January (!. 1898. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



269 



McConnell's, 



Interior View at McConnell's. 

 NEW YORK STORES AT CHRISTMAS. 



florists if they were afflicted with, is a small 

 green worm which develops from an egg 

 too small to see with the naked eye. When 

 abovit half an inch long it goes into the 

 chrysalis state and in a few days is flying 

 round in the shape of a small dun colored 

 moth. The moth does no harm, onlyone 

 unforgivable harm; he reproduces his 

 species. His or her mission is one of fun 

 and idleness, but finds time to deposit 

 that invisible egg and so the cycle of his 

 existence begins again. I have never 

 seen this little briite outside of our unfor- 

 tunate city, but perhaps it is a scourge 

 elsewhere. The moth comes in through 

 the ventilators in summer time. It is 

 omniverous in its diet and strange to say 

 dearly delights on quite a variety of 

 plants; chrysanthemums, pelargoniums, 



cinerarias, calceolarias, feverfew, in fact 

 most anything will do. If fodder was 

 short he wouUl eat a cactus, and what is 

 strange they absoluteh- devour anything 

 but sweet ageratuni. They are a pest and 

 a serious one to us. Fumigating and 

 tobacco water have no effect on them. 

 Dusting the under sides of the leaf with 

 hellebore powder will fix them. In put- 

 ting in a batch of ageratum and mums 

 lately I had the cuttings dipped in a pail 

 of water, about two and one-half gallons, 

 in which two teaspoonfuls of Paris Green 

 lad been stirred. It fixed Mr. Worm and 

 his egg, as it will anything that feeds on 

 the surface of the leaf. Tlie worm is the 

 thing to destroy. We have caught thous- 

 ands of the moths by an ingenious in- 

 vention composed of a board, fly paper. 



kerosene oil and a wax candle. But per- 

 haps before this little moth was lured to 

 his death his dire offense had been com- 

 mitted and an egg deposited on the 

 broad surface of a cineraria leaf. 



Verbenas. 



It will soon lie time to sow verbena 

 seed. The demand for this once uni- 

 versally popular plant is with us almost 

 extinct, still we want a thousand or two. 

 If sown early you can stop them once 

 and get them in flower by selling time. 

 Very fine colors can be had from seed 

 purchased from reputable seedsmen. 



Cannas. 



If 3'ou are short of canna roots sow at 

 once. They will make sturdy plants by 

 June I. They are slow to germinate. 

 Warm, moist sand, will bring them up. 

 Years ago most of the caana seed was 

 imported. Now there is any amount 

 saved here. Cannas come largely true 

 from seed; that is, if Mme. Crozy was 

 not hybridized the seed would produce 

 flowers, ninety per cent, of which would be 

 as good as the parent and similar in every- 

 way. Get them started at once. 



A Few Words of Advice. 



In conclusion, make not only a mental 

 note but make a written meniorandum of 

 where v'ou could imjarove on your Christ- 

 mas supply of attractive plants. This is 

 what I found: that primroses for Christ- 

 mas should be sown as soon as \'OU can 

 get the seed ripe in April; that we did 

 not have half enough good azaleas, and 

 that they want to be put into a good 

 brisk heat soon after they arrive in the 

 country, especially Simon Mardner and 

 Vervffineana; that the demand for poin- 

 settias is good and you can find a sale 

 for a lot of them; that the cyclamen is 

 one of the verj* best selling plants; that 

 good violets in pots would sell well; that 

 the Boston nephrolepis sells well and 

 you need a good supply, another year, 

 that you can sell at from $i to J3; that 

 palms are yearlv- growing in favor, and 

 that although you sell a few occasionall}' 

 at |6 to f 10, the great bulk of your stock 

 should be salable at ;fi.5o to I3. And be 

 sure to make a note of the firm's name 

 who supplied you with a lot of rubbish 

 under the name of ici-ll-lnrriid holly. 

 Mv experience with these gentry is, that 

 the}' will serve jou well on the first deal 

 and then when they have you on the 

 siring you are imposed upon. Is this 

 human nature? It is of a certain kind; 

 so is housebreaking or telling a dialect 

 story when you can't — both sadly de- 

 praved. Wm. Scott. 



CLIANTHUS DAMPIERI. 



Clianthus Dampieri appears to be com- 

 parativeh- little known by the florists. 

 I take this means U> lay its name before 

 them as it is one of the plants that 

 will gracefully adorn our business in the 

 near future. I remember seeing it but 

 once in this country grown with a degree 

 of success, and this was on a private place 

 of some prominence in Newport, R. I. 

 There I learned it was cultivated for the 

 special purpose of boutonnieres, bj- the 

 proprietor who had brought the idea 



