34 



The Florists^ Review 



NOVBMIIBK 17, 1921 



trimmed with some frpsli blooms. The 

 forcifrii countries represented at the 

 Capitol sent dozens of tokens, innumer- 

 able orj^anizations in all parts of tlie 

 country contributed, and altoijether 

 there was an immense shouinj^ of 

 florists' work. 



The photo}j;raph reproduced on page 

 35 shows the flowers grouped before 

 the platform in the amphitheater ut Ar- 

 lington cemetery. The coflin of the un- 

 known soldier is conspicuous, as is also 

 President Harding, in the act of dcliv- 

 eriii"- his address. 



wliich hii\e commenced to grow. Should 

 tiiey l)e split up and potted and treated 

 as though they were grown from seed? 

 Will it be necessary for me to keep them 

 in tlie greenhouse through the winter? 

 Any information you may give mo will 

 1)0 appreciated. A. P. — Minn. 



LILIES FROM SCALES. 



Would you kindly give us some ad- 

 vice about toaster lilies? Tlie first week 

 in S(']itember I planted two flats of 

 scales from Lilium Harrisii. I ])laced 

 the flats under a greenhouse bcncli and 

 now the young shoots have started to 

 come through the soil like small blades 

 of grass. I have read the articles on 

 lilies which apjieared in The Review 

 September 1 and 8, but these articles 

 do not mention anything about the 

 treatment after growth licgins. 



I notice that on some of the scales 

 two to four tiny bulblets have formed, 



Probably the best thing to do with 

 your Lilium longiflorum scales is to 

 leave them in the flats where they are 

 until about February 1. They can then 

 be potted off into 2-inch pots and held 

 this way until the weather is moderate 

 enough in the spring, when they can be 

 set in the open ground six to seven 

 inclies apart each way. Your spring is 

 rather late, though, and it may be neces- 

 sary to shift to larger pots, but probably 

 not. If well handled, some of them may 

 throw up flowering stems next July or 

 August. Of course, it would be possible 

 to leave them where they are until 

 spring and set them in the field from the 

 flats, but tlie safer plan will be to take a 

 little more care by getting the young 

 stock established in pots under green- 

 liouse conditions. Then they can go into 

 the field without any check. 



David Grifliths. 



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A READER HELPS 



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CONTROL OF ROOT KNOT. 



Cause of Infestations. 



Several infpiiries ajipoaring in The Re- 

 yiew concerning the control of root-knot 

 have prcimpted me to offer a few sug- 

 gestions for combating it. 



The disease is caused by minute worm« 

 known as eel-worms, technically called 

 nematodes, which bore into the roots 

 and so stop the sap cells as to cause the 

 roots to become irregularly enlarged and 

 knotty in appearance. The worms never 

 infest the plants above ground and, con- 

 se(]iiently, the pests are frequently over- 

 looked. However, plants badly infested 

 are dwarfed, wilt readily and lose ccdor. 

 The infested roots finally decay and the 

 disease is liberated into the soil. 



The disease is usually conveyed into 

 the greenhouse }»y the receiving of in- 

 fested jdants, which, when they are 

 putted, root through the vent in the pot. 

 This root becomes infested and. when 

 the pot is lifted, the root is broken off 

 and the iiifi'station is left in the cinders, 

 soil or sand on the bench. The next 

 batch of })lantH placed upon the bench 

 soon become infe.-tcd, and as plants are 

 moved from bench to bench the whole 

 house l)ecomes infested. Flooding the 

 benches with the Iiose washes some of 

 tlie insects into the soil beneath. There 

 they survive ujjon volunteer jdants of 

 begonias, sultanas, wandering jew, etc. 

 During the crowded season jiotted 

 plants are sometimes placed tenijiorarily 

 under t'lo benches and become infested 

 from ''lis source. The insects move 

 about slowly in the soil, traveling not 

 more than three feet in a year, anci in a 

 stiff clay their movement is much slower. 



The Remedy. 



As a remedy, first destroy all infested 

 plants. If you wisli to perjietuate stock 

 from infested jdants, take the cuttings 



and then destroy the roots. The writer 

 has found by rejieated exjieriments that 

 cuttings taken from infested plants of 

 coleus, begonias, sultanas and others, 

 rooted in clean sand and potted in steril- 

 ized soil, remained free from disease, in- 

 dicating that the nematode does not 

 affect the plant above the soil: 



When a bench is cleared of potted 

 plants, soak the cinders or soil with 

 sodium cyanide, one ounce to eight gal- 

 lons of water. This must be allowed to 

 dry out before another lot of potted 

 l)lan1s is put on, or the cyanide, soaking 

 into the pots, will kill the tender plants. 

 Another method is to cover the cinders 

 with slack lime and to wash it in. The 

 groumi under the benches should also 

 be cleared of all vegetation and coated 

 with lime, which should also be washed 

 into the soil. 



