/-V.V 



462 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



January 15, 1906. 



a person will probably depend on after 

 he has had some practice, are his eyes. 

 To sum up in a nutshell, the most 

 common causes of failure in the graft- 

 ing case are: First, shriveling, due to 

 too dry an atmosphere, either through 

 improper airing or a poorly built struc- 

 ture, allowing air to get in through 

 the cracks; and, second, damping or 

 lotting off, due to not enough ventila- 

 tion, or else too moist an atmosphere. 

 (To be continued ) 



THRIPS ON ROSES. 



These pests, when once they effect an 

 entrance into a rose house, particularly 

 where Beauties are the crop, can if neg- 

 lected cause considerable trouble, cha- 

 grin and loss. For the past few years 

 it has seemed next to impossible to keep 

 such crops free from their ravages and 

 it looks as if they were ever on the in- 

 crease in spite of all the efforts made 

 to subdue them. Along with our native 

 species we have to contend with a few 

 imported varieties which are equally de- 

 structive and quite as hard to get rid 

 of as their native congeners. 



As a means of preventing their en- 

 trance into the greenhouse great care 

 should be exercised in keeping sod and 

 manure piles from being overrun with 

 weeds during the summer months, as 

 these are their favorite breeding places. 

 They are especially to be found among 

 tall-growing weeds and these should bo 

 kept in check in the vicinity of the 

 houses, either by being cut down or by 

 being burned during a dry spell. 



To prevent their increase in the house 

 frequent and light fumigation is neces- 

 flary rather than heavy doses, which 

 ^oiild be certain to destroy the color of 

 the blooms. If the fumes can be made 

 to reach these insects they are certain to 

 be destroyed, but this is where the trou- 

 ble commences, for, being very active 

 and quick in their movement, they seek 

 <!OV«r when the urst scent of the fumes 

 reaches them. They succumb quickly to 

 the ordinary tobacco fumes and as they 

 prefer to fed mostly after dark, when 

 they leave their seclusion among the 

 molch or rough surface soil and ascend 

 to the blooms to feed, they are much 

 «affler destroyed if this operation is per- 

 formed after darkness has set in. 



If they become too plentiful and a 

 too frequent fumigation is bleaching the 

 blooms, cayenne pepper can be used and 

 if this is employed in the following man- 

 ner they are certain to disappear, not 

 all in one night, as the broods are being 

 hatched continually, but by persisting in 

 its use twice a week there will be few 

 visible in two or three weeks. 



Heat some iron plates or ordinary 

 bricks till they are nearly red and place 

 them in the paths at distances of twenty 

 or thirty feet apart. Then start at the 

 farthest end of the house and put a 

 tablespoonful of the pepper on each 

 plate or brick. Do this quicklyij^nd keep ^ 

 moving toward the door, as these fume^ 

 are disagreeable or even dangerous.' 

 Close the house tightly and let it remain 

 so till morning. These fumes are harm- 

 less to vegetable life but are death to 

 most insects^ Emis. 



ROSE RICHMOND. 

 I had an opportunity lately of critic- 

 ally examining the new rose, Richmond, 

 and am more pleased with it than ever 

 and I venture to predict that the days 

 •of our erratic friend, Liberty, are num- 

 bered. While not possess!^ such a vivid 



and intense color as Liberty, the color is 

 very pleasing, the buds long, pointed 

 and of good shape, opens to a nice form 

 and possesses first-class keeping qualities. 

 A free grower, good producer and car- 

 ries the bud on a fine stem, well supplied 

 with leaves of a good texture and rich 

 color. I congratulate Mr. Hill on being 

 the possessor of such a gem. Bibes. 



TROUBLE WITH TEAS. 



I send a sample of a diseased Bride 

 plant. Something has started in my 

 roses and one after another is being 

 affected. They were planted the last 

 of June out of 3-inch pots into a clay 

 sod with about one-fifth cow n(ianure. 

