J 



344 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



June 28, 1906. 



THE NEWER RICHARDIAS. 



Kichardia Elliottiana is probably the 

 finest deep yellow in cultivation, the 

 entire flower being deepest yellow 

 throughout. The flower is of good size, 

 well expanded. The plant is not as 

 vigorous as could be desired, but will 

 delight careful cultivators. The foliage 

 is beautifully spotted, green and white. 



E. haatata was the first yellow calla 

 introduced. At first it sold for $5 per 

 bulb. It is a strong, vigorous grower, 

 light yellow, with brown throat, the yel- 

 low tinge more pronounced when grown 

 indoors than outside. The foliage is 

 clear green. 



R. Mrs. Roosevelt, Tailby's hybrid, is 

 a ]»lant of extraordinary vigor, foliage 

 def>j) green, covered with white dots, 

 flowers of largest size, wide open, nearly 

 white, a slight tinge of yellow. I be- 

 lieve this will become the leading spotted 



calla when it becomes known. Each 

 strong bulb gives several flowers. 



R. Van lleet's yellow hybrid has 

 foliage as distinctly spotted as the well 

 known spotted calla, with flowers of a 

 bright lemon color and deep, chocolate- 

 colored throat. It is a fine bloom, and 

 a good grower. A strong bulb will pro- 

 duce several flowers in succfession. 



Burbank's new yellow hybrid has been 

 a disappointment to me. Stock I bought 

 is apparently mixed. The foliage is 

 nicely spotted, and it is a vigorous 

 grower. Some flowers are nearly as deep 

 yellow as is R. Elliottiana; ind others 

 are white. Plants grown from the best 

 yellow specimens will no doubt be val- 

 uable, as it seems to be a more vigorous 

 grower than Elliottiana, 



R. Rohmanni is a dwarf plant with 

 green foliage and bright rosy purple 

 flower.s produced in great profusion. It 

 makes a fine house plant. E. Y. T. 



FUNGICIDE SOLUTIONS. 



A iiiKulitT of years ago 1 copied a 

 foiinul.i for killing damp or black rot 

 on carntition cuttings. The formula was 

 also good for stopj)ing damj> on any kind 

 of cuttings. It consisted of sulphate of 

 copj)ei and ammonia, Jind as I have lost 

 the formula I do not know the propor- 

 tions, ("an vou give me this informa- 

 tion? ■ P. J. C. 



The following Ls no doubt wliat you 

 are looking for: Dissolve one ])ound of 

 copper carbonate in two quarts of am- 

 monia, and keep in stone jug tightly 

 stoppered until used. When using dilute 

 in water about one to sixty. This is 

 a splendid fungicide, just as effective as 

 Bordeaux mixture and much handier, as 

 it can be kept a long time without los- 

 ing its strength if kept well stoppered. 

 Another remedy we liave used with splen- 

 did results is formaline. We dilute this 

 with water about one part to 500, and 

 we like this even better than the copper- 

 ammonia solution. A. F. J. Baur. 



BONE MEAL. 



T desire ronie information as to the 

 proj)er way to use bone meal for carna- 

 tions. 1 am in a town where I can get 

 bone meal fresli from butcher shops. 

 Any information you can give me rela- 

 tive to the use of bone meal will be 

 appreciated. L. L. W. 



Bong meal is more extensively used in 

 growing greeniiouse croj)s than any 

 other commercial fer!^ilizer, and when 

 used projterly in c(>nnecti(tn witli animal 

 manures very little else is needed. If 

 the bone meal is dry when you get it, 

 you can .store it away in sacks or in a 

 bin, but if it is green or damp you will 

 have to arrange to dry it to j)revent 

 heating or getting moldy. 



As to using it tm your croj)S, that is 

 largely a (piestion of what i.s lacking in 

 your soil. Boiu> meal is rich in phos- 

 phoric a^'id. li!ne and nitrogen, antl in- 

 variably adils greatly to the proflnctive- 



ness of the soil. We begin using bone 

 meal when the soil is on the benches 

 and ready to plant. We do not use it as 

 liberally as .some growers do, as we con- 

 sider that the same quantity used in two 

 or three applications is better than all 

 ai)plied at one time. 



We spread about twenty-five or thirty- 

 five pounds on a bench 5x100 feet, and 

 rake it into the soil thoroughly. This is 

 usually enough to run the plants until 

 towards spring, when we give them 

 another application in the same propor- 

 tion with a mulch of manure added. Pure 

 bone meal is one of the safest fertilizers 

 you will find, and you will soon Ijccome 

 familiar with the quantity required by 

 vour soil. A. V. .1. Batr. 



SPANISH IRIS. 



The value of the pretty Spanish iris, 

 when gently forced for spring bloom- 

 ing, is not sufiiciently well known. They 

 are very inexpensive, of easy culture and 

 come in bloom when such flowers are 

 of great service. They can be grown 

 either on benches or in flats; the latter 

 we think are preferable. A depth of 

 four inches is suflicient. A flat 24x12x4 

 will hold about 100 bulbs. As they start 

 very quickly after planting they must 

 not be covered with ashes or any similar 

 material, as are the generality of Dutch 

 bulbs. They will not stand anything 

 like hard forcing, and nothing warmer 

 than 50 degrees to 54 degrees at night 

 is advisable. They may be had in flower 

 from the end of March until outdoor- 

 grown bulbs are in, which in this sec- 

 tion is about June 10. 



If the flats can be stood on a bench 

 and plants allowed to root through, the 

 .sjiikcs will be all the stronger. They 

 are specially valuable at Memorial day 

 for bouquet work, and vases of separate 

 colors are extremely etfective. Some 

 growers hold a portion in coldframes 

 and allow them to come on naturally. 

 These come just ahead of the outdoor 

 ones. 



An impression prevails among many 

 that this iris is not reliably hardy. We 

 have never had any trouble with winter- 

 ing it, although we have had readings 

 :is low as 25 degrees to 30 degrees be- 

 low zero. Early in November is a good 

 time to plant them and a very light 

 coating of leaves is all the protection 

 needed. This should be removed as soon 

 as the frost leaves the ground. We find 

 the bulbs last well for two years, but 

 they are so cheap that any one can af- 

 ford to plant them annually. 



The following varieties are fine for 

 cutting or for mass effects in shrub- 

 beries: Chrysolora, golden yellow; Count 

 of Nassau, dark blue; Louise, a beauti- 

 ful shade of light blue; Blanche fleur 

 and British Queen, pure white. All 

 these force well. W. N. Crak;. 



SEASONABLE CULTURE. 



As soon as convenient after planting 

 is finished, staking, tying, disbudding 

 and cultivating should receive attention. 

 Where grafteil stock is grown, this 

 should be done immediately after plant- 

 ing, so as to obviate accidents to the 

 scion. As syringing must be practiced 

 without delay in order to keep spider 

 in check, the force applied is aj»t to 



detach the scion from the stock if left 

 unsupported. 



Deep planting, which is absolutely 

 necessary to grafted stock, will sup- 

 l>ort them in a measure, but as the tops 

 get heavy with the luxuriant growth 

 usual at this season, it cannot be de- 

 pended on for long. 



Own-root stock also should' be sup- 

 ported and trained so that none of 

 the branches are allowed to crawl over 

 the ground, as this causes the eyes to 

 break weak an<l is a sure source of an 

 undesirable crop of blind wood. 



Whatever style of support is used, 

 let it be neatly and tastefully erected, 

 even though the initial cost be a little 



