The Weekly Florists' Review, 



203 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Mignonette. 

 Somewhere about the middle of July 

 is a good time to sow mignonette for 

 next winter's crop. We consider it a 

 profitable crop, and we have a neighbor 

 who makes a good thing out of it. It is 

 not much good to mention varieties, as 

 most likely you will have some -train 

 selected and saved yourself. When Al- 

 lan's Defiance was true it was very 

 good. There i- not so much in varietv 

 as in the growing. Mignonette is a dif- 

 ficult plant t<> transplant as you do 

 asters, etc., therefore you should sow a 

 dozen seeds where you want the plant 

 in the bed. or sow three little patches of 

 seed in 2* -inch pots and when large 

 enough separate without disturbing the 

 roots. Whichever waj you do, it is well 

 to have a plant or two for the green cab- 

 bage worm, which will be sure to be 

 around in August and September, and 

 they are so identically the color of the 

 foliage that you don't see them until 

 they have had a good feed. However, a 

 little Paris green sprayed over them in 

 time gives the worms acute indigestion 

 and they are not a serious pest. My 

 friend who grows mignonette so well ami 

 profitably plants it on a raised bench in 

 five or six inches of soil, and that will 

 grow it well up to Easter. Still, a solid 

 bed will grow it better and keep the foli- 

 age a better color. One foot apart is close 

 enough to plant them if you want good 

 spikes and a continuous crop. It wants 

 the fullest light, and 40 degrees at night 

 is plenty warm enough. 



Bermuda Lilies. 



It will not be Jong before the earliest 

 shipments of Bermuda lilies . arrive. 

 They are a verj important article nowa- 

 days and from October on arc always in 

 good demand. ( onsidering the price of 

 the bulbs, the short time they occupy 

 the bench and the little space they re- 

 quire, they are assuredly one of the most 

 profitable plants we grow. The 5 to 7 

 bulbs are those usually grown for mid- 

 winter use. They are nearly all used 

 cut and there is less waste of unopened 

 buds. A stalk with three or four flowers 

 is easier to arrange than one with six or 

 seven flowers and buds. I once tried a 

 dozen bulbs in a flat five or six inches 

 deep. I don't like the plan nearly so 

 well as growing them in ."i-inch pots. 



Don't delay at all in getting the bulbs 

 potted. It doe- the bulbs no good to he 

 exposed to the air; it is very unnatural. 

 Sometimes you may have a shaded bench 

 where the house is as cool or cooler than 

 outside. If so. they can be potted and 

 stood on the bench at once. If you have no 

 such bench, put them in a frame and 

 cover with boards to keep the sun from 

 drying them out. In any case, after pot- 

 ting and watering lay an inch of sphag- 

 num moss or refuse hops or some light 

 material on the surface of the soil and 

 much less watering will be needed. It 

 can be shaken off later when growth has 

 started. As the bulbs are but lately 

 dug in Bermuda and now is their rest- 

 ing time, don't expect them to start off 



rooting and growing as you do those that 

 you pot in October. Just keep them 

 moderately and uniformly moist, but 

 not wet, and have patience. \\ hen they 

 are well rooted they can be given a light, 

 warm house: and to have them in flower 

 by early November they will want a good 

 heat in the cool nights of September 

 and October. Unless you grow for a big 



for the holidays, for they are in demand 

 then for decorations. Don't use any 

 fresh manure in the soil. A good loam 

 with a little well rotted manure added 

 suit- them finely. 



our lit 1.- enemies than the man who be- 

 gan at fourteen years of age, cracking 

 pots or painting labels. 

 How to fumigate is 



ligate is not vet settled, 

 particularly with roses, for burning to- 

 bacco stems, if strong enough to keep the 

 flj down, will most assuredly curl up the 

 petals of the teas. With many of our 

 plants the old tin pot and tobacco stems 

 does \ ii \ well, but it gives the flowers 

 a barbarous odor and we don't always 

 know how much or little it has crippled 

 the growth of many plants. So much 

 for the old-fashioned smoke pot, but let 

 me say here that in my opinion it is not 

 the nicotine in the smoke that twists the 

 petals of roses and burns the leaves of 

 other plants, but just the smoke itself. 

