For March, 1923 



71 



enough for them overnig-ht witli a good airy atmosphere 

 during the day. 



Be sure and have a good stock of Buddleia asiatica for 

 next year. It can be kqrt a long time in bud in a cool pit; 

 and after Stevia has passed flowering, will take its place, 

 both as a plant and as a cut flower. Keep the young plants 

 potted along as they require it. Cuttings of Stevia may 

 be also rooted, both the dwarf and tall growing varieties 

 have their place in decorative work. 



Some of the earlier flowering Camellias will be starting 

 their young growths and should be fed with Clay's fer- 

 tilizer and soot water. These plants do not like over- 

 potting. See that they have free drainage. 



\\'atch the shading in the orchid houses. Although they 

 do not like full sunshine under glass from now on, as the 

 foliage is likely to burn, yet they need all the li.ght possible 

 to ripen their growths for flowering, so that heavy shade 

 has to be guarded against. A nice deep green on the 

 foliage looks well, but good flowers are of more account. 

 Orchids like to be grown near the glass. In fact, from my 

 observations I find that all flowering plants do better the 

 closer they are to the glass when growing. Why this it so 

 I do not know, probably some of our scientific friends can 

 enlighten me. 



Coelogynes, Chatsworth variety, has just finished flower- 

 ing with us. This is one of the freest-flowering orchids, 

 likewise one of the prettiest when in flower. Ccelogynes 

 of this type do not relish disturbance at the root often, 

 and therefore it is better to let them alone, until it is 

 absolutely necessary to repot them. 



The fine old Cattleya Triana is still flowering, also C. S. 

 Schroderae. As they go out of flower examine the condi- 

 tion of the roots, but do not disturb them unless the com- 

 post is in a rotten condition, or imless they have run over 

 the sides of the receptacle. Dendrobium Wardianimi will 

 now need a wann moist atmosphere to develop next year's 

 flowering bulbs. One of my neighbors has had fine suc- 

 cess with this fine Dendrobe. He takes a small side 

 growth from an old stem and in a year or two has a fine 

 plant. He grows it in a rose house with practically no 

 shade and feeds it with hen manure water. He certainly 

 knows how ! 



Cymbidium are also flowering ; they are among the 

 finest of orchids, lasting a long time in flower. They grow 

 well in the coolest part of an intermediate house. Pot 

 them in a mixture of fern root, sphagnum moss and loam 

 and do not over water. 



Late flowering Calanthes will now need attention. Pot 

 them as advised in last month's notes for the earlier ones. 

 Phalenopsis are flowering with us. After flowering see 

 that the compost is in a healthy condition. If it looks in 

 a rotten state, remove as much of it as possible without 

 breaking the roots and topdress with fresh material. 



The graj>es are all in a growing state. The earlier ones 

 need thinning and those that have come along with the 

 increasing heat of the sun will need disbudding. Keep 

 the borders stirred up and give liberal application of food 

 as the growths increase in vigor. Be sure and never 

 overcrop, as it is much better to be on the safe side, when 

 it comes to ripen the fruits. 



Peaches may be syringed freely until the fruit ap- 

 proaches the ripening stage, as under glass they are liable 

 to attacks of red spider. Feed them a little as the fruit 

 is swellin.g. Disbud any superfluous wood on the pot 

 fruit, retaining enough for next year's crop, and preserv- 

 ing the symmetry and shape of the plant. They need far 

 more water and food than fruit planted out in a border. 



Fig trees fruit well in pots. We have taken six nice 

 fruits of Brown Turkey of? a six-inch pot : the cutting was 

 rooted the early part of the year and grown on a shelf 



close up to the glass all Summer. They are gross feeders 

 if grown in pots. 



A busy season is ahead of us. Let us utilize all the 

 knowledge gained by visiting our neighbors, attending 

 flower shows and meetings for discussion, without which, 

 and a liberal amount of reading, a gardener is very apt 

 to get into a rut. 



"THE LEAF-MINER IN BOXWOOD" 



A BOUT a year ago the writer's attention was called to 

 ^~^ some Boxwood bushes that looked as if they had 

 been \\"inter-killed. On careful examination he discovered 

 that the cause of this appearance was due to a small 

 maggot, or midge, securely housed between the two layers 

 of the small leaves causing a blister-like surface. It is 

 needless to say that he at once started a thorough investi- 

 gation to find out just what this new trouble' was, and 

 the best means to combat it. 



After a great deal of expense both in labor, and spray- 

 ing materials that were supposed to destroy this new 

 addition to our ever increasing list of plant-life enemies, 

 and also causing an endless source of worry both to the 

 owners and gardeners of large estates throughout the 

 country, he feels safe to say that up to the present time 

 all of the sprays recommended for this insect are of very 

 little value. 



You have only to study the life of the Boxwood leaf- 

 miner, as it is now known, to understand that it is beyond 

 the reach of any spray until it hatches out in the form of 

 a fly, and then, to the writer's way of thinking, it is too 

 late. The little success that has been gained in catching 

 the full-grown fly with the various oil and soap sprays 

 has been very small compared to the advance this insect 

 has made during the past year. 



The writer has personally inspected a great number of 

 varieties of Boxwood on large estates where a great deal 

 of money has been spent in labor and spraying materials, 

 and today the bushes are as badly attected as some that 

 were never treated. Then again you will often hear it 

 said that this leaf-miner will not attack the Old English 

 Box (Buxus suffruticosa). This is a great error, for 

 while this insect does not appear to attack this variety as 

 readily as some of the others, the writer has seen some 

 very fine bushes of Sufifruticosa badly affected. 



On the other hand you hear the question from owners 

 of fine Old Box bushes, that have been in the family for 

 a great many years, "What can we do to save these old 

 heirlooms? or are we to lose them?" Of course that 

 seems a hard question to answer. But it can be answered, 

 and answered with a big "No; you do not have to lose 

 them unless you want to." It has been the writer's 

 ]>leasure not only to know that the leaf-miner can be killed, 

 but he has had it killed on bushes that were badly afifected, 

 and this was not done after it had hatched out in fly form, 

 but while the niagg'ot was between the two layers of the 

 leaves. This was not a 65% kill, but a 98% kill, without 

 any harm to bushes so treated. 



The writer is well able to vouch for the above facts, 

 and will be willing to answer any further questions on 

 the subject to anyone interested. 



Wm. Shaw, Elkins Park, Pa. 



Live for something! Do good, and leave behind you a 

 monument of virtue that the storm of time can never 

 destro)'. Write yotir name in kindness, love, and mercy on 

 the hearts of thousands you come in contact with, year by 

 year, and you will never be forgotten. Your name, your 

 deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind, as 

 the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine 

 as the stars of heaven. — Chalmers. 



