20 



The Florists^ Review 



August 14, 191B. 



pleted, and the roots in a dormant state, into small divisions of one or two eyes, 



Planted then, the new feeding roots soon 

 begin to form, and strong roots almost 

 invariably bloom the following June. No- 

 vember and December planting is per- 

 fectly safe, but bloom must not be ex- 

 pected the first year, and early spring is 

 as good a time to plant as late fall. If 

 one cannot plant in September or Octo- 

 ber, it becomes merely a matter of con- 

 venience whether to plant in fall or 

 spring. 



Peony Free from I>i8ease. 



The peony has always been considered 

 singularly free from diseases or insect 

 pests. There are two troubles, how- 

 ever, which within the last few years 

 have given rise to a great deal of dis- 

 cussion, most of which I beliete has 

 been misleading, and since scientists 

 at a number of experiment stations 

 where investigations have been under- 

 taken do not fully agree upon the na- 

 ture or the cause of the trouble, and do 

 not suggest a remedy, I will simply state 

 my own experiences and conclusions, 

 which I feel sure will tend to allay any 

 needless apprehension. 



In certain seasons under favorable 

 eonditions peonies are subject to fun- 

 gous attacks manifested, first, by black 

 spots on the leaves; second, by a blight- 

 ing of the buds when half opened, or 

 the decaying of the half-opened buds at 

 the base of the petals, deforming the 

 flower; third, the extension of the fun- 

 gous growth down the stem, sometimes 

 its entire length, causing what is com- 

 monly called stem-rot, which in severe 

 eases extends down into the roots. 

 Sometimes the stem is first affected, 

 e&using it to damp off and wilt. 



The conditions favorable to the 

 spread of fungus seem to be moist, hu- 

 mid weather, with frequent showers, 

 followed by hot sunshine. It may be 

 quite severe one season and disappear 

 entirely the following season, and un- 

 less the roots themselves are affected, 

 there seems to be no permanent injury, 

 and it is only in a few sections where 

 serious harm has been done, and where 

 I believe the same soil condition and 

 overfeeding, which I have previously 

 explained, have something to do with it. 

 Spraying with Bordeaux mixture as a 

 preventive has been recommended. 

 Where roots are badly affected it is 

 best to replant them in perfectly fresh, 

 sweet soil, free from manure, cutting 

 away all affected parts. 



Cause of Olub Boot. 



The other trouble is variously known 

 as "nematodes, or eelworms," "club 

 roots," "Lemoine disease," etc. There 

 has been much discussion and differ- 

 ence of opinion regarding these so-called 

 diseased roots. I believe it to be more 

 a condition than a disease; a condition 

 brought on usually, as previously stated, 

 by the excessive use of manure when 

 the roots are newly planted and before 

 they can properly assimilate the over- 

 dose. It is manifested by distorted, un- 

 developed roots, covered with lumpy 

 knots and nodules. An unusual number 

 of eyes are formed, sending up many 

 stems of weak growth, which do not ma- 

 ture flower buds. This condition can 

 also be produced by too deep planting, 

 by the use of large divisions of old worn- 

 out roots, by planting in a sour, pasty 

 soil, or by anything which seems to 

 check a healthy action of the roots. 



My remedy is tfi cut the infected roots 



shorten the root's to two or three inches, 

 and replant in perfectly fresh soil with- 

 out any manure. This forces an en- 

 tirely new system of root growth, and, 

 so treated, the trouble usually disap- 

 pears in a year or two. Some varieties 

 appear to be more susceptible than 

 others, and occasionally the trouble per- 

 sists for a number of years. If these 

 happen to be cheap kinds, it is usually 

 better to discard them and start new 

 with clean roots; with expensive varie- 

 ties, however, it pays to have a little 

 patience with them. 



European Novelties Affected. 



Practically all the novelties from 

 Europe that have come to us from old 

 gardens are affected when we first get 

 them, and if we were to reject them on 

 this account, we would have to forego 

 such wonderful varieties as Le Cygne, 

 La France, Mont Blanc, etc. — in fact, 

 nearly all the fine new French varieties, 

 all more or less affected when first re- 

 ceived, but soon outgrowing this trouble 

 when planted in new ground here. 



Bemember, you can take the smooth- 

 est, healthiest roots from one place, 

 plant them in a sour soil oversaturated 



with fresh manure, and get the most 

 beautiful specimen of club root the fol- 

 lowing year. Fortunately, it is not con- 

 tagious, as many^ave claimed, for you 

 can plant affected roots in good soil side 

 by side with healthy ones, and I have 

 never known a single case where the 

 healthy roots were affected by them, 

 which convinces me l!bat the sick plants 

 are simply suffering from a cause sim- 

 ilar to what we would describe as an 

 inactive liver or a bad case of bilious- 

 ness in our own systems. 



