18 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



NovEJiBEU 23, lUOo. 



in liquid feeding, if mixed with soft 

 or rain water iu the proportion uf one 

 quart of soot to each barrel of water, 

 but this should never bo applied when 

 the plants are resting. E. 



SWEET PEAS. 



How would sweet peas do in a rose 

 house, planted iu a solid bed in a light, 

 sunny position? Blooms wanted from 

 November on. What are the best winter 

 blooming varieties in white, purple, light 

 and deep pink? S. K, 



Sweet peas to bloom during the winter 

 shouM be sown not later than Septem- 

 ber; in fact, just as soon as well-ripened 

 seed can be procured. The soil should 

 be of rather a light, sandy nature, as 

 heavy, rich soil has a tendency to pro- 

 duce too much strong straw, which o^ 



course makes the buds lute in coming. 

 While these may be made to give fair 

 results in a rose temperature, I have 

 found a night temperature during the 

 jjcriod of growing of 54 degrees to be 

 more suitable. 



Most of the growers who make sweet 

 peas a part of their crop have their fa- 

 vorite strains-, which they have found 

 from experience are best Kuit«'d to th^ii 

 soil and conditions and which they keep 

 improving from year to year by careful 

 fertilization and selection. Some of the 

 best forcing varieties will be fouwd in 

 the following list, but doubtless there are 

 many other suitable sorts to be found in 

 any seed catalogue: Extra Early Blanche 

 Ferry, pink and white; Emily Hender- 

 son, white; Blanche Burpee, pure white; 

 Captain of the Blues; Apple Blossom, 

 pink; Kathrine Tracy, bright pink, E. 



CAHNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



Fumigation. 



The work of fumigation is no longer 

 the disagreeable job it was some years 

 ago, when the burning of damp tobacco 

 stems seemed the universal remedy for 

 green fly. At that time it was consid- 

 ered soon enough to smoke when the 

 pest had staked out and nearly proven 

 its claim, making the operation the more 

 tedious, since two or three successive 

 fumigations were necessary to accomplish 

 the desired result. 



At present we have the leaf in several 

 degrees of fineness and under various 

 brands ; also numerous ' ' cides ' ' or 

 "teens," all products of tobacco, so- 

 called, though the latter I am inclined 

 to think come from other sources than 

 the fragrant weed. But no matter; 

 they all do the work, and effectually, 

 without harm to plant or flower, at a 

 great saving of time and labor. 



Of course thoy must be properly han- 

 dled, which is a matter upon which I will 

 touch. There is no reason why fumi- 

 gation should not form a part of the 

 routine work, as well as attention to 

 boilers, though it need not be a daily 

 duty but, instead, a weekly one. 



By following the plan of light appli- 

 cations at regular intervals you run no 

 risk of damage to stock; the insects 

 never obtain a foothold. Instead of 

 being a killing cure, fumigation becomes 

 a preventive and there is no waste of 

 material. Select a certain day of the 

 week and, barring high winds, religiously 

 persevere iu dealing out the allowance 

 of tobacco. 



A still, stormy evening is an ideal 

 time, as then the fumes remain longer 

 in the house and settle more among the 

 plants. Urider no circumstances fumi- 

 gate when plants are in need of water. 



It is best, when beginning the use of 

 any insecticide, to follow directions; 

 then if your judgment tells you the dose 

 is too strong, or not enough so, it can 

 be varied to suit the case. Usually the 

 quantity recommended is none too strong. 



We have had excellent results with 

 the leaf in dry powdered form by shap- 

 ing into conical piles on tin pie plates, 

 dropping a little kerosene on the apex 

 and lighting. By the time the oil is 

 burned the tobacco has become suffi- 

 ciently ignited to slowly smoulder until 

 consumed. Be careful not to make the 

 piles low and squatty lest the center 

 burn out, leaving a ring of uneonsmned 

 powder. 



The term leaf ss used above is to dis- 

 tinguish preparations thus made from 

 those in which stems are largely used. 

 The leaf being much higher in nicotine 

 than stems, the advantage in using the 

 former is plain. Geo. S. Osborn. 



NECESSITY FOR THOROUGHNESS. 



It is to be presumed that all carnation 

 supports are in place by now. If not, 

 lose no time in getting the supports in, 

 for you cannot get the straight stem, 

 tipped with a good bloom that will 

 look you in the face, without some kind 

 of a support to hold it upright during its 

 growth. It is to be supposed, also, that 



every weed has been pulled out and the 

 benches made of an even surface. 



As to dead leaves at the base of the 

 plant, I claim there should be none on 

 a plant now, if the plants were properly 

 cleaned up at the time of lifting from 

 the field. But if there should be some 

 dead foliage on the plants now, I do not 

 believe in trusting its removal to any 

 other than a very careful hand, as the 

 covering or skin of the stem is very easily 

 torn, thus making the plant much more 

 susceptible to stem-rot. 



If the plants are in a good, healthy 

 condition and the white roots showing 

 near the surface, a little stimulant in 

 the form of a v^ry light mulch composed 

 of one-third or one-half well rotted cow 

 manue and one-half soil may be spread 

 over the surface to the depth of half an 

 inch. A light application of wood ashes 

 will help the stems but too strong a dose 

 will result in a great variation of color, 

 especially on Lawson and the red varie- 

 ties. 



It goes without saying that we cannot 

 all ^row prize winning carnations, or 

 compete in the production of fine stock 

 with the large growers who make a 

 specialty of carnations, but a great many 

 of us can do better than we do, by keep- 

 ing everything in good order, both on the 

 benches and underneath them. I have 

 in mind a fair grower of mixed stock 

 whose houses I visited some days ago, 

 whose carnations were not yet supported, 

 and the surface of the soil was covered 

 by a green carpet composed of weeds, 

 grass and green scum. The owner said 

 he would soon get time to clean up ! And 

 yet he wonders why his stock does not 

 sell as readily as that of some of his 

 neighbors. Time was when "any old 

 thing" passed as a good carnation, but 

 that was many, many years ago, and 

 now only those who are willing to give 

 the necessary care and attention can 

 hope to be rewarded with a large crop of 

 fine blooms. Nor should he expect it 

 without, for then he would be getting 

 something for nothing and of course his 

 conscience would trouble him if that were 

 the case. Rag. 



CARNATION SUPPORT. 



Eobert E. Rudolph, Padueah, Kv., 

 has a method of supporting carnations 

 which he has employed for three years 

 and which he thinks well worth the extra 

 time required to put it up. He erects 

 three crosspieces of No. 8 wire at each 



Cut Blooms on Mossed Boards at tlie St. Louis Show. 



