HORTICULTURE 



July 19, 1919 



THE GARDENERS' SECTION 



A FIG TREE IN NEW ENGLAND. CONTROLLING THE ROSE MIDGE 



Among the fruit trees of Hillcrest— 

 the cherries, apples, pears, quinces, 

 peaches, plums and nectarines is a 

 flg. It grows on the wires of the es- 

 palier two feet in front of a high stone 

 wall. In winter we turn it under the 

 soil, digging away the earth in front of 

 it and bending it forward. It lived 

 through the winter of 1917 and '18 but 

 bore no fruit the following season. 

 This year it is growing five figs. The 

 year it came from the nursery, the 

 summer of 1917, it ripened a few 

 fruits. 



The tree is now about four feet high 

 and is trained flat against the wires. 

 It is on the back row of the espalier 

 where it is shaded by the peach trees 

 tn front. It is suckering from the bot- 

 tom having one thrifty little offshoot 

 which we mean to transplant. 



We have not yet ripened any necta- 

 rines but have had some trees sent to 

 us with which to experiment by the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry in Washing- 

 ton. At Hillcrest we are interested to 

 see what can be grown in our climate 

 and have sent for seeds to South Afri- 

 ca and Laborador. Since reading Stef- 

 ansson's description of tho Arctic re- 

 gions we feel as if more might be 

 done with the northern flora. 



M. R. Case. 

 Hillcrest Farm, Weston. 



PERSONAL. 

 Peter MacDonald has succeeded John 

 Alexander as superintendent on the 

 estate of C. M. Daniels, Sabattis Park, 

 Long Lake West, N. Y., Mr. Alexander 

 having resigned. 



William Warburton has gone from 

 Franklin, Mass., to Fort Wayne, Ind., 

 to become gardener for Theodore F. 

 Thieme. 



Malcolm McAllister is now gardener 

 for E. C. Delafield, Riverdale, N. Y. 



It is understood that Joseph Goodier, 

 who was long head gardener on the es- 

 tate of the late Charles G. Roebling, 

 Trenton, N. J., and who made a splen- 

 did reputation for himself there, is to 

 he superintendent of a new estate now 

 being developed at Ogontz, Pa. 



John Watson has withdrawn from 

 the management of the Princeton Nur- 

 series. Mr. William Flemcr, Jr.. re- 

 cently returned from France, will take 

 charge. Carl Flemer managing the nur- 

 series at Springfield, N. J. 



According to the Department of 

 Agriculture a severe infestation of the 

 rose midge can be controlled, if not 

 entirely eliminated, in a comparatively 

 brief period by the careful application 

 of tobacco dust on the soil and by 

 persistent nightly fumigation with 

 tobacco, in the form of stems, nicotine 

 papers, or one of the volatile nicotine 

 preparations. 



"Where earth walks are present, it is 

 advisable to spray the walks also with 

 a 5 or 10 per cent kerosene emulsion. 

 In the case of light infestations, the 

 midge can be controlled by systematic 

 nightly fumigations with tobacco 

 fumes, which should be continued un- 

 til all adults disappear; or by a care- 

 ful application, at the proper season, 

 of tobacco dust. Inasmuch as the 

 broods probably overlap during the 

 summer, there is a possibility that fre- 

 quent syringing of the plants would 

 cause much of the dust to wash down 

 into the soil before all larvae matured; 

 hence there is a chance that some 

 would fall on and enter earth where 

 the dust had lost its effectiveness. It 

 would seem, therefore, that the most 

 opportune time to apply the dust, if 

 not accompanied with nightly fumiga- 

 tion, is during the latter part of Octo- 

 ber or the first three weeks of Novem- 

 ber, at which season the last genera- 

 tion of larvae leaves the plants, enters 

 the ground, and constructs overwinter- 

 ing cocoons. If dependance is placed 

 on the dust alone, it is imperative that 

 the application be so timed as to be on 

 the soil before the larvae seek winter 

 quarters. No hard or fast rule govern- 

 ing the date of this application can be 

 recommended for all localities, since 

 temperature naturally influences the 

 final disappearance of the larvae. 



Although tobacco stems have been 

 used in greenhouses from time im- 

 memorial they are being replaced 

 rapidly by nicotine paper and the 

 volatile nicotine extract, owing to the 

 fact that the nicotine content of the 

 stems is so variable. Tobacco stems 

 in the proper condition (those which 

 have not been allowed to become wet 

 and dry out) will yield good results. 

 As there is no satisfactory and easy 

 method by which the florist can de- 

 termine accurately the nicotine con- 

 tent of tobacco stems, however, it will 

 probably be a saving of time and 

 money to use the nicotine papers or 



the volatile nicotine extracts, in which 

 case the directions on the label of the 

 container should be followed. 



Kerosene emulsion (stock solution, 

 66 per cent oil) is made after the fol- 

 lowing formula: 



Kerosene (coal oil, lamp oil) .gallons 2 

 Soap (fish-oil or laundry i lor 



1 quart soft soap) pound Vi. 



Water (soft) gallon 1 



First dissolve the soap in boiling 

 water, then remove the vessel from 

 the fire and immediately add the kero- 

 sene, thoroughly agitating the mixture 

 until a creamy solution results. The 

 stock solution may be more conveni- 

 ently made by pouring the mixture 

 into the tank of a spray pump and 

 pumping the liquid through the nozzle 

 back into the tank for five minutes. A 

 10 per cent solution can be made by- 

 adding to each gallon of the stock solu- 

 tion about 5 2-3 gallons of water. In 

 some regions the water is "hard," and 

 in such cases it should be broken with 

 a little lye, or rain water should be 

 used. 



A full description of the life habits 

 of the rose midge may be obtained in 

 Bulletin No. 778. 



STARTING PANSIES. 

 Pansy seed is planted at different 

 seasons of the year, but it depends up- 

 on whether the flowers or the plants 

 are to be sold. The business of raising 

 pansy plants for the spring market has 

 grown to be very large. Around Bos- 

 ton many market gardeners have taken 

 it up and devote a considerable space 

 to the pansy crop. The plants are sent 

 to market in bushel boxes as soon as 

 they begin to bloom in the spring. 



It is a fact to be remembered that 

 only the very best seed is worth plant- 

 ing. Pansies run in strains rather 

 than in particular varieties. You 

 should take care to get a strain which 

 is known to be free blooming, of large 

 size, well colored and with long stems. 

 The price is not to be questioned, for 

 seed of the right kind can be grown 

 only by those who have acquired the 

 skill and understand the business. It 

 not infrequently happens that strains 

 which have acquired the reputation for 

 quality deteriorate when they pdss into 

 the hands of others. 



According to Mr. Charles Frost, 

 writing in Baileys Cyclopedia of Hor- 

 ticulture: "It is conceded by Euro- 

 pean pansy specialists who have visit- 

 ed the United States that the Ameri- 



