60 



The Florists^ Review 



Apbil 6, 1022 



era liave boon looking for a white rose 

 that would b(! free and clean-growing. 

 Then the "llii" opidcniic came in the 

 fall of 1918, and what up to then had 

 been the almost invariable custom of 

 sending only white flowers to funerals 

 was changed. Any flower, regardless of 

 color, was gratefully accepted on ac- 

 count of the scarcity. This fashion of 

 using different-colored flowers for fu- 

 nerals has continued up to this time, 

 wherefore the florist is no longer obli- 

 gated to grow white roses. Conse- 

 ((uently, the strong demand for a good 

 white rose is no longer with us. 



Ked roses are still in an unsatisfac- 

 tory condition. Crusader enjoys a meas- 

 ure of popularity in some markets, and 

 Hadley also, but the latter produces so 

 few flowers that it is hardly worth 

 growing. -We hear stories of wonderful 

 red seedlings from the north and west, 

 and there is no question that one or 

 two good red roses could be well taken 

 care of. Just at present one must bo 

 satisfi(>(l with either Crusader or Had- 

 ley, until something better presents it- 

 self. Milady is also well received by- 

 some growers. 



Some of us believe that rose growers 

 can look to the future with more equa- 

 nimity than can any other branch of 

 the jtrofgssion. Their product, when 

 well grown,-" always has the pull on the 

 market, and 1 Ix'liev*' this coTidition 

 will continue. ^ 



V 



HAS KEY COME BACK? 



To the query of the editor of the 

 American Rose Annual, "Why has 

 Francis Scott Key come back?" 

 answer is given by Wallace R. Pierson 

 in the 1922 Annual thus: "Francis 

 Scott Key has not 'com(> back.' The 

 fact is, it has never been away! A big 

 rose, such as tliis, is not the real rose 

 of commerce that ('olumljia. Premier, 

 Mme. Butterfly and Pilgrim can be — 

 it doesn 't bloom freely enough. Tl 

 grows very slowly in winter and can 

 never be anytliing but a 'jiremium' rose. 

 By that I mean a rose that must sell at 

 a great advaTice in price over the other 

 varieties mentioned. .Xinerican Beauty 

 has been dro]ii)ing from the market, and 

 Francis Scott Key has advanced in 

 jirojxirtion to the drop in American 

 Beauty. 



"There lias been one other element 

 which enters into its |i()j)ularity, and 

 that is the publicity given this rose at 

 the big New York flower shows — an<l 

 to F. R. Pierson belongs the credit of 

 bringing this rose into prominence. 

 Those who have seen the wonderful 

 flowers of Francis Scott Key at these 

 sliows have recognized real merit, and, 

 wliile it may never be widely grown ;nid 

 never be the flower of the masses, it 

 ranks at the toji of the '])rcminni' 

 roses, and the sjieci.'ilty growers who 

 grow it will find it prqfitable. ' ' 



Tliose who saw the v;ise of this \;i- 

 riety staged by F. R. Pierson at In- 

 dianapolis will echo the second pnra- 

 grajih of the Cromwell rosjirian 's re- 

 m.arks. 



ROSES SPOTTED BLACK. 



Please examine the rose leaxcs and 

 foliage which I have nuiiled you. They 

 were taken from new Columbia and 

 Rnssell jdants. These i)l!ints are cov- 

 rrrd with black spots. T should like to 

 learn the cause of these sjxits and how 

 to prevent them from ;ii)pe;irinir. These 

 spots did not ajijiear until .'ihout five 



days after we had given the two 

 houses a good mulching of cow manure 

 Wo liave ten other houses which were 

 handled in identically the same way, 

 but the manure was taken from differ- 

 ent cow stables. T. G. Co.— 111. 



There were no black spots on the 

 leaves on arrival. This condition of 

 the plants was probably due to a fungus, 

 caused by the application of manure. 

 This sometimes happens when the ma- 

 nure is fresh, but, as a rule, disappears 

 in a few days and usually does no harm 

 to the plants. There was considerable 

 red spider on the leaves. A good, heavy 

 syringing will wash them off and will, 

 no doubt, clean off the black spots at 

 the same time. W. J. K. 



amine these and tell us what disease 

 it is they have, ho~w to cure it and its 

 cause? J. W. L. — Neb. 



I have mailed you a box of Russell 

 rose leaves. Will you kindly examine 

 these leaves and advise us how the 

 plants frdm which they were taken can 

 be cured? The plants were benched 

 last August and September from small, 

 grafted stock. The leaves curl and the 

 plants do not look healthy. They have 

 had but little feeding, but were placed 

 in new soil with some manure. 



