360 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Jasitauy 29. 1903. 



most pernicious being a little brown 

 :fellow that makes the foliage look 

 rusty. The only effectual way to get 

 rid of this thrips is to dust the plant 

 very heavily with tobacco dust. Let it 

 lie on the leaves for a week and then 

 ■wash it off, or else lay fresh stems 

 thickly over the plants. Tliis will 

 clean out any thrips and will not hurt 

 the young growth. 



After an attack of thrips the young 

 growth often is injured, though we be- 

 lieve the injury is caused by the in- 

 sects while the leaf is in an embryonic 

 state rather than by the tobacco. 

 Friend Scott's advice to sponge the 

 plants thorouglily is excellent, but your 

 correspondent will find it slow work 

 if he has many plants. It is very pos- 

 sible that he may have another species 

 of thrips to contend witli and has al- 

 ready tried the tobacco stems, but thej' 

 have always effected a cure in our 

 case. CiiA.s. H. Totty. 



ROSES, 



Seasonable Hints. 



"Now that the days are getting longer 

 when we may expect more sunsliiiie, 

 plants will begin to rccui>cratc after tlie 

 dull and cloudy weatlicr of the la,st two 

 months; roots will again begin to be 



stronger; this should be added just be- 

 fore using. 



From now on for the remainder of the 

 season liquid food should be given at 

 least once a week. Choosing for this 

 work a bright, sunny day, begin by giv- 

 ing it rather weak, increasing its 

 strength as the plants become accus- 

 tomed to it. 



Coal being still a scarce commodity, 

 there will be a strong temptation to 

 use every means to economize on that 

 item, and great care and good judgment 

 will have to be exercised so that in prac- 

 ticing this no injury may accrue to the 

 stock. 



The night temperature can with safety 

 be reduced as low as 46 degrees or 48 

 degrees, but of course at considerable 

 sacrifice in the quantity of the cut (the 

 quality of the bloom will if anything be 

 improved), but no attempt should be 

 made to husband the coal by trying to 

 keep the houses at the normal by a rad- 

 ical reduction, or entirely giving up of 

 ventilation, as this at once begins to af- 

 fect the general health of the plants, 

 and reduces the prospects of a future 

 crop to a minimum. 



The care of the cutting bench and the 

 young stock in pots should now be one 

 of the principal duties of the grower, 

 as on these depend his weal or woe 

 during the ne.xt season, when, let us 



Plant of Cypripediom losigne Grown at Florham Farms, Madison, N. J. 

 Photo by A. Herrirgton. 



more active and a new crop of wood of 

 a. stronger and more vigorous character 

 ■can be looked for. In order to secure 

 this we must make sure that the plants 

 have plenty of good feeding material at 

 hand, as the nutritive ek^ments in the 

 soil will have become exhausted. A good 

 rich mulch of about one inch thick will 

 suppl.y those feeding roots which are 

 now near tlie surface with the desired 

 ■elements. 



To make it more easily assimilated it 

 should be made fine by passing it 

 through a Jinch screen, and a fair 

 sprinkling of desiccated bone added: 

 -three pounds to each bushel of compost 

 IS not any too much at this season. 

 Meteors .ami Beaulics cnn <ise it even 



hope, the coal question will be a thing 

 of the past and we can again resume our 

 equanimity. RiBES. 



ROSE SOIL. 



I send a sample of soil. Is it all right 

 for roses? If not, can you tell me what 

 it lacks? ' J. R. E. 



This soil, in my estimation, is in no 

 way suitable for indoor rose culture, 

 nor in fact is it fit for any kind of 

 greenhouse work, being nothing but a 

 marly mud with a small deposit of de- 

 cayed vegetable matter mixed with it, 

 and has to all appearance formed the 

 lioltiim of a lake at some not very dis- 

 tant period. 



I have mailed a sample of good rose 

 soil. This is the soil which rose growers 

 are continually in search of and it is 

 possible you may find some in your lo- 

 cality. The compost should be four of 

 soil to one of decomposed cow manure. 



RiBES. 



CARNATION NOTES-EAST. 



General Behavior of Varieties. 



Early in the season the idea was ad- 

 vanced by me that the different va- 

 rieties should be reported on from time 

 to time, so will endeavor to inform you 

 upon subject, taking the date Jan. 25, one 

 month from Christmas. 



Mrs. Potter Palmer, with which we had 

 no acquaintance until this season, is be- 

 having nicely. Blooms measuring from 

 3i to 3i inches have been cut the past 

 week and our customers tell us it is a 

 good keeper. This variety is blessed 

 with a strong appetite for liquid manure 

 and requires a temperature of 50 de- 

 gi'ees at night. A good supply of cut- 

 tings is obtainable which root readily. 

 Would advise rooting early so as to 

 have strong plants at planting time. 



Cressbrook has furnislied us with an 

 enormous supply of bloom but a large 

 per cent being imperfect. I cannot say 

 that it is in favor here. We shall, how- 

 ever, propagate a small quantity for ex- 

 perimental purposes, also owing to the 

 fact that a bursted calyx has not as yet 

 appeared. First week in Febnuiry will 

 be early enough to put in sand. 



Nelson is covering itself with glory. 

 It is easily handled and with its long, 

 graceful stems is a pleasure to grow 

 it. Complaint has come to me that cut- 

 tings of this variety are difficult to 

 root; allow me to suggest that the sand 

 \ie kept less damp, especially if your 

 propagating bench is of wood or slate. 

 I had a sample lot of plants on trial last 

 year and found our brick bottomed bench 

 gave much better results than an old 

 bench of wood now discarded. 



Crane has not gone back on ua yet, 

 but from various sources it is said to be 

 dying off badly. In view of this we are 

 using extreme care in selection of cut- 

 tings. There seems to be a tendency for 

 reds to drop behind sooner than other 

 colors; a case in point being "The Stu- 

 art," which when in its prime gave flow- 

 ers of an ideal scarlet but it went to 

 pieces very suddenly. Perhaps some of 

 our friends, the hybridizers, could give 

 us some light in this direction. 



Estelle, though not giving as long 

 stems as Palmer or Crane, is well liked 

 for its beautiful color and keeping qual- 

 ities. It is a profitable variety to grow 

 and would suggest that cuttings of this 

 variety be handled as in the case of Nel- 

 son. 



White Cloud, although a little later 

 than Queen Louise, has given us better 

 retiu-ns on account of its superb form 

 and long, stiff stems. 



Queen Louise requires feeding well to 

 bring out the size. Its habit of drop- 

 ping the lower petals over the calyx is 

 against form and in consequence it is not 

 so desirable for vase work as White 

 Cloud. However, -we need both and shall 

 continue another year. 



Marquis and Floriana, almost iden- 

 tical in color and form, are gi\'ing about 

 equal quantities daily at present writ- 

 ing, but taking the season thus far the 

 returns are in favor of the latter. Flor- 

 iana is more grassy in growth than 

 I ilarquis, but comes in earlier, furnish- 



