22 



-ZiX 



The Florists' Review 



OCTOBKU 11, 1917. 



LEAF MINER ON MUMS. 



I am enclosing some chrysanthoniuni 

 leaves that are affected by a worm 

 trouble, witli the idea of having you 

 suj»j)ly me with a remedy. There are a 

 number of leaves in this condition, but 

 otherwise tlie jdants are in good form. 



W. A. R.— Ind. 



The chrysanthemum leaves submitted 

 were affected by one of the leaf miners. 

 One kind is bad on celery and many 

 weeds are subject to this same pest. It 

 is quite possible that your jjlants got 

 this trouble, in the first place, from, some 

 of the weeds in the neighborhood, which 

 served as "host" jdants until the mums 

 were growing. It is extremely difficult 

 to stamp out this pest. Any application 

 strong enough to penetrate the tissue 

 of the leaf and kill the worm Will also 

 kill the foliage. If the affected leaves 

 are removed, as many as ])ossible, with- 

 out injuring the remainder between the 

 roots and tops, and the worms in these 

 leaves are squeezed between the thumb 

 and finger, thereby killing them, that is 

 all one can do at this time. 



The best way to permanently get rid 

 of the pest is to propagate next year 

 with entirely new plants, which have 

 been grown outdoors all summer and 

 have received a slight freezing. In this 

 way any diseases or j)ests that are on 

 the plants will die. The slight frost 

 will not damage the plants, which can 

 then be brought into the greenhouses 

 and propagated from. 



Chas. H. Tottv. 



FROST FOR MEALY BUG ON MUMS. 



I am sending you samples of some 

 bugs that are troubling my mum plants. 

 These insects seem to be similar to 

 the kind that attack coleus plants, 

 but they have survived applications of 

 Bordeaux mixture and a nicotine ex- 

 tract. How sliall I exterminate the 

 bugs? 



Another thing tliat worries my mum 

 plants is a green worm that eats the 

 stem of the jilants at the toj», like a 

 cutworm. My mums were doing well. 

 I used good, j)lain soil and added ground 

 bone, lime and commercial fertilizer 

 before i)lanting. Do 1 need to do any 

 feeding later to get best results? If so, 

 what shall I use, and liow shall I use it? 



I am growing Boniiaffon, C'hieftain, 

 White (!hieftain, Seidewitz, October 

 Frost, Odessa and Marigold mums. 

 Marigold is ex('ei)tionally strong, and 

 I tliiiik could liave had three IJowers 

 ])er ])]ant. Wliicli is the best bud to 

 take, the first that shows (center bud), 

 or one of the side buds? K. R. — Pa. 



The bugs so far have not arrived, al- 

 thougli from the descrij)tion it would 

 seem to be the mealy bug that is giving 

 trouble. If so, it is a serious pest, al- 

 though from now on, with the houses 

 being run cool, no kind of bug should 

 make much headway. Mealy bug can 

 be eradicated with any nicotine extract, 

 but it is necessary to use it so strong 



Ihat it will either destroy the blooms 

 or the foliage. As no one wants this 

 to happen at this time, I would not 

 recommend it. Tlie simplest way to 

 get rid of mealy bug from mum plants is 

 to subject them to a slight frost. This 

 kills the bug and does not bother the 

 ])lants to any extent. 



About the only lemedy for green 

 worm is liand-picking. The niglit fire- 

 man with a lantern can do a great deal 

 in this respect. 



Regarding the application of ferti- 

 lizer, the work that has been done to 

 date seems correct enough. If E. B. 

 has time and really wants to grow 

 flowers superior to those of his neigh- 

 bor, liquid fertilizer made from cow or 



sheep manure can be used until the 

 buds show color. 



As to which are the best buds to 

 take: Take the first bud that shows 

 now; always take the center bud. It 

 is one of the vagaries of our Englisli 

 language to say "take the bud," when 

 what we really mean is retain it. But 

 K. B. will understand if he has been 

 growing mums long. Retain the center 

 bud and pinch out the side buds to 

 throw all the strength into the center 

 bud. Charles H. Tottv. 



INSECTICIDE TOO STRONG. 



