December 18, 1919. 



The Rorists^ Review 



23 



and in the same proportions. With 

 either, great care should be taken in 

 handling it and the fumes should not be 

 inhaled. 



If your local druggists do not carry 

 either sodium or potassium cyanide, 

 they should at least be able to procure 

 the former from some wholesale house 

 in Chicago or St. Louis. Care should 

 be taken to obtain a grade that is nearly 

 chemically pure. L. E. T. 



BIOABD QEBANIUMS. 



We are sending you a sample plant 

 of Eicard geraniums, or such we believe 

 it to be. We have been shipping it with 

 the Eicard label for several years and 

 yesterday had a complaint that it was 

 not true to name. We are also sending 

 its flowers. They are all from 2-inch 

 stock and consequently small. 



V. V, G.— 0. 



If the geranium is not Alphonse Eic- 

 ard it closely resembles it, but the speci- 

 mens were so dried up when received 

 that it was almost impossible to tell 

 what variety it is. I would suggest 

 that V. V. G. buy a few Eicards from 

 a geranium specialist and compare them 

 with the stock he has on hand. 



The variety Decorator greatly re- 

 sembles Alphonse Eicard and is often 

 substituted for it. M. P. 



SCAU) ON GERANIUMS. 



I am sending you some leaves and 

 stems of ivy-leaved geraniums. Please 

 tell me what is the trouble with them 

 and what the remedy is. These have 

 been growing in the same house where 

 other geraniums and many other plants 

 are growing without any trouble. 



K. G.— Pa. 



The leaves and stems of the ivy-leaved 

 geraniums have every appearance of be- 

 ing affected with some kind of scald, 

 such as would come from the action of 

 the bright sun on the plants after a pe- 

 riod of dark days and excessive mois- 

 ture. Also, if the plants are standing on 

 coal ashes, the action of the sun on the 

 wet ashes will cause a gas to rise from 

 them, affecting the plants in the same 

 manner as were the specimens sent. I 

 have seen a similar trouble stop when 

 limestone screenings were used in place 

 of coal ashes for the plants to stand on. 



M. P. 



GBUBWOBMS AND GERANIUMS. 



Please tell me some way to kill grub- 

 worms in outdoor flower beds. Gera- 

 niums were planted in the beds and were 

 eaten off at the roots. Too much fresh 

 manure was mixed with the soil, but 

 this is the second year and the worms 

 were as bad this year as last. 



M. G. A.— Kan. 



About the only thing to advise for 

 these grubs at this season of the year 

 is to work up the beds well, if you can, 

 and allow them to remain open all win- 

 ter, then when spring comes, give an- 

 other working up, paying close atten- 

 tion to catch any grubs or May beetles 

 that are found when turning over the 

 soil. If the beds are surrounded with 

 sod, that is the place where a great many 

 of the grubs will be found. Sometimes 

 it becomes necessary to remove the sod 

 directly around the beds and replace 



with fresh sod before the grubs can be 

 got rid of. 



It will not do any harm to give the 

 beds a dressing of fresh lime before 

 working them up. If it can be done, it 

 would be well to change the planting 

 to some other plants than geraniums for 

 a season or two. M. P. 



OBTAINING CYANIDE. 



Where can we obtain cyanide at a 

 reasonable price for fumigating pur- 

 poses? S. & W.— Mo. 



Potassium cyanide has been difficult 

 to obtain during the last three years, 

 but sodium cyanide answers the same 

 purpose and is generally available. It 

 is used the same as potassium cyanide 



THOMASVILLE, GA. 



Mrs. W. A. Wells has erected a green- 

 house on Smith avenue. She has recent- 

 ly joined the F. T. D. Association. 



P. J. Hjort, who has for twenty-one 

 years conducted the Thomasville Nurs- 

 eries, has taken into partnership his 

 son, S. C. Hjort. They are preparing to 

 do an increased retail business. 



George and Jack Willis have erected 

 two greenhouses two miles east of 

 Thomasville and will grow flowers, veg- 

 etables and nursery stock. The new 

 firm will be known as the Cottage Gar- 

 dens. 



The nurseries of B. W. Stone and the 

 Southern Nut Tree Nurseries, both 

 growers of papershell pecan trees ex- 

 clusively, report unusually heavy sales; 

 already many sizes and varieties are 

 sold closely. S. C. H. 



FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 



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POLLINATING TOMATOES. 



We should like to know if there is an 

 artificial way to carry pollen on toma- 

 toes under glass. In other words, how 

 can we make them set? B. B. — Mich. 



From November until March toma- 

 toes set better if given some artificial 

 pollination. This is accomplished when 

 only a small number of plants are grown 

 by using a camel 's-hair brush, rabbit's 

 tail or piece of cotton wool tied on the 

 end of a stick and lightly brushing it 

 over the open flowers. The pollen masses 

 will be carried in this way from flower 

 to flower. Where quantities of plants 

 are grown, if the plants are shaken well 

 about noon (on clear days, if possible), 

 pollen will be scattered and fulfill the 

 same purpose. Tomatoes need a dry 

 atmosphere and will not set well un- 

 less a minimum of 60 degrees can be 

 maintained in winter. C. W. 



there is little danger of burning the 

 tips of the foliage. The formula for 

 this gas has been frequently given in 

 The Eeview and I would recommend 

 you to try it. A second application may 

 be necessary if you find any worms alive 

 a few days after the first one. Hydro- 

 cyanic acid gas is deadly and must be 

 used with the greatest care. C. W. 



WORMS ON LETTUCE. 



I am sending a small box containing 

 worms which I find on my lettuces in 

 the greenhouses. They have eaten all 

 the plants on one bed and are also on 

 the other beds. Can you tell me what 

 to use to get rid of them? I always 

 find them on the under side of the 

 plants. I have tried tobacco smoke, 

 tobacco juice, weak formaldehyde, etc., 

 without results. N. F. C— O. 



SCORCHED LETTUCE. 



I am sending you under separate cover 

 two lettuce plants. The leaves of more 

 than half of my plants have turned 

 brown, as in the case of the samples. 

 I started to paint my hot water pipes 

 with a tar paint recommended by a 

 paint manufacturer, but then I noticed 

 in The Eeview that tar paint should 

 not be used and consequently stopped 

 after about fifty feet of pipe had been 

 covered. Every time I fire up, the paint 

 can be smelled. Could that be the cause 

 of the trouble and, if so, how can it be 

 remedied? S. H.— O. 



The worms were pretty well dried up 

 when received and I could not identify 

 them. The only remedy which would be 

 likely to completely clean out these 

 pests would be hydrocyanic acid gas. 

 When carefully used in cool weather 



The foliage shows every appearance 

 of having been scorched and there is 

 little doubt that the paint you used is 

 responsible. The best thing to do is to 

 secure some paint remover and clean off 

 the cause of the injury as promptly as 

 possible. As a preservative for your 

 pipes, I would suggest coating them 

 with lampblack and linseed oil, heating 

 the pipes well in order to dry it before 

 planting your crops. Lampblack will 

 scorch fronds on adiantums and some 

 other plants when houses arc closed up 

 tightly, but not where ventilation is 

 provided for a few days after the lamp- 

 black has been applied. C. W. 



