January 10, 1922 



The Rorists^ Review 



27 



When palms are exhibited in store win- 

 dows, set them far enough back to be 

 sure the leaves do not touch the glass 

 in cold weather, and it may be sug- 

 gested to customers that in severe win- 

 ter weather a window shade pulled down 

 at night may save a favorite plant from 

 injury by frost. 



There have always been insects prey- 

 ing on plants in greater or less degree, 

 and the most troublesome on the palms 

 are various scales, which are commonly 

 known as black scale, white scale, etc., 

 and the safest way to dispose of them is 

 by careful washing or dipping, or both, 

 always remembering that the leaves 

 may be injured by hard or careless rub- 

 bing. 



INFESTED CAFE JASMINES. 



I have sent some leaves of cape jas- 

 mines that are not doing well. The 

 leaves, as you will notice, are small and 

 have a sort of smut on them. Will you 

 advise as to the trouble and suggest a 

 remedy? F. E. A.— La. 



The plants from which these leaves 

 were taken are infested with the citrus 

 white fly and need spraying with a con- 

 tact spray. The scale, or larva stage 

 of the fly, is always on the lower side 

 of the leaf; so the spray should be di- 

 rected so as thoroughly to cover the 

 under side of the leaves. The smut 

 on the leaves is caused by a fungus. 

 The fly, while crawling over the 

 leaves, leaves a secretion, upon which 

 this fungus lives. When the food 

 supply is exhausted, the fungus dies and 

 the result is the so-called smut. The 

 only damage done by the "smut" is 

 that it prevents the sun from getting 

 to the surface of tlie leaf, thereby pre- 

 venting the pores of the leaf from func- 

 tioning as they should. 



We have used a number of sprays, 

 with varying success. The one giving 

 us the best and most complete results is 

 one compounded by ourselves with the 

 cooperation of the Texas state nursery 

 department. It has not been named yet, 

 but is a comjjosition of whale oil soap, 

 lubricating oil, water and concentrated 

 lye. The method of composition is too 



Livistona Rotundifolia Is Less Seen than Formerly. 



long to give here, hut it can be had 

 by writing E. E. Seholl, chief nursery 

 inspector, Austin, Tex. 



Spraying can be done at any time, but 

 best results are obtained when the pests 

 are in the egg or larva stage. If the 

 plants are old they may be improved by 

 severe pruning and a liberal supply of 

 nitrogenous fertilizer. W. L. Heller. 



proper information about handling or- 

 chids, I should appreciate it a great deal. 

 My house is 20x22 feet and is heated 

 with hot water under the benches. 



T. G. G.— Ala. 



MORE ABOUT ORCHIDS. 



About ten days ago I obtained a dozen 

 orchids, which looked yellow. Today 

 they a])pear more yellow. Two of Cat- 

 tlcya Trianw liave bloomed. I paid $5] 

 for the dozen. Should they not be good 

 for that j)rice? If you will give me the 



Phoenix Roebelenii Growing under Lath in California. 



You have not paid an extravagant 

 price for your orchids, especially when 

 you remember that flowers of Cattleya 

 Trianae have wholesaled in various cities 

 at .$1.50 to $2 each the last Christinas 

 and in one or two cases even more. It 

 would be impossible in a brief reply to 

 give you instructions on how to ^ow 

 orchids. They are not easily killed and 

 are more often harmed by too much wa- 

 ter than the reverse. In your wiarm 

 state they should have a spraying every 

 dear day in winter and will probably 

 require watering, in addition, two or 

 three times weekly. Cypripediums and 

 other terrestrial orchids need more "wa- 

 ter tlian cnttleyas, la^lias and other 

 epiphytal varieties. A greenhouse kept 

 at 55 degrees at night will suit prob- 

 ably about all the varieties you have; 

 a little lower on cold nights will not 

 harm them; in fact, 50 degrees at night 

 in cold weather is decidedly better than 

 fiO degrees. The paths of your hduse 

 will require damping two or three tipies 

 daily in clear weather. Plants can be 

 suspended from the roof or stood on one 

 of the benches. Shade is not necessary 

 now, but in your section it would be ad- 

 visable to shade the glass lightly spon. 

 A heavy shade is not desirable. Plants 

 from below it may keep a nice dark 

 green color, but fail to flower as freely 

 as those grown in stronger light. Plants 

 should have ventilation practically 

 every day. I would suggest that jrou 

 buy one of the several practical w^rks 

 on orchids obtainable through The Ee- 

 view, and read up a little on this most 

 interesting and fascinating familv of 

 plants. C. W. 



Wingate, Ind. — Mrs. Ethel Vaucleave 

 is just starting in business. 



