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June 18, 1914. 



TJic Florists' Review 



13 



FEBTILIZEBS FOB MUlM. 



Kindly tell us what manure or fer- 

 tilizers to use in growing chrysanthe- 

 mums. We cannot obtain a supply of 

 barnyard manure near here, but can 

 get pulverized cattle or sheep manure, 

 as well as the artificial fertilizers. Are 

 these as good? Which ones should be 

 used, and in what quantities? 



W. M. E. S. 



If the mums have been planted in a 

 good sod loam the question of barnyard 

 manure is not of such paramount im- 

 portance, though it is understood that 

 the plants are always better for a rea- 

 sonable proportion of it; still, pulver- 

 ized cattle fertilizer will serve the same 

 purpose. We have always believed that 

 sheep manure steeped in water gives us 

 better results than when used as a top- 

 dressing. The expert mum grower uses 

 considerable chemical fertilizer in addi- 

 tion to nature's product and sulphate 

 of ammonia is possibly more largely 

 used than any other one chemical. In 

 previous years we have used consider- 

 able nitrate of soda, but prefer today 

 to get our nitrate in other forms. Ni- 

 trate of potash, combining as it does 

 both nitrogen and potash, is a valuable 

 fertilizer. A safe proportion to use of 

 any of these chemicals is one pound to 

 a 50-gallon barrel of water, dissolving 

 the chemical thoroughly before apply- 

 ing it to the plants. There are various 

 chemicals which are valuable in mum 

 growing on account of their large per- 

 centage of nitrogen, but which cannot 

 be used extensively owing to their cost. 



Chemical fertilizers should not be 

 used until the plants are well estab- 

 lished in the pots or benches and then 

 once a week is enough to start with, 

 until the buds are set and we are getting 

 into September. The subject of feeding 

 mums is a comprehensive one and can- 

 not be dealt with fully in a reply of this 

 character. Neither can a grower, how- 

 ever skillful he may be, tell another 

 grower exactly how his plants should be 

 fed. as local conditions, soils, climate 

 and other considerations have more or 

 less bearing on the case. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



MOTH BALLS FOB WHITE ANTS. 



Do you know whether moth balls 

 will be safe to use around the roots of 

 chrysanthemum plants to get rid of 

 white ants? M. F. C. 



I know of no reason why moth balls 

 should be injurious, nor do I know 

 that they will be helpful. Still, it will 

 do no harm for you to try them. Many 

 valuable discoveries have been made 

 through accident and perhaps this is 

 a new way of eliminating ants on mum 

 plants. I understand they are quite 

 destructive in some sections. We have 



not been bothered with them much in 

 this vicinity. 



While on this subject of preventives, 

 why not try the housewives' remedy 

 for ants — spreading leaves of mint on 

 all the shelves? This puts an end to all 

 ants, both white and black, and they 

 never seem to bother afterwards. 



C. H. Totty. 



NEMATODES ON MUM CUTTINGS. 



Under separate cover we are send- 

 ing you some decayed chrysanthemum 

 cuttings. We have lost seventy-five 

 per cent of our carnation and chrys- 

 'anthemum cuttings, due to animalcules, 

 which in some cases attack the bottom 

 of the cuttings and eat out the inside 

 and in others eat between the fibers 

 on the outside. In either case the cut- 

 ting eventually rots. 



We have noted three kinds of ani- 

 malcules. The first is a translucent 

 worm, which when full grown meas- 

 ures three-quarters of an inch in 

 length and is of the thickness of a fine 

 thread. When exposed to the air it 

 dries up in about five minutes. The sec- 

 ond is also translucent and is about as 

 large as a small thrips and quite act- 

 ive. The legs are attached to the front 

 half of the body. The third looks like 

 the second with the rear half of its 

 body cut off. It is less active than 

 the second, has three pairs of legs and 

 one pair of antennas and looks as 

 though it might be the male form of 

 the second. This form seems to be 

 tougher than the first, standing longer 

 exposure to air. 



The sand we use comes from a gully 



which drains the soil we use in our 

 greenhouses, and if these animalcules 

 destroy cuttings, why will they not de- 

 stroy the roots of plants? We have 

 seen many of our rose plants, espe- 

 cially carried-over plants, lose their 

 leaves, then put forth a crop of small, 

 sickly looking leaves, which, in turn, 

 would dry up, and the plants die. 



Can you tell us what these animal- 

 cules are and suggest a remedy? 



M. F. C. 



The tiny insects referred to are evi- 

 dently nematodes. Members of this 

 family cause eelworm in roses and 

 many other plants. It is no wonder 

 that th^ are present in the propagat- 

 ing bench when the same sand has been 

 used continuously the whole season. 

 The proper way to keep propagating 

 sand perfectly good is to sterilize it 

 after every crop of cuttings. This we 

 accomplish by dumping the sand into a 

 box nine feet long and two feet high, 

 and then turning on live steam until 

 the sand is cooked through. After one 

 batch of plants has been grown in this 

 sand, repeat the same method of cook- 

 ing the sand before the next lot of 

 cuttings is planted. You evidently had 

 eelworm in your roses, by the descrip- 

 tion of the plants. Some growers rec- 

 ommend lime being applied to the soil 

 to get rid of eel worms; others are just 

 as emphatic that eelworms cannot flour- 

 ish if the soil is flooded. One thing is 

 sure; if the soil is treated properly by 

 sterilization eelworms cannot exist, or 

 any other of the numerous pests or 

 diseases that infest the plants. 



C. H. Totty. 



STEM BOT ON FIELD PLANTS. 



Kindly advise me what to do. My 

 carnation plants out in the field have 

 a bad attack of wet stem-rot. I read 

 F. P. Adams' article on "Carnations in 

 the South," in The Review of May 21, 

 and notice that he advises the use of a 

 carbonate of copper solution. Do you 

 think that by spraying my plants with 

 this solution I could stop the rot? My 

 location is southeastern Wisconsin. 



B. F. C. 



A bad case of stem-rot in the carna- 

 tion field is a serious proposition and I 

 can give you no positive cure for it. 



The greatest difficulty you will probably 

 encounter will be the uncertainty of the 

 weather conditions. Just about the time 

 you think you are getting things under 

 control there may come a spell of rainy 

 weather that will upset all your calcu- 

 lations and undo all your work. It does 

 not do to dwell upon this phase of the 

 question, however. The only way is to 

 go ahead with your preventive measures 

 and trust to luck as regards the weather. 

 A field of carnations is well worth the 

 effort to save them. 



The carbonate of copper solution is 

 a splendid article and so is the Bor- 

 deaux mixture. Instead of just spray- 

 ing it over the plants as you would in 

 the greenhouses, I would suggest that 



