JANOAEY 18, 1917. 



The Florists' Review 



15 



and demanded the customary fee of 10 

 cents each. I cut the price then and 

 there, and bought them by the pint. 

 Since then I always specify "big, fat 

 toads," although the little ones are just 

 as ravenous as the big ones, and are on 

 the job twenty-four hours per day. 



E. E. Moss. 



MOLES AND METHODS. 



In The Eeview for December 28 I 

 read with considerable interest, not to 

 say amusement, the article on exter- 

 minating moles in benches. As one who 

 has waged a lifetime battle with these 

 small pests, I may be Accused if I offer 

 a word of incredulity as to the methods 

 suggested in the article. "Moles, scien- 

 tists state, and I do not think it has 

 ever been proved to the contrary, sub- 

 sist exclusively on animal food. Their 

 predilection for bran is a myth, and I 

 have yet to find anyone who can satis- 

 factorily prove that he has found the 

 corpse of a poisoned mole. 



The fact that tulip bulbs and other 

 bulbs and roots are eaten does not dis- 

 prove the mole's eating habits. The 

 mischief in these cases is caused by field 

 mice, which use the mole's runs as 

 thoroughfares for their provender, and 

 the poor old mole gets the blame. It is 

 possible and sometimes practicable to 

 drive moles from their haunts by putting 

 moth balls, kerosene or other strong- 

 smelling substances in their runs, but 

 this is not of real benefit to the com- 

 munity, as in these cases the other fel- 

 low gets your share of moles. A good 

 trap, used with considerable care, is, in 

 my opinion, the only system. Moles 

 have an extraordinary sense of smell, 

 and the traps should in all cases be 

 deodorized by rubbing them with earth, 

 with gloves on the hands, or the moles 

 will fill the trap with earth or push it out 

 of the ground by burrowing below. You 

 will find the "old-timers" wise to a trap 

 if once they discover its whereabouts. 



This business of covering the moles' 

 feet with lye is a new one to me, but I 

 "hae ma doots." I once knew a man 

 who claimed that he poisoned moles by 

 dropping live earthworms in the runs; 

 he said the worms had previously been 

 fed with arsenic or some other poison in 

 minute doses. It is a fact that moles, 

 some of them, anyhow, disappeared from 

 localities so treated. There were always 

 enough left for seed, future families, 

 and as this man tried out the poison he 

 used on himself, the process is hardly 

 to be recommended, although in his case 

 it may be presumed that moles did not 

 further trouble him. 



There is a mole exterminator on the 

 market here, a smoke-producing kind of 

 firework, which, placed in the runs, is 

 supposed to kill them. Being "from 

 Missouri," I tried a lot of these, and 

 the moles seemed to think they were 

 getting a Fourth of July celebration. 

 They came in crowds from adjacent 

 colonies and have been here ever since, 

 so that I have come to the conclusion 

 that they, like the poor, are ever with us. 



Thomas Wylie. 



Buffalo, N. Y.— W. H. Eiss, of tjie W. 

 ■t. Hasting Co., says they are much 

 pleased with the way the trade has re- 

 ceived the offer of C. F. Guenther's 

 sport of Maud Dean chrysanthemum, 

 named Hamburg Late White. Mr. Eiss 

 says Mr. Guenther already has orders 

 ror as much stock as he can deliver in 

 March. 



CAENATION OLD GOLD. 



Probably no carnation breeder any- 

 where in the world has given as much 

 attention to the development of vari- 

 eties yellow in color as has F. Dorner & 

 Sons Co., of La Fayette, Ind. In Europe 

 yellow^ carnations are in strong demand 

 and it is thought they will become popu- 

 lar here when a variety is evolved which 

 will possess the qualities necessary to 

 get the growers to plant it in quantity 

 so that there will be a steady supply. 



Old Gold is the latest Dorner yellow. 

 It is claimed by the originator to be 

 the best yellow thus far produced, cou- 

 pling good growing qualities with the 

 flowers of the character shown in the 

 accompanying illustration. 



will be needed after they are set in their 

 blooming position; otherwise their 

 blooming period will be too short to be 

 profitable. The same soil in which you 

 grow your carnation plants for benching 

 will be suitable for this purpose, but 

 the plants will be benefited by a liberal 

 mulch of stable manure after they have 

 begun to make a little headway. The 

 manure will help to hold the moisture 

 and give a little extra fertility, which 

 the plants will relish. They also will 

 appreciate liberal watering. 



A. F. J. B. 



OUTDOOE CAENATION CULTUEE. 



Would it be practical to grow carna- 

 tions outdoors for summer blooming? 

 If so, what size of plants should be put 

 out in the spring? What varieties would 

 be best and what kind of soil would be 

 required? J. B. A.— N. C. 



It is possible and practical to bloom 

 carnations outdoors during the summer, 

 providing proper preparatioifc are made 

 and suitable varieties are planted. Use 

 such varieties as give you the best re- 

 sults during early fall and late spring. 

 Any variety which does not do well dur- 

 ing warm weather should not be used. 

 Your experience with the several vari- 

 eties you grow indoors will guide you 

 in selecting those to be used. 



The plants should be started early 

 enough to be well branched before plant- 

 ing-out time, so that no more topping 



CAENATIONS NEED MOEE HEAT. 



Kindly inform me why my carnation 

 plants do not bloom as fast as they , 

 should, and how I should treat them 

 to get the desired results. My house is 

 35x100 feet, up-to-date in every respect, 

 and heated by a hot water system. My 

 plants were housed during the latter 

 part of July, in a compost consisting 

 of four parts of loam and one part of 

 cow manure. In November I noticed 

 that the plants were not flowering rap- 

 idly, so I gave them a top-dressing of 

 sheep manure. As that did not help the 

 plants, I was advised to give them a 

 dressing of cow manure. The manure 

 now has been in two weeks, but it does 

 not seem to have accelerated the flower 

 development. The varieties are En- 

 chantress, Enchantress Supreme, White 

 Enchantress, White Wonder and Harlo- 

 warden. From about 4,000 plants I can 

 cut only fifty blooms daily. I try to 

 keep the house temperature at 52 de- 

 grees, but toward morning it will drop 

 to 42 or 45 degrees. There are plenty 

 of buds on the plants and the stems have 



Carnation Old Gold. 