Only sterilized soil or soil known to 

 be free from the nematode should be 

 used either for jiotting or benches. In 

 the northern states the nematodes that 

 iii;iy become established in the fitdds are 

 killed by freezing, while in the milder 

 iliiii.-ites the only practical way to rid 

 the field of the jiests is to starve 'fhem bv 

 letting the land be idle a year and by 

 fre(iiient cultivation to prevent any veg- 

 etation from growing upon whieh the 

 nematodes might feed. 



Some Common Victims. 



Following is a list of some of the 



more iiiiiiortant jdants and trees known 



to be subject to attack by the nematode: 



Okrn, ciiiuinlier, tomato, cirnntlon, eggplant, 

 l'Og(ini:i, oiintaliiiipc, ainuranttis. bean. cekT.v, 

 tiiliacco, pea, primrose, cineraria, ooleiig. gull 

 tana, Iioll.vliock, dalilia, verhena, snapdragon, 

 trailiij;; vima, -Aspanigns .Sprencerl, liihisoiis, 

 Iietiinia. clenialis. aealyplia. zinnia, peach, tig, 

 Irish potato, walerniolon, beet, pepper, cnnna, 

 calailiiiin. gladiolus, rose, violet, Hipmsli, leltiioe] 

 carrot, .sunflower, col Ion. radish. Hweet potato^ 

 asparagus, cabli.ige, cauliflower, mustard, pecan! 

 migar cane, (pilnce. 



Those at the head of the list are the 

 most seriously and quickly injured by 



attacks of the disease and many of them 

 cannot be grown profitably in infested 

 soil, while a few at the end of the list 

 are only slightly injured and some seem 

 to outgrow its attacks. In some cases 

 field crops only slightly infested may be 

 fed heavily with nitrogenous fertilizer 

 and made to develop new roots and com- 

 plete the maturity of the crop before the 

 new roots become injured. 



While the nematode attacks the 

 fibrous roots of bulbs, it seldom enters 

 the bulb except, perhaps, in the case of 

 the Ixish potato and the fleshy roots of 

 -Vsparagus Sprengeri. Fancy-leaved 

 caladiums, with the fibrous roots badly 

 infested, have been dried off thoroughly 

 and the bulbs, when potted the following 

 spring, were found to be free from the 

 pest. 



It is an injustice to one's fellow flo 

 rists and customers alike to send out in- 

 fested plants. The writer has received 

 infested plants from many sources in 

 six states and, under the present laws 

 of Georgia, he is required to destroy 

 these shipments when received. A more 

 complete history of the nematode is 

 given in the Farmers' Bulletin, 648, De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C. W. A. Dole. 



HYACINTHS FOR CHRISTMAS. 



About September 1 I potted and 

 buried some large-sized prepared Dutch 

 hyacinths. Can they be gotten into 

 bloom for Christmas? If so, when should 

 they be brought into the greenhouses^ 



M. G.— Okla. 



Do not allow your hyacinths to become 

 too dry at the root. Much bulbous 

 stock is injured in the early stages of 

 growth by being allowed to become too 

 dry. Let your hyacinths have pots well 

 filled with roots and a top growth one 

 find one-half to two inches long, before 

 housing them. When in the greenhouse 

 let them have a dark but warm place be- 

 low the bench, to draw up the tops; oth- 

 erwise they will be dwarf and squatty. 

 In watering at this time avoid wetting 

 the sjiikes, wliich easily damp off. In 

 order to be sure of fine plants for Christ- 

 mas, the plants should be housed a 

 month in advance and should have a 

 iiiinimum temperature of 55 to 58 

 degrees. q -^N'. 



STERILIZING SOIL BY STEAM. 



Will you give us some pointers on 

 sterilizing soil for pot plants and also 

 the soil on the benches? Is there an 

 api)aratus for this jiurpose, or is it neces- 

 sary to take steam from the boiler and 

 lay extra pipes? L. G. P.— Ind. 



When much of this work is to be 

 done, or if the soil is on benches, the 

 cheai)est way, so far as the outfit is 

 concerned, is to build a sterilizing box. 

 This may be of any convenient size, 

 say GxL'O feet and eighteen inches deep, 

 with a tight ever. The steam pipes 

 should be 1-inch, with a 3/16-inch hole 

 every two feet, alternating on oppo- 

 site sides. The pipes should be placed 

 two feet apart, and the holes should be 

 so arranged that the jets will be be- 

 tween those in the adjacent {dpe. If 

 a j.ipe is placed one foot from each 

 side with a third i)ipe in the middle 

 of the bo.x, all of the soil in a box six 

 leet wide will be sterilized. The pipes 

 should be at the bottom of the box and 

 the soil should be twelve to fifteen 

 inches in depth. The length of time 



