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The Florists' Review 



JnLV 3, 1919/ 



the glass. About twelve inches of fresh 

 horse manure is used as a base; on this 

 is placed four inches of sand. The 

 frame is kept closed, the sashes not be- 

 ing raised for some eight or ten days. 

 Cuttings thus treated, grown from wood 

 prepared as above, root in about three 

 weeks. 



Winter Grafting. 



Winter grafting of roses is practiced 

 by rose growers on a large scale where 

 winter forcing varieties are demanded, 

 Manetti being used for this purpose. 

 The stocks are potted in 2V2-inch pots, 

 and when root action takes place they 

 are splice-grafted with scions from 

 green, or growing wood, and placed in 

 frames with bottom heat of tempera- 

 ture ranging from 70 to 75 degrees, in 

 closed cases, covering the same with 

 sash or glass. A close, moist atmosphere 

 is absolutely essential in order to have 

 them unite. Of supreme importance is 

 the introduction of air so as to keep 

 the roots from blacking. Of course this 

 method is only practical where glass 

 houses are available. 



Root-grafting on small pieces of roots 

 is a method employed by the nursery- 

 men at Orleans, France. They use hard 

 wood, and place the grafts under bell 

 glasses, shading them with a light wash 

 on the side of the bell next to the glass. 

 The grafts are planted twelve to twenty 

 under each bell, and then carefully 

 transplanted when united and m growth^ 

 The preparation and culture sf stoc^ 

 for budding purposes is similar to that 

 of the fruit stocks. v_^ 



The Best Stocks. 



A word as to the kind of stock: 

 Manetti has had the lead in this coun- 

 try, with only a moderate amount of 

 canina being used, while in Europe 

 canina is extensively used, almost to 

 the exclusion of other kinds of stock for 

 budding. 



Rosa multiflora, of Japan, seems to 

 have vitality, is a good producer of 

 roots, and is, I think, justly esteemed 

 as one of the most practical and satis- 

 factory stocks on which to bud roses. 

 A recent visit to two places where this 

 stock is being extensively used inclines 

 me to put it in first rank as a stock on 

 which to work roses. The old Gloire des 

 Rosamenes is being used quite exten- 

 sively in California witlw-gratifying re- 

 sults; in fact,-J have never seen a more 

 beautiful growt"h than Howard & Smith 

 had in their rose fields where this stock 

 was used. Own-root roses vs. budded is 

 an old controversy, and while I have 

 my own opinion as to their relative 

 merits, I am inclined to think that for 

 most localities the hybrid tea and tea 

 classes thrive best budded. In the 

 south and in favored localities perhaps 

 own-root roses are preferable. 



PIANTING STEVIAS. 



Would you please tell us if it would 

 be better to plant st'evias, which are to 

 be used as cut flowers and which are 

 now in 2-inch pots, in benches or to 

 keep them in pots? Also please tell us 

 for how long we should continue pinch- 

 ing these stevias. K. E. — 111. 



If you have the spare bench, with at 

 least four feet of head room from the 

 bench to the glass, then by all means 

 plant the stevias in the bench. Plant 

 now and continue pinching until Au- 

 gust 15, after which time see that the 



plants are properly supported. Do not 

 overfeed or -they will grow too rank. 

 There is one advantage in growing them 

 in pots rather than in benches, and that 

 is, should there not be enough demand 

 when the sprays are ready to cut, the 



bench-grown plants too liberally, or the 

 sprays will be long and flabby. 



M. P. 



CUTTING BACK DAHLIAS. 



We had a good deal of rain all 

 through May. Dahlias, both seedlings 

 and those grown from roots, have shut 

 up and shown buds. Will pinching off 

 these buds be advisable, or would cut- 

 ting them back to about six inches above 

 the ground ^ause a new growth to start 

 up and bloom in season f 



L. H. W.— Mo. 



Not seeing the plants or understand- 

 ing the conditions of soil, etc., where 

 they are growing, it is hard to advise 

 regarding the dahlias. As a rule, how- 

 ever, dahlias will not stand much cut- 

 ting back as late in the season as this 

 and produce a crop of flowers before 

 frost. If the shoots that are budding 

 are forward ones with others coming up 

 around them, then they could be cut 

 back, throwing the strength of the 

 plant to the later growths, but I am in- 

 clined to advise against any general 

 pinching off of buds or cutting back at 

 this time. M. P. 



Alphonse Pericat and bis Turtle. . 



plants can be moved to cooler quarters 

 and held back, but when pot-grown the 

 plants get hard more quickly and need 

 closer attention as regards watering, 

 feeding and keeping the sprays support- 

 ed. On the other hand, care must be 

 taken not to overfeed, or to water the 



PERICAT 'S PASTIME. 



The accompanying photograph shows 

 Alphonse Pericat, the famous orchid 

 specialist of Collingdale, Pa., in a mo- 

 ment of play. The photograph was 

 snapped on the twenty-second of June 

 in the year of our Lord one thousand 

 nine hundred and nineteen, at the farm 

 of Frank M. Ross, at Neshaminy, Bucks 

 county, Pa. Mr. Pericat has been fish- 

 ing in the Neshaminy. His happy ex- 

 pression is due to the hooking of a won- 

 derful turtle, weighing twenty-two 

 pounds avoirdupois. Mr. Pericat 

 brought the turtle safely to land and 

 with the help of his f riendf got it up on 

 the bank. The twenty-second of June 

 will go down in history as a great day 

 in the Pericat family. Phil. 



FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 



CUCUMBER WILT DISEASE. 



I should like to get some information 

 regarding a disease that has shown up 

 here in our cucumber houses. The plants 

 start an abnormally strong growth, the 

 Ueaves begin to wilt, stems swell from' 

 the trunk up, and finally the plants die. 

 I could send samples, but I believe you 

 can locate the trouble by this descrip- 

 tion, as no doubt others have had it. 

 We used Bordeaux mixture, but are in 

 doubt as to results. Last year was our 

 first experience with it, but after the 

 benches were sterilized in the fall it did 

 not appear. Any information as to 

 what it is or how to prevent it will be 

 greatly appreciated. C. W. S. — Cal. 



I think, from the description, that 

 you have a cucumber wilt disease, which 

 is common with greenhouse cucumber 

 growers in nearly all parts of the United 

 States. 



These diseases are contagious and are 



called mosaic wilt and bacterial wilt. 

 You undoubtedly have the bacterial 

 wilt. The bacteria are inside the stalk, 

 and spraying will do no good. The dis- 

 ease IS sometimes carried by seed from 

 other growers who have the disease. 



When once started it is hard to get rid 

 of, and is so contagious that insects 

 carry it from one plant to another. 

 Growers also carry it on their hands or 

 knives when working among the vines. 



The best way of exterminating it is 

 to pull up and burn all diseased plants 

 as fast as they show, and it is often nec- 

 essary to destroy a crop and clean up 

 the premises thoroughly, and plant the 

 greenhouses to another kind of crop, 

 such as lettuce or tomatoes, until the 

 disease is stamped or starved out en- 

 tirely. 



Save your own seed and from only per- 

 fectly healthy plants, from a house 

 which does not have any wilt disease in 

 it, and keep this seed away from the 

 premises entirely while^,^ drying. Some 



