May 17, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



473 



lent results, the birds preferring the 

 mulberries to the cherries. One sim- 

 ple method which seems to give very 

 good results in the case of robins is to 

 throw clods of earth into the trees 

 among them. This proceeding seems 

 to frighten the birds even more than 

 buckshot. If you discover any infal- 

 lible remedy we should be very glad 

 indeed if you would tell us about it. 



NEW ENGLAND NOTES. 



A new greenhouse, 50x25 feet, is be- 

 ing erected at A. Barton Hepburn's 

 summer residence at Ridgefield, Mass. 



The North Shore Horticultural So- 

 ciety will hold two shows this year, a 

 rose exhibition June 25, and the an- 

 nual flower show Aug. 6 and 7. 



Professor Henry A. Perkins has been 

 re-elected to membership and chosen 

 president of the Park Board of Hart- 

 ford, Conn. His term of office is for 

 10 years. 



T. Lee Roberts has given a green- 

 house to Ascension Farm School, at 

 South Lee, as a memorial to his son, 

 the late Lieut. Ivan Roberts of the 

 27th Aero Squadron. Lieut. Roberts 

 was connected with the school for 

 several years before he entered the 

 service. 



GOOD TREE LABELS. 



Prof. M. G. Kains, whose book on 

 plant propagation has proved popular 

 with readers of Horticulture, has been 

 telling readers of the New York Sun 

 about his experiences with tree labels 

 in the following words: 



Tree labels in considerable variety 

 have been tried by the public and 

 found wanting. Scarcely any have 

 proved durable,, economical, easy to 

 attach and harmless to the trees. Or- 

 dinary wooden ones rapidly turn gray 

 and the writing upon them becomes 

 illegible. Thin sheet copper ones, so 

 often recommended to be written upon 

 by a style or sharp point, by no means 

 make good the claim that they are in- 

 destructible, for often after only one 

 year's exposure they will leave nothing 

 but the eyelet to tell where they once 

 were. Zinc strips are no less disap- 

 pointing, for they do not long retain 

 the pencil marks; but worse, when any 

 of the copper sulphate compounds as 

 used in spraying with Bordeaux mix- 

 ture, ammoniacal copper carbonate, 

 etc., come in contact with the zinc, a 

 chemical action takes place and the 

 zinc literally melts away into thin air. 

 Corked glass phials containing tree 

 names and hung in the trees are 

 fairly satisfactory except for the facts 

 that they are hard to see and are too 

 easily broken. 



Fertilizers for Florists' Use 



(Look lit Analysis guarantee when buying; and using fertilizers) 

 AM. Moans Nitrogen expressed in the form of Ammonia. 

 A. P. A. Is available Phosphoric Acid. 

 IS. P. L. Is Phosphoric Acid and I,ime in combination, about 40% of 



the B.P.L. consist of Phosphoric Acid, about one-third of whloh is 



available to the roots of plants. 



SHEEP MANURE UNLEACHED: Am. 1«/ 2 %, A. P. A. 1%, 

 Pot. 2J/2%. (From Covered Pens.) 



The best top dressing for Carnations — 100 lb. bag, $3.00; 



200 lbs., $6.00; 500 lbs., $13.00; Ton, $50.00. 

 BLOOD DRIED GROUND: Am. 16%. 



Fine for Palms and Ferns— 100 lb. bag. $10.00; 200 lbs., 



$18.00; 

 TANKAGE HIGH GRADE: Am. 9%, B. P. L. 15%. 



A lasting stimulant for Roses— 100 lb. bag, $6.50; 200 lbs., 



$12.00, Ton, $100.00. 

 TANKAGE REGULAR GRADE: Am. 6%, B. P. L. 30%. 



100 lb. bag, $5.50; 200 lbs., 10.00; Ton, $75.00. 

 BONE MEAL: Am. 4%, B. P. L. 45%. 



Rose Growers and for composting — 100 lbs., $4.35; 200 lbs., 



$8.50; Ton, $68.00. 



BONE MEAL: Am. 3%, B. P. L. 50%. 



For general use and for composting — 100 lbs. ,$4.00; 200 



lbs., $7.75; Ton, $55.00. 

 NITRATE OF SODA: (Chili Saltpetre) Am. 18%. 



25 lbs., $2.25; 100 lbs., $7.50; 200 lbs., $14.50. 



Slrtljur <L iUoDMngton €o„ 3nc. 



128 Chambers Street 



Seedsmen 



NEW YORK CITY 



The label that I have found most 

 satisfactory in all respects is made 

 from nurserymen's six inch wooden la- 

 bels and stout wire, say number 11 or 

 12. Holes are bored with a gimlet 

 near the pointed end so as to leave 

 the blunt end for writing. The names 

 of the varieties are written as large 

 as possible with a soft, rather blunt 

 lead pencil so as to make a broad, 

 clear mark. Then a wire previously 

 bent at its end to form a hook is 

 slipped through the gimlet hole and 

 with the pliers locked around itself by 

 the hook. These labels are then dipped 

 in a thin paint made of pure linseed 

 oil and white lead and hung up. They 

 must not be painted with a brush, 

 because this would blur the writing. 

 After dipping, the writing will appear 

 very faintly, but soon the excess paint 

 will drip off and leave the clear words 

 seen through the paint. The linseed 

 oil would serve the same purpose of 

 making the writing indelible, but the 

 labels would then not be as comspic- 

 uous as when colored white. 



After drying, the wires, which 

 should be 16 to 18 inches long, may 

 be attached to the trees by bending 

 them around the limbs with the pliers 



locking their free ends. If thought 

 more convenient the painting may be 

 done after the labels have been hung 

 in the trees, the paint being carried 

 from tree to tree in a pail in which 

 they are immersed. 



The wires are too stout to have their 

 ends bent with the fingers, therefore 

 their non-removal is insured. The 

 loops should be so large that there 

 will be no danger of injuring the limbs 

 upon which they hang. The cost of 

 making is trifling, the writing indel- 

 ible, the label conspicuous and very 

 durable. What more satisfactory la- 

 bel can there be? 



MASSACHUSETTS. 

 Frank Edwin Smith, formerly of the 

 North Salem greenhouses, has pur- 

 chased the Julyn greenhouse on 

 Bridge street and will conduct a 

 business at that location in the near 

 future. 



VISITORS' REGISTER. 

 Philadelphia— John Walker, Youngs- 

 town, O.; H. J. Hayman, Clarksburg, 

 W. Va.; Simon Groot, Sluis & Groot, 

 Enkhuizen, Holland. 



