680 



HOBTICULTURE 



November 16, 1912 



ters. True they had their axe to grind 

 but for a while the grind was slow. 

 The seedsmen who have gained distinc- 

 tion and success with sweet peas have 

 been the men who loved the flower and 

 who had the desire to see the sweet 

 pea in the front ranli of popular 

 flowers. 



With the exception of but a few 

 houses such as C. C. Morse & Co., and 

 W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the seed trade 

 in America has done very little for the 

 sweet pea. But probably this tardy 

 awakening of enthusiasm amongst 

 seedsmen and with it the tardy 

 'awaliening to the business possibilities 

 connected with the sweet pea "craze," 

 will not prove to be time lost. As yet, 

 many of the sweet peas which were 

 novelties in England five years ago, 

 are unknown to the vast majority of 

 the amateur growers in America. If 

 all the seed-houses were to educate the 

 public as to what varieties to grow and 

 what a little attention will do, I feel 

 sure it would prove well worth while. 

 Spencers offered by growers at a low 

 figure really as a rule, turn out to be 

 mostly grandifloras. In England the 

 experience was that amateur growers 

 were willing to pay the price for the 

 true thing. If the sweet pea is to con- 

 tinue its growth of popularity in Amer- 

 ica, the amateurs must have true 

 stocks. 



From what Prof. Taubenhaus said 

 he finds the sweet pea very much sub- 

 ject to all kinds of insects and fungous 

 diseases. In my nine years experience 

 of growing sweet peas I can honestly 

 say that in the sweet pea I have seen 

 very little or no trouble from insects 

 or disease. That the diseases exist 

 I know, and that insects attack them 

 I know, but in a normal season and un- 

 der good cultivation one does not get 

 much trouble. In California this year, 

 all growers suffered severe losses 

 through the attack of green fly. But 

 most growers put it down to the bad 

 season, late rains, light rainfall, etc. 

 It was only because of the enormous 

 acreage that the aphis could not be 

 dealt with and had the trouble been 

 In an ordinary garden, it could easily 

 have been handled. 



It has been suggested to me that 

 sweet peas cannot be grown to as great 

 perfection in this country as in Great 

 Britain. I have seen sweet peas grown 

 in the East and in California and I was 

 greatly impressed with the possibilities 

 suggested by the results the growers 

 had. I have read reports from and 

 have had conversations with growers 

 in the Middle States and all are en- 

 thusiastic over their results. It is my 

 firm conviction that better sweet peas 

 can be grown in America than in Eng- 

 land. All that is necessary is to get 

 the enthusiasm up and then the am- 

 ateurs will put that little bit extra into 

 their growing methods. Already many 

 amateurs are doing this and I have met 

 many who want me to go right to 

 their homes to see the results. The 

 craze will spread so long as these re- 

 sults are seen. As President Sim has 

 said, "All it takes is a few enthusiasts 

 to start the thing going." 



The time is ripe for putting the flow- 

 er before the public. Let the American 

 trade, the American press and the 

 American amateurs and gardeners join 

 with the American Sweet Pea Society 

 to push the flower on to its rightful 

 place in the gardens of this country. 

 With all my heart I wish them success. 

 FRANK G. CUTHBERTSON. 

 California. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 

 Report of Entomologist. 



(Continued /rotn page bso) 



The Circular Scale. 



CUrysomphalus Aonidum (Linn). 



This is probably the most common 

 armoured scale found in greenhouses. 

 It is widely distributed; in semi-tropi- 

 cal regions it is a serious pest of out- 

 door plants. 



An adult female scale is compara- 

 tively large, circular, quite convex 

 with a nipple-like prominence in the 

 center, which is grayish and sur- 

 rounded by a reddish-brown ring. The 

 young scale differs from the armoured 

 scales in that it does not remain fixed 

 after it begins secreting its scale 

 covering. The life cycle of the insect 

 may be completed under greenhouse 

 conditions in from 60 to 70 days, 

 therefore, there may be about six gen- 

 erations during a year. This scale at- 

 tacks Palms, Cycads, Ficus, Oleander 

 and Citrus plants. It is controlled by 

 treatment with strong soapy solutions. 



