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1316 



The Weekly Horists' Review. 



Afbil 20, 1906. 



has commenced, and as soon as this oc- 

 curs remove the plants to a cooler and 

 more airy structure. To attain the best 

 results, a small span-roofed house, or one 

 Bide of it, should be devoted to them. 

 Arrange the plants on inverted flower 

 pots, and allow suf&cient room for each 

 to stand clear of its neighbor. Syringe 

 between the pots frequently during the 

 daytime, and damp the paths and walls 

 at night, but do not syringe the foliage. 

 Failing such a position, shelves in ' the 

 greenhouse provide the next beet place, 

 and even pits will grow them well. Do 

 not fail to admit abundance of air on all 

 favorable occasions, both night and day, 

 as by so doing the foliage will be much 

 Improved, and the coloring of the flowers 

 much more satisfactory. 



When the pots become well filled with 

 roots, and it is one's ambition to produce 

 extra large specimens, these plants may 

 receive another shift into larger pots, 

 care being taken to disturb the roots 

 as little as possible, and not to damage 

 the foliage, which is certainly part of 

 the charm of well-grown plants. 



Feeding. 



This should commence immediately the 

 pots become fairly well filled with roots, 

 and it will be perfectly safe to apply it 

 at every other watering, and continue it 

 all through the flowering period. I have 

 found nothing so suitable as good Peru- 

 vian guano, properly diluted, and that 

 made from horse, cow, and sheep manure, 

 which should be placed In a tub, with a 

 small bag of fresh soot, and used as re- 

 quired. 



Insect Pests. 



Thrips, green fly, and mealy bug we 

 have found the most troublesome pests, 

 and when mealy bug obtains a strong hold 

 it is undoubtedly a most troublesome one, 

 and the safest and best plan is never to 

 aJlow it to become established. Green fly 

 and thrips may easily be kept down by 

 frequent nicotine fumigation; we make 

 it a rule to do this about every ten days, 

 and so can keep them thoroughly clean, 

 and if the work is done according to the 

 directions given with the material no 

 damage will occur. 



Shading. 



During hot weather it will be necessary 

 to shade streptocarpuses with thin blinds, 

 removing them immediately the strong 

 Bun has passed oflf them, otherwise the 

 foliage and flowers will become drawn, 

 and generally lack that high finish which 

 is characteristic of good culture. The 

 blooms will last for a considerable time 

 in a thoroughly fresh condition, and, if 

 wanted for exhibition or any other pur- 

 pose, they may be securely fixed with 

 the aid of floral gum at the base of the 

 tower. Bxcept In the case of plants 

 which are required for the production of 

 seed, the old flower stalks should be re- 

 moved immediately the flowers fade, this 

 enabling fresh flower trusses to be pro- 

 duced in abundance. 



Seed Saving. 



Though excellent streptocarpus seea 

 can be obtained from leading nurserymen, 

 it is extremely interesting to save one's 

 own, as the pleasure there is in watching 

 the development of the flowers from one 's 

 own stock is then greatly enhanced. 



The seed takes some time to mature, 

 and a great care is necessary in cleaning 

 and looking after it. The pods should 

 not be picked until they are just on the 

 point of bursting, when they should be 



placed in shallow boxes on stout white 

 paper, and stood on shelves near the glass 

 to finish. In about ten days the seed can 

 be cleaned, and stored away. I cannot 

 close these remarks without giving to 

 Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea, 

 the credit for being the raisers and in- 

 troducers of so many beautiful varieties 

 of streptocarpus. Not only have they 

 improved the individual flowers, but the 

 habit of the plant also. — Gardeners' 

 Magazine. 



[In the United States growers flnd it 

 preferable to give the seedlings 2-inch 

 pots at the flrst potting and 3-inch where 

 4%-inch pots are advised when starting 

 up after the rest the flrst winter. The 

 putting near the glass is contrary to our 

 modern rules of culture. — ^R.] 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY. 



The report of this society will be 

 ready for distribution in a short time 

 and will be sent to paid-up members 

 only, so that any who are in arrears, or 

 who would like to get this report and 

 are not members, should at once send 

 $2 to the treasurer, Fred Dorner, Jr., 

 Lafayette, Ind. 



Messrs. A. H. Hews & Co., Cambridge, 

 Mass., offer for the meeting and exhibi- 

 tion in Boston next January a cup to the 

 value of $25 for "the Jiest collection of 

 four varieties of carnations, twenty-five 

 blooms of each," to be shown in sepa- 

 rate vases. This prize will be open to all 

 with either seedlings or named sorts and 

 no restrictions as to color. 



