December 30, 1920 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



SELECTION OF BEST PEAS. 



The floral committee of the National 

 bweet Pea Society of Great Britain 

 gives the following varieties as an up-to- 

 ilate selection. The asterisk indicates 

 fhe variety which the floral committee • 

 considers the best in the color class. Two 

 nsterisks indicate a variety of special 

 value for cultivation under glass. 



Bicolor (light). — 'Dora, Mrs. Cuthbertson and 

 Sparkler. 



Hicolor (dark). — 'Adelaide and Harks Tey. 



Blue (light). — Margaret Fife, *Mr8. Tom Jones 

 ;iiui Princess Mary. 



Hlue (dark). — •Commander Oodsalt, Jack Corn- 

 well, V. C, and Lord Nelson Spencer. 



lUusb (pink). — Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes and 

 ••Valentine. 



Klush (lilac). — ^Agricola and *Blegance. 



Carmine. — •John Ingmao. 



Cerise (pale). — ••Doris, Hope and Mrs. G. W. 

 Kishop. V 



Cerise (deep). — Brilliant<- Fiery Cross and 

 •itoyal Salute. 



Cerise (scarlet). — Alex M&Icolm and ••Royal 

 Scot. o 



Cream, buff and lTor3}.^Cream (Dobble's), 

 ••Felton'B Cream and iTormfi. 



Cream pink (pale). — 'ibK A. Hitchcock and 

 Giant Attraction. 



Cream pink (deep). — Edith Cavell, Market 

 Pink and ••Picture. 



Crimson. — •Charity and Sunproof Crimson. 



Fancy. — Prince George and ••Magic. 



Flushed. ^ — Mrs. J. Balmer (rose on cream 

 frround), *Mr8. J. T. Wakefield and Seiina (deep 

 ro!<e on cream ground). 



Lavender. — Austin Frederick, Gladys and ••B. 

 F. Felton. 



Ijirender (pale). — ••Victory (Bolton's), Lav- 

 ender (King's) and Lavender (Unwin's). 



Lilac. — Dorothy, Italia and ••Mascott's Hello. 



Marbled and watered. — 'Birdbrook, Helen 

 Pierce Spencer and May Campbell. 



Maroon (red). — Hawlmark Maroon, Maroon 

 (Dobble's) and •Splendor. 



Maroon (dark). — King Manoel and •Warrior. 



M.iuve. — ••King Mauve, Lady Eveline and 

 Queen of Norway. 



Orange. — Golden Glory, Orange (Dobble's) and 

 ••Tangerine. 



Orange (pink). — ••Edrom Beauty, John Porter 

 and King Alfred. 



Orange (scarlet).— May Unwln, ••The Presi- 

 dent and Thomas Stevenson. 



Picotee-edged (cream ground). — Cherub, 'Jean 

 Ireland and Mrs. C. W. Breadmore. 



Picotee-edged (white ground). — •Annie Ireland 

 and Elsie Herbert. 



Pink (pale). — ••Daisy Bud, Elfrlda Pearson 

 and Mavis. 



Pink (deep). — ••Hawlmark Pink, ITetie and 

 Pink (Unwin's). 



Purple. — Le Mahdl, •Royal Purple and Roy- 

 alty. 



Rose. — Old Rose, "Rosabelle and Verdun. 



Salmon. — ••Barbara. Liberty and Melba. 



Salmon (pink). — ••I>ady Miller and Surprise. 



Scarlet. — ••Hawlmark Scarlet, Mascott's Scar 

 let and Scarlet (Dobhie's), 



Striped and flaked. — Loyalty, Phyllis and •Sen- 

 ator Spencer. 



White.— ••Edna May Improved. King White 

 and Nora I'nwin. 



White (tinted). — •Constance Ilinton and Miss 

 Biirnle. (These are dark-seeded varieties.) 



be multiplying. Oil of cinnamon is used 

 with good effect in dealing with ants. 

 Druggists also sell specific remedies for 

 this purpose. Kerosene along the edges 

 of the beds will turn them back, and 

 as for the aviators, a strong dose of 

 Nico-fume will at least make them quite 

 sick. G. J. B. 



ANTS ON SWEET PEAS. 



I should like to ask you what can be 

 done to get rid of a bad dose of tan 

 ants. I have a ground bed of sweet 

 peas and it is just full of them. Thoy 

 come out by the thousands and are 

 spreading to other beds. Some have 

 wings and can fly. Please answer at 

 once, as every day they spread farther. 

