1578 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Mat 18, 190G. 



value of the soil and it might be a great 

 detriment to it. The sod and manure 

 heap should be turned over as soon now 

 as you can do it, to break it up and let 

 the air into it. It will rot better, too. 

 A. F. J. Baur. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



General Remarks. 



With the rush of Easter and press of 

 work in planting in the field closely fol- 

 lowing, carnation growers have expe- 

 rienced a strenuous period. Memorial 

 day is next in order, when the season 

 may be said to be over. On this occa- 

 sion the call is more for quantity than 

 quality and on this account it may be 

 best to continue for a short time some 

 sorts whose room is thought to be worth 

 more than their company. 



After the first of June those varieties 

 which are badly lacking in vigor, dis- 

 eased, or infected with insect pests, are 

 best thrown out and burned. 



Those giving promise of satisfactorj' 

 returns during the summer should re- 

 ceive a thorough cleaning and the soil 

 lightly raked preparatory to receiving 

 a mulch. 



It is not to be expected that prices 

 ■will be high from this on but it is the 

 better grades of bloom that move quickly, 

 while the "rubber necks" and culls fur- 



sod and manure in such a way as to 

 utilize the good qualities of both. 



We like the plan of building a long 

 pile in alternate layers of sod and man- 

 ure, finishing top flat and about shoulder 

 high. Do not be afraid to use fresh 

 manure. My experience has been that 

 most manure is too rotten. After laying 

 three or four weeks the pile should be 

 cut down and thrown back. See to it 

 when this is done that it is cut clear to 

 the ground and thrown well back. Often 

 times as work proceeds the two piles 

 run together and the finish is but a lick 

 and a promise. 



The addition of air-slaked lime will fa- 

 cilitate decomposition, thus rendering 

 many ingredients more available. 1 

 would not advise the use of bone meal 

 at this time. Reserve this until filling 

 time, but it is a good plan to get it on 

 hand, as often just the brand you prefer 

 is out of stock" when most needed. 



Geo. S. Osborn. 



THBIPS AGAIN. 



We are sending specimen blooms of 

 Mrs. Lawson carnation and would like 

 to know what is wrong. The night tem- 

 perature has been 52 degrees, but at 

 Christmas we did run it at 58 degrees 

 for a couple of weeks. The soil is fair- 

 ly heavy and has been well watered at 

 all times. The houses are well built and 



Roots of the Soy Bean Showing Nodules. 



nish likewise revenue for the express 

 companies and food for the rubbish 

 heap; therefore, if you decide to con- 

 tinue supplying the market this sum- 

 mer, aim to keep up quality. 



The Soil Pile. 



Now is a first-class time to roll up a 

 pile of soil. If put up now it will be 

 ready for use at bench-filling time. 

 There are several methods of proceeding, 

 but the main principal is to incorporate 



we have had splendid success in previ- 

 ous years. The other varieties are show- 

 ing the same spots, but not so badly. 



M. N. C. 



Your carnations are badly infested 

 with thrips and you will find it up-hill 

 work to get rid of them now. During the 

 warm spring weather they increased very 

 rapidly, and it will keep you busy to 

 destroy them as fast as they appear. 

 As I told P. M. in the Easter Number 



of the Review, the time to fight thrips 

 is all winter, or better still, all the year 

 around. We used to have much trouble 

 with them when we depended on tobacco 

 stems to keep them down, but ever since 

 our carnations were housed last fall, we 

 have sprayed once each week with an 

 extract forty-five per cent nicotine, and 

 this spring there is no sign of them on 

 our stock. Mrs. Lawson shows the ef- 

 fects quicker thim any other variety we 

 have here, but Lorna suffers badly too. 

 In the winter, when the sun is weak, the 

 petals will be spotted white, but later 

 the hot sun burns and dries up these 

 dead spots and ruins the blooms. 



I feel that I cannot recommend this 

 nicotine extract too strongly. It fills a 

 want that was felt for years, for some- 

 thing that would keep down thrips ef- 

 fectively, and, in fact, keep down all 

 kinds of insect pests and could be used 

 without disturbing the regular routine 

 of cutting and selling the blooms. The 

 discoverer deserves success in selling his 

 product for the greatest benefit comes 

 to those who use it, because those who 

 have used it to any extent will tell you 

 that with every dollar you spend for it 

 you will save yourself at least ten dol- 

 lars in blooms that you used to lose 

 through these insect pests. We have 

 not smoked our houses once in the last 

 ten months and our stock throughout 

 was never so clean. We shall use noth- 

 ing else in the future, unless we find 

 something still better. 



A. F. J. Bauk. 



BACTERIA FOR LEGUMES. 



The United States Department of Ag- 

 riculture has issued a bulletin entitled 

 "Beneficial Bacteria for Leguminous 

 Crops," which will be of interest to ev- 

 ery nurseryman and seedsman, to every 

 florist, every fruit grower, and every 

 farmer, in fact to every one whose in- 

 terests are in any way related to the 

 science of the soil. 



From the earliest days of agriculture 

 it has been recognized that leguminosa;, 

 which in general, bear their seeds in 

 pods, have a decidedly beneficial effect 

 upon the soil. Pliny, who met his death 

 in the year 79 A. D., in the great erup- 

 tion of Mt. Vesuvius which destroyed 

 Pompeii and Herculaneum, had recorded 

 that "the bean ranks first among le- 

 gumes; it fertilizes the ground in which 

 it is sown as well as any manure." But 

 it was not until comparatively recent 

 times that it was demonstrated that the 

 fertilizing qualities were dependent up- 

 on the formation on the legumes of root 

 nodules which came to be known as "ni- 

 trogen knots," or "nitrogen traps," from 

 the part they play in fiirnishing the 

 plants with nitrogen derived from the 

 air. Research showed these root nodules 

 to be the result of the presence of cer- 

 tain bacteria in the soil. But there 

 are many localities where these beneficent 

 bacteria are absent, and here a crop of 

 legumes is of no more value to the soil 

 than a cereal or other main crop, which 

 might be a distinct source of profit. It 

 was this fact which led to the series of 

 experiments and the results summarize^ 

 in the present pamphlet by George T. 

 Moore and T. R. Robinson. 



By working with the nodules it was 

 found possible to prepare a pure "cul- 

 ture" of the nodule forming organism 

 which it was practicable to put up in 

 a dry form for shipment to the districts 



