JDNB 2, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



23 



SOWING SWEET PEAS IN POTS. 



Advised by William Gray. 



It is a well known fact that, if con- 

 ditions are favorable, sweet peas sown 

 in the fall give much earlier and finer 

 blooms than those sown in the open in 

 the spring, but few localities are fa- 

 vored with climatic conditions suitable 

 for fall sowings in the open to winter 

 successfully, and the practice is a hit- 

 or-miss one even witb the most, expert, 

 growers. Spring sowing in the open has 

 been the general practice followed. 

 This also has its faults, inasmuch as it 

 does not allow suflBcient time for the. 

 young plants to become thoroughly es- 

 tablished before warm weather sets in 

 and, in consequence, inferior blooms are. 

 the result, states William Gray in the 

 American Sweet Pea Society Bulletin. 



The pot method, he says, overcomes 

 all these uncertainties, the seed being 

 sown either in the fall or during Jan- 

 uary or February and wintered in cold- 

 frames or a cool greenhouse. If sown in 

 the fall, it is best to sow not later than 

 October, so that the young plants may, 

 become established in the pots before 

 the short days of the year arrive; later 

 sowings will be inclined to weakness, 

 owing to the absence of the sunny con- 

 ditions necessary to build up vigor in 

 plant life, and much better results will 

 be had by waiting until the middle of 

 January, when under the influence of 

 longer days with increasing sunlight, 

 strong, vigorous plants can be grown. 



Sowing the Seed. 



The seed may be sown directly in the 

 pots, one seed to each pot or several, 

 according to the size of the pots, or the 

 seed may be sown in pans or flats and 

 afterwards transplanted to the pots. If 

 the highest culture is aimed at, it is 

 preferable to grow a single plant in 

 each pot, plants grown from fall sow- 

 ings being carried up to the end of Jan- 

 uary in 3-inch or 3%-inch pots, and then 

 given a shift into 5-inch or 6-inch pots, 

 which will carry them through nicely 

 until planting time in the open ground. 

 On shifting, stick short brush in the 

 pots to keep the plants upright. Jan- 

 uary and February sowings can be car- 

 ried through in 3-inch or SV^-inch pots 

 until planting time in the open ground. 



Plants from fall sowings will bloom 

 earlier and be at their best over a much 

 longer period than January sowings, 

 for the advantage gained lies in the 

 earlier start, which brings them into 

 bloom the end of May, and they are at 

 their best throughout June, a period more 

 suitable to the sweet pea. January and 

 February sowings come into bloom 

 about the middle of June, being at their 

 best at the end of the same month and 

 early July, after which, owing to hot 



weather conditions^ stems shorten up 

 and flowers get smaller quickly. 



Florists Can Supply Plants. 



No one, not even the amateur grower, 

 need feel that the growing of plants is 

 a diflScult operation. Fine plants can 

 be gr9wn in a well protected coldframo 

 in a sheltered position on the south side 

 of a house or other structure that will 

 break the cold winds. A 3x6-foot sash 

 will cover sufficient plants to plant a 

 considerable length of row and will 

 give a wealth of bloom. 



Local florists could find ready sale 

 for plants grown from January-sown 

 seed, once their customers tried them 

 out and were delighted with the results 

 from planting plants instead of seed in 

 their gardens. 



CONCRETE IN GREENHOUSES. 



The publicity organ of the Alpha 

 Portland Cement Co., called Alpha 

 Aids, devotes its latest issue chiefly to 

 the use of concrete in the greenhouse. 



The cover illustration, a handsome one, 

 shows the greenhouses on the estate of 

 A. F. Luke, Beverly Farms, Mass., 

 built by Hitchings & Co., Elizabeth, N. 

 J. The feature article of the number 

 describes the Ready-Set concrete bench 

 of the Mead-Suydam Co., Newark, N. 

 J., with profuse illustrations. The back 

 cover reproduces blueprint service 

 sheets prepared by the Alpha Portland 

 Cement Co. for the use of those using 

 concrete in the construction of green- 

 houses, flower boxes and garden seats. 



BUSINESS EMBARRASSMENTS. 



Cleveland, O. — George Bate, receiver 

 for the Smith & Fetters Co., reports 

 that an appraisal of the assets of the 

 company has been made by H. P. 

 Knoble, Charles Graham and Albert 

 Barber, a summary of which is as fol- 

 lows: Cash, $3,000; accounts receiv- 

 able, $4,500; merchandise,' $900; fur- 

 niture and fixtures, $1,800. 



The receiver has endeavored to make 

 a sale of the property as a going con- 

 cern, as he feels in that way the best 

 price can be secured, and the best offer 

 he has to date is $2,000 for the fur- 

 niture, fixtures and merchandise. In 

 view of the fact that the receiver at the 

 present time is operating the business 

 at a loss, he thinks it for the best in- 

 terest of creditors to accept this offer 

 and to liquidate the company as soon as 

 possible. If no one comes forward with 

 !i better offer the application to sell the 

 property mentioned above will be on 

 for hearing in the Common Pleas court_ 

 Fridiiy, June 3. This sale will include 

 the transfer to the purchaser of all the 

 good will that is left in the company. 



^K 



FLORIDA FERN CATERPILLAR. 



The Florida fern caterpillar, Callo- 

 pistra floridensis, found in Florida as 

 long ago as 1852, has since caused much 

 damage to ferns grown under glass. 

 Boston, Whitmanii and Scottii are fre- 

 quently subject to its attacks. The 

 caterpillar is an active feeder and when 

 several occur on a single plant they 

 soon effect serious damage. The young 

 and tender leaves are, of course, pre- 

 ferred. 



The adult of the Florida fern cater- 

 pillar is a beautiful moth about one and 

 one-half inches wide when the wings 

 are expanded. The wings are marked 

 with various shades of brown and pink- 

 ish white. Females deposit pale green- 

 ish eggs on the under surface of new 

 leaves. The caterpillar hatches in from 

 five to seven days. In the early stages 

 the larvaj are green, but in the last 

 stage, in addition to green indiviauals, 

 a number are reddish or brownish, 

 some with conspicuous white bands. All 

 forms, however, have a black band 

 across the body just behind the head 

 and this should serve as a character- 

 istic mark to determine the species. 



When fully fed they leave the plants 

 to make earthen cocoons on the sur- 

 face of the soil. Transformation to the 

 moth state is complete in about two 

 weeks. 



In addressing the last convention of 

 Canadian florists, Arthur Gibson, of the 

 Dominion department of agriculture, at 

 Ottawa, Ont., stated that among the 

 methods of control which have been 

 adopted for destroyinig these caterpil- 

 lars, the following spray has proved 

 successful: 



Fresh pyrethnim insect powder, 1 ounce. 

 Common laundry soap, ^ ounce. 

 Water, 1 gallon. 



The soap should be dissolved in a 

 small quantity of warm water, after 

 which the insect powder and water 

 should be added to make up one gallon 

 of mixture. Apply once a week for 

 five or six weeks or until control is 

 obtained. 



In a house infested by this insect ex- 

 cellent control was secured by simply 

 dusting fresh pyrethrum insect powder 

 over the infested plants by means of 

 a blower. Two applications a week 

 were made until the caterpillars were 

 all destroyed. 



