

 coal ashes, meadow mud and loam by 

 mixing other needful ingredients. 



Mr. Fisher considers there is no neces- 

 sity to hose plants for red spider if 

 plants are syringed once in ten days 

 with salt and water, two tablespoons of 

 salt to a pail of water. Eust will be 

 entirely overcome by indoor culture. 

 J. K. M. L. Farquhar said naphthalate 

 of soda was recommended to him by an 

 eminent French professor as a cure for 

 rust. For fumigating Mr. Fisher uses 

 tobacco dust. M. A. Patten considers 

 watering of outdoor stock, if it can be 

 thoroughly done, of great benefit, giv- 

 ing instances to prove it. Mr. Fisher 

 does not believe sub-irrigation will be 

 generally adopted ; it is too expensive and 

 too dangerous. Charles Sander spoke of 

 the "critter" which causes trouble to 

 outdoor blooming stock by stinging the 

 shoot below the bud. Fumigation clears 

 it away indoors. 



James Wheeler spoke of his acquaint- 

 ance with Peter Fisher on coming to 

 America, and stated that Mr. Fisher 

 wrote to him from America nineteen 

 years ago, when he was coming over, 

 to be sure to bring him a plant each 

 of Croton Chelsoni, white cyclamen and 

 Malmaison carnation. He was then with 

 the late David Allan, and even in those 

 days had a strong regard for the divine 

 tlower. The speaker denounced the com- 

 parisons of Fiancee and Enchantress re- 

 cently given in a contemporary. Others 

 spoke in a similar vein. 



J. W. Duncan gave a list of varieties 

 disseminated by Peter Fisher. Those of 

 his own raising included Edith Foster, 

 Freedom, Boston Market, Gov. Wolcott, 

 Mrs. Lawson, Enchantress and Mrs. 

 M. A. Patten. Other seedlings are being 

 tried, some of which will create a sen- 

 sation later. 



John Farquhar spoke of visits he has 

 paid to carnation establishments iu 

 Europe, including Turner 's and others, in 

 England; Penary 's, in Germany, and 

 Vilmorin's and others, in France. Ken- 

 neth Finlayson advocated the use of Mal- 

 maison blood to produce strength of stem, 

 size of flower and fragrance. Mr. Fisher 

 has never used any of this blood. He 

 has always selected extra fine plants of 

 varieties to be crossed, and uses the very 

 finest flowers when the plants are at 

 their zenith; to this he attributes much 

 of lus success. 



The Chicago Carnation Co. showed a 

 vase of The Cardinal, which created a 

 favorable impression. Emil Johansson, 

 gardener to J. E. Eothwell, showed a 

 finely flowered plant of Odontoglossum 

 Pescatorei carrying forty-five flowers on 

 a spike grown in leaf mold, also a poorer 

 specimen grown in fern fiber. This pro- 

 voked a discussion of the merits of the 

 two composts in which Messrs. Johansson, 

 Craig, Pettigrew, Finlayson and others 

 took part. 



Various Notes. 



Doyle made a fine display of the yellow 

 Calla Elliottiana in one of his windows 

 the past week. 



Horse show week was the occasion of 

 numerous receptions and dinner parties. 

 Ladies attending the show carried more 

 flowers than ever before. Violets seemed 

 to be the favorite. Violets mixed with 

 English primroses were also popular, as 

 were white roses and gardenias. 



An immense amount of damage was 

 doue during the past winter to trees and 

 shrubs in this section by field mice and 

 rabbits. At the Arnold Arboretum some 

 thousands of shrubs are ruined, many of 

 them very valtiable ones. As snow lay 

 on the ground continuously for fully 

 three months, these animals were driven 

 by hunger to eat the bark from trees 

 and shrubs. 



N. F. McCarthy & Co. 's auction sales 

 of nursery stock continue to attract 

 plenty of buyers. Eoses, especially, are 

 selling well, ovring to the heavy mortality 

 in outdoor stock the past winter. 



The governor's proclamation this year 

 recommends the destruction of injurious 

 insect pests on Arbor day. This advice 

 is excellent, as our gypsey, brown-tail, 

 tussock and other moths, also beetles, 

 canker worms and similar foes are very 

 numerous. The trouble is that Arbor day 

 comes too soon, April 30, for some of 

 these pests to show themselves. 



Weather eonelitions continue to be quite 

 extraordinary for April. Temperatures 

 as low as from 16 to 20 degrees have 

 been recorded as late as the 23d, and 

 showers have mostly been of snow. Tn 

 our neighboring state of Vermont a foot 

 of snow, fine sleighing and a temperature 

 of zero were the conditions on the 20th. 

 The run on the coal pile is continuous, 

 and a change to warmer conditions will 

 be very welcome to florists, to whom the 

 past winter has been a very expensive 

 one. W. N. Craig. 



Benton Harbor, Mich. — F. L. Toni' 

 quist has removed here from Elkhart, 

 Ind. 



