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J 34 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



JUNB 8, 1905. 



and quantities required have been pub- 

 lished so often that doubtless the editor 

 will not care to devote space to going 

 fully into the subject again. A great 

 deal of caution is necessary, not only 

 because the gas is deadly poison, but 

 because too much of it will burn the 

 plants. The young growth of roses is 

 particularly sensitive. A great deal 

 will also depend on the tightness of the 

 houses in determining the quantity of 

 gas to be used. For a starter the quan- 

 tity of cyanide should not exceed one- 

 tenth of a gram for each cubic foot. 

 Better start weak and watch results; 

 you call increase the dose as conditions 

 warrant. If you do not keep your 

 Beviews on file for reference, as you 

 should, and if you have no copy of 

 Scott 's Manual, send to the Department 

 of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for 

 Circular No. 37, entitled "The Use of 

 Hydrocyanic Acid Gas for Fumigat- 



ing. 



H. O. 



y^etable Forcing. 



The U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture has issued a bulletin. No. 220, en- 

 titled Tomatoes, by L. C. Corbett, to 

 supersede the one on this subject issued 

 in 1898. All phases of the subject are 

 covered in the new work. 



VEGETABLE MARKETS. 



Chicago, June 7. — Cucumbers, 25c to 

 50c doz. ; mushrooms, 35c to 60c lb.; let- 

 tuce, 20c to 35c ease; head lettuce, 50c 

 to $2 tub. 



Boston, June 5.— Cucumbers, $1.25 to 

 $3.50 box; lettuce, 15c to 25c doz.; to- 

 matoes, 12%c to 15c lb.; beets, $1 doz. 

 bunches; carrots, 75c to $1 doz. bunches; 

 turnips, 75c doz. bunches. 



New York, June 5. — Cucumbers, $2.50 

 to $3 case; lettuce, 75c to $1.50 bbl.; 

 mushrooms, 15c to 40c lb. 



FIXING UP AND CLEANING. 



Now that the busy season is over, this 

 is a good time to look over the houses 

 and benches and havs all necessary re- 

 pairs attended to. It is poor policy to 

 wait and run the risk of delaying the 

 planting, when repairs may be as well 

 attended to now, besides, when plenty of 

 time can be given to repairs they can 

 be done far more satisfactorily than 

 when things have to be rushed. 



The houses should be painted over, 

 both outside and inside, if they are at 

 all in need of it. A house kept in good 

 repair and kept well painted will out- 

 last a structure neglected in this respect 

 by quite a few years, so it is poor policy 

 to try and save expense by withholding 

 the paint. 



Though plants may not grow any fas- 

 ter in a clean, fresh house, nevertheless 

 they won't be so much troubled with in- 

 sect enemies. In houses where such 

 pests as mealy bug have been trouble- 

 some, the house must receive a thorough 

 cleaning or the pest will be far more 

 troublesome the coming season. The 

 best way to clean it is to give it a coat 

 of paint. This we generally find better 

 and easier than washing when the wash- 

 ing has to be thoroughly done. To 

 thoroughly wash and scrub a house takes 

 quite some time and unless time and la- 

 bor aro spent on it, it might as well be 



left alone, for the insects harbor in 

 every little crevice and if only a few 

 are left they will accumulate so quickly 

 as to prove a serious menace to any 

 crops on which they find a breeding 

 place. 



Where any benches are to be renewed, 

 use cypress in preference to any other 

 kind of wood. It may cost more but its 

 lasting qualities more than counter- 

 tlialance the extra cost. 



When the benches are empty they 

 should receive a good whitewashing with 

 lime. This not only destroys all insect 

 life and spores of fungi but is one of the 

 best wood preservatives that can be used. 



Any old tobacco ftems or other rub- 

 bish should be raked from under the 

 benches and all around under the benches 

 should be dusted with air-slaked lime. 

 A liberal dusting will kill all snails and 

 other insect life and help to sweeten the 

 atmosphere of the house. Some may 

 think that all these preliminaries are un- 

 necessary but those who go to the trouble 

 of attending to them will find in the end 

 that it is time and labor well spent. 



W. S. Croydox. 



TOMATOES UNDER GLASS. 



Bv George E. Stoxk, Amherst, Mass. 

 Tomatops have been grown under glass 

 in Massachusetts for over twenty-five 

 years. They have not, however, been fo 

 extensively and profitably grown as cu- 

 cumbers and lettuce. The method of 

 growing this crop has not undergone any 

 remarkable changes, as is the ease of let- 

 tuce and other greenhouse crops. 



Seeding and Transplanting. 



Tomato seeds are usually sown in flats, 

 and when the seedlings are from two to 

 three inches high they can be convenient- 

 ly transplanted into 3-ineh pots. They 

 may be left in these pots until they have 

 thickened up somewhat and reached n 

 height of eight inches or more, when they 

 should be transferred to 6-inch pots, 

 where they can be left until read}' for 

 final transplanting. Plants twelve to six- 

 teen inches high are suitable for setting 

 in the beds. 



There is an opportunity in transplant* 

 ing, as in most other things, for the ex- 

 ercise of judgment. We have frequently 

 transplanted the third time into 10-inch 

 or 12-inch pots, but this third transfer is 

 not neceseary, although the time of final 

 transplanting can be deferred if the 

 plants are in large pots. One can also 

 get along with one transplanting, name- 

 ly, into 6-inch pots from the flats. We 

 believe the opinion is generally held that 

 transplanting induces the growth of bet- 

 ter and more stocky plants, and we be- 

 lieve that two transplantings give better 

 results than one. 



Soil G>nditions. 



Unlike lettuce, tomatoes are not es- 

 pecially susceptible to soil texture. Any 

 good loam is suitable for them and they 

 even do well in coal ashes when supplied 

 with chemical fertilizers. A soil con- 

 taining one-third horse manure, one-third 

 loam and one-third decomposed soil fur- 

 nishes a desirable media for tomatoes. 

 By the application of a liberal supply of 

 manure each year a soil of this nature 

 can be used indefinitely. 



Pots, Benches or Beds. 



Tomatoes are frequently forced in 10- 

 iuch or 12-inch pots, but our experience 

 in growing in pots of the size noted 

 above has not been such as to recom- 

 mend them for large crops. Root restric- 

 tion has a tendency to induce early ma- 

 turity of fruit and limit the life of the 

 plant. Pot-grown plants, according to 

 our experience, are likely to become 

 spindling. Sixteen or 18-inch boxes are 

 superior to pots, and we believe that only 

 one plant should be grown in boxes of 

 this size. 



Beneli culture is better than pot cul- 

 ture, since the roots have more available 

 space to utilize, and better plants and 

 larger crops can be grown in benches six 

 inches deep than in pots. We have grown 

 extensively in pots, shallow and deep 

 benches and in raised solid beds, and we 

 prefer solid beds to either benches or 

 pots, although benches twelve inches deep 

 and two and one-half feet wide have giv- 

 en good results. 



One of the Unique Conceptions of G H. Fox, Philadelphia. 



