November 18, 1916 



HORTICULTURE 



663 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



. fONDlCTKI) ItV 



Questions by our leiulpis in line with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answ. i 

 by Mr. KuzicKs. Such communications should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



Mice and Rats 



Tliese pests will now be moviufj- Troni the fields ami 

 woods into buildings, and as a i-ule they are especially 

 fond of a greenhouse, making themselves perfectly at 

 home around the boiler rooms, chewing up paper in the 

 packing room, to say nothing of the damage they do 

 when they take a notion to make their nests in the 

 greenhouse benches, picking out the place where the 

 choicest roses are growing, aud undermining several 

 plants over night. Cats are worse than useless as they 

 are a great nnisance themselves unless they are the right 

 kind, and this is seldom the case. It will, therefore, be 

 necessary to be ready for the invasion with traps. There 

 is nothing better than the ordinary flat trap made of a 

 piece of wood and a strong wire spring. It comes in two 

 sizes, one for mice and one for rats. The mice can usually 

 be caught without any trouble, but the rats are real foxy. 

 The best way is to set the new trap with a pair of new- 

 canvas gloves on, baiting the trap with bacon, and when 

 it is set wrap the gloves around the bacon and put away 

 for future use. After a rat is caught, scald the trap with 

 hot water or else use a new one, and set again, using the 

 gloves again, which by this time will be saturated with 

 the smell of bacon, so that the rats w-ill not smell the 

 touch of human hands. Before the traps are set it will 

 be necessary to drill a .small hole in one corner and run 

 a wire through, fastening this to a piece of pipe or some- 

 thing heavy so that the rat when caught will not be able 

 to get away with the trap, if the traps are kept set con- 

 tinually there should be no troulile to keep the place free 

 from both mice and rats. It certainly is no credit to a 

 |)lace to have it overrun with the pests, and as men- 

 tioned before it often costs quite a little, even more so 

 with the gardener who has expensive bulbs, seeds, etc., to 

 look after. Eats are very fond of canning things away 

 to eat later, and it is not always the men stealing when 

 l)ulbs, etc., are missing. A rat will carry off a great many 

 bulbs in one night. Have the traps set, and catch the 

 pests as they come in, before they get acquainted with 

 the place, as it is easier to do it then than it will be 

 later. 



Clean the Boiler Flues 



With a spell of coohT weather it has been necessary to 

 fire a little more than ever before this season, and as 

 coal is way up in tiie air it will not be a bad idea to save 

 as much of it as po.ssible. To begin, all boiler flues 

 should be cleaned at least once a week, ami if possible it 

 will pay to do it every other day. The way the modern 

 boilers "are built it is very little trouble to run a brush 

 through the flues or to lilrtw them out with steam. 

 Whichever method is used, see that it is done often 



enough to keep the boilers clean so that there will be no 

 wasted heat. Even a thin coat of a.shes or soot will pre- 

 vent the iron or steel from al)sorbing lioat, and that is 

 what it is suppo.sed to do, traiisfering it to the water, 

 making either steam or hot water as the case may be. 



Last Chance for Repairs 



Winter will soon be here with its cold wijids, snows and 

 blizzards; it is, therefore, advisable to repair everything 

 that will have to be repaired before the bad winter weath- 

 er sets in. All broken glass should be repaired the very 

 first thing, as not only is a lot of heat wasted by letting 

 the wind blow in, but the jilants are bound to sufrer some 

 time because of a draft or drip. All pipes should be 

 gone over to see that Ihey are in condition to stand the 

 winter. With these it is much as with lieiiches. It does 

 not pay to patch. If the returns are leaky, repair all 

 that is absolutely necessary, and then as soon as oppor- 

 tunity will come, repipe certain benches or houses, using 

 all new pipes. The system will then last for many years 

 without any worry. If a new piece is put in here and 

 there now, later on there will be another jiieco to put in 

 here and there and this will keej) up indefinitely, greatly 

 adding to tiie expense of running the ])lace. If there are 

 any places where the pipes touch the ground, see that the 

 soil is .scraped away so as to leave the pipes free and 

 clear. When the pipes come through the soil anywhere, 

 the soil will absorb the heat much the way it absorbs 

 electric current when the wires are grounded. See that 

 the main trenches are well drainecl so that the mains will 

 not be in water getting chilled while the fireman is 

 straining to make steam, Cover the mains wherever it 

 is possible. It will pay, a.s the saving in heat will he con- 

 siderable. Houses with wooden sides which are pretty 

 well gone had better get a coat of tar paper. This will 

 not cost so very much and the coal sav(>d will soon bring 

 the money right back. 



The Christmas Crop 



With Christinas oidy five weeks away all roses that 

 will be in for Christnuis will now be seen on the plant.s 

 in the form of nice red shoots. Every possii)le jireeau- 

 fioii should be taken to see that these come right ahmg 

 ami that, they come clean and healthy. If the jihints 

 tairv (|uite a number of these shoots a little extra feeding 

 will help ini.sh them along and lengthen the stems out a 

 bit UKHe. Bone can be used for tliis ]mrpose to good ad- 

 vantage, for it is a good plant food ami if the weather 

 sliouhl turn out very i)ad and dark, the plants will not 

 sulTer from overfeeding as much as they would if some 

 of the quick-acting fertilizers were used. Keep the ])hiiits 

 well fumigated and syringed so there will be no bleinish 

 or insects on the buds to decrease their price. 



Printers' Ink. To a certain extent Horticulture agrees be inclined to spend a little time in discreet meditation 



with it. But when it conies to handing over $.50,000 or and silent prayer. In this eonneetum, the account "f 



$75,000 to a "trained advertising organization" to in- ('liieago"s retail exhibition extieriment. in another yol- 



erease the sale of flowers we rather think the florists will unm of this issue, is suggestive and is well worth reading. 



