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610 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



August 10, 1903. 



allowing four inches between the indi- 

 vidual scales. This operation is gener- 

 ally carried out during the first week 

 in September, and by the following June 

 these scales form small bulbs one to one 

 and one-half inches in circumference, 

 when they are dug up, driea, and stored 

 away in sand until the following Septem- 

 ber, when they are again planted in the 

 ground in rows drawn three inches apart, 

 allowing two inches between the bulbs 

 in the rows. After a season's growth 

 they are dug up about June, by which 

 time thoy are from three to four inches 

 in circumference. The following season 

 they attain a size of from five to seven 

 inches in circumference, which is the 

 smallest marketable size; and they in- 

 crease their growth until they reach a 

 size of from eleven to thirteen inches 

 in circumference, after which they do 

 not increase in size, but deteriorate and 

 split into bulbils. 



It is when the bulb starts into growth 

 that the disease puts in its appearance, 

 and it is at this time that spraying 

 operations are conducted. The method 

 of preparing the fungicide is as follows: 

 Three fifty-gallon barrels are obtained, 

 one for holding the mixture, and the 

 other two for mixing purposes. In eacli 

 of the two latter barrels twenty-five gal- 

 lons of water are placed; in the one case 

 four pounds of copper-sulphate is added, 

 and in the other six pounds of quick- 

 lime. When the sulphate of copper and 

 the lime have dissolved, the contents of 

 the two barrels are poured at the same 

 time into the stock-barrel, which process 

 insures proper mixing. The mixture is 

 then ready for spraying. It is alwaj's 

 better to spray the plants the first thing 

 in the morning and the last thing in 

 the evening. The lilies are sprayed before 

 there is any appearance of the disease, 

 and also at intervals throughout the 

 growing season. 



The farmer, as a rule, sells his bulbs 

 in advance, before he puts them in the 

 ground, there being such a demand for 

 good, true bulbs. When these large 

 growers notice a diseased bulb in their 

 batch they dig it out and burn it. The 

 experimental station advises, after dig- 

 ging out the diseased bulb, that the vacant 

 place be sprinkled with crushed sulphate 

 of iron; this kills any remaining spores 

 that may be left in the soil. 



The small growers, and several of these 

 are Portuguese, mix diseased bulbs with 

 the good ones, and sell to the commission 

 man, who buys his bulbs ready dug up 

 on the ground, and employs men to pack 

 them. These men also mix their bulbs, 

 putting the true variety Harrisii and 

 the longiflorum together, and selling the 

 mixture as true Harrisii. This is a great 

 disadvantage when forcing the bulbs with 

 the intention of obtaining flowers for 

 Christmas, as the Harrisii variety will 

 flower by Christmas, but the longiflorums 

 are a week or two later in flowering. 

 Another great mistake on the farmers' 

 part is to dig up the lilies before the 

 bulbs are ripe, as unripe bulbs are not 

 fit for forcing. For instance, only last 

 January I went to see some private gar- 

 dens in Newport, B. I., U. S. A., where 

 they annually force large quantities for 

 Christmas. One Scotch gardener told 

 me that a batch he had just started was 

 diseased, and that his Christmas batch 

 also turned out diseased. I informed 

 him they were not diseased, but unripe, 

 and that they would not stand forcing. 

 I know of several similar oases where ' 



unripe bulbs have been pronounced dis- 

 eased. 



To conclude, I would advise any who 

 force bulbs to dip them before they are 

 potted into a solution of weak perman- 

 ganate of potash; this kills the spores of 

 the disease in the bulb. Again, when the 

 lilies have commenced growing in the 

 pots, spray at intervals with Bordeaux 

 mixture; the spray leaves a bluish sedi- 

 ment on the foliage. This can be easily 

 removed by syringing with clear water; 

 but allow it to remain on as long as 

 possible. — Geo. Chisholm, in the Garden- 

 ers' Chronicle. 



SOLID BEDS VS. BENCHES. 



As a constant reader of your paper, 

 and presuming upou the good nature of 

 your editors, I wish to ask for informa- 

 tion and what in your judgment is the 

 general experience with relation to the 

 desirability of solid beds in greenhouses 

 erected for cut flowers, and what is the 

 consensus of opinion among flower grow- 

 ers as to the advantages or disadvantages 

 of solid beds as against frame structures 

 and whether, in your opinion, many have 

 abandoned the solid beds and gone back 

 to the other style. 



Also I would like to know whether it 

 is desirable ordinarily to run steam pipes 



Tile Used for Bench Bottoms. 



through the center of the beds where 

 they are constructed of cement. 



L. P. T. 



Regarding this inquiry, I have en- 

 deavored to get a consensus of opinion 

 among growers and find the majority 

 are using the table or raised bench. 

 Some very successful growers are still 

 using the solid bench in its varied forms 

 and are earnest advocates in its favor, 

 while others, equally successful, are just 

 as strong in their advocacy of table 

 benches. I may say, however, that 1 have 

 confined my inquiries principally to rose 

 growers, getting their opinions as to 

 the most suitable style of bench aiid 

 their reasons for their selection. 



The objections to the various forms of 



solid bench may bo summed up thus: 

 In solid benches of whatever design the 

 claim is made that the grower is unable 

 to control the temperature of the soil 

 below a specified depth, whereas, in 

 raised benches the air of the house by 

 having contact with the soil, both above 

 and below, equalizes the temperature of 

 the soil, thus leaving the control in the 

 hands of the grower. 



It is also frequent with solid benches 

 that the roots dip into the subsoil, or 

 drainage ,when the food may be unsuit- 

 able and thus cause damage. From my 

 own experience I am convinced that solid 

 benches do not respond so quickly as 

 raised benches. 



I ha>e yet to hear of a favorable reply 

 to the query as to the advisability of 

 carrying pipes through the centers of 

 cement benches and would strongly ad- 

 vise against this method, and particu- 

 larly in rose benches, as I have never 

 seen roses do well when so treated. 



The old style table bench made en- 

 tirely of lumber, while serving its pur- 

 pose fairly well, had the great draw- 

 back of requiring too much repairing^ 

 and this repair work had to be done 

 when the benches were empty and was a 

 sore hindrance at planting time, the de- 

 lay thus caused curtailing the growing 

 season and upsetting the interior of the 

 house every second or third year. 



To obviate this delay and get rid of the 

 continual repairs necessary where the 

 bottoms were wood, tiles were substituted 

 for boards with marked success. The 

 drainage being more perfect and natural, 

 this method found favor with most grow- 

 ers, but as we are never content, there are 

 still coming newer styles, each and every 

 one claiming to be the best and, having 

 to erect more glass this season, I have 

 been looking over the latest designs with 

 a view to secure the best. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a design of the King Construction Co. 

 and which, in my opinion, is nearest the 

 ideal of anything I have seen, being 

 neat, easily erected, substantial and prac- 

 tically indestructible and in cost of con- 

 struction compares favorably with any 

 of the existing styles of either solid or 

 raised benches. The materials for this 

 bench, iron and tile, will cost about 11 

 cents per square foot and the cost of 

 labor about 1 cent per square foot, but 

 of course the cost of material depends a 

 good deal on location and where the tiles 

 can be obtained. 



The bottom of the bench on which the 

 tiles are placed is the upper side of a 

 trussed beam; the under side is formed 

 by iron rods on tension. The bench bot- 

 tom is composed of half or split tiles 

 of the shape shown in the smaller illus- 

 tration. These tiles are three inches in 



Tile-Bottomed Btnch with Trussed Iron Supports. 



