rSgS 



• GARDENING. 



1 S 



Japanese lilies are seldom grown in Hol- 

 land; the Dutch dealers find it cheaper to 

 import them from Japan. 



The bulbs are lifted by hand, as spades 

 or forks might injure them. Theyarecare- 

 fullv laid in baskets and conveyed by 

 boat to the warehouses, where they are 

 carefully dried and counted out into bags. 

 When needed for shipment, buckwheat 

 chaff is put in to prevent bruising. The 

 value of bulbs exported annually from 

 Holland aggregates three million dollars, 

 the United States taking about $300, 1 H l( I 

 worth. 



On the southerh- side of the Lake of 

 Haarlem are the nurseries of Boskoop. 

 We see in these nurseries many plants 

 which are not hardy enough to survive 

 our winters, for many of which there is a 

 large demand from England. 



Entomological. 



NOTE ON THE STRAWBERRY ROOT LOUSE. 



The strawberry root louse (Aphis for- 

 bes!) is scattered over portions of the 

 middle Atlantic states, and through a 

 number of the central states. The distri- 

 bution of the species cannot be definitely 

 determined at the present time, as the 

 insect has been generally overlooked by 

 economic entomologists. Its presence 

 has also escaped the notice of many 

 strawberry growers who have suffered 

 worst from its devastations. The com- 

 plaint is not infrequently heard that cer- 

 tain fields from an unknown cause will 

 not produce a crop, that the stand of 

 plants is poor and that the area has a 

 spotted appearance. Whenever a case of 

 this kind is reported the suspicion is at 

 once aroused that the strawberry root 

 louse is present and is responsible for the 

 trouble. The little green aphides suck 

 the juices from the roots of the plant, 

 which wilts and dies. The attacks may 

 be confined to a number of areas in the 

 field from which the aphides radiate, or 

 they may be scattered generally through- 

 out the patch. 



Its presence can always be detected by 

 the numerous ant hills, a little yellowish 

 white ant attending the species. It is 

 probable that the ants play an important 

 part in distributing the aphides. No 

 winged form of the species has been ob- 

 served, so the infestations are brought in 



on new plants, or the aphis may have 

 been in the ground, if old berry plants 

 recently occupied it. The aphis may also 

 spread from adjacent infested beds to the 

 newly set fields by the ants or by slow 

 distribution themselves. They appear in 

 the first warm days of spring, hatching 

 from the jet-black shining eggs that are 

 found scattered in the crown and on the 

 leaves cf the plant. At first they multi- 

 ply slowly on account of the cool weather, 

 but during the summer their reproductive 

 powers are extremely active. Late in the 

 fall the eggs are laid, though the males 

 have not been observed. Many of the 

 females probably winter over beneath the 

 ground in the warmerlatitudes. Whether 

 the aphis feeds on other plants is not 3 r et 

 known. It is thought by Mr. Pergande, 

 of the Division of Entomology, at Wash- 

 ington possibly to be a form of Aphis 

 gossypi, the melon louse, which includes 

 an extensive list of plants in its menu. 



Just how to treat the aphis best is not 

 well known. The surest treatment is to 

 get clean plants and to be sure the land 

 in which they are put is clean. They 

 flourish well in kainit when applied at 

 the rate of 1,000 pounds, per acre, and in 

 muriate of potash at 500pounds per acre. 

 If they should be discovered in spring 

 when hatching out, a dose of kerosene 

 emulsion would kill many of them, and a 

 small handful of tobacco dust around each 

 plant has driven them completely out in 

 some cases, while in others it has failed; 

 but the failuie may have been due to poor 

 tobacco. If the aphis is in the nursery 

 the means of clearing the plants at ship- 

 ping time are not well known. As far 

 south as Delaware the insects are mostly 

 hatched and can be seen on the plants in 

 the bundles, but a few of the eggs may 

 still be unhatched and serve to earn- the 

 pest into new fields. The living aphides 

 can be killed by dipping the plants in 

 strong tobacco water, but this treatment 

 has not proven sufficient to kill the un- 

 hatched eggs. It is possible that the 

 hydrocyanic acid gas treatment would 

 kill the embryo aphis in the egg and this 

 point will be investigated the following 

 spring. The writer would like to hear 

 from any reader of Gardening who has 

 had trouble with this pest, so that its 

 distribution may be worked out as soor 

 as possible. G. Harold Powell. 



Experiment Station, Newark, Del. 



Publications. 



-^4W. ML. » - 



3* 'v. **,-m*>j2L ** 



LIFTING BULBS LN HOLLAND. 



BOOKS AND BULLETINS. 



Indoor Culture of Lettuce. — By J. 

 C. Arthur. — Purdue University Experi- 

 ment Station, Lafayette, Ind., 1897. — 

 This is a condensed account of some ex- 

 periments in lettuce culture in which the 

 following were the prominent features: 

 Some uses of commercial fertilizers, thick 

 and thin planting, use of pots plunged in 

 the beds and a method of sub-watering. 

 The thicker setting, it appears, gave the 

 heavieryield, and the results of sub-water- 

 ing were satisfactory beyond the most 

 sanguine expectations. 



The Black Rot of the Cabbage. — 

 By Erwin F. Smith. — Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D. C, 1898 — 

 The present methods of growing cab- 

 bages, it is held by the author, are respon- 

 sible for the introduction and spread of 

 this disease, which is known to growers 

 in various parts of the country under 

 several different names, the commonest of 

 which are "stem rot" and "black rot." 

 The serious character of the trouble is 

 shown in the statement that at Racine, 

 Wis , the damage from the black rot dur- 

 ing the past three vears probably exceeds 

 $100,000. So far" no way is known of 

 curing the disease or of entirely ridding 

 a locality of it when once well estab- 

 lished. Mr. Smith maintains that pre- 

 vention is the only safe course to pursue, 

 and the bulletin includes a number of 

 rules which may be followed with advan- 

 tage. 



Lessons with Plants. — By Prof L. H. 

 Bailey — The Macmillan Company, New 

 York, 1898.— It used to be said that doc- 

 tors differ. While that may be the rule, 

 we find a notable exception in the intro- 

 duction to this work. Prof. Bailey says: 

 "It is a common method to begin the 

 stud3' of plants by means of formal ideals 

 — or definitions, — but the author believes 

 that the proper way to begin it is by 

 means oi plants." Sir Joseph Hooker 

 gave expression to the same idea many 

 years ago when in his useful primer 

 he stated that "the study of botany is 

 best commenced by the careful observa- 

 tions of the different parts of living 

 plants." This is a truth which we believe 

 has been long recognized, but the chief 

 difficulty in the way of its application 

 may be traced to the scarcity of natural 

 specimens during the common school 

 year. While we cannot undertake to say 

 that the average beginner in botanical 

 studies will make much progress without 

 the aid of a careful teacher, the more 

 intelligent should certainly find "Lessons 

 with Plants" a helpful work forconsulta- 

 tion in vacation time, and to a large 

 extent the excellent illustrations will sup- 

 ply the place of natural material and 

 models in the schoolroom. The book has 

 a good appearance, and it is well printed. 

 It seems, however, to be too big, too im- 

 posing to place in the hands of a begin- 

 ner, and a trifle clumsy for other than 

 schoolroom use. Botany is one of those 

 things that should be given in small 

 doses at first. The author indeed makes 

 this assertion when he says: "It is a 

 common mistake, in instructing beginners, 

 to teach them too much at one exercise." 

 When we consider that he has given us a 

 book of close upon 500 pages for begin- 

 ners, it can hardly be claimed that he has 

 followed his own good advice. 



