472 



HORTICULTURIS: 



November 3, 1966 



require a temperature of from 68 to 

 70 degrees at night, except on very 

 cold nights, when a few degrees less 

 will be more beneficial to the plants. 



When the plants begin to run they 

 will require careful attention every 

 day to do the necessary tying, pinch- 

 ing, etc. Some growers will rub out 

 the laterals entirely that appear be- 

 tween the bench and the trellis, but I 

 think it's not a good policy to adopt 

 as it tends to weaken the plants, as 

 well as being liable to cause canker; 

 but instead of so doing, pinch to the 

 first leaf and rub out any growths that 

 may appear after. 



Always bear in mind when tying 

 the growths to keep them under the 

 trellis, for by so doing it will be more 

 convenient when putting on the sup- 

 ports for the fruits. 



The plants will require stopping 

 when they have made growth to half 

 the height they are intended to cover. 

 I have seen a good many grown and 

 not stopped until they have reached 

 the full height of the house, but by 

 this practice I claim the fruits do not 

 swell as freely as they would as rec- 

 ommended. Stop the laterals two 

 leaves beyond the fruits. Sometimes 

 the laterals do not show fruit, then 

 stop at the first leaf and wait until 

 they break again. 



As the plants come into bloom, at- 

 tend to the fertilizing of them daily 

 until there are plenty set. When they 

 have set their fruits, and if large, well 

 finished melons are required, they 

 should be thinned to not more than 

 four fruits to a plant. Do not on any 

 account neglect the watering at this 

 stage, and a little artificial manure 

 applied to the bed during the process 

 will be beneficial. It should be used 

 carefully at all times. A good plan 

 to adopt is to use a little and often. 



When the fruits get to the size of 

 hen's eggs they will require supports, 

 and the most convenient things to 

 have are small nets made especially 

 for the purpose. 



As time goes on the roots will ap- 

 pear above the surface, then apply a 

 top dressing, using compost as rec- 

 ommended for planting, but cut up 

 rather small; this should be don© as 

 often as the roots appear to the sur- 

 face. 



The fruits at their seeding stage 

 will require abundance of water and 

 feeding to make them of good size and 

 flavor. From the time of planting un- 

 til the fruits are ripe they will require 

 syringing once daily to keep the red 

 spider, etc., in check, and this should 

 be done at the time the house is 

 ck.sed. that is, if the house is closed 

 fairly early; otherwise it must be done 

 in time for the plants to get fairly 

 dry before night. 



I do not believe in syringing oftener. 

 for it tends to make the growth soft 

 and sappy, for then canker easily sets 

 in, to which the plants are very much 

 subject. 



When doing the necessary work of 

 tying, etc., always be on the look- 

 out for canker, and if detected apply 

 a little Portland cement to dry it up. 



Melons are great lovers of air and 

 must have it in abundance when the 

 weather permits, but on no account 

 let cold draughts into the house, for 

 if the plants receive a check they nev- 

 er thrive as well after. It is good 

 practice to admit a little air on mild 



nights, when the fruits begin to ripen, 

 as it will insure better flavor. 



At the ripening stage of the fruits 

 a good many growers withhold the 

 water from the plants as much as 

 possible, as they say it gives a better 

 flavor; but, by experience. I claim 

 they need as much water and feeding 

 at that stage as they do at any time. 



Judgment and experience will tell 

 n hen the fruits are ready for the ta- 

 ble, and V. hen ripe it's a good plan to 

 remove them from the plants and 

 .=lore in a cool place until required. 



As regards the varieties to grow, 

 there are a good many, and doubtless 

 every one has his favorites, but for 

 my own part, at the present time, I 

 should grow (tor green flesh) Ring- 

 leader, (white) Hero of Lockinge, 

 (scarlet) Triumphe and Superlative. 

 These I know to be some of the best. 



EXPRESS PLUNDERING. 



Coiiiitldims fnnii the .Vmericaii Fioiist.s" 

 Society will probably cause an iavo.'^tf^a- 

 tioii into express ci>nipany rates for tiie 

 transportation of flowers. The request 

 for relief lias been liled with tbe United 

 States Interstate Coinujercc Commission 

 and Includes a charge that in many lorali- 

 tles the charges for this class of tiaiis 

 portatlon have recently been doubled. 

 There ai-e other classes of soods which 

 are overelnirj,'ed for and there is some rea- 

 son to accept the belief of many business 

 men that the express rates are too hl^h 

 on ever.vthliig which Is shipped except 

 merchandise sent free for stockholders 

 and other influential people. The United 

 States Government pays more for th<' use 

 of cars for the malls than the express 

 companies do, and yel In any Instance the 

 express rates are higher than the postage 

 rates for the same class of goods. It Is 

 iiulte possible that the raise In rates for 

 flowers may result In actio.i which will 

 alve the people cheaper service. — Franklin 

 (I'a.) News. 



