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30 



The Florists^ Review 



Jui.v 0. 1022 



extract sprayings, as these will discolor 

 tlie flowers anil foliaj^c of the plant, but 

 substitute a spraying? with dear water 

 twice a day, if the weather permits. 



MITE ON CYCLAMENS. 



How to Recognize It. 



Plant growers throughout the coun- 

 try have been troubled with cyclamen 

 mite, and a great deal of damage has 

 been done to the crops of even the most 

 experienced growers of cyclamens. This 

 mite is an exceedingly small creature, 

 and it is for this reason that the pest 

 is so hard to control or exterminate, once 

 it has gained a foothold on the crop. 

 The pest does not confine itself to cycla- 

 men plants, but is also found on gcra- 

 )iiums. 



The foliage of the plants which are 

 infested with the pest becomes streaky 

 and deformed and, it is needless to say, 

 tlie plants arc worthless from a commer- 

 cial standpoint. 



The male mite is less than one-hun- 

 dredth of an inch long and is even 

 smaller than the female. It has no 

 waist-line and the mature insect has 

 eight legs, but no eyes. The young 

 larva has but six legs and appears un- 

 der microscopic observation in a pale, 

 glistening, transparent form, turning 

 to a brownish color as it matures. The 

 eggs take the shape of a compressed 

 spliere; that is, ellipsoidal, and they 

 are semi-transparent and pcarl-liko. 



The eggs arc generally laid during 

 the night and the period of incubation 

 is from three to seven days at a tem- 

 l)erature of 68 to 77 degrees. They are 

 laid in groups or singly near the veins 

 of the leaves or near the juncture of 

 two veins on the under side of the 

 leaves. The period in the egg, as men- 

 tioned above, is from three to seven 

 days, followed by the larva stage, which 

 is divided into the larva-active and the 

 larva-quiescent j^eriods. The larva-ac- 

 tive st.'ige lasts from one and (ute-half 

 to three days and the Iarva-(|uiesccnt 

 from one to four days. The larva stage 

 is followed by the molting period, after 

 which the insect emerges as an ailult. 



The Adult Mite. 



The period of life of the female mite 

 is longer than that of the male, the 

 female living for ;iiipr()xiniat('ly twiMity 

 days, while the male averages aWout six 

 dnys. The female begins laying her 

 eggs a short time after emerging from 

 the larva stage, ;nn[ lays an average 

 of one egg per day over a period of 

 twelve or fourteen days. 



The Jiest only comes out of its hiding 

 place behind the calyxes of the flowers 

 on sunny d.-iys, and migrates by crawl- 

 ing from leaf to leaf. Where the 

 leaves of two or more plants are in 

 contact, it goes from plant to plant. 

 It has lieen discovered that the insect 

 does not go from pl.ant to plant on the 

 ground. Migration is slow, indeed, and 

 it has been found that if the plants are 

 separated so that their leaves do not 

 eome into contact with one another, no 

 migration takes ]ilace. The Jiest also 

 dislikes a great deal of ventilation, but 

 enjoys a humidity of about eighty or 

 ninety per cent in a temperature of 

 about 68 to 73 degrees. 



From tlic habits of the pest, it would 

 seem that the most effective means of 



combating it would bo to deny it those 

 conditions under which it thrives most; 

 in other words, keep the humidity of 

 the house as low as possible, giving the 

 l)lants plenty of ventilation and sepa- 

 rating them as much as possible. To 

 what extent this can be done depends 

 on the individual grower. 



Fighting the Pest. 



Constant watchfulness as to the 

 cleanliness of greenhouse and plants, 

 is needed to ward off an infestation of 

 mite. Fumigating with nicotine onco 

 Ji week is practiced by many growers. 

 If a sign of mite is seen, start to spray 

 with a nicotine and soap mixture, or 

 dip the plants in a nicotine solution con- 

 taining a little soap. 



Fumigating with cyanide is another 

 means of exterminating mite. A coat- 

 ing of chopped tobacco stems between 

 the pots on the bench is used as a pre- 

 ventive. 



A nationally known grower of cycla- 

 mens recommends Thrip Juice No. 2. 

 This, he says, should be used until about 

 October 1, and after this date a nicotine 

 extract should be used once a week un- 

 til November 1 or until the plants begin 

 to bloom. When the blooms begin to 

 show, discontinue the use of the nicotine 



GROWING VALLEY OUTDOORS. 