Can you tell me what is the cause of 

 mum leaves turning yellow at tlie 

 edges? A. McA.— 111. 



The cause of the foliage turning yel- 

 low, as on the mum leaves presented, is 

 fumigating or spraying with nicotine 

 extracts that are too strong. We ha\ c 

 found the best insecticide to use on 

 mums growing in the benches is tlie 

 "Fumigating Kind" of tobacco dust. 

 This does not seem to harm the foliage 

 and is quite efficient in destroying tlv. 



Chas. H. Tottv.' 



ODCN LCTm^^A- PEADED6 



PACKING METHODS. 



In The Review for September 20 we 

 read an article by C. E. Braun relative 

 to the packing and shipping of plants, 

 particularly carnation field plants, in 

 which the writer complains of the pack- 

 ing done by some shippers. 



Of course, there is a certain risk 

 attached to long-distance shipments of 

 ])lants, but this risk may he reduced to 

 a minimum, ])rovided precautions are 

 taken to see that all plants are properly 

 packed. The best method is none too 

 good, especially in these days of over- 

 worked exj)ress companies and delays of 

 shipments. 



We have shippe<l carnation jdants 

 from Pennsylvania to every state east 

 of the Mississi])])i river, and to several 

 states west. We have shipped stock 

 from tlie western ])art of Pennsylvania 

 to Pliiladelphia and then on a six <(ays' 

 journey by boat. Complaints are few 

 and far between, so our method of ]>ack- 

 ing may be of interest to shippers. 



Medium-sized boxes of some light 

 wood like wliite i)ine should be used. 

 The ends of the boxes should be raised 

 to a height of eighteen indies from 

 the bottom of the box liy two uprights 

 of '^>xlMncli material, with a cross- 

 ]»iece 1x3 inches, to which the lid is to 

 i)e nailed. This makes the lid about 

 six inches above the sides of the box, 

 and allows free circulation of air above 

 the jdants. About one inch of wet moss 

 should be placed in the l)ottom of ))ox, 

 and the plants carefully placed upright 

 on tlie moss, packed fairly tight to pre- 

 vent shifting around and breakage. A 

 light sprinkling should be given the 

 plants to prevent drying out, and then 

 the lid should be nailed on securely. 

 The consignee's name should ])e written 

 on the top of each box, and a shi]>ping 

 tag should be nailed on the end of each 

 box. 



It is wrong to use a box of 1-iiicli 

 hardwood boards, which weighs more 

 empty than the box ought to weigh 

 packed. Do not use boxes that liave 

 stood in the rain and liave become 

 water-soaked; and never leave nails 

 sticking out of the box to tear the ex- 

 l)ressman's hands. The shipper won't 

 be there, so the expressman may take 

 his spite out on the box of plants. Do 

 not send a shipment to arrive on Satiir 

 day or Sunday unless ordered to do so. 

 Attention to all the little details means 

 the safe arrival of the plants, a ]deased 

 customer and good will, upon wiiich 

 ])ermanent business is founded. 



Washington Floral ('". 



KNOXVILLE, TENN. 



The demand for fiowers during the 

 last few weeks has been steady and all 

 good stock has been cleaned up every 

 day. Carnations are still small and 

 scarce, but are improving as the weather 

 gets cooler. Roses are extra good for 

 this time of the year, but the sujiply is 

 hardly (Mpial to the demand. Chrysaii 

 themums liave made their appearance in 

 Ihe following varieties: Golden (Jlow, 

 T'naka and October Frost, and sell fairly 

 well. Cattleyas are fine and there is a 

 surplus. Dahlias continue to come in 

 large quantities and were never Ix'ttei 

 than this year. These can be bought on 

 the City Market at r> and 10 cents per 

 dozen. The florists have been buying 

 them in order to keep the price up. 



A wedding of interest to their many 

 friends was tliat of Miss Margaret 

 Louise Todd and John A. McMillan Sep- 

 tember 19. Miss Todd had been sales- 

 lady at Bauni 's for the last four or five 

 years, during which time she made many 

 frien<ls and customers. She was a loyal 

 and enthusiastic member of the Flo- 

 rists' Societv. R. E. M. 



