898 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



FROM OUR ENGLISH EXCHANGES. 



The Gardeners' Chronicle. 



In a paper on the art of table decora- 

 tion, Owen Thomas, head gardener to 

 the late Queen Victoria, says: "Among 

 bulbs at different seasons of the 

 to be found many of the most effective 

 and beautiful subjects for this work, 

 Commencing with the snowdrop, grown in 

 shallow pans mossed over, transferred 

 from these when in bloom, and placed on 

 small gold or silver or glass plates, and 

 disposed artistically on the table. The 

 crocuses are treated in the same way, 

 rendering an agreeable and pleasant ser- 

 vice. The hyacinth also, both tho or- 

 dinary binds and the Koman, may be 

 used in pots, and when well grown and 

 flowered make an effective arrangement; 

 but too ma nj - I thesx must not be placed 

 on tho table, oi the perfume in many 

 cases will be objected to. Tulips in pots, 

 especially the Darwin self-colored ones, 

 the old English types including the Par- 

 rot, arc par excellence the most effective 

 subjects to use for this work. Indeed, 

 some of the most effective tables I have 

 ever had the pleasure of ornamenting 

 have been decorated by tulips, especially 

 i olored ones." 



It is xot only by hindering the loss of 

 nitrogen that catch crops are useful, but 

 they also increase the amount of humus 

 in the soil. The function performed by 

 humus was long misunderstood, but it is 

 now known to be the soil's storehouse 

 of nitrogen, and although not directly 

 available to crops, it is rendered so by 

 nitrification. Farmyard manure intro- 

 duces into the soil these nitrifying organ- 

 isms in large quantities, a quality not 

 possessed by chemical fertilizers; a point 

 of great importance, but which is some- 

 times overlooked. 



New Lily of the Valley. — A Hol- 

 land grower has a new form of lily of 

 the valley which has been named Conval- 

 laria majalis prolificans. Where under 

 ordinary circumstances there is a solitary 

 flower-bell pendulous from a short stalk, 

 there is in the prolific form a close clus- 

 ter of flowers, of which the terminal one 

 expands first, and the others in succession 

 from above downwards, thus forming a 

 cymose raceme. 



A field naturalist concludes, after 

 years of observation, that the primrose 

 refutes Darwin's theory that "ever} 

 known heterostyled plant depends mi in- 

 sects for fertilization," and that "one 

 form of primrose must unite with the 

 other form to produce full fertility." 

 The flowers which have the stigma al thi 

 mouth of the corolla are of the ' ' long- 

 styled" form, and are commonly called 

 "pin-eyed," and those flowers' which 

 have the stigma half-way down the tube. 

 and the anthers at the mouth are the. 

 "short-styled" form, and are commonly 

 called ' ' thrum-eyed. ' ' These different 

 forms grow on different roots. On one 

 root all the stigmas of the flowers will 

 be of the "long-styled" form; on an- 

 other root all will be of the "short- 

 styled" form. 



"Mrs. Marsh" is a variety of Papa- 

 ver orientalc in which the petals have a 

 white back ground, heavily striped with 

 scarlet, and with a purple blotch near 

 the base. It is one of the finest 

 in cultivation, has an erect habit, and 

 bears the flowers on stiff stalks, thus ren- 

 lering il an acquisition for the back 



The Height of 



Tree.— ()bt;i 



right angle triangle of wood with the 

 ^inpina limb nil. mii three dee! in length, 

 and with this instrument held with its 

 base parallel with the horizon, take a 

 Bighi along the sloping limb, directing 

 the line of right to the api i of the tree, 

 and step backwards or forwards as may 

 be necessary till the base and apes agree 

 with those of the instrument. Put a peg 

 in the ground at this point, and a 

 measurement made thence to the foot 

 of the tree will be equal to the height of 

 the latter — four feet being added as 

 the height of the observer's eye. Another 

 method is to cut a stick three and one- 

 half feet long, and insert it in the ground 

 six inches so as to steady it. This must 

 be done on a sunny day; measure the 

 lengths cast by the shadows of tree and 

 stick, and then ascertain the number 

 of times the stick-shadow goes into the 

 tree-shadow, and the result is the height 

 in yards and fractions of a yard. 



INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES. 



The following list of the principal 

 insecticides and fungicides and notes as 

 to their uses has been prepared by H. A. 

 Rallou, entomologist on the staff of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture for 

 the West Indies: 



Paris green, London purple and arsen 

 ate of lead, which are known as ' ' stom- 

 ach poisons," are adapted for use 

 against such insects as are able to bite 

 off portions of their food and swallow the 

 fine particles. Any poison which may 

 be applied to such food would there- 

 fore be swallowed and have an oppor- 

 tunity of acting upon the insect. 



