10 



The Florists^ Review 



June 21, 1917. 



for a bloom of Lemoine's new yellow 

 tree peony, La Lorraine. 



The winners in the classes for "ad- 

 vanced" amateurs were James Boyd, 

 Haverford; Elmer K. Schultz, Jenkin- 

 town; Arthur U. Scott, Oak Lane; Mrs. 

 Arthur H. Bailey, Ilarrisburg; M. Ed- 

 mund Maule, Moorestown, N. J,; Mrs. 

 Herbert Taylor, Ogontz; Mrs. J. Leslie 

 Davis, Haverford, and A. P. Saunders, 

 Clinton, N. Y. 



The winners in the classes for 

 "novice" amateurs were Mrs. R. S. 

 Holt, "West Summit, N. J.; Mrs. Owen 

 Moon, Trenton, N. J.; Mrs. John M. 

 Webster, Van Wert, O.; Thomas T. Tay- 

 lor, Ogontz; Mrs. F. H. Jarrett, Beth- 

 ayres; Herbert K. Taylor, Ogontz; 

 Fisher L. Boyd, Haverford; James Boyd, 

 Haverford, and Capt. J. Franklin Mc- 

 Fadden, Rosemont. The best collections 

 of outdoor flowers also came from ama- 

 teurs, W. Ellis, of Bryn Mawr, and John 

 A. Brown, of Devon. The names are 

 reported so that dealers may add them 

 to their mailing lists if they wish. 



The proceeds of the show were adver- 

 tised as to be donated to the Red Cross, 

 and the attendance of the public, if not 

 of the trade from out of town, was 

 fairly large. The show pleased and no 

 doubt had the usual effect of inspiring 

 people to ])urchase and i)lant the newer 

 and better varieties. 



Business Meeting. 



President B. H. Farr, who has been at 

 the head of the society's affairs since 

 the Queens meeting in 1909, called the 

 annual business session to order. There 

 was a small attendance, made up almost 

 exclusively of local amateurs. As has 



been his custom, President Farr pre- 

 sented an exteaiporaneous report of the 

 peony year, conversational in style, and 

 Secretary Saunders presented a report 

 for his office. The treasurer's report was 

 so good that $500 was appropriated for 

 the jiurchase of Liberty bonds. 



A plan for granting certificates to new 

 varieties of merit was approved. 



Thirty-two new members were elected, 

 practically all of them amateurs. 



The election of a Philadelphia ama- 

 teur, James Boyd, as president of the 

 society, was in line with the special 

 efforts that have been made to bring 

 in the nonprofessional element and, 

 although the other officers were re- 

 elected, may serve to take the organiza- 

 tion out of the rut it has followed for 

 several years. 



A Rose Show. 



June 14 the Pennsylvania Horticul- 

 tural Society added its annual rose show 

 to the peony exhibition. This proved to 

 be a disappointment. Instead of thou- 

 sands of blooms, as was expected by the 

 society, only hundreds, many of them 

 of inferior quality, were shown. The 

 unseasonable weather was blamed for 

 the poor showing. The judges of this 

 exhibition were Dr. Robert Huey and 

 Robert Kift. The half-dozen exhibitors 

 were local private gardeners and ama- 

 teurs. 



This show probably is the last that 

 will be heUl in Horticultural hall, for, 

 as has been recorded in The Review, the 

 building has been sold as unprofitable 

 to the Pennsylvania Horticultural So- 

 ciety. 



OPEN UETTEl^y^ KEADED6 



FOREHANDEDNESS IN BUYING. 



I have l)een much impressed of late 

 })}' a condition of affairs which is not 

 unusual, l>ut which is none tlio less de- 

 plorable. 



The ])oint to which I refer is a differ- 

 ence in the i)urcliasing of materials, 

 when the small florists and large florists 

 are compared. 



The large growers all over tlie coun- 

 try have jilaced their orders many 

 months in advance, covering such wire 

 materials as tliey will need. 



The little fellows are, with few ex- 

 ceptions, waiting until the last moment, 

 thinking that wire ])rices may come 

 down, or failing to realize the scarcity 

 of such material for immediate delivery. 



I believe tiiat you can conscientiously 

 call to the florists' attention the desir- 

 ability of anticipating their needs in 

 fields where supplies arc at a premium, 

 thus making it possible for them to 

 avoid a shortage. Joseph M. Wilkin. 



A VOICE FROM GUERNSEY. 



My attention has been attracted by 

 the j)ajter on "Bulb Growing in Hol- 

 land" which appeared in The Review 

 for February 1.1, 1917. The author, J. 

 Van Leeuwen, of Sassenheim, Holland, 

 refers to the narcissus trouble which 



during the last four or five years has 

 done considerable damage wherever the 

 l)ull)s are grown. 



