November 2, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



569 



American Beauty 



BLACK-SrOT 



A neatly kept house of Beauties, in a thrifty good 

 Rowing condition, is at all times a pleasant sight and 

 the grower who can carry his stock along during the 

 transition from natural to artificial heat, without con- 

 tracting mildew or black-spot is indeed a "grower."' 



Xow that firing is once again on the program, our 

 chances of escaping a visit from either of these pests 

 are more favorable. Still, our greatest safety lies in our 

 ability to avoid those condition.* favorable to the ger- 

 minatiou and growth of these diseases. 



Boot action being =lowor now than during the sum- 

 mer, good judgment must be used when watering, as 

 any check to the growth caused by overwatering is 

 almost certain to be followed by a visit from black-spot. 

 Care in ventilating is partictdarly necessary to keep it 

 from getting a start and should be so regulated that no 

 sudden chill may occur, and also at the same time jjre- 

 vent as niucli as possible any condensation from taking 

 place. This latter may be accomplished by keeping up 

 sufficient heat to cause a gentle circulation of air. thus 

 preventing stagnation. 



Watering and syringing should be done as early in 

 the day as possible, so that the foliage may have a good 

 cliance to dry before night Wet foliage over night is a 

 fruitful source of this trouble, and should if possible be 

 avoided. 



If after using ev«ry precaution, black-spot makes its 

 ap]3earance in tlie houE«, no time should be lost in going 

 after it. Pick oE and burn every affected leaf. Some 

 growers are woefully negligent in this respect, and in- 

 stead of burning the diseased leaves, just dump them 

 ■outside the door along with the rest of the rubbish. This 

 practice is, to s;iy the least, very unsafe, as we cannot 

 say that some of these leaves will not be rettu-ned to the 

 house, thus augmenting, rather than diminishing the 

 trouble. 



If the disease shows a tendency to spread it is advis- 

 able to use the carbonate of copper compound (cupram) 

 usinc five ounces of carbonate of copper to three quarts 

 of ammonia and sixty gallons of water. This mixture 

 mav l)e applied either with''%n ordinary bucket pump, 

 or an automatic sprayer. With the latter, the writer's 

 «xperiencc has been confined to the simplicity sprayer, 

 which has proven very satisfactory, as, with this style 

 ■of pump, the operator's attention may be devoted en- 

 tirely to the spraying, thus saving time, material and 

 jxitience. All dead and decaying leaves, and weeds 

 shouhl be removed froiu the benches and walks and 

 humed. as, apart from the danger of disease lurking in 

 this refuse, it is here that tlirips and other insect i^ests 

 find a refuge from tobacco fumes. Tying the plants so 

 that the air can circulate freely among the foliage, will 

 also prove helpful in combating this dread diesase. 



Eucharis Stevensii 



This fine variety was raised about twelve years ago by 

 the late son of Stevens of odontoglossum fame at Stone 

 in Staffordshire and deserves to be more widely grown. 

 The i^arents were graiidiflora \ Amazouica and the re- 

 sult is a good illustration of the value of cross breeding 

 a strong and good variety with a relatively weak and 

 poor one, stich as grandiflora undoubtedly is. Stevensii 

 is superior to iUnazoniea in several important character- 

 istics: the foliage is larger and borne on longer foot- 

 stalks which gives a better appearance; the flowers are 

 white and fragrant but a trifle smaller than Amazouica, 

 the petals being reflexed; the flower is more elegant 

 .han that variety and better suited for floral purposes; 

 its floriferous character is much in its favor, good 

 plants throvv-ing up four or five sets of spikes, its 

 flowering period thus covering quite 9 months of the 

 year. The plant is a vigorous grower and so far as my 

 expei'ience goes it is mite proof. Eucluiris succeeds best 

 ■n a warm, moist stove with a liberal supply of syringing; 

 it is a mistake however to water freely 'except when 

 spikes are pushing up when a little liquid manure is of 

 service. A mild bottom stage suits them well as they do 

 not like drying out too quickly; too much disturbance 

 of the roots is against free flowering, therefore pot in 

 good turfy loam and peat of good textiire in well-drained 

 pots. Stevensii as a pot jilant for show purposes is a 

 graceful subject but it is well worth growing in quantity 

 m commercial lines for cutting. Planting out in beds is 

 undoubtedly more favorable to vigorous growth and free 

 flowering conditions than pot culture. On all points it 

 is superior to Amazouica, though that well known 

 variety lias served excellently in the past. 



^djQ^oX 



m 



l>v>JC 



Care of the Hardy Border 



Directly alter a few degrees of frost the mixed border 

 becomes unsightly and is often allowed to remain in this 

 condition for a considerable time. In order to secure 

 permanent favor for these interesting hardy plants a 

 little attention at this time of year is recommended. 



The beds and l)orders should be kept in the finest 

 possilile condition; the decayed leaves and flower heads 

 that are past =hould be removed as soon as they become 

 fit. A verv common practice is to cut these hardy plants 

 down to the ground after flowering which is certainly 

 a uiisrake as tiie tops give a considerable protection to 

 till:' crowns of the plants throughout the winter. Those 

 which produce berries and some of the iris seedpods may 

 l)e retained to advantage as they are interesting and 

 brighten the border at this time of j-ear. 



AH Inilbs for spring flowering should be planted by 

 tliis time. These give much better effect when jjlanted 

 in large gi'oups with some of the taller varieties in the 

 front to give desired irregularity. Much better effect is 

 thus olitained than where excessive uniformity is ob- 

 served. With such a large list of bulbous plants to 

 choose from the hardy border can be made much more 

 interesting and the flowering season greatly extended. 



/^^V^^ ^CU^-(x>i%^OUL^^ 