These poisons would have no effect 

 upon sucking insects, which merely pene- 

 trate the tissues of the plant or animal 

 on which they feed, and suck out the 

 juices from within. In dealing with 

 them a "contact poison" must be used, 

 such as soap solution, whale-oil soap, 

 keroseno oil and kerosene emulsion. To- 

 bacco, hellebore and pyrethrum may also 

 be included in this list. These contact 

 poisons all act in the same general way. 

 that is, by stopping up the breadline 

 pores in the sides of the insect'- bodj 

 and thus causing suffocation. Carbon 

 bisulphide and potassium cyanide are 



used against those insects that are dif- 

 ficult to reach with either stomach or 

 contact poisons, such as borers, ants, un- 

 derground insects, insects in houses, in- 

 sects in grain bins, etc. These two in- 

 secticides me, however, poisonous, and 

 their use, except by an expert or one well 

 acquainted with them, is attended with 

 considerable danger. Hellebore, pyre- 

 thrum, tobacco, lime and sulphur all 

 have their _ uses both as contact and 

 stomach poisons, but more especially as 

 contact poisons for use against soft- 

 bodied insects, such as grubs, sun-fly 

 larva?, fleas, plant lice, etc. Of these, 

 pyrethrum and tobacco are probably the 

 most valuable. 



Lime, sulphuric acid and copper com- 

 pounds are the principal materials used 

 as fungicides. The combination most 

 generally employed is a mixture of lime 

 and copper sulphate, known as Bordeaux 

 mixture. The ammoniacal solution of 

 copper carbonate is also well known as a 

 fungicide. With the Bordeaux mixture 

 any of the arsenical poisons may also 

 be used, in which case one spraying will 

 serve to destroy both insects and fungi. 

 With the ammoniacal solution of copper 

 carbonate, however, only the arsenate of 

 lead should be used, since the ammonia 

 has the effect of rendering the arsenic 

 in Paris green or London purple more 

 soluble, and the arsenic will be liable to 

 cause the burning of the foliage of the 

 plants. 



The Bureau of Chemistry of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture has re- 

 cently issued a bulletin (No. 68) giving 

 analyses of a large number of the in- 

 secticidos and fungicides offered for sale 

 in America. These analyses show that 

 great variation occurs in the composition 

 of even such standard materials as Paris 

 green and London purple. Bordeaux mix- 

 ture can be purchased in the form of a 

 dry powder. It is, however, better to 

 prepare it as required, since chemical 

 changes are likely to take place between 

 the lime and copper sulphate. 



I could not get along without your 

 valuable paper. I have read all the 

 florists' magazines and I must say yours 

 excels them all — P. W. He.nnessy, Jop- 



'in. Mo. 



The Florists' Manual 



By WILLIAM SCOTT. 



Astilbe laponic 

 Azalea 



Bay Trees 

 Bedding Plant, 

 Begonia 



Ileitis 



Bottom Heat 

 Bougainvillea 

 Bouvardia 



Brumelia.Is 

 Browallia 



A Complete Reference Book for 

 Commercial Florists. 



Over 200 large pages. 



Handsomely illustrated. 



Following is a list of the sub- 

 jects covered. 



Caladium 

 Calamus 



I 'al, eelar: 

 1 'atnelli.i 



Chrysanthemun 

 Cineraria 



C6bS tM 



Cold-frames 

 Coleusl 

 Cosmos 

 Cotyledon 



Dahlia 



1 'C niatlnll 

 ! Iterative 

 Ita.tzia 

 Ihanthus 



Epa< ris 



Eupatorium 



Ferns 



Fuchsia 

 Fungi ides 



Greenhouse Bldg 

 C.revillea robusta 

 HardyFerennials 

 Hardy Shrubs 



Heliotrope 

 Hi!. is. us 

 Hollyhock 



Hotbeds 

 i [ydrangea 



hnpaliens 





Lobelia 

 Manetl 



Maurandya 

 Metrosideros 



Mignonette 



Myosotis 



Nepenthes 



Nierembergia 



Othonna 

 Oxalis 



Packing Flowers 

 Packing Plants 



Pandanus 

 Panicutn var. 

 Pansy- 

 Pelargonium 



Primula 



Rhododendron 



Richardia 



Stephanotis 



Stocks 



Store Managt'mt 



Sweet Peas 



System 



Thunbergia 



Tuberose 

 Valotta 

 Vases 

 Ventilation 

 Veranda Boxes 



V«°' 

 Violet 



Price, $5.00, Prepaid by Express or Mail. 



FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO Caxton Building CHICAGO. 