Miscellaneous Scales. 



There are several other scale insects 

 that are commonly found on various 

 greenhouse plants such as Cyclamen 

 and Lantana Scale. Aspidiotus La- 

 taniae (Signi), which is often found on 

 Cyclamen, Lantana, Laurus, Palms and 

 Citrus trees. 



The Greedy Scale, Aspidiotus rapax 

 (Comst), Is sometimes found In green- 

 houses but seldom very troublesome. 

 The Chaff Scale, Parlatoria pergandii 

 (Comst), is also commonly found on 

 Citrus plants, grown under glass. 



Other scale insects such as the San 

 Jose, (Aspidiotus perniciosus) Oyster 

 Shell Scale, (Lcpidosaphee ulmi), the 

 Scurfy Scale, (Chionaspis furfura 

 Fitch), are of common occurrence on 

 various trees and plants that surround 

 a home. These latter armoured scale 

 are controlled with the lime-sulphur 

 remedy. 



Remedies for Scale Insects. 

 The length of this report already 

 prevents an extended discussion of the 

 remedies and precautionary measures 

 for the control of scale insects that 

 may trouble the florist. As a rule, 

 these pests may either be controlled 

 by fumigation or application of a con- 

 tact insecticide, in the form of a wash 

 or spray. Care must be exercised in 

 either case not to use a strength that 

 will injure the plant. 



F^imigation with Hydrocyanic Acid 

 Gas is a most useful and satisfactory 

 treatment for greenhouses that are In- 

 fested with Mealy Bugs, White Fly, 

 Thrips and various species of aphids. 

 Care must be taken in the strength of 

 the doses used depending on the char- 

 acter of plants growing. After ex- 

 tended tests, Mr. A. B. Gahan, in Bul- 

 letin No. 19, Maryland Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, reports the fol- 

 lowing table of potassium cyanide used 

 and length of exposure given to va- 

 rious plants without injury. Recent 

 tests with tomato and cucumber indi- 

 cate that a 50 per cent reduction in the 

 strength of cyanide would be as ef- 

 fective and safer against the White 

 Fly. 



It is best to fumigate with cyanide 

 at night. It usually requires a second 

 or third treatment with the above 

 strengths to kill all Mealy Bugs. 



Hydrocyanic-Acid Gas is made by 

 combining in a crocken jar. Potassium 

 Cyanide one ounce, sulfuric acid (com- 

 mercial) one fluid ounce, water three 

 fluid ounces. 



The house should be made as tight 

 as possible, and great care exercised 

 in handling these chemicals. For scale 

 insects other than Mealy Bugs, a 

 strong soap solution seems to be the 

 best general remedy. 



Whale oil soap used at the rate of 

 one pound to one gallon of water is 

 useful in treating all kinds of plants 

 usually grown in greenhouses, with 

 the exception of ferns. Ferns may be 

 treated with either Lemon Oil or Fir- 

 tree Oil, at the rate of one to forty 

 parts of water, which will usually con- 

 trol the Hemispherical Scale so com- 

 mon on this plant. 



These solutions can either be 

 sprayed thoroughly on the plants or 

 the plants may be dipped in the solu- 

 tion. A 10 per cent, kerosene emul- 

 sion can be used successfully againsi 

 some scale insects, such as Oyster 

 Shell Scale or Euonymous Scale In- 

 sects, when the eggs are hatching. 

 Oftentimes a free use of water applied 

 vigorously will wash off scale insects, 

 especially young ones. 



These insects as well as San Jose 

 and other outdoor scale insects are 

 usually best controlled by dormant 

 spraying with lime-sulphur solution. 



The matter of controlling these in- 

 sects is, therefore, simple if remedies 

 are applied at the right time. Flor- 

 ists should watch their houses and not 

 permit any pest to gain a headway. 



