350 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



well used up and the roots, having not 

 yet taken hold, are made to supply the 

 plant with nourishment. So it is up to 

 you to keep the plant fresh by syringing. 

 Frequent, light syringings are most effec- 

 tive then. If you get them through the 

 first four days without much wilting you 

 i [3 count <>ri good success. After 

 that time you should gradually diminish 

 vour -Min'uiiiy a< rapidlv as the plants 

 will stand it. always noting carefully 

 that they do not suffer for want of it. 



By the end of a week they will usually 

 be able to get along with only one or 

 two sprayings a day, and then is when 

 you should begin to take oil' .-bade. Take 

 off about, a third al first and if the plants 

 do not .sutler in a couple of days take 

 off anothei third, and at the end of a 

 week you can remove it all. If a rain 

 should" happen along about the time you 

 want to begin reducing the shade and it 

 washes it all oil", don't make the mistake 

 of thinking that it saved you the job 

 of taking the shade off. Many a fine 

 lot of plants has been almost ruined in 

 that way. The sun comes out after the 

 rain as strong as ever and the plants are 

 unable to bear it. You should at once 

 put back a light shade and then take 

 that off as the plants become accustomed 

 to the light. 



Watering in the Field. 



I read with interest the article written 

 by Mr. Lambert, which appeared in last 

 week's issue. He does not agree with 

 my repeated assertions that frequent cul- 

 tivation is in most cases preferable to 

 watering carnations in the field. He also 

 says that frequent watering or excessive 

 rains will not cause stem-rot but rather 

 that the composition of the soil causes it, 

 etc. Now, as far as the stem-rot is con- 

 cerned, every carnation grower knows 

 that he loses many times as many plants 

 from stem-rot in a wet season as he does 

 in a dry one, and this alone will prove 

 that excessive rains or over-watering will 

 bring it on. I do not claim that the 

 water makes the fungus or rot, but we 

 know that so long as the common form 

 of stem-rot is kept dry it remains inac- 

 tive, but when it becomes moist it be- 

 comes active, hence frequent moistening 

 will be apt to start it into activity, while 

 only an occasional wetting may not be 

 enough to do so. 



This stem-rot, however, is of far less 



importance than is the condition the 

 growth of your plant- will tie in at lift- 

 ing time. If you set out good plants early 

 in May they will make fair-sized plants 

 by planting time, unless the season is 

 exceptionally dry, and in, such case a 

 few good soakings will do more good 

 than frequent sprinklings. In a moder- 

 ately dry season the plants will be well 

 matured and will stand replanting with- 

 out much suffering, whereas in case of 

 frequent watering or rain-, the growth 

 will be soft and transplanting will cause 

 much suffering. Frequent cultivating 

 allows the moisture to come up and the 

 soil does not become so hot that it will 

 burn the plants, as it will do when al- 

 lowed to bake. 



But if it is large plants that you want, 

 or blooms in the field, then by all means 

 supply them with plenty of water. 



A. F. J. Batjr. 



NOVELTIES FOR J904. 



F. Dorner & Sons Co., Lafayette, Ind., 

 will distribute two white seedlings next 

 year. Lady Bountiful and The Belle. 

 The former is described as a high-grade 

 commercial variety; large, pure white, 

 flagrant, a good grower, stem long and 

 wiry; said to be an exceptional keeper 

 and shipper; early, free and easy to 

 propagate. As to The Belle, the orig- 

 inators say it is the earliest white yet 

 found among their seedlings, "phenom- 

 enally so. and not lacking in freedom. 

 It is bound to supplant that popular 

 variety, Flora Hill." 



