896 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Skptkmber 29, 1904. 



benches under glass sow early in Febru- 

 ary. In the writer's opinion there is 

 not much profit in asters under glass, 

 except for a very early crop. They can, 

 with plenty of water, be grown just as 

 fine outdoors and under glass in July 

 and August it is hard work to keep the 

 thrips off them. Foi* several seasons 



it has been the late asters that paid. 

 In August they are a drug. By the 

 end of September they are fought over. 

 Of course L. F. W. meant plant 

 gladioli, not sow them. There is not 

 much gained by planting them on the 

 benches before the middle of January 

 because they won't start. W. S. 



DISEASED PLANTS WANTED. 



Ed. Eeview: "Will you kindly in- 

 sert in your carnation notes the fact 

 that Prof. Hasselbring, Department of 

 Botany, University of Chicago, Chicago, 

 111., will be glad to have diseased car- 

 nation plants mailed to his address to 

 enable him to study same for his paper 

 which he will read before the American 

 Carnation Society in January. 



• Jas. Hartshorne. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



Various Diseases. 



That most dreaded disease, stem-rot, 

 was discussed last week but there are 

 other ailments which, while not neces- 

 sarily fatal, are of sufficient importance 

 to demand attention, as they are a hin- 

 drance to the best development of the 

 plant. If we are to bring out the ca- 

 pabilities of a variety and desire to 

 propagate for another season, the 

 healthier the plants, the greater the de- 

 gree of success. 



Rust is a disease which may crop out 

 on almost any part of the plant but gen- 

 erally shows first on the lower leaves. 

 When this affection first made its ap- 

 pearance in this country, much alarm 

 was felt and many so-called remedies 

 were tried but none has proved either a 

 preventive or a cure. Unlike stem-rot, 

 when a plant becomes affected, it is not 

 beyond help but can be so handled as tc 

 eventually be a source of profit. 



Rust being a constitutional disease 

 makes it imperative that it be so treated. 

 Local treatment is a help in preventing 

 a spread of the disease but to reach the 

 seat of trouble, the vigor of the plant 

 must be brought to such a degree as to 

 throw off or outgrow the disease. 



Local treatment consists in removing 

 all affected parts and burning them, af- 

 terwards dusting with grape dust and 

 spraying with Bordeaux mixture or salt 

 solution to destroy the many mites cling- 

 ing to the foliage, awaiting a chance to 

 enter. 



These mites and germs of other dis- 

 eases find an easy means of entrance in 

 the punctures made by aphides and other 

 insect enemies; hence the added import- 

 ance of keeping the plants free from in- 

 sect pests. 



No effort should be spared to keep the 

 plants growing vigorously. This may 

 mean the addition of fertilizer, if the 

 soil is partly exhausted or deficient in 

 some element. Many times the addition 

 of air-slaked lime is all that is needed 

 to render the elements more available. 



The working in of the lime also lightens 

 up the surface soil and admits air. 



Extreme care should be used in wa- 

 tering and spraying, that the bluish 

 bloom on the foliage may not be re- 

 moved. 



Other diseases to be commonly met 

 are bacteriosis, common spot, fairy ring 

 spot and fusarium leaf spot. Although 

 different in nature, the effect of each is 

 similar in appearance of affected foliage 

 but, not being constitutional diseases, 

 they are more easily overcome or guarded 

 against. 



The same treatment as recommended 

 for rust, particularly the encouragement 

 of vigorous growth, is advisable. The 

 removal of affected leaves is important 

 in all diseases. The work may be labor- 

 ious but it is obvious that to leave this 

 objectionable matter, teaming with fun- 

 gous spores, to decay on the plants or 

 soil, is only to invite further recurrence 

 of the trouble. Geo. S. Osborn. 



RUST. 



What is the cause and cure of rust 

 on carnations? J. V. L. 



Not many years ago carnation grow- 

 ers dreaded the carnation rust even 

 more than they did stem-rot, and under 

 the prevailing methods of culture it 

 was something to be dreaded. If a va- 

 riety was disseminated which was 

 known to have rust, it was sure to have 

 a short career. We have learned to 



avoid it now, however, and we do not 

 dread it as we used to. If a new vari- 

 ety has the earmarks of a good com- 

 mercial sort, we would not think of let- 

 ting a few spores of rust stand between 

 us and the variety. 



The one thing to bear in mind is that 

 these spores will remain dormant as 

 long as they are dry. That will tell 

 you to diminish your syringing to just 

 what is absolutely necessary to keep 

 away red spider. Syringe only on bright 

 days and then do it early in the day, 

 so the plants will dry off before night. 

 Do all you can to help the plants to 

 make a strong, sturdy growth, so they 

 will be able to fight off the disease. 

 Do not allow any checks to occur at any 

 time. In case of a damp, rainy spell, 

 you can blow some air-slaked lime with 

 a little sulphur mixed with it (about 

 one-quarter its bulk) over the plants, 

 just like you would on roses to stop 

 mildew. If you have steam heat drop 

 a pinch of sulphur on one of the pipes 

 about every ten feet once each week. 

 Don't make this too strong, though, 

 else it will take the color out of the 

 blooms, especially the pink ones. It is 

 a good plan to have the ventilators open 

 .an inch or so, anyway 



A. F. J. Baub. 



FUNGICIDE FOR RUST. 



Please let me know some good fungi- 

 cide with which to spray carnations for 

 rust, and how often? L. F. W. 



I think it is agreed among expert 

 carnation growers that fungicides or 

 solutions of any kind had little to do 

 with the almost total disappearance of 

 rust. Bordeaux mixture was for years 

 the supposed standard remedy. Other 

 growers later have believed that salt 

 and water was very efficacious. Perhaps 

 it is, but the best antidote of all is 

 the proper condition of the atmosphere 

 and soil, and that I must leave to Mr. 

 Baur or Mr. Osborn. By cleanliness, 

 plenty of pure, fresh air and no spray- 

 ing of the foliage after the first few 

 days of planting, we have seen little if 

 any rust for the last five or six years. 



W' S. 





FIRING AND VENTILATION. 



Frost has occurred in many sections 

 and some attention is necessary to keep 

 the temperature from falling too low 

 in the houses. The air should be re- 

 duced in the evenings and when the in- 

 dications are for frost leave on only an 

 inch or two of air and run a little 

 heat through"" the house. Growers heat- 

 ing with steam have a big advantage in 

 the early fall as a single line of heat 

 turned on, while it will not raise the tem- 

 perature to any appreciable extent, will 

 still furnish enough live heat to keep 

 a moving atmosphere in the house. If 

 oi:e has only 4-inch hot water pipes it 

 will take more firing to produce the de- 



sired result and the additional heat may 

 necessitate leaving more air on the 

 house. A niglit temperature of 45° to 

 50° is plenty warm enough and if there 

 are no early crown buds in the house 

 it may go even lower without any detri- 

 ment. Where only late flowers are 

 wanted, and terminal buds are setting, 

 the houses should be kept very cold and 

 any temperature short of actual frost 

 will be quite safe ; in fact, the only way 

 to hold back flowers is late planting, tak- 

 ing the terminal bud and a temperature 

 as low as possible. 



The early kinds that are fast develop- 

 ing will, I think, have a good sale this 

 year, owing to the severe frost that has 