Any other firm or grower who desires 

 to give special premiums for this exhi- 

 bition can report them to President 

 Peter Fisher, Ellis, Mass., or to the sec- 

 retary. ALBERT M. Herb, Sec'y. 



LIKE A CHAMELEON. 



The following very interesting news- 

 paper telegram was sent out from San 

 Francisco on April 15: 



Luther BurbaDk, wizard of horticulture, has 

 produced a camatlooi which changed Us color 

 three times on the flrst three days It came 

 Into bloom. On the flrst day the carnation was 

 pure white, the second day It was a pink, while 

 on the third day It changed to a deep red, 

 which It retained until It faded. Gophers ob- 

 literated this type of carnation, but Burbank 

 is at work trying to reproduce it. 



Retail florists hope that Mr. Burbank 

 may succeed in his efforts and trust that 

 the change in hue may be fixed to oc- 

 cur as an indication of the period which 

 has elapsed since the flowers were ready 

 to cut, rather than the somewhat illu- 

 sive appearance of wakefulness which is 

 now the guide. 



SOLID BEDS AGAIN. 



How will carnations do in a solid bed 

 two feet deep, vrith about twelve inches 

 of ashes in the bottom, six to eight 

 inches rotted manure and four to six 

 inches soil on top? The steam-pipes run 

 along the wall with a walk between 

 the bed and wall. A. C. T. 



I would not consider it advisable to 

 put six inches of manure under the soil 

 in your carnation bsds. You will find 

 that a good inch of manure with four 

 inchas of soil will grow as good car- 

 nations as can possibly be produced. 

 Such a large amount of manure is like- 

 ly to sicken the plants. It will at least 

 prevent drainage. Six inches of soil is 

 more than the plants need in one season 

 and it is considered best to plant in 

 fresh soil every year. Four inches of 

 soil is plenty and we have sean very 



fine carnations growing in three inches 

 of soil. Last spring we planted our 

 Lawsons from 2^ -inch pots on| the bed 

 which contained scant three inches of 

 soil and we have had better Lawson 

 this season than ever before. In the 

 future we shall plant in less than four 

 inches of soil rather than over that 

 depth. A. ±. J, jBAUfU 



PROPAGATING SAND. 



At the last meeting of the Pittsburg 

 and Allegheniy Florists' Club a question 

 was asked as to White Rock sand, what 

 it is, where it comes from and whether 

 it is good for propagating. In answer 

 it was stated that "we communicated 

 with a number of sand and stone firms 

 in Pittsburg concerning White Rock 

 sand, and aU excepting one firm were as 

 ignorant as we are in the matter, and 

 they said it was crushed rock, and comes 

 from a place called Emlington, about 

 ninety miles up the Allegheny valley. 



"We would not say which is best, but 

 ordinary river sand is good enough to 

 propagate in. As a rule it is not the 

 fault of the sand that is the cause of 

 failure, but the man who does the work. 

 Our experience in propagating is that 

 we get better results from coarse sand in 

 the winter months, and fine in spring 

 and summer." 



ASTERS ON OLD GROUND. 



It would be of service to me, and 

 probably to others, if some of your prac- 

 tical men would give an article on the 

 cultivation of the aster on old ground. 



G. M. R. 



It is a little uncertain what is meant 

 by "old" ground. If the same ground 

 that has grown asters for several years 

 is meant, then our experience with as- 

 ters grown on the same spot for fiv» 

 years is that they were quite as good, 

 even better last year thsin the first year. 

 They were annually well manured. Ro- 

 tation ' of crops is very essential with 

 many things, but there are exceptions. 

 Onions, for instance, are said to pro- 

 duce a better crop the tenth successive 

 season than the first. With a good dress- 

 ing of farm-yard manure every spring 

 and the long rest the soil has between 

 crops, the asters will do well on the 

 same ground for a number of years. 



W. S. 



HEATING FRAMES 



Has any reader of the Review had 

 experience in heating hotbeds with hot 

 water or steam? How is it done and 

 what success may be expected in raising 

 plants of all kinds? J. L. H. 



A hotbed is a hotbed and is heated by 

 the fermenting material of which it is 

 made and is always a temporary struc- 

 ture, mostly used in early spring for 

 early vegetables and bedding plants. A 

 cold frame can be more or less perma- 

 nent, but is usually a frame of boards 

 covered with sash and further protected 

 on cold nights with shutters or mats and 

 is used in the spring months for plants 

 that will thrive in a cool temperature, 

 but will not endure any frost. A heated 

 pit or frame is a permanent structure 

 and should have low brick or cement 

 walls and often excavated a foot or so be- 

 low the surrounding surface. These low 

 structures are most useful at any time, 

 not only as an overflow to accommodate 



