Dbckmbbr 8, 1921 



The Florists' Review 



43 



'■■.■.TX,V.'!f?S^?^'fr'r. 



MOTHS ON MUMS. 



The common brown moth that appears 

 in greenhouses in the fall of the year 

 gives trouble to the chrysanthemum 

 grower. To those so disturbed Otto H. 

 Cron, of Monroe, Mich., gives his 

 method of cleaning them out. He pur- 

 chased blue vitriol — copper sulphate — 

 and used it as a spray according to the 

 directions on the can. This, ho says, 

 rid his houses of the mpth in little time. 

 The copper sulphate he purchased lo- 

 cally in 3-pound cans. 



CXJLTUBE OF SMALL MUMS. 



What culture would you recommend 

 for earliest single and pompon mums? 

 What culture, in the latest and most 

 practical way, would you recommend for 

 20,000 plants, including potted pompons? 

 What varieties, in each color, would you 

 suggest as the best in both single and 

 pompon mums? What kind of soil and 

 fertilizer, how high a temperature, when 

 to root cuttings and to plant, what 

 methods of disbudding and what differ- 

 ent varieties to jilant, would you recom- 

 mend as giving satisfaction? 



R. U.— Mich. 



The following list of varieties in each 

 color, both early and late, single and 

 pompon mums, are generally satis- 

 factory. 



Early singles: White — Mrs. W. TI. 

 Waite, Millicent Piper, Gladys Duck- 

 ham; pink — Charlotte Waite, Joan Ed- 

 wards, Mrs. Buckingham; yellow — Phyl- 

 lis Bryant, Mrs. Lou Thompson, Vivian 

 Oook; bronze and red — Bronze Buckiiig- 

 liani, Gloriana, Ida Skiff. 



Late singles: White — Mensa, Lily Ne- 

 ville, Sno\\'flake; pink — Mrs. A. Philli])s, 

 Mildred Presby, Mrs. E. D. Godfrey; 

 yellow — Golden Mensa, Rose M. Daly, 

 Isabel Felton; bronze and red — Portia, 

 (Jrant B. Schley, Charles Fairs. 



Earliest pompons: White — White 

 Doty, Uvalda, Queen of Whites; ])ink — 

 Niza, Mrs. IT. Harrison, C;iptaiu Cook; 

 yellow — Zenobia, Yellow Gem, Connie 

 T)'u-k; bronze — Skibo, Anna L. Moran, 

 Julie de Witt. 



Late pompons: White — Baby 'Slar- 

 garef, He'en Newberry, Mariana; pink 

 —Nellie Kleris, Mrs. V. Rol)ins(>ii, West- 

 ern Beauty; yellow — Baliy, Eugene 

 Langaiilct, Christmas Gold; bronze — 

 Julia Lagravere, Lelia, :Mrs. Frank Wil- 

 cox. 



As regards the culture of singles and 

 (lomjions, there is no question of any dif- 

 ficulty being encountered in tlieir case. 

 There is no ((uestion, either, of bud selec- 

 tion and the cuttings can be rooted from 

 February until the end of June, accord- 

 ing as the stock is available. .\s regards 

 the jiroper time to plant, any time from 

 June 1 to August 1, dej>Vnding on 

 whether they are early or late varieties, 

 will be satisfactory. 



Plant twelve inches ajiart in tlie rows 



as early in June as possible, and let the 

 flower sprays form naturally and in as 

 great a number as the plants can carry. 

 In a brief answer of this kind, it is 

 almost impossible to go into detail re- 

 garding soil, methods of culture, ferti- 

 lizer, etc. Would suggest that you buy 

 a good standard work on mums; the 

 book, "The Chrysanthemum," by 

 Arthur Harrington, is recommended. 

 Study this book thoroughly and then if 

 there is further information desired, the 

 individual poinfs can be taken up with 

 vou in detail. C. H. T. 



METHODS AGAINST MIDGE. 



I have a nice lot of chrysanthemum 

 plants, but they are full of the midge. 

