198 



HORTICULTURE 



August «5, 1S06 



calyx of the small upright apple has closed. Pans 

 green and arsenate of lead are the principal poisons 

 used for this piirpose. Arsenate of lead, however, is 

 fast superseding the Paris green because of the sharp 

 advance in the price of the latter. Moreover, the arse- 

 nate of lead remains in suspension much longer, has no 

 foliage burning properties, sticks like paint— one appli- 

 cation will usually last the season— it is easier to obtain 

 in a pure state, its white color shows where it has been 

 used, and in every way it is superior. Tons of this 

 poison are being used in the spraying operations against 

 the gypsy and brown-tail moths. In short, it is bene- 

 ficial against all insects with chewing mouth parts. 

 Mixed with Bordeaux mixture the various fungus dis- 

 eases can be controlled along with the insects. 



Insects which live by sucking their food, such as leaf 

 hoppers, plant lice, squash bugs, scales, etc., are immune 

 from this poison, requiring instead a contact poison 

 such as kerosene emulsion, whale oil soap, and the Uke, 

 which kill by suffocation and penetration. The greatest 

 trouble is to make the owner of a few apple trees or a 

 small garden see the value of spraying. He is usually 

 the one who expects the most and does the least for his 

 trees and land. Only an intelligent and observing man 

 can spray successfully. It requires a study of the trou- 

 ble—whether a fungus disease or an insect— to recog- 

 nize the different stages of development and to deal 

 with it at the vulnerable point. Spraying is "accumu- 

 lative," as one writer puts it. The best results are not 

 obtained the first year, but only after several seasons of 

 conscientious, careful, painstak-ing work. 



The practice of spraying is coming more and more to 

 the front, especially in the West, for she is far ahead 

 of the East in matters of this kind, and before many 

 years spraying will be as much a part of the routine on 

 every up-to-date farm as pruning or cultivating. As 

 Prof. Bailey says, "The trinity of successful orcharding 

 is cultivation, fertilization and spraying." 



Early Flowering Bulbs 



The fall and winter campaign is on the threshold, 

 at least with the private gardener, and any slack time 

 that might have been his good fortune to di=cover 

 in mid-summer will be from now on practically at 

 an end. What may be said of the private gai doner 

 is largely true of his brother florist. 



Any of them being anxious to uphold their respective 

 vocations up to date find it hard, methinks, 

 to realize any appreciable relaxation during the entire 



season, of the two the private gardener finding the 

 less, for he, as a rule has more intricate irons in the 

 fire to wield into shape. 



What calls for his immediate attention at this sea- 

 son, outside weed-killing and the general routine as- 

 signable to the plant department, is the culture of 

 the ■ earlier section of flowering bulbs, such as 

 freesias, ixias, oxalises, lachenalias, lilies, etc. No 

 time should be lost after the first week in August 

 in starting the first batches of the above in order to 

 get them in flower at Christmas. 



As ixias take less kindly to early forcing and require 

 a longer time of growi:h to be at all amenable to forc- 

 ing, they can be started all at once, and the successive 

 flowering in batches, if so desired, be accomplished 

 with better results in the early and late spring months. 



The oxalis, being practically an adornment plant, 

 its usefulness is more directly private than commercial, 

 and for prolonged flowering purposes is better potted 

 at intervals of three or four weeks apart but varietal 

 peculiarities bridge over a lengthened period of time. 

 For instance, Oxalis Bowei, one of the showiest, begins 

 to flower in a few weeks after starting, whereas 0. 

 versicolor takes considerably longer and lasts longer in 

 flower. 0. lutea takes still longer time to arrive in 

 the flowering stage but lasts longer in flower with 

 generous culture, even well into summer. 



Oxalis fioribunda rosea, and its white variety alba, 

 one of the commonest, since it is the most frequently 

 seen in cottagers' windows, can be had in flower the 

 year round according to treatment, but a period of 

 rest like that accorded to the other varieties is e-.5ential 

 to a continued vigor and fioriferousness. 



Almost all the species and varieties, of which there 

 are a large number, look their best suspended from 

 the roof, rafters or cross-bars of the greenhou-cs, in 

 which position, when in flower, they add cheerfulness 

 and charm to their immediate surrounding. Not only 

 are they useful for inside adornment — but many of 

 tiie species lend themselves to outside embellishment 

 m the manner of massing and edging for taller sub- 

 jects. They are especialy fitted for rock-work gar- 

 nishing in pocket-masses in the sun doing best ia rich 

 friable sandy soil. In my younger days in the craft 

 they were then more plentifully used than they are 

 apparently now. 



Sparaxis is another class of easily grown bulbs of 



surpassing beauty in variation of spotting and coloring. 



Tritonias are no less interesting and beautiful. 



There are many varieties, all of which are impatient 



of high temperatures. 



tT. 



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