To sum up, fungous attacks are local, 

 due to weather conditions, and only oc- 

 casionally seriously destructive. Club 

 roots are due to overfeeding, improper 

 soil or planting, and are not contagious. 

 Cut off and burn dead foliage in the fall 

 and use hardwood ashes or lime as a fer- 

 tilizer for acid soil, applying manure 

 as a top-dressing only until plants are 

 in active growth. 



BBIEF AKSWEBS. 



F. A. M., Sask. — There are courses in 

 flower arrangement at the University 

 of Illinois, Champaign; Cornell Uni- 

 versity, Ithaca, N. Y., and the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural College, Amherst. 



M MyagiMMiMiiyji^yMiLai^ 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS 



A. W. Johnston, of Syracuse, N. Y., 

 is making a fine showing of gladioli in 

 the windows of the old Quinlan Flower 

 Shop and maintains the fine reputation 

 already established. Funeral work has 

 been good of late. 



W. E. Day Co., of Syracuse, N. Y., re- 

 ports the usual summer dullness broken 

 now and then by a good-sized wedding 

 or funeral order. They look for an 

 even better business when the entertain- 

 ing season opens, judging from their 

 experience in the past. 



W. A. Bowlands, of Utica, N. Y., is 

 enjoying a short vacation at Long lake. 

 He hopes to attend the S. A. F. conven- 

 tion, realizing the importance of keep- 

 ing in touch with the craft. Carnations 

 are his long suit, but the plants are short 

 just now, both in numbers and growth. 



David J. Scott, of Corfu, N. Y., ob- 

 served that he can understand why the 

 patriarch of old times complained as he 

 sat under the juniper tree, for he has 

 been similarly afflicted. However, he is 

 now able to be around as usual to give 

 his attention to chrysanthemums and 

 sweet peas. 



Frank J. Baker and son, of Utica, 

 N. Y., were last heard from at Boston, 

 whither they had gone in search of plant 

 stock. "We never had a harder time," 

 observed Mrs. Baker, who is in charge 

 of the store, "to obtain the necessary 

 supply for our present needs. But, as 

 to the fixture, who can foretell! It is 

 certain that there will be a scarcity of 

 lilies, yet we hardly felt the shortage 

 last Easter, when we had exceedingly 

 few. We are educating our trade to do 

 without them. What seems to be need- 

 ed now are plant specialties to meet the 

 increasing demand for blooming plants 

 and fill the void made by the quarantine 

 act. ' ' The Baker place looks spick-and- 

 span in its new coat of paint and busi- 

 ness is reported as good. 



William P. Pfeifer, of Utica, N. Y., 

 observed that "owing to a pleasant 

 family event" he will be unable to at- 

 tend the convention at Detroit. 



B. H. Bard Floral Co., of Syracuse, 

 N. Y., has had an exceptionally good 

 season. Bobert Bard is rusticating at 

 Grass lake amid his fine assortment of 

 perennials. 



George B. Hart, of Bochester, N. Y., 

 as chairman of a committee appointed 

 to investigate the rise in the price of 

 milk, observed, "There has been a big 

 stirring up — a real milk shake." 



As evidence of the scarcity of good 

 stock, Colin Ogston, of the Kimball Con- 

 servatories, Bochester, N. Y., asserts 

 that when it was decided to operate 

 the whole range next winter, he scoured 

 the country for plants to fill the houses, 

 prices no object. As he failed to secure 

 a supply, most of the houses will be 

 sown with sweet peas and the like. 

 Among the valuable collection of orchids 

 is a lone cattleya in bloom. It is C. 

 Edwardii and a gem. The bloom is of 

 a lavender tint, with throat and lip a 

 splashed scarlet. 



Walter Stroh, of L. C. Stroh & Sons, 

 Batavia, N. Y., while working on fu- 

 neral designs observed, "Quality, not 

 quantity, is now the desideratum. 

 Practically every flower that forms a 

 part of the whole should be made to 

 show to advantage." Variety was also 

 demonstrated. Even though the assort- 

 ment of flowers is limited, the various 

 pieces were arranged so that no two 

 were' alike. A handsome wreath com- 

 posed of magnolia leaves. Gladiolus 

 Halley and Adiantum Croweanum 

 showed up as distinctively as the choic- 

 est cattleyas. "It's all in the mak- 

 ing," continued Mr. Stroh. "We wire 

 the roses, carnations and the like f«r 

 the reason that every bloom can be 

 shown to advantage." 



