'^^v 



700 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



AnocsT 9, 1006. 



perfume for many weeks. There are sev- 

 eral species which claim attention, and 

 1 propose to offer a few remarks re- 

 specting them, but will first deal with 

 their culture. 



Any ordinary greenhouse in which a 

 miscellaneous collection of plants is 

 grown will suit the boronias, but they 

 must have full exposure to light and sun, 

 and a stuffy atmosphere must be avoided, 

 though this latter does not generally ob- 

 tain in the kind of structure indicated. 

 For potting, sound fibrous peat must be 

 employed, and fine particles should be 

 excluded; add sand and fine charcoal, 

 and pot firmly. The proper time for 

 potting is immediately the plants have 

 gone out of flower, and at the same time 

 the plants may be pruned more or less 

 severely according to their condition. 

 After potting, a somewhat close and 

 moist atmosphere will induce vigorous 

 growth, and if a frame is available these 

 conditions can be more satisfactorily car- 

 ried out than in a house, and after the 

 plants are furnished regularly with new 

 growth additional ventilation may be 



to me in the course of a year for ex- 

 amination, and I almost invariably find 

 one very tiny piece of crock partially 

 covering the hole, and, aa a matter of 

 course, the soil sour and repulsive. 



From the time the plants are returned 

 to the greenhouse until the season re- 

 turns for exposure again is the most 

 critical and important time. Great care 

 must be paid to watering, and it must 

 be remembered that plants assimilate 

 water in proportion to their growth or 

 amount of root action taking place, and 

 also that the atmospheric conditions pre- 

 vailing during the early part of the 

 year do not tend to induce evaporation. 

 Just sufficient water should be adminis- 

 tered to keep the soil moderately moist. 

 I have known plants destroyed by a too 

 liberal use of fertilizers, and it is only 

 permissible to give a very weak solution 

 when the flowers are being developed, 

 and I would not advocate their use at 

 any other season. 



Reverting for a moment to potting, I 

 must utter a word of caution against the 

 danger of over-potting; boronias are far 



Horace M. Frank. 



(Secretary Dayton Florists' Club and Superintendent Trade Exhibition.) 



given and ordinary greenhouse treatment 

 follow. 



Boronias may with safety be stood 

 outside from June to the end of Sep- 

 tember. Select a good open position, 

 plunge to the rim in coal ashes, and pay 

 strict attention to watering. These 

 plants are very impatient of excessive 

 moisture at the root, and many are killed 

 by it, but this is hardly likely to occur 

 in summer outside, provided the pots are 

 properly drained. In this connection I 

 have been simply amazed at the preva- 

 lent ignorance on the simple but all-im- 

 portant point of drainage for plants in 

 pots. Hundreds of plants are brought 



better in small pots than large, and a 

 6-inch pot is large enough to grow and 

 maintain in good health a fine specimen 

 for many years. Some trade growers 

 employ one-third part of loam in their 

 potting compost, the remainder being 

 made up of peat and sand, but I do not 

 see any advantage from its use other 

 than that of convenience and, probably, 

 expense. 



Next to Boronia megastigma in point 

 of merit is B. heterophylla, a remarkably 

 floriferous species, and although the 

 flowers are not powerfully scented they 

 are distinctly attractive, the color being 

 bright carmine. A species that lasts long 



in beauty is B. serrulata, and it forms a 

 capital little bush, naturally symmetrical 

 and shapely, and it lasts in beaioty a long 

 time. The ' same remarks apply to B. 

 Drummondi, and neither require severe 

 pruning, though a timely pinching of the 

 young growths that show a tendency to 

 roam is desirable. B. Drimimondi has 

 white flowers, and in B. elatior we have 

 rosy carmine represented, while B. pin- 

 nata is much like B. serrulata. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



BONE FLOUR FOR LETTUCE. 



Could I expect success in using bone 

 flour in the soil for lettuce, in place 

 of manure! In a solid bed how much 

 would you advise, say on a bed 7x8 and 

 8 inches deep, well mixed with a soil of 

 sandy loamf "M. W. W. 



I should not advise the use of ground 

 bone for lettuce. Bone in any shape or 

 form is apt to cause fungus growth, and 

 this in all cases of lettuce growing must 

 be avoided, as fungus diseases are one 

 of the great troubles in the greenhouse 

 culture of this subject. I find rotted cow 

 manure the safest thing to use when ap- 

 plied to the soil just before the crop is 

 planted, though I have used bone as a 

 fertilizer for cauliflower, and planted 

 lettuce as a second crop, having good 

 success without applying any manure be- 

 fore planting the lettuce. Taking the 

 cauliflower crop first gives time for the 

 heat of the bone to work off, and enough 

 substance is still left in the soil to sup- 

 ply all the nourishment required for 

 lettuce. W. S. Croydon. 



HYDROCYANIC GAS ON GRAPES. 



Please let me know if hydrocyanic 

 acid gas can be used strong enough with 

 safety to the plant to kill thrips in a 

 vinery. If so, how much do I need for 

 a house containing 4,800 cubic feet of 

 air space f If the acid gas is not satis- 

 factory, what other remedy would you 

 recommend, and how much for this 

 house? H. A. S. 



Hydrocyanic acid gas can not be used 

 strong enough to kill thrips in a vinery 

 without injury to the vines. I have ex- 

 perimented with it quite a little, and 

 find that grapevines while in leaf are 

 easily injured. 1 have, however, no 

 trouble in keeping thrips off the vines 

 by using tobacco stems pretty freely 

 throughout the house. I tie the stems in 

 bundles and lay these on the pipes, re- 

 newing them when the strength gives 

 out. 



The month of May seems to be the 

 time when thrips are most likely to ap- 

 pear; therefore during this month I use 

 extra care to see that the stems are kept 

 fresh. I find that if the pests are kept 

 out during May I am safe for the sea- 

 son. I am assuming that it is the large 

 white thrips you have reference to, that 

 being the only kind I have seen suffi- 

 ciently numerous in a vinery to cause 

 any serious trouble or damage. This 

 pest, though known as thrips, is really 

 a cicada which lives in the ground all 

 winter, hatches out during May, and 

 finds its way into the vinery through the 

 bottom ventilators. Once established on 

 the vines the insects multiply rapidly, 

 quickly injure the foliage, and often 



