OCTOBEB 21, 1015. 



The Florists^ Review 



13 



THE BARS ABE DOWN. 



Azalea Imports Unrestricted. 



The Belgian minister at Washington 

 advises as follows under date of Octo- 

 ber 14: 



"The regulations (by the British 

 government, concerning shipment of 

 goods of Belgian origin via Kotterdam) 

 have been relaxed in the case of Bel- 

 gian nursery stock, which is now being 

 exported freely to the United States, 

 under an arrangement with the Belgian 

 Horticultural Syndicate, that all con- 

 signees are instructed to pay the pur- 

 chase money in due course to the 

 Banque Beige pour I'Etranger, 2 Bish- 

 opsgate, London." 



What Wm the Effect Be? 



After all, the fall imports of azaleas 

 and other Belgian nursery stock are 

 being permitted to proceed almost with- 

 out restriction. Just what effect it will 

 have on the normal volume of imports 

 it is diflScult to say, as the uncertainty 

 has been great, no one knowing from 

 day to day what the regulations and 

 conditions would be tomorrow. Orders 

 no doubt were cut by some, while they 

 were increased and scattered by others. 

 Every boat from Eotterdam now brings 

 large shipments of Belgian plants, but 

 it will remain for the end of the sea- 

 son to show whether or not the total is 

 above or below that of normal years. 



Many Cases Already Here. 



As reported in The Eeview for Octo- 

 ber 14, shipments of Belgian plants, 

 principally azaleas, began leaving Eot- 

 terdam as early as September 4, 945 

 cases of plants reaching New York on 

 the Noordam October 4. The Eyndam 

 and Oosterdyk, which arrived October 

 18, brought still larger quantities and 

 the Westerdyk, due in a few days, has 

 many consignments of both Belgian and 

 Holland plants. McHutchison & Co., 

 New York, state they alone have a total 

 of 796 packages on these three boats. 



DEATH OF CLEMATIS. 



The sudden dying of clematis plants, 

 especially wherever the large-flowered 

 kinds are grown extensively in America 

 and Europe, has been noted for many 

 years, and the cause and methods for 

 prevention of this disease have recently 

 been reported in the Journal of Agri- 

 cultural Research of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, by W. O. 

 Qloyer of the New York Agricultural 

 Experiment Station at Geneva, N. Y. 

 This investigator found that the pri- 

 mary cause of the dying of these plants 

 is a fungus known as Ascochyta clema- 

 tidina. The disease shows itself dif- 

 ferently on various species. On hy- 

 brids grown in the field it is a stem- 

 rot, while at the greenhouse where cut- 

 tings are propagated it is a leaf-spot 

 as well as a stem-rot. On Clematis 

 paniculata the disease takes both forms. 



There is less disease when the hy- 

 brids are supported while growing than 

 when they are permitted to trail on the 

 ground. In the case of Clematis 

 paniculata, however, the selling price 

 of this variety does not warrant in- 

 curring the expense of supports. The 

 author in this case advises transplant- 

 ing the plants from the beds to the 

 open field after the first year and plac- 

 ing them far enough apart to prevent 

 natting, which is always a condition 



La Debutante of 18t2, for the Great-granddaughter of 1915. 



favorable to the disease. The follow- 

 ing spray, applied lightly, controls the 

 disease on Clematis paniculata growing 

 in the beds and on cuttings in the 

 greenhouse: One pound of laundry 

 soap and six pounds of sulphur to 

 fifteen gallons of water. The disease 

 can be controlled on the hybrids in 

 frames or in the greenhouse by the use 

 of sprays. In all cases it is best to 

 remove the diseased leaves and dead 

 vines before spraying. It is particu- 

 larly important to clear out such leaves 

 and vines, especially if the plant- is 

 wintering outdoors, as the fungus is 

 able to survive cold weather. This in- 

 dicates also that the same beds should 

 not be used for clematis during suc- 

 cessive years. 



cure seeds from indoor plants? Is there 

 danger of the seed mixing when the 

 plants are side by side? 



J. W. W.— Pa. 



PROPAGATING SNAPDRAGONS. 



Will you kindly state the best method 

 of propagating snapdragons in summer, 

 as we have had poor success? Can they 

 be well rooted in July, August and Sep- 

 tember? What is the best way to se- 



In order to secure true seed, only 

 grow one variety in a house. If more 

 are grown, it will be necessary to use 

 fine-mesh mosquito netting or gauze 

 over the plants to exclude insects while 

 the plants are flowering. I have found 

 indoor seed superior to that saved from 

 outdoor plants, for forcing purposes. 



Snapdragons are hard to root in July, 

 August and September, but seedlings 

 can be secured without any trouble. 

 These possess greater vigor than plants 

 propagated from cuttings, and are more 

 disease-proof. If you buy reliable seed, 

 a small proportion only will fail to 

 come true to color. Cuttings from 

 plants grown indoors root much more 

 satisfactorily than those from outside 

 plants. C. W. 