 And, finally, it is a very disagreeable 

 job. There are lots of us so saturated 

 with nicotine that we can hold our heads 

 over the fumigating pot and discuss the 

 weather or Chamberlain's proposed pref- 

 erential imperial tariff, but at the same 

 time whenever I say. "You are going to 

 smoke tonight. Charlie." I have a slight 

 sinkin"; feeling that, if expressed, would 



of steam running into 



dish of solution, win, 

 that is not very diflfei 

 the can of chopped -t 



Hon of steam. Then again, I have seen 

 little pyramids of tobacco dust on the 

 floor— say about one pint — and the apex 

 oi i hi' cone is lighted and it smoulders 

 away for an hour or two. It' it burns as 

 desired, it is, 1 think, the best and most 

 effectual of all methods to keep down 

 IK without injuring flowers or foliage. 



But 1 can tell you. or some of you, 

 of a better way of burning the dust. 

 The method I have used most satisfac- 

 torily the past winter in the six rose 

 houses was given me by our revered and 

 honored friend of Syracttse, X. Y., he 

 who went to Philadelphia a few years 

 ago and "made his mark, you sec." later 

 of the scarlet Flamingo lame, and any- 

 one who has seen his carnation flowers 

 or heard him talk would have to admit 

 that his method of fumigating is "O. K.," 

 for there are no flies on him. Air. llar- 

 quisee will, I feel sure, have no objection 

 to my attempting to help a brother flor- 

 ist. He ma\ have given this to you him- 

 self, brother florist. If so, I did not no- 

 tice it. 



Mr. Marquisee's Device. 



Proline at. the tinware shop some 

 cake pans. In correspondence I have 

 called them pie dishes, but my better 

 half says that pie dishes are round, so we 

 will call these cake dishes. As I don't 

 eat pie or cake, she is most, likely right. 

 Those I am using measure at the bottom 

 eleven inches long and six and one-half 

 wide, and the edge, which flares out- 

 ward, is two inches deep. Size, of course, 

 is of no consequence, hut I think the 

 above size is about right. The bottom 

 of the dish is cut out to within three- 

 quarters of an inch of the sides of the 

 dish and then a piece of wire mosquito 

 netting is cut the size of the bottom of 

 the dish and laid in place of the tin cut 

 out. On one end of the dish we have a 

 strip of tin riveted on beneath, so as 

 to keep one end up and afford a draught 

 up through the dust. We fill this dish 

 about three-quarters of its depth with 

 the dust. When lighting put a few drops 

 of kerosene oil at the lowest point, touch 

 a match to it. and go home. In the six 

 houses, each 21x150, we have used twen- 

 ty-four pans, or four to a house. By 

 doing this faithfully once a week we 

 have not seen a sign of greenfly or any 

 other fly. There has not been a vestige 

 of injury to the roses and it has been 

 a comfort and pleasure to do the trick. 



And if it is good for roses it is good 

 tor everything else. Looking through 

 the glass fr utside you would scarce- 

 ly know anything was going on. but an 

 hour after the stuff is lighted the effect 

 on your eyes will quickly let you know 

 that there is nicotine around. Every 

 particle of the dust is consumed. And 

 in the morning don't let the dishes lie 

 kicking around the paths, but pick them 

 up and have a place for them. The 

 whole outfit for these houses costs but 

 a trifle and after eight months' service 

 neither the tin nor the netting is the 

 worse for wear. I think Air. Marquisee 

 said he got his dust (he gets a good 

 deal of dust from all over the country) 

 from tin' local cigar makers. I use reg- 

 ular fumigating dust from Xew York 

 City, which costs 2 cents per pound, and 

 it pays to get the proper article. But I 



haw - ked enough this morning, so 



now I will go to the pump and cool off. 

 William Scott. 



Marine City. Mich.— Herbert Lester 

 putting $3,000 worth of improvements 

 l his greenhouses. 