 We did not allow them to bloom until 

 the latter part of September. They have 

 been mulched twice with cow manure, 

 but about December 15 we removed the 

 last mulch. Since then we have done 

 nothing to them. One or two bushes 





A Whip Graft 

 (Stock and Scion About Equal Size.) 



have died out completely. They have 

 had no mildew and have had air night 

 and day until cold weather set in; since 

 then have given them air whenever pos- 

 sible. The houses have been kept at 

 56 to 60 degrees. We have used no bone 

 meal or lime. Have had no green lly 

 until lately. Smoked regularly once a 

 week, also syringed whenever possible. 

 Had about the same trouble last year 

 but put the blame on using too much sul- 

 phur on the pipes. About December 1 

 we trimmed off some of the blind wood 

 to give sun and air a chance to get be- 

 tween and shortly after the Maids started 

 to turn pale; lately they have come a lit- 

 tle more true to color. Have also Ivory 

 and Golden Gate on the same benches 

 but they seem to be all right. W. A. 8. 



After a critical examination of the 



specimen received, I am inclined to think 

 that these roses must frequently be ex- 

 posed to a higher temperature than 56 

 or even 60 degrees during the night and 

 there also seems to have been the lack 

 of proper ventilation. 



Where the greatest error occurred was 

 in mulching before the plants were large 

 Plough to make use of it. This mulch- 

 ing has had the effect of excluding the 

 sun from the soil and, as the plants 

 show distinct evidence of having been 

 frequently very dry at the i>oint where 

 the soil touched the bottom of the bench, 

 this also can be ascribed to the mulch- 

 ing, as it frequently happens that the 

 mulch absorbs and retains the moisture, 

 giving the bench the appearance of be- 

 ing moist while the soil may be dry. 



This would account for the thin text- 

 ure of the foliage and the poor color of 

 the petals. 



I have never found it necessary to cut 

 off any wood from young stock of Brides 

 and Bridesmaids, except for propagatinff 

 purposes, during midwinter and cannot 

 imagine such a case and especially where 

 the plants are so feeble as this specimen 

 indicates. 



Keep the surface of the bench clean 

 and moist enough to prevent cracking. 

 Reduce the night temperature to 56 de- 

 grees and be sure it remains at that 

 point. Run it up to 75 or 80 degrees, 

 according to intensity of sunshine. Re- 

 frain from feeding until health is again 

 established. Give air freely on all favor- 

 able occasions. Use the syringe to 

 keep down spider. If these methods are 

 followed with good judgment and soil 

 and water are of good quality there is 

 no reason why these roses should not 

 recover in time and give a good account 

 of themselves. Ribes. 



QNDERS FOR BENCHES. 



Is there any damage in using cinders 

 instead of sand for covering the benches 

 to set pot plants on? What would be 

 the best paying crop to put in a carna- 

 tion house where carnations have died 

 outt Would asters fill the billt 



W. A. S. 



What you call cinders are usually 

 called ashes. They are what shake 

 through the fire bars. We sift them 

 through a ^^-inch mesh sieve. They 

 are used, possibly, more than any other 

 material for spreading on the benches 

 to set the potted plants on. We have 

 used the ashes of both hard and soft 

 coal, as well as coke. All are useful 

 for the purpose. Last February our 

 supply of sand ran out and my son spread 

 three inches of sifted coke ashes on a 

 bench with little or no bottom heat, for 

 a very little heat penetrates an inch 

 board. Among other varieties of carna- 

 tions, he put in a thousand cuttings of 

 Estelle. They were, after being in the 

 ashes three weeks, the richest, best col- 

 ored and altogether the healthiest batch 

 of cuttings I ever saw, and I could not 

 discover a cutting that was not rooted. 

 Chrysanthemums and a host of other 

 soft-wooded plants root finely in coal 

 ashes. I only quote the above to show 

 how harmless they are. 



As you have the soil on the bench 

 where carnations have failed, I should 

 suggest lettuce. You might, by good 

 management, get three crops before it 

 could be grown outside. Sweet peas sown 

 before the end of the month would pro- 

 duce at Easter, and that is not the only 



