Junk 4, 1914. 



The Florists' Rcvieov 



15 



A SHOWY BOBDSB PLANT. 



The use of Liatris spicata as a bor- 

 der plant is well illustrated in the fore- 

 ground of the photograph here repro- 

 duced. The genus to which the plant 

 belongs is not restricted to its one 

 strictly proper name, liatris, but is 

 variously known also as the blazing 

 star, gay feather or button snakeroot. 

 The fifteen or more species are all more 

 or less effective as border plants. They 

 are hardy perennials, natives of North 

 America, and were originally confined 

 chiefly to the Atlantic and Gulf states,, 

 from Massachusetts to Xiouisiana. They 

 grow and bloom in comparatively poor 

 soil and require no special care, but 

 they thrive best in garden ground that 

 is well enriched and not too heavy. 

 They are easily propagated by divi- 

 sions, in spring, or from seeds, sown in 

 the fall. Their flowers are mostly rose- 

 red or purple and are produced in late 

 summer or autumn. The species illus- 

 trated, L. spicata, is one of the hand- 

 somest. Its deep purple flowers form a 

 dense spike from six to twelve inches 

 long, on a thickly leaved stem, which 

 varies in height from two to five feet. 



WELLS FABOO ON B. &; O. 



Announcement is made that Wells 

 Fargo & Co. will July 1 assume the ex- 

 press business of the Baltimore & Ohio 

 railroad system. Acquisition of these 

 contracts will take the express com- 

 pany into three cities not hitherto 

 served directly by it — Philadelphia, Bal- 

 timore and Washington. The company 

 supersedes the United States express 

 on the Baltimore & Ohio and its affil- 

 iated lines. Wells Fargo & Co. will 

 assume also the express contracts on the 

 Chicago & Eastern Illinois and the St. 

 Louis & San Francisco. 



AMERICAN GETS U. S. CONTRACT. 



The American express has taken over 

 the United States express contract on 

 the Philadelphia & Reading railway 

 system on a basis of forty-five per cent 

 of total operating receipts. The con- 

 tract goes into effect July 1, and will 

 run for a period of one year and six 

 months. Philadelphia & Eeading mile- 

 age under the express contract is about 

 1,300 miles. 



It is understood also that the express 

 contract on the Central Eailroad of New 

 Jersey will go to the American express. 

 The operating percentage is expected 

 to be forty-five per cent of total re- 

 ceipts, and the duration of the contract 

 will be eighteen months. 



AS OTHERS SEE US. 



"Our flower trade gets a boom on at 

 Easter and Christmas, but our U. S. A. 

 friends manage to enliven the business 

 at three other times yearly, with great 

 advantage to themselves," says the 

 Horticultural Advertiser, British. "In 

 addition to our festivals, they have St. 

 Valentine's day, Memorial day, and, 

 during the last year or two. Mothers' 

 day. On Memorial day the cemeteries 

 throughout the country are lavishly dec- 

 orated with flowers, giving a huge im- 

 petus to business. 



"The latest addition, Mothers' day, 

 was the outcome of one lady's efforts, 

 backed by the florists who were smart 

 enough- to see a good thing in it. Now 

 it is becoming the recognized thing on 

 this day to wear a white flower in mem- 

 ory of a mother, or a colored one in her 



A Border of Liatris Spicata. 



honor if living; and gifts of flowers are, 

 of course, equally in order. 



"We are not quite so easily moved by 

 a wave of sentiment as our cousins over 

 the water, but we still think that if our 

 florists would pull together and get the 

 aid of the press, they might do some- 

 thing to establish one or more of these 

 'days,' which would help to carry them 

 over a dull season, and divert many a 

 pound to their pockets which would oth- 

 erwise be spent in ways which, for the 

 most part, would, at any rate, do no 

 more good to the spender." 



what these are and how to get rid of 

 them I shall be greatly indebted to 

 you. F. A. K. 



DESTRUCTIVE LARVjE IN SOIL. 



I am sending you a bottle contain- 

 ing some insects which are causing me 

 a great deal of trouble. There are 

 thousands of them in our greenhouse 

 and have been there for a long time, 

 but until recently they have done no 

 harm. They are beginning to work on 

 our geraniums, entering the pots at the 

 hole in the bottom and eating out the 

 entire inside of the stalk, when it 

 turns yellow and dies. They seem to 

 work mostly in the bottom of the beds, 

 going right through the wood and cut- 

 ting little passages about the size of 

 a lead pencil from the bottom of the 

 benches, and the passages are swarm- 

 ing with bugs. If you can tell me 



The larvae forwarded in the bottle 

 I am not acquainted with. As they 

 are doing serious damage, some imme- 

 diate remedy is necessary. Get some 

 carbon bisulphide; this costs about 25 

 cents per pound can at retail. Make 

 holes a foot apart each way with a 

 pointed stick, the holes to be four or 

 five inches deep. Into each hole pour 

 half a teaspoonful of the carbon and 

 immediately fill the holes. The gas 

 from the carbon will destroy all soil 

 pests. A smaller quantity, half a 

 dozen drops, will suffice to kill the 

 pests in each pot. Another good rem- 

 edy is Vermine, used at the rate of 

 one part to 300 parts of water, applied 

 to pots and beds. Do not use any 

 lights while applying the carbon, as 

 it is explosive. Since your houses are 

 so badly infested with these pests, I 

 would suggest giving all the beds a 

 sterilizing with steam when the plants 

 are all cleared out. A dose of hydro- 

 cyanic acid gas would also get any 

 pests which the sterilization failed to 

 destroy. Perhaps if you send some of 

 the larvae to your state experimental 

 station, you may also be able to get 

 some helpful advice there. C. W. 



