Sb 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



.Tim: 11. 1903. 



a sprinkling of air-slaked lime put over 



all the exposed surface. A good rich 

 mulch should then be spread over the 

 bench to replace the soil taken away. 



To encourage the breaking of the dor- 

 mant c\e- near tile ba-c of till' - 1 1 1 1 1 - tile 

 t , anes should be bent horizontal- 

 . and tied in thai position. The bench 

 Should then get a thorough soaking and 

 the house be kept rather clo-e for the 

 first week. Syringing the plant- every 

 bright morning and afternoon will also 

 help the eyes" to break, increasing Hie 

 amount of ventilation as the leaves de- 

 velop. 



This method of culture ha, 1 n em- 

 ployed successfully in Bl 



The trouble with these rose- is a bad 

 dose of mildew. The leaves also give 

 evidence, by their texture, of having 

 been grown in too high a temperature 

 and in too close an atmosphere. To sub- 

 due the mildew dust the foliage with 

 sulphur, using a good distributor, so 

 that each leaf will get a dusting. Be- 

 fore applying the sulphur close the ven- 

 tilators tight and keep them closed for 

 half an hour or so. This should be 

 done twice a week, selecting bright, sun- 

 ny days for the operation. If there is 

 aiiy necessity for firing do not lose the 

 opportunity "to paint the pipes in spaces 

 six feet apart all over the house with 

 the following mixture and close the 

 ventilators when the heat is turned on: 

 Sulphur, two parts ; air-slaked lime, one 

 part; mix to the consistency of paint. 



The worms were undistinguishable 

 when I got them. No doubt they belong 

 i" the lube of leaf rollers. By persist- 

 ing with the I'er-ian in-eet powder they 

 will surely disappear. A mixture of 

 Paris green and air-slacked lime in the 



to iiti\ of lime well mixed and applied 

 to the under side oi the foliage with a 

 blown u ill also destroy them. 



Reduce the night temperature of the 

 rose houses to 58 degrees or as near to 

 i hat maik as the season will permit, and 

 keep the day temperature below 80 de- 

 grees if you can. Ventilate freely night 

 and day. Uibes. 



BENCHING ROSES LATE. 



How late can I bench roses to get a 

 good crop for ne\i winter. What size 

 of plants shall 1 use? L.B.A. 



tock in a 

 benched 



iceive a die. k. Keep- 

 rowing condition till 

 of more importance 

 To derive any profit 

 from them during the winter months 

 the plants must have at least ten weeks 

 in which to grow and this will necessi- 

 tate planting some time in August, the 

 earlier the better. 



Uibes. 



MOLES AND MICE. ~ 



Would Mr. Scott or some other" friend 

 tell me how to get rid of the ground 

 mice, which are very destructive. They 

 cut the roots of grape vines and eat off 

 geraniums, peas, carnations, pansies, 

 parsley, etc. As they work under 

 ground, you can't see them, but they 

 are little, dark fellow-, with stumpy 

 tails like moles. I have poisoned corn 

 and planted it among the plants, but it 

 has had no results. A. H. 



I could have returned this query with 

 the simple remark, "I don't know," but 

 I want, myself, to know about these 

 numerous little rodents, and there seems 

 by the above to be some confusion as 

 to their name or what they are. We 

 well remember the European mole, a 

 short, broad, little fellow with a nose 



A Portion of Bobbink & Atkins' Clipped Box Specimens. 



like a hog and only rudimentary eyes, 

 and a beautiful soft, black fur. " Many 

 a one I have skinned for his hide. The 

 village mole catcher in the rural dis- 

 tricts of England is paid by the parish, 

 and is as useful, if not so ornamental, a 

 personage asi the village parson. We 

 also have moles in North America, more 

 common, I believe, in the southern than 

 northern states, and they are not iden- 

 tical with their European cousins. We 

 have had them in the violet houses for 

 the past two years, and they "raised 

 Cain" with the soil among the plants, 

 but, so far as we could discover, did no 

 harm to the plants, because the mole is 

 carnivorous. His food is worms and 

 grubs that he finds in the soil. Their 

 extermination is desired in this country 

 and in the "auld sod" because they 

 heave up unsightly mounds of earth, 

 often in the finest lawns. So much for 

 the mole, and I shall not believe that 

 he will eat roots or leaves of any plant 

 until someone better informed lets me 

 know. 



Now for the field mouse — a very dif- 

 ferent creature. We will start off by 

 calling him a devil, although his tail 

 is more abbreviated than that of the 

 orthodox devil that we used to have 

 described to us in our young and inno- 

 cent days. The field mouse that is 

 such a trouble and worry to us is about 

 twice the weight of a house mouse, small 

 ears, short tail and large, bright eyes. 

 They burrow in the ground; in fact, 

 they keep house there, but come up to 

 feed on any green stuff that can be 

 found. We never see them in the sum- 

 mer time, because they have the fields 

 to roam in . but as soon as hard frost 

 sets in they find their way into the 

 houses. Young carnations" are their 

 choicest morsels, and one healthy 

 mouse will pinch or "stop" a hundred 

 young plants in a night, only they 

 "stop" them rather short. 



Like all the rats and mice, they cut 

 off far more than they devour, just to 

 keep their teeth in good order. They 

 are most destructive and troublesome 

 to get rid of. If they would eat wood- 

 cock sandwiches or drink champagne we 

 might doctor those dainty articles, but 

 they are strictly vegetarian, and, while 

 toasted cheese will make a house mouse 

 desert his wife and family, it has no 

 fascination for our enemy. They will, 

 however, for a change, sample a little 

 corn meal occasionally, and a little of 

 that sprinkled on a small spring trap 

 will lure them to destruction. The trap 

 we use is a little flat wooden contriv- 

 ance, and when they step on it a wire 

 falls down on their backs and gives them 

 a fashionable waist. 



We have poisoned them by putting ar- 

 senic with the meal, but you must be 

 very patient over the job. For a week 

 at least you must put down nothing but 

 pure meal, and don't put it on a plate, 

 saucer or piece of wood or glass, for 

 mousie will know directly that the ban- 

 quet is spread for him and will decline 

 with thanks. .Tust drop it carefully on 

 the edge board or on the soil. They 

 will take a nibble and find it harmless. 

 Then they will eat a little more and 

 cultivate a taste for it, as we do for 

 tobacco and, well, most anything but 

 milk, which is our first and natural 

 food. After a few good feeds Mr. 

 Mouse will tell his wife, children, 

 mother-in-law. uncle and aunt that the 

 meal is all right, that thev need not be 

 afraid, etc.. and so they all get a liking 

 for the change of diet, and when you 

 find the meal disappearing nightly is 

 your time to add a little' arsenic. 'and 



