THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



J05 



spores and germs of the rust and other 

 fungous diseases. 



Sulphide of potassium, known as 

 "liver of sulphur," is a good prevent- 

 ive and possibly a cure for mildew. I 

 have used it dissolved in water and 

 then mixed with clay till it was the 

 consistency of molasses, and on the 

 pipes put a dab of the paint here and 

 there, say every three feet. It is 

 stronger than the common sulphur. Or 

 the roses can be syringed with it; 1 

 Ib. in 50 gallons of water. 



Tobacco. 



What could we do in the absence of 

 this wonderful weed? As a luxury it 

 is possibly dispensable, and so are tea 

 and coffee, but as an insecticide it is 

 a great essential. Till we find some- 

 thing better it is the great cure-all 

 of many a florist's establishment. 

 Where fumigation is not possible or 

 permissible, as in conservatories at- 

 tached to dwelling houses, it is used 

 as dust or in the liquid form, but 

 "smoking," as the gardener calls it, 

 is the way it is universally applied; 

 most effective and cheapest. 



Most florists in or near a large town 

 get their stems from the cigarmaker 

 and pay for them with a plant occa- 

 sionally sent to Mrs. Havana Filler. 

 If you have to purchase the stems they 

 cost little. Every florist knows his 

 own way of fumigating. I for one don't 

 )elieve in placing it on the floor to 

 burn itself out. I prefer it in an iron 

 or galvanized iron vessel that can be 

 moved along. If you can't stand the 

 smoke, learn to; go to a New York 

 Florists' "smoker," and after that you 

 will survive not only tobacco smoke 

 nit the fumes of sulphur. Tobacco 

 stems get very dry in our sheds and 

 are apt to flare if not moistened. The 

 stems should be shaken out a few 

 hours before you intend to smoke and 

 sprinkled. They will then be moist, 

 without being wet. 



How thick or dense tobacco smoke 

 should be is a matter of experience. It 

 s experience that allows us to endure 

 it when it is so thick you can scarcely 

 see your hand before you, and would 

 quickly suffocate the tenderfoot. Light- 

 y and often is the motto always to 

 'ollow. This has been often preached 

 aefore, yet how true and wise it is. 

 Don't wait to see three generations of 

 green fly sucking the life blood out of 

 vour plants, but have a day to smoke 

 and remember that day, or rather 

 night, to keep it smoky. 



There are a few plants that are eas- 

 ily injured by tobacco smoke, and 

 plants having flowers with thin single 

 petals should not be exposed to fumi- 

 ation when in flower. Those plants 

 that are hurt by tobacco smoke will 

 be noted in their respective cultural 

 directions. 



I never noticed that it was any in- 

 jury to carnations except that it de- 

 stroyed their odor and left in its place 

 that of stale tobacco, which will last 

 on the flowers for twenty-four hours. 

 There is a difference of opinion about 

 .ts effect on roses that are producing 



buds. Some large growers say they 

 fumigate and see no harm, but the 

 majority of good rose growers keep 

 down the aphis by other methods, and 

 the writer sides with the latter. I have 

 on many occasions seen the petals of 

 our best tea roses, Brides and Brides- 

 maids, malformed and discolored from 

 no cause but tobacco smoke. 



Rose growers who use steam have 

 tin vessels which hold one or two bush- 

 els of tobacco stems.which are chopped 

 up as a hay cutter would cut them. 

 Into the bottom of this tin vessel 

 runs a half-inch steam pipe. You can 

 have as many of them as your house 

 requires. When the steam is turned 

 on a dense vapor fills the house, which 

 of course contains nicotine. This is 

 an effectual way of killing the fly, but 

 is objected to by some as producing a 

 soft growth on the roses, and vaporiz- 

 ing the extracts of tobacco is preferred 

 by many. 



Some growers profess to keep down 

 the aphis by strewing the stems on the 

 pipes and paths, or laying them be- 

 tween the plants in bunches. This will 

 keep down the aphis if you start per- 

 fectly clean and change the stems 

 every two weeks, but it will not kill 

 the fly if they once have a start. 



Although tobacco contains the nico- 

 tine which is so useful yet a deadly 

 poison, the stems when rotten are not 

 in the least injurious to the soil. I 

 have seen tons of decayed tobacco 

 stems plowed into the land which pro- 

 duced fine crops. 



Tobacco Extracts. 



The Rose Leaf extract is now largely 

 used and saves the florist the trouble 

 of making his own solution out of the 

 stems, and it is doubtless better. It 

 can be used diluted 75 times and will 

 rid plants of aphis, red spider and 

 thrip. Rose growers who heat with 

 hot water and can't vaporize as de- 

 scribed above can use this extract to 

 great advantage. In a 20 or 22-foot 

 house, at every thirty feet, you can 

 place a pie dish, say 12x6 inches and 6 

 inches deep. Dilute some extract in 

 ten parts of water and pour into the 

 dishes to the depth of one inch. Have 

 some old pieces of iron, 8x4 inches and 

 2 or 3 inches thick. We use pieces of 

 old railroad iron of the old style, cut 

 into 8 or 9-inch lengths. These are 

 made red hot in the^ fire and carried 

 with the help of a *coal scuttle and 

 tongs to the dishes on the walk, and 

 when one is dropped into the tobacco 

 extract there is directly a cloud of 

 vapor which is very effectual in kflling 

 the aphis, and of no possible harm to 

 the roses unless it be the softening of 

 the growth. 



The vaporizing of the extract by di- 

 luting it in ten parts of water and 

 placing in small tin troughs that are 

 made to lay on the upper pipe of a 

 steam coil is .a method used by many 

 growers and answers the purpose well. 

 The tins are replenished frequently 

 and while you have steam in the pipes 

 evaporation is continuous. It "is too 



NIKOTEEN 



MANU- 

 FACTURED 

 BY 

 THE 



A LIQUID 

 INSECTICIDE. 



J50 Pounds Tobacco in 

 One Pint. 



Used for Fumigating or 



Spraying Indoors 



and Out. 



Will not injure the most 

 Sensitive Blooms. 



Cost Four Cents for each 

 600 feet floor space. 



Used by the most suc- 

 cessful growers 

 everywhere. 



All Seedsmen Sell it. 



SK\BCIJRA DIP 

 COMPANY, 



CHICAGO and 

 ST. LOUIS. 



"NICOMITE" 



(PATENT) 



VAPOR INSECTICIDE. 



No labor required. 



Harmless to bloom and foliage. 



A certain killer of 



RED SPIDER, - GREEN PLY, 



and all other Insect Pests. 



SOLD BY SEEDSMEN. 



THE TOBACCO WAREHOUSING 

 AND TRADING COMPANY, 



LOUISVILLE, KY. 



slight to any more than just notice, 

 but so continuous that the aphis gets 

 no chance to thrive. 



The extract that is known as Niko- 

 teen answers every purpose of the 

 Rose Leaf extract. It is more expen- 

 sive by the gallon, but it has four 

 times the strength and must be diluted 

 four times as much. For syringing 

 for spider and thrip it should be di- 

 . luted with water at least 200 to 1. It 

 is cleaner and better to handle than 

 the Rose Leaf. 



Fir Tree Oil. 



This is an article largely used to 

 kill the brown and white scale. The 

 latter is much the worst to contend 

 with. To ten gallons of water add a 

 half pint of the oil. If the water is at 



