i8gS. 



' ' • GARDENING. 



295 



NELUMBITJM SPECIOSUM IN FAIRMOUNT PARK. PHILADELPHIA. (SEE PAGE 293. 



bloom not later than February 1. A 

 temperature of 55° at night will suit 

 them. The red spider is the greatest 

 enemy of these plants; well directed heavy 

 syringing is the best remedy for this pest. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



There are at least two ways to make use 

 of sulphur in greenhouses. One is after 

 we get a bad dose of mildew, and the 

 other is before — as a preventive. I prefer 

 the latter method. I am reminded, also, 

 that there are different ways of applying 

 this useful fungicide. Whoever applies 

 sulphur for the first time invariably holds 

 the delivery pipe of the bellows close 

 down on the plants, with the result that 

 the material is applied in streaks, which 

 has a very careless look and is not so 

 effective as" if the operator held the nose 

 of the machine somewhat "tip-tilted" or 

 at a slight elevation, and in this way the 

 atmosphere in the house is more uniformly 

 filled and the flowers of sulphur more 

 evenly distributed over the plants. 



During the recent almost continuous 

 rainy weather our sulphur became damp 

 and "would not distribute with any degree 

 of satisfaction. C. A. Schmitt asked if air 

 slacked lime would do any injury if mixed 

 with the sulphur, the object being to 

 bring about a possible drying P rocess a nd 

 consequent better distribution; and think- 

 ng it would not do any inj ury we agreed 

 o the experiment. He proceeded to mix 



the lime and sulphur together in equal 

 proportions in bulk, when he found that 

 just as soon as the two substances came 

 in contact a very perceptible heat was 

 generated. It soon, however, passed 

 away, and on referring the matter to 

 Prof. YVm. Frear, of State College, Penn- 

 sylvania, he said: "I have never observed 

 any chemical action between air slacked 

 lime and flowers of sulphur. It is entirely 

 possible that the reaction you observed 

 and the brief heating was caused by the 

 moisture, which taken in the flowers of 

 sulphur in sufficient abundance to prevent 

 its being easily distributed by the bellows 

 was sufficient to further slack the caustic 

 lime. This would account for the heat- 

 ing of a brief duration. In that case, the 

 slacked lime would simply dilute the 

 sulphur and would not prevent its action. 

 I have carefully examined chemical litera- 

 ture and find no mention of any action of 

 finely divided sulphur upon ordinary dry, 

 air slacked lime without the intervention 

 of heat. 



The question is if it does no injury there 

 is a possibility that it maydosome good, 

 as lime in any form, as I understand its 

 qualifications, is a purifier; but whetherit 

 will aid or hinder the sulphur as a fungi- 

 cide, I do not know. Prof. Frear inti- 

 mates that the combination can do no 

 harm, and I believe if used as a preventive 

 the mixture would be more economical to 

 use, and it certainly aids in its more free 

 distribution by having the two combined; 



this applies only, of course, when both 

 separately and in combination they are 

 kept thoroughly dry. E. L. 



TWINE FOR GREENHOUSE USE. 



It will soon be time for tying chrysan- 

 themums and the question of twine, 

 although not a matter of very large 

 expense, is like all other small things 

 worth considering. 



For many years we used white cotton 

 twine for tying purposes whenever raflia 

 was not suitable but of late we have 

 used a one-ply jute t wine and for cheapness 

 and convenience find it the best. Its cost 

 is about 9 cents a pound and at a guess 

 we say one pound is equal in length to 

 ten balls of the white cotton. In fact it 

 is so cheap and convenient that we now 

 use but little raffia. When the plants are 

 tied to vertical strings instead of stakes 

 3 or4-plyjute twine will just fill the bill 

 and costs only 5 to 6 cents per pound. 



Another little point the neglect of which 

 causes loss of material and waste of time, 

 is starting to use the string from the 

 inside of the ball. The most natural way 

 to most workmen is to loosen the outside 

 end and let the ball roll in the path. This 

 results in tangles and snarls, especially 

 when the ball is nearly used up. If started 

 on the inside the ball will lie where it is 

 put and the string will pull out readily 

 until there is nothing but a thin layer of 

 string left. X. 



