Fbbrdaby 25, 1915. 



The Florists^ Review 



17 



CATEBPILLABS ON FERNS. 



We are greatly annoyed by a green 

 worm which eats the tips of our Amer- 

 pohlii ferns. In the spring we no- 

 tice some sort of , moths flying among 

 our plants and w^ suppose these are 

 the starters of the trouble. We find 

 the worms when we are weeding and 

 they do all the damage in the summer. 

 The ferns are grown in a lath house, 

 here in central Florida. Is there any 

 good way of {iestroying the pest? We 

 do not see how we can spray, as that 

 would mean the use of poison, which 

 would burn the ferns. N. & W. 



This caterpillar' pest sometimes 

 proves extremely troublesome to ferff 

 growers, especially in the south, and 

 there seem to be only two methods 

 of fighting it, namely, either spraying 

 or hand-picking, and the latter method 

 takes up a lot of time. Spraying with 

 a weak solution of Paris green, or with 

 a solution of nicotine, is the most ef- 

 fective remedy, but needs to be done 

 carefully to avoid injury to the young 

 fronds. W. H. T. 



MEALY BUQ ON BOSTON FEBNS. 



What can be done with Boston ferns 

 to rid them of mealy bug? .T. F. C. 



A good fore* of water from a spray 

 nozzle on the hose will clean them. 

 Lay the plants on their sides before 

 hosing them over. C. W. 



SAMPLES FOB IDENTIFICATION. 



I am enclosing fronds of two kinds 

 of ferns. Can you give me the name of 

 each? I am also enclosing a leaf of 

 what we know here as mountain laurel, 

 but I have heard that it goes by some 

 other name. F. L. M. 



The leaf known as mountain laurel is 

 Rhododendron Catawbiense. 



The larger portion of a fern frond is 

 from one of the pteris family, but the 

 specimen is not complete enough for 

 positive identification. The smaller fern 

 fronds are from an asplenium, probably 

 A. ebeneum. In forwarding fern speci- 

 mens for identification it is best to send 

 a whole fertile frond, for the classifica- 

 tion depends chiefly on the form and ar- 

 rangement of the spores on the leaf, and 

 none of the enclosed samples were fer- 

 tile fronds. W. H. T. 



BUILDING A LATH HOUSE. 



What is the best way to build a lath 

 house for storing palms, ferns, etc., in 

 summer? How wide should the laths 

 be and how much space should there 

 be between them? We are located, you 

 will notice, in southwestern Michigan. 



V. B. & B. 



summer use is one that is in outline 

 something like an even-span green- 

 house, with only a little pitch to the 

 roof. For example, the walls may be 

 six to seven feet high to the eaves, 

 and the ridge eight to ten feet abovfe 

 the ground. The framework should be 

 of 2x4 or 3x4 lumber, according to the 

 dimensions of the building. Unless it 

 is unusually wide, a single row of 

 posts under the ridge will support it. 



Ordinary building lath will answer 

 well for the purpose, and would neces- 

 sitate the framing to be spaced four 

 feet apart from the centers. The laths 

 themselves should be spaced about 

 three-fourths of an inch apart. If you 

 are troubled with heavy snows in your 

 locality, it will be advisable to build 

 the lath house in sections, so that it 

 may be taken down and stored away 

 for the winter. W. H. T. 



A STBONG COMBINATION. 



Although not the oldest, among the 

 best known of the fern growers of 

 Florida is the firm of Newell & Ustler, 

 at Apopka, Fla., composed of W. P. 

 Newell and H. J. Ustler. If the second 

 initial were omitted from the latter 's 

 name, it would serve to describe each 

 of the partners. To this quality is 

 largely due the firm's success, which is 

 to some extent indicated by the view 

 of the interior of their slat houses 

 given in the accompanying illustration. 

 Another factor and its part in the build- 

 ing of the business is set forth in the 



following paragraph, from the letter of 

 Newell & Ustler which accompanied the 

 photograph: 



"Two years ago this coming January 

 1, this plot of ground was the toughest 

 proposition that ever 'a nigger run up 

 against with a grub hoe,' but by hard 

 work and pluck, which are the main 

 things in Florida, and the advertising 

 done in The Review, we made it the 

 show place of Apopka. The Review's 

 classified ads have worked wonders in 

 building up our business; we have on 

 our books the names of all the leading 

 florists in all the large cities. As an 

 advertising medium, we cannot speak 

 too highly of The Review, which we 

 welcome ever}' week. ' ' 



Middletown, O. — Joseph R. Goldman 

 has taken over the business of J. R. 

 Johnston and will conduct it in the 

 future. 



Scranton, Pa. — Arrangements for the 

 annual flower show, to be held in 

 Town hall, March 25 to 27, have been 

 perfected by the Scranton Florists' 

 Club. 



Scranton, Pa. — Baldwin the Florist 

 has removed from his old stand on 

 Spruce street to his new store at 118 

 Adams avenue. Although only in busi- 

 ness here for tw6~ years, Mr. Baldwin 

 has built up a good business, which, 

 it is expected, will increase now that 

 he is established in more commodious 

 and pretentious quarters. M. L. Ruch 

 is manager at the store. "VA^n automo- 

 bile delivery service is a recent addi- 

 tion. 



Evansville, Ind. — Joseph M. Wilkin, 

 secretary and treasurer of the Carna- 

 tion Support Co., announces that the 

 concern has increased its capital stock 

 from $2,000 to $5,000. The purpose was 

 to put more funds at its disposal to 

 enable it to carry a larger stock of 

 made-up supports. Carl R. Houghton is 

 president and Michael G-anley vice- 

 presideijt. The directors are Joseph E. 

 Huston, Robert T. Huston and the three 

 officers. 



The most convenient lath house for 

 I, 



In Newell & Uttler's New Fern Houses, Apopka, Fla. 



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