216 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



JOBI 14, 1906. 



itously overnight. They are of hardy 

 growth and multiply rapidly, sometimes 

 attaining a weight of several hundred 

 pounds. Flourish in any soil, but on 

 account of popular prejudice they do not 

 seem to be much esteemed as a table 

 delicacy. 



Beets. — These always grow in profuse 

 crops, but should be sparingly cultivated. 

 Cold water thrown upon them is gener- 

 ally recommended. Dead beets should 

 be hit over the head with the flat of a 

 shovel and sugar beets should be treated 

 with a pinch of salt. 



Mushrooms. — The cultivation of mush- 

 rooms is a profitable enterprise on ac- 

 count of the high price and ready mar- 

 ket. Shrubbery should be frequently 

 sprayed while in flower and the buds 

 carefully protected against frost. When 

 plucked each cluster of fruit should be 

 placed upon a mushroom leaf. This 

 preserves the flavor and adds to their 



appearance. The pits and seeds should 

 be removed before shipping. 



Gas Plants. — Gas plants are a profit- 

 able stock, but any possible surplus of 

 water should be avoided. 



General Conversation. — This is one of 

 the most pleasurable points in growing a 

 garden, but caution must be exercised. 

 A husbandman should never start off by 

 telling the size of his product. "How 

 large are your cucumbers?" he should 

 cautiously ask his neighbor. * ' Eighteen 

 inches long," is the reply. "Whereupon 

 the first speaker can derive honor and in- 

 cite envy by claiming a net cucumberial 

 length of two feet. Whereas, if he had 

 led off with the assertion that his cu- 

 cumbers were two feet long, his neighbor 

 would have claimed a length of thirty 

 inches and the first man would have 

 looked distrait and foolish. 



Too much stress cannot be laid upon 

 this point. 



PLANTING YOUNG STOCK. 



Those who are not already well along 

 with their planting should lose no time 

 with this work. 'Year after year we find 

 the progressive growers favoring earlier 

 planting, realizing the fact that the 

 early planted stock is the most remunera- 

 tive, producing more blooms per plant 

 during the season, which are also of a 

 higher grade than those from stock 

 planted later. 



That this is true easily can be learned 

 by keeping records of the cuts and sales 

 from the early and late planted houses 

 and comparing these records at the end 

 of the season. This is especially true of 

 Beauty, which it seems necessary to 

 have in vigorous condition with a large 

 development of roots before the short 

 days come. 



Requiring a large amount of feeding 

 to deveflop the buds properly, the reason 

 for having a large supply of feeding 

 roots before cropping season commences 

 is readily apparent and it is only by 

 timely planting that such a condition 

 can be obtain^. 



By way of caution I may remind my 

 readers that it pays best to plant only 

 the very best grade of stock. All weak 

 and ailing plants should be scrupulously 

 discarded during the operation of plant- 

 ing, as the growing season, bench room 

 and labor required are too precious to 

 expend on stock requiring doctoring, 

 nursing and coddling. 



Cleanliness being very essential to the 

 health ' of the young stock, each house 

 should have a thorough cleaning after 



being emptied, and all accumulations of 

 dirt under the benches should be re- 

 moved and the ground given a sprink- 

 ling of hot lime. This serves to sweeten 

 the soil and helps to destroy the eggs of 

 insects which are usually plentiful in 

 such locations. 



To give the house a smart and clean 

 appearance the sashbars and walls should 



NOTE 



Tbe Kdltor la pleased 

 when a Reader 

 presents Ills Ideas 

 on any subject treated In 



eVEO^ 



As experience Is the best 

 teacher, so do \re 

 learn fastest by an 

 exchange of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are broucht out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, Bpelllngr and gram- 

 mar, thoug'h desirable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 doing your best. 



WK SHALL BK GLAD 

 TO HBAR FROM TOU. 



J 



be cleaned and repainted where neces- 

 sary. 



This is also a good season to inspect I 



the piping, have the apparatus tested 

 and put into condition for the winter's 

 work, as all this work can be done to 

 best advantage while the house is empty. 

 This is usually the most unpleasant 

 and tiresome part of rose growing, as 

 it frequently happens that these opera- 

 tions have to be conducted in a dry at- 

 mosphere under a blazing sun and the 

 labor, being of quite a different char- 

 acter from ordinary greenhouse work, 

 is very trying to the nerves and patience 

 of the help. With the houses in good re- 

 pair and a supply of well handled soil 

 ready to place on the bench we can again 

 resume our accustomed and more inter- 

 esting work EiBES. 



THRIP ON ROSES. 



Kindly advise us what to do with a 

 very bad dose of thrip in our rose 

 houses. Brides and Maids qeem to be 

 the worst infested. Ked pepper seems 

 to be feed for them, as I have burned 

 as much as seven pounds in six applica- 

 tions in a house of 2,800 square feet of 

 ground space. Will hydrocyanic acid 

 gas kill them and how much will I use 

 in such a space to be effective? 



Lake Forest. 



Where fresh red pepper is used, as 

 frequently recommended in these col- 

 umns, thrip are certain to be kept in 

 sufficient subjection to prevent their do- 

 ing damage. This course of treatment 

 must not be spasmodic, but must be per- 

 sisted in once or twice a week during the 

 whole season to be effective. They re- 

 produce so rapidly in the genial atmos- 

 phere of the rose house that it seems as 

 if there were a new brood ready to re- 

 place the one destroyed. 



This is one of the insects which are 

 easily destroyed by even mild tobacco 

 fumes if these fumes can be made to 

 reach them. Owing to their activity 

 they quickly reach a place of safety, 

 either among the petals or in the soil. 



Hydrocyanic acid gas, if applied suf- 

 ficiently strong, would without doubt 

 cause their destruction, but from per- 

 sonal experience I found that the quan- 

 tity required to effect the desired result 

 was very injurious to the plants. This 

 has also been the result at several ex- 

 perimental stations where it has been 

 tried. 



Some of the foremost Beauty growers 

 have been using a mixture of Paris green 

 and sugar in solution as a spray once or 

 twice a week, and claim that this treat- 

 ment, if persisted in, will sufficiently 

 thin their ranks to make it possible to 

 produce good blooms even in the worst 

 infested districts. This is the method 

 adopted in New Jersey and from reports 

 from L. M. Noe, of Madison, it seems to 

 be quite effective. Kibes. 



ARSENIC NO GOOD. 



Eeferring to recent comments in the 

 Review with regard to the use of 

 arsenic for fumigating, I will say that 

 I have used arsenic for the last two 

 years in an endeavor to keep my stock 

 clean and have come to the conclusion 

 that it is of no value for fumigating 

 for insects on roses. 



Thomas Allen. 



ROSES NOT BLOOMING. 



We have two plants of Beau Brummel 

 which have not been moved for three 

 years. They have grown finely and 

 have made nice large bushes, but have 