This trouble, which usually has been 

 styled fusarium, but which recent inves- 

 tigations have proved to be caused by 

 the eelworm, has been known in Eng- 

 land and Guernsey for about four years; 

 and we have it on the authority of some 

 of the most reliable English nurserymen 

 tliat, at the time they first saw it in 

 their stocks, they observed it in bulbs 

 imjiorted from Holland, Guernsey and 

 various districts in England. 



The English board of agriculture, in 

 leaflet No. 256, which was issued in 

 June, 1914, and which dealt with this 

 troul)le, says: "The disease is known 

 in Holland, from whence it may often 

 be reintroduced into this country (Eng- 

 land) by means of slightly infected 

 bulbs. ' ' 



It is not my business to charge any 

 country with the introduction of this 

 pest, but I wish to emphatically contra- 

 dict the statement made by Mr. Van 

 Leeuwen that this pest was first intro- 

 duced into Holland in 1915. Writing 

 from personal knowledge, I have seen, 

 many bulbs imported from Holland in 

 191.*? and 1914 which were badly in- 

 fected with this pest. 



Every effort is being made to stamp 

 it out, and with the more natural meth 

 ods of growing that obtain in Guernsey 

 and England the trouble has not played 

 such havoc as it has in Holland, accord 

 ing to Mr. Van Leeuwen. Probably 

 this is due to the excessively high 

 feeding that bulbs get in Holland, witli 

 a view to obtaining roots of abnormii! 

 size. Holland growers have for jeavt. 

 looked to Guernsey to renew their 

 stocks, their practice being to obtain 

 from Guernsey a healthy, hard bulb o' 

 planting size. 



Our business as bulb growers, whethei' 

 in America, Holland, England or Guern 

 sey, should be to find some means tc 

 eliminate this pest rather than to throw 

 stones at one another. The Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society at its gardens at 

 Wisley, England, has been investigating 

 this subject, and we hope in the near 

 future to be able to deal with it satis- 

 factorily. Meanwhile forcers would be 

 well advised to secure hard, well ripened 

 bulbs rather than enormous roots of 

 softer texture, which are much more 

 likely to fall victims to this trouble. 



E. T. Wheadon, 

 President Guernsey Growers' Asso- 

 ciation. 



PARIS GREEN FOR THRIPS. 



George A. Knapp, of Nevada, Mo., 

 supplies the formula for the use of Paris 

 green for thrips called for in The Re- 

 view of June 14. It appears it origi- 

 nally was supplied by Wendland & 

 Keimel Co., Elmhurst, 111., and was as 

 follows: 



"Our formula is: Take five pounds 

 of brown sugar to one pound of Paris 

 green; mix dry; run through a fine 

 screen to take out lumps. 



"To apply, take two ounces of the 

 mixture to two gallons of water in 

 sprayer for 200 feet of bench; apply this 

 in the afternoon late, or after syringing, 

 while the plants are still wet, and if 

 clear the next day syringe off to prevent 

 the leaves burning. 



"If used about once a week this will 

 keep the plants clean, except possibly 

 in April and May, while lilacs and snow- 

 balls are in bloom. During that time it 

 could be used oftener, but never apply 

 a second time without syringing the first 

 application off, or it will burn the plants. 

 Do not mix lime or any other alkali 

 with this, as it keeps the thrips from 

 eating the sugar and kills the effect of 

 the poison." 



C. L. Washburn says Bassett & Wash- 

 burn have used this formula successfully 

 on roses, but the following letter comes 

 from J. W. Jones, of Phipps Conserva- 

 tory, Schenley park, Pittsburgh: 



As a rulp. immediately on receipt of The 

 Ueview I look it over, as I always find some- 

 tliing interesting in it. In doinR so last Satur- 

 day I read tlie folIowinR: "Formula wanted, and 

 directions for using I'aris green and brown sugar 

 as an insecticide." I have used Paris green and 

 lirown sugar as an insecticide to my sorrow, 

 using- tlie I'aris green in a very small proportion, 

 and would never use it again, especially on 

 clirysanthemums. Fearing the reader might ex- 

 perience the same trouble, I would advise him 

 to experiment before using it in quantity. Elmer 

 I). Smith & Co.. Adrian, Mich., could furnish you 

 tlie formula, as at present I cannot recall or 

 find it. 



Burlington, Vt.— W. E. Peters finds 

 much to encourage him, although the 

 season for planting is so late. 



North Manchester, Ind. — The River- 

 side Greenhouses have become the prop- 

 erty of Teel Bros., who will grow heav- 

 ily of vegetable plants as well as of 

 flowers. 