That the express company managers are 

 as nearly highwaymen. In their robbery 

 of the pul)llc by exorbitant rates, as 

 those clothed in purple and line linen can 

 be. is known by everyone who Is cs^ni- 

 pelled to use that form of transportation. 

 Fortunately for the people, the Democrats 

 Included these conipanles in tbe provisions 

 of the new rallroa<l rale bill, whl<-h brings 

 them under the supervision of the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission, 'i'he Society 

 of American Florists have just filed a 

 complaint against the United Kxpress Com- 

 pany charging that the rates were arbi- 

 trarily raised on May 1st from 25 to .50 

 per cent. This the petitioners declare "Is 

 altogether unreasonable and unjustified b.v 

 the circumstances of the case and the ex- 

 action Is very nearly ruinous." The 

 United States and the other express com- 

 panies are controlled b.v the most unprin- 

 cipled men, such as the railroad magnate 

 Harrlman and the decrepit Senator Piatt, 

 and the stock is mainly owned by an In- 

 side ring of railroad officials. These ex- 

 press companies have been a law unto 

 themselves, but will now have to make — 

 uuder the new law — a statement of their 

 earnings and expenditures as the railroads 

 do, and we shall soon know just bow 

 much of their plundering can be loppeil 

 off with justice to them and to their cus- 

 tomers. 



Ttiose who feel they ,'ire subjected to 

 unreasonable rates, should file their com- 

 plaints with the evidence of the transac- 

 tion with the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission, Washington, — Charleston (W. Va.) 

 Oazette. 



Prof. L. O. Howard of Washington 

 reports that it will require millions of 

 dollars to check the spread of the 

 brown-tail moth. Thousands of fruit 

 trees in the vicinity of Boston have 

 been killed, while the defoliation of 

 oak. maple and elm trees in the 

 wooded region for a period of three or 

 four years has brought about the 

 death of many trees. The only way to 

 get rid of this pest is to secure active 

 co-operation of property owners and 

 sound State laws. 



Obituary 



Mrs. Moore, beloved wife of George 

 .Moore of Quebec, Canada, died on 

 October 31 at Hopedale, Mass., aged 

 ,S5 years. 



Hans Reck, of Bridgeport. Conn., 25 

 .years old, committed suicide on the 

 night of October 27 by drinking car- 

 bolic acid on the veranda at the home 

 of a young lady to whom he had been 

 paying attention but who had re- 

 jected him. 



News of the death of John Nelson 

 has been received. Mr. Nelson was an 

 old florist of St. Paul and for the past 

 six years has been superintendent of 

 the St. Cloud Reformatory green- 

 houses. He had worked and traveled 

 all through Europe, and was one of 

 the best botanists in the state. 



A telegram brings to us the sad 

 news of the death of Lewis Ullrich at 

 Tiffin. O. Mr. Ullrich has been ailing 

 for some time and was prevented by 

 sickness from attending the S. A. F. 

 convention at Dayton last August. 

 He had many friends in the national 

 society, who placed him in nomination 

 two successive years for the presidency 

 —in 1904 and 1905. Further details 

 next week. 



J. L. Dillon of Bloomsburg, Pa., 

 was killed on Tuesday morning. Octo- 

 ber 30, while superintending the un- 

 loading of a coal ear. The funeral 

 took place from his residence on Fri- 

 day. November 2. This news will be 

 a sad shock to a host of florists 

 throughout the country to whom Mr. 

 Dillon was known through his various 

 business enterprises and his connec- 

 tion with th« S. A. F. since its begin- 

 ning. He was a regular attendant at 

 the conventions of the society and a 

 frequent participant in its debates. 



NEWPORT NEWS. 



On a recent visit to the greenhouse 

 grounds of Mrs. (Tlornelius Vanderbilt 

 at Newport, my attention was at- 

 tracted to a few remaining flowers of 

 Amaryllis Belladonna the last of a 

 record crop obtained this season by 

 Mr. Andrew J. Pow, the gardener. The 

 plants are grown in a deep cold frame 

 in the manner described by Kenneth 

 Pinlayson in an article in a recent 

 issue of HORTICULTURE. The frame 

 comprises six 3 ft. x 6 ft. sashes and 

 from the plants in these Mr. Pow had 

 then cut 300 blooms or 50 blooms from 

 each sash. In addition to a large 

 crop the quality of the blooms was ex- 

 ceedingly fine as was evident even 

 from the few flowers still left at the 

 time of my visit. As there does not 

 seem to be any unsurmountable ob- 

 stacle in the way, I should think A. 

 Belladonna would be a good thing for 

 commercial florists to grow, especially 

 when the beauty and durability of the 

 flowers are known, besides their adap- 

 tability for various forms of floral 

 decoration. There are many things 

 grown for cutting at the time these 

 flowers come in that are infinitely 

 more troublesome and of much less 

 worth when done. 



I 