 I tried sugar and Paris green, but they 

 would not oat it. M. T.— Md. ' 



caused by the unseasonably • warm 

 weather of the last autumn. 



If the plants arc in a growing con- 

 dition, the dried leaves about the base 

 can be ignored, but if the condition com- 

 plained of seems to affect the growth of 

 the plants, the bed should be promptly 

 resown. It does not pay to worry along 

 with sick plants of any kind in a green- 

 house, especially when they can be a's 

 easily replaced as sweet peas. If there 

 is active growth, white feeding roots 

 will be found two feet below the sur- 

 face. Unless the soil is fundamentally 

 wrong, planting at this date in the 

 same soil can be safely advised. How- 

 ever, the soil should not be used for 

 early planting, as starting plants in the 

 heat of the summer is working against 

 the natural requirements of sweet peas. 

 In their weakened condition they are 

 easily attacked by any fungus which ac- 

 cumulates in old soil, while the vigorous 

 plants, produced in a lower temperature, 

 are able to ward it off. G. J. B. 



ATFECTED BY BLACK LEG. 



I should like to know about a disease 

 that has struck my winter-blooming 

 sweet peas. I planted my peas from 

 pots after having used Mulford's cul- 

 ture on the seed. They seemed to grow 

 well for a while, but when they were 

 beginning to bloom all the leaves close 

 to the ground dried up. On close exam- 

 ination I found that the roots had suf- 

 fered the same fate. What is the cause 

 and the remedy? H. H. — Colo. 



FALL VS. SPEING PLOWING. 



Would you advise fall or spring plow- 

 ing for a field that we intend to put 

 out in hardwood cuttings? 



A. G.— O. 



The plants are probably affected with 

 the fungus known locally as black leg, 



Late fall would be preferable to spring 

 plowing, but in all probability the 

 ground in your section is tightly frozen 

 now. Therefore, you should plow in 

 spring as soon as possible after the 

 frost has left the ground and it is dry 

 enough to be workable. W. C. 



n^ 



BEST MAIDENHAIR FERN. 



What do you considor the best va- 

 riety of maidenhair fern for cutting! 

 I have onlv one house and wish to grow 

 the best. ■ G. W. D.— N. Y. 



For cutting you could have nothing 

 better than an excellent form of Adi- 

 aiitum cuneatum, named Croweanum. 



C. W. 



The enemios of the sweet pea seem to 



OLD FRONDS ON FERNS.- 



I am sending you a fern. Please 

 notice the dried-up and crippled ends 

 of the leaves and, if possible, tell me 

 how to cure or prevent this trouble. 

 This happens to perfectly healthy plants 

 and seems to be due to a fungus, which 

 spreads quite fast. G. E. B. — Mo. 



I do not find anything seriously the 

 matter with the sample fern. The crip- 

 pled and dried-up ends complained of 

 were on the old fronds and should be 

 removed anyway. The young growths 

 were all right and so were the roots. 

 I noticed a few traces of white fly on 

 the older frondsi which should be closely 

 looked after and removed. I should 

 also suggest giving the plants a little 

 more water at the roots, the soil in the 



center of the root ball of the plant sent 

 being quite dry. M. P. 



ADIANTUM UNDER BENCHES. 



I have been trying to get adiantum 

 to grow, but seedlings which I have 

 bought, even 2Vi-inch plants, die, I 

 have a new greenhouse and, to my sur- 

 prise, underneath the benches have 

 come up thick patches of adiantum — I 

 think the cuneatum variety. I cannot 

 imagine where the seed came from. Will 

 you tell me the best way I can take care 

 of these seedlings? The soil under the 

 benches is poor and hard, but naturally 

 moist. I greatly wish to succeed with 

 these plants. S. J. R. — Tenn. 



The seedling adiantums may be lifted 

 from the ground beneath the benches 

 of your greenhouse and transplanted to 

 shallow trays or flats, the most con- 

 venient tool for the purpose being a 

 wooden label with the end sharpened to 

 a knife edge. With such a tool as this 

 the seedlings may be taken up in small 

 patches, about the size of a finger-nail, 

 and transferred to the surface of the 

 soil in the trays, where they should be 

 gently pressed down. As soon as the 

 tray is filled, it should be carefully 



