May 14, 1914. 



The Florists^ Review 



25 



Effects of the Hail Storm, May 5, 19U, ai the Establishment of C. Erickaon, Princeton, III. 



seen just as fine dahlias produced in 

 fields where commercial fertilizer only 

 was used as where heavy doses of barn- 

 yard manure were applied. Where there 

 is a general retail trade, a selection of 

 free-blooming varieties will be found 

 useful. Do not make the mistake of 

 growing too many sorts, but plant a 

 dozen or twenty-five of each. It is then 

 possible to get a bunch, when necessary, 

 of one color. The most useful dahlias 

 for the florist are the decorative, cactus 

 and peony-flowered types. Some show 

 varieties, however, such as A, D. Livoni, 

 Yellow Livoni and Charles Lanier, are 

 almost indispensable. The singles are 

 easily the most decorative, but their 

 keeping qualities are not so good 

 as those of other types and they are 

 now little seen. The pompons are useful 

 for cutting, and are quite free-blooming. 



HAIL HITS TRIMBLE HOUSES. 



A severe hail storm which visited 

 Princeton, 111., Tuesday evening, May 

 5, wrought havoc at the range of the 

 W. E. Trimble Greenhouse Co., inflict- 

 ing a loss of between $5,000 and $8,000. 

 The appearance of the establishment 

 after the storm had finished its work is 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. 

 Twenty-two men spent the rest of the 

 week glazing the houses, in an effort to 

 restore the place to its former state. 

 The Killarney and White Killarney 

 which were then in crop were as good 

 as growing outdoors. The mildness of 

 the weather rendered the damage from 

 this exposure extremely small. 



Bia LOSS AT ERICKSON RANGE.* 



The Erickson Greenhouses had about 

 20,000 feet of glass broken by the hail 

 storm which visited Princeton, 111., 

 Tuesday evening. May 5. The accom- 

 panying illustration shows the houses as 

 they appeared in the process of repair. 

 The loss is estimated to be altogether 

 between $3,000 and $4,000. 



This establishment, now owned by 

 Carl Erickson, was started forty-five 

 years ago by N. P. Colberg, who dis- 

 posed of it in 1902 to the present pro- 

 prietor. It includes eleven houses, with 

 a total of over 40,000 square feet of 

 glass. The water supply of the range 

 was obtained from the city water works 

 until 1909, when Mr. Erickson installed 

 a gravity tank, pumping his supply by 

 windmill; two years ago a 1,000-gallon 

 Kewanee air-pressure system was in- 

 stalled, and later a 2,000-gallon tank. 

 Two large steam boilers heat the range, 

 and all the houses are lighted by elec- 



tricity for evening display. Fourteen 

 acres for outdoor culture adjoin the 

 range. 



HYDRANGEA FOLIAGE YELLOW. 



What can we do to cause the leaves 

 of our hydrangeas to have a good, green 

 color? They are light green and yel- 

 low. L. M. S. & C. 



The hydrangeals are most likely more 

 or less starved, and the color may be 

 brought back by feeding them with 

 manure water once or twice a week. 

 W. H. T. 



SALVIAS DOING POORLY. 



I am sending under separate cover a 

 salvia plant and shall be glad if you 

 will tell me what is the trouble with it. 

 As cuttings these were in satisfactory 

 condition. The entire lot is affected in 

 the same way. H. H. C. 



wither and die when only a few inches 

 high. I lost practically all my sweet 

 peas in this manner last year, and I 

 believe I understand the culture, aa I 

 have been Successful with them in pre- 

 vious years. The ants have already ap- 

 peared on them this year. I tried lime 

 water on them last year, but without 

 success. E. G. S. 



Your soil appears to be too heavy 

 and acid. Use leaf-mold, a little finely 

 screened old manure and some sand. 

 Let this form one-half of the total com- 

 post and you will thus lighten the soil 

 materially. If you will do this I think 

 you will have no trouble in growing 

 your salvias satisfactorily. C. W. 



ANTS ON SWEET PEAS. 



Will you please tell me how to stop 

 small red ants from attacking sweet 

 peas, in which they bore great 

 numbers of holes along the roots of the 

 vines? This has caused the vines to 



Lime water would be of no avail in 

 fighting the ant pest. You need some- 

 thing much stronger to clean them out. 

 You can poison large numbers by mix- 

 ing a little finely powdered cyanide of 

 potassium with powdered sugar. The 

 ants will eat this greedily. In breaki-ng 

 up the cyanide, which is a deadly poison, 

 keep it inside a small, close cloth bag, 

 for if any fragments should strike the 

 eyes it might be serious. Carbon bi- 

 sulphide, a small teaspoouful to a hole, 

 making holes four to five inches deep 

 and a foot apart each way, will 

 suffocate these and other soil pests. 

 There also are a number of proprietary 

 articles that will clear out ants and 

 other life in the soil. C. W. 



St. Paul, Minn.— Henry Krinke & Son 

 have about 2,600 plants of their new 

 lobelia, named for Mrs. August Swan- 

 son, to be used in their spring trade. 

 They have great confidence in its value 

 as a bedding plant and stock sent out 

 has met with a favorable reception. 

 The color is almost royal purple with 

 white eye and the variety appears to 

 hp a profuse bloomer. 



Range of W. E. Trimble Greenhouse Co^ Princeton, III., Hit by Hail May 5. 