 I do not know whether to throw them 

 uway or try to get rid of the peat. I 



The Editor Is pleased when 

 a Reader presents his Ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



As experience is the best 

 teacher, »o do vte learn 

 fastest by an exchange of 

 experiences. Many valuable 

 points are brought out by 

 discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling and 

 srammar, though desirable, are not 

 necessary. VVriteasyou would talk 

 when doing your best. 



WE SHALL BE CLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM YOU 



liiive some gocnl varieties and I do not 

 like to throw them out if 1 can get rid 

 of the midge. Advice would be ap- 

 preciated. M. (i. ('.^Wis. 



If a few points reg:irding the life 

 history of the midge are clearly in mind, 

 greater success is likely to follow efforts 

 to exterminate the pest. First, several 

 generations are ;tiw;iys j)resent in green- 

 houses (luring the s|iring and fall occur- 

 rences; second, the adults emergi! and 

 mate during the early morning hours, 

 and egg laying quickly follows; third, 

 experiments show that the egg stage 

 may l)e controlled by means of sjiraying 

 or flipping the cuttings or plants; fourth, 

 it has been denionstriited that the .-idult 

 can be killed easily .at the time of 

 em(>rgeiice by consistent spr.aying; 

 fifth, the .adult is easily killed by fumi- 

 gation either with nicotine papers or 

 hydrocyanic acid g.as. 



Bv adherence to a definite control 



program, involving any of the above 

 cited measures, either singly or in com- 

 bination, the insect can be readily con- 

 trolled. In case of a light infestation 

 daily picking of gall-infested leaves 

 will hold the pest in check. Should this 

 practice prove ineffective, nightly fumi 

 gation for a period of two or three 

 weeks may be resorted to. When a 

 severe infestation • is encountered the 

 most heavily infested plants should be 

 taken out immediately and burned. This 

 should then be followed by either fumi- 

 gation or spraying as outlined below. 



Fumigate every night, with either 

 nicotine papers or hydrocyanic acid 

 gas, for a period of at least six weeks. 

 This will kill all the adults that emerge 

 during such a period and at the same 

 time will prevent the further laying of 

 eggs for future generations. The dosage 

 need not be heavy in either case. When 

 nicotine papers are used, one sheet to 

 every 1,000 cubic feet of space will suf- 

 fice. If hydrocyanic acid gas is em- 

 ployed, one-eighth to one-fourth ounce 

 per thousand cubic feet will kill all of 

 the adults. The use of hydrocyanic acid 

 gas is not recommended unless in the 

 hands of a competent fumigator, owing 

 to its deadly poisonous effects. 



Too much emphasis can not be laid on 

 the fact that the fumigation must be set 

 off after midnight to be effective. It is 

 jireferable to start generation between 

 the hours of 12:30 a. m. and 2 a. m. Any 

 fumigation done before midnight would 

 be useless, for it has been [lointed out 

 that the adult does not emerge until 

 after midnight. On the other hand, if 

 it is started later than 2 .a. m. many 

 adults will have emerged and laid their 



In case fumigation is not advisable, 

 especially where chrysanthemum plants 

 are isolated or when other varieties of 

 l)lants :ire i)resent in the houses, spray 

 ing is recommended. This must be done 

 consistently for a period of four to six 

 weeks, a forty per cent solution of nico- 

 tine sulphate extract diluted (1-800) 

 being used, and soap .added at the rate 

 of one-half to one ounce per gallon of 

 solution. The a])i)lication should be 

 made late in the afternoon in order that 

 the best results may be obtained. In 

 this manner practically all adults can 

 be killed at the time of eiuergenci^ and 

 ■"ly CfXa^ i)resent will be destroyed. 



It has I)e(>n proved that the me;ins of 

 disseminating this insect has been the 

 shipment of infested chrysanthemutns, 

 both plants and cuttings. It is therefore 

 imj)erative that only clean jilants and 

 cuttings be l)rought into commercial 

 houses where (dirysanthemuTns ;ire grow 

 ing or to be grown. Growers should 

 carefully examine all chrysantlietTiums 

 received and see that all jnntc^rial in- 

 tended for shipment or distribution is 

 free from this pest. 



As a preventive measure, it is recoin- 

 inend(>(l that cuttings be dipped in the 