The Chicago Carnation Company is to 

 distribute two Lawson seedlings this sea- 

 son. Crusader is a scarlet which is said 

 to do a number of things other carna- 

 tions cannot be induced to do, among 

 which is blooming continuously ten 

 months in the year. It is from Lawson 

 and Crane, color of the latter, size of the 

 former. It has good habits, including 

 tolerance as to temperature, which will 

 commend it for trial to those who can- 

 not afford to grow a whole house of a 

 new variety. Reliance is white, a seed- 

 ling of Mrs. Higinbotham and a white 

 sport of Lawson. It has the habit of 

 Lawson, although the foliage is finer and 

 the stem more wiry. It needs 52 to 55 

 degrees to do its best. Mr. Hartshorne 

 says that if it were not that they ex- 

 pect to have their hands full in dissemi- 



nating Fiancee in 1904-5 they would not 

 send these two out this season, believing 

 that it would pay them better to grow 

 them for cut blooms another year. 



CARNATIONS REGISTERED. 



George E. Buxton, Nashua, N. H.. reg- 

 isters Marion Buxton, a seedling of 1000, 

 and the result of a cross between Flora 

 Hill and Wm. Scott; color a soft shade 

 of pink similar to Mrs. James Dean; 

 bloom three to three and one-half inches 

 in diameter, borne on stiff steins averag- 

 ing eighteen inches in length; very pro- 

 lific and a good keeper. 



Fred Dorner & Sons Co., Lafayette, 

 Ind., registers The Belle; color pure 

 white; size three to three and one-half 

 inches; form rounding, petals well ar- 

 ranged and fine finish; stem twenty-four 

 inches and over, stiff and straight; fra- 

 grance spicy and very strong; calyx per- 

 fect; a splendid keeper; strong." clean, 

 healthy, upright growth; makes a quick 

 growth and a well formed plant; bloom- 

 ing qualities of the best; the earliest 

 of all white carnations, very free and 

 continuous; one of the easiest to propa- 

 gate. Albert M. Herr, Secretary. 



HELP FOR TORNADO SUFFERER. 



We note in the Review in regard to 

 the misfortunes of Mr. Schweitzer, of 

 Mendota, 111. We will ship him fifty 

 field-grown carnation plants, white or 

 pink, or fifty' Golden Gate roses, 4-inch 

 stock, or will send same value in greea- 

 house or bedding plants, such as gera- 

 niums, cannas, begonias, coleus, etc. 

 Please ascertain as soon as you can 

 which he wishes, so we can reserve the 

 stock for him until he wishes it shipped. 

 Jos. Bancroft & Son. 



Cedar Falls, la. - 



WOOD LICE. 



H. Schweitzer's Place at Mendota after Tornado, July 17. 

 ■. Schweitzer and Family, (ireenhouses Completely; Destroyed. 



I am about to change the soil in my 

 greenhouse for my new carnations. The 

 benches need repairing and I thought 

 you would advise me how to best fight 

 a certain species of wood louse which 

 persists in climbing into the beds. I 

 have been using Paris green and flour 

 but it does not seem to accomplish 

 much. I thought you would possibly 

 advise me as to some preparation 1 

 could use in strewing around the empty 

 beds. I think I am right in calling these 

 insects wood lice. They curl up into a 

 perfect ball as soon as molested. Is tar 

 useful in preserving benches? 



W. F. B. 



The wood lice you complain of are 

 one of the worst pests we have to get 

 rid of and. although there are several 

 ways to fight them, yet I know of no 

 method by which you can rid your 

 place of them at a single blow, as it 

 were. The louse is a ehewer and the 

 most effective way is to poison him. 

 We mix sugar ami Paris green and lay 

 it around on the edge * boards and 

 wherever he is most likely to find it, 

 and invariably find a lot of dead ones 

 the next morning. By repeated appli- 

 cations you may be able to rid your 

 place of them, but it will take a long 

 time to do it. Change off from sugar 

 to corn meal occasionally. They are 

 very fond of raw potatoes, and by cut- 

 ting the potatoes in halves and slightly 

 hollowing them and laying them around, 

 the cut side down, the lice will congre- 

 gate under them and you can catch and 

 destroy a good many that way. A hot 