W. B.— 111. 



CURING ROSE DISEASES. 



I am sending you a few specimens of 

 my roses. The plants were potted for a 

 few weeks and then bedded during De- 

 cember. Some of them are good, but 

 about twenty-five out of 400 are like 

 the ones sent yon. Will you kindly ex- 



From the appearance of the leaves, 

 there seems to be some alkali either in 

 the soil or in the water, and if the soil 

 is allowed to become dry or the plants 

 are underfed, they will take the alkali 

 up through the roots, causing the edges 

 of the leaves to turn brown and giving 

 the plants a stunted appearance at this 

 time of the year. A good feeding of 

 cow manure, thoroughly watered into 

 the soil, will overcome this trouble. '- 



W. J. K. 



^ CURING GERANIUM POISONING. 



I have read the article on geranium 

 poisoning in The Review for March 2;5 

 and wish to make a few comments that 

 may be of value to brother florists. This 

 article throws light on a matter which 

 has been worrying me for years. Every 

 spring I had suffered untold agonies 

 from an infection on the face and hands. 

 It seemed to be under the skis. No one 

 knows what it is until meeting with the 

 same experience, and I can sympathize 

 with anyone afflicted with it. Now the 

 i-ause of it seems clear in my mind. In 

 the spring, when the heat becomes 

 stronger, this disease would always ap- 

 pear, a]i)iarently under the skin, and I 

 could not prevent myself from rubbing 

 it, which caused redness and swelling. 

 Our doctor said it was "the nerves'' 

 ;ind not a local infection. Naturally, I 

 lielie\('d liim. 



Now, I sell the greater part of our 

 lldwcrs and ]dants from a truck, in the 

 suiTdunding towns. One day I was in a 

 town where there dwelt a physician 

 with whom I was well acquainted. 1 

 went to his office and told him my difii- 

 cnlty and said that I did not want him 

 to "inonkey'' unless he could cure me. 

 lie said that he could not cure me, but 

 that he could advise the use of a remedy 

 that would give me relief, at least, until 

 1 could see a skin specialist. He advised 

 nie to get a bottle of Dr. Belding's skin 

 remedy. I protested against local appli- 

 cation, as I had been convinced by the 

 other doctor that the cause of my dis- 

 comfort was "nerves.'' 



However, I pnrchaseil a bottle of the 

 remedy before leaving town, applying 

 it to my face upon returning home. The 

 relief was instantaneous, but every few 

 (lays or so the trouble would return. 

 This was a puzzling circumstance, and I 

 thought that the effects of the remedy 

 liad worn off, but it is all clear to mo 

 now. After ^Memorial day we are always 

 sold out of blooming geraniums and it 

 is necessary to wait for a few days until 

 a number of gerani\ims ha\e bloomed 



again before I start for town with a 

 load. However, as soon as I handle the 

 plants I receive a new "dose" of the 

 poisoning. 



The article you printed put me on my 

 guard. As the time is now about ripe 

 for the disease to appear again, I will 

 commence to bathe my face before han- 

 dling the geraniums, and thus avoid the 

 disease. 



Poisoning by geraniums was unknown 

 to me before t read about it in The Re- 

 view, and the article was certainly 

 worth a great deal to me. I think if F- 

 Holland will get a bottle of the remedy 

 mentioned above and use it as per direc- 

 tions, he will be pleased with the results. 

 In the event that he does use it, and 

 does or does not secure relief, I hope 

 he will be kind enough to give The 

 Review the details connected with his 

 case. 



We discontinued handling primroses 

 years ago, because Mrs. Bushyager was 

 severely poisoned by them. 



E. Bushyager. 



SOAP CURE FOR POISONING. 



.\fter reading the article on poison- 

 '"ti Jjy geraniums in The Review for 

 Maifh 2,3, and learning of the predica- 

 ment in which F. Holland finds himself, 

 I will relate an experience of my own 

 with poisoning. I have never heard of 

 geranium poisoning, but I have had one 

 florist who was poisoned with Primula 

 obconica, and I cannot touch a plant 

 myself without being badly poisoned. 

 Last week both of my hands and arms 

 were badly infected with the disease 

 by merely lifting and wrapping one 

 plant. I suffered a great deal, indeed, 

 for about twelve hours, but sought re- 

 lief by using common laundry or Ivory 

 soap, which I rubbed on until a lather 

 formed. This lather I permitted to dry 

 on my hands and arms and repeated the; 

 ajiplication often; the oftcner repeated 

 the quicker the cure. Some time ago I 

 wrote about this same remedy, suggest- 