Lilies of the valley arc especially 

 adapted for planting outdoors around 

 shrubs and porches or in shady places, 

 and here they will come up each year. 

 They require Httle or no care. In plant- 

 ing them outdoors, for cut flowers, only 

 the best pips obtainable should be used 

 by the florist. Good valley pips have a 

 strong, healthy appearance and have 

 plenty of fine, fibrous roots. 



For outdoor culture the soil upon 

 which some other crop has been growing 

 for three or four years will prove best, 

 and this is deeply plowed and heavily 

 manured. The pips are planted in fur- 

 rows about one foot apart and are cov- 

 ered with about two inches of soil. 

 Where the soil is heavy in texture, a 

 top-dressing of clean river sand should 

 be applied. Later in the season the soil 

 should receive a top-dressing of well- 

 rotted horse or cow manure, which is 

 repeated every winter. Do not use any 

 chemical fertilizers. If horse or cow 

 manure is not available, use sheep ma- 

 nure. Many growers are of the opinion 

 that the beds should be renewed every 

 two or three years; others leave them 

 unchanged twice as long. 



The beds must be kept well cultivated 

 and free from weeds during the sum- 

 med months, and during the dry season 

 the plants must be kept well watered. 



BLUE FLOWERS FOR CUTTING. 



We have a constant call for blue 

 flowers for tal)le use. Wh;it can you 

 suggest tli:it we miglit grow? 



What is the correct n;ime for blue 

 daisv and where can stoek be secured? 

 n. D. 1'.— N. Y. 



In the way of blue flowers, bachelor's 

 buttons are among the best. Prol);tl)ly 

 you grow them. The iloulile form is 

 es]iecially good. l''or midwinter blooms, 

 lienehes are lietter than solid beds. 

 Liiter ill the se;i^oii )i|;iiits in beds give 

 the lietter icMiits. TIants grown oiit- 

 iloors singly in nursery rows and lift eel 

 are the best for .'in early crop. .\ later 

 li.-itch can be started in<loors, either in 

 ]iots and l.'iter ]p|antecl out, or sown 

 thinly in rows .a foot apart. 



The i)lue daisy you refer to is 

 Ag.'itlia'a co'lestis, also bot.'inically 

 calleil the felicia. You will find this ;id- 

 vertised from time to time in the Classi- 

 fied ]i;iges of The Review. It makes a 

 nice little pot jilant, is well adapted for 

 cutting and has also a certain value as 

 a bedding plant. It propagates easily. 

 The flowers are much smaller than those 

 of the yellow and white marguerite-^, 

 but bring good prices in the market. 

 One or two growers for some time got 

 ••ft per hundred for the llowers in the 

 New York market last winter. This 

 lilant flowers well in pots in midwinter; 

 later in the season it produces better 



fiowers and in greater quantity when 

 planted out. 



Another excellent blue flower you 

 should grow, one which is splendid for 

 cutting and unexcelled for table decora- 

 tions, is the annual larkspur, obtainable 

 in liglit and <lark sh.ades of blue. For 

 an early crop, sow late in September, 

 pot off singly and later plant out in a 

 liench. In midwinter water carefully 

 .and avoid spraying, which would cause 

 ilamping off and mildew. L.ater sow- 

 ings, made from January to March, 

 will ]irolong the season until the out- 

 door blue flowers come in. Under glass, 

 these annual larkspurs show surprising 

 vigor and grow far more robustly than 

 I. lit doors. They attain at times a 

 height of from three to five feet. 



You cannot afford to overlook the 

 hardy larkspurs, or delphiniums, for 

 foreiiig purposes. While I prefer D. 

 l}(dladonna, all the formosum varieties 

 ar.' excellent. There have been one or 

 two articles on the indoor culture of 

 these in The Review recently. To refer 

 brietly to the culture, plants from seed 

 sown the jirevious winter or spring are, 

 on till- whole, more satisfactory than 

 larger and older clumps, as thev are less 

 liable to daiiip off. IM.ants must in all 

 i-.ases h.ave a good freezing before being 

 ff)ree(l. They succeed well in boxes con- 

 taining five to six inches of soil, if only 

 a few ;ir(; wanted. They will grow in 

 either r.tised henches or solid beds and 

 liavi' dune the lir'st when not started be- 



