930 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



August 30, 1906. 



the under side of the leaves is saturated 

 with the liquid. This will dry up the 

 spores and prevent the rust from spread- 

 ing. 



C. L. T. says he has just a leaf now 

 and then that looks Uke rust. He need 

 be under no misapprehension as to 

 whether or not it is rust, if he ever saw 

 it on carnations. The chrysanthemum 

 rust looks practically the same as the 

 carnation rust. If the trouble is not 

 rust, but merely a leaf spot, the potas- 

 sium sulphide is about the best thing to 

 use, and it is also a good thing to use 

 for mildew. C. H. T. 



NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 



Ldlium candidum on the English mar- 

 ket, either forced or cut from outside, 

 i^as almost entirely disappeared, hard- 

 ly a bunch having been seen throughout 

 the whole season. This no doubt is the 

 result of the continual failures experi- 

 enced with imported bulbs. Almost the 

 entire importations from France, Italy 

 and the south of Germany for some 

 years have been full of disease, and oth- 

 erwise unfit for forcing. Some lots 

 grown in Holland and in the north of 

 Germany have been good, but their cul- 

 ture does not appear to be taken up 

 very extensively in these northern dis- 

 tricts. After years of experience it ap- 

 pears pretty certain that to force suc- 

 cessfally, L. candidum bulbs must be 

 grown in a cold climate. 



In England large clumps of Lilium 

 candidum may frequently be found in 

 cottage gardens in the very pink of 

 health and vigor. On digging up these 

 clumps it is often found that they con- 

 tain half a dozen or so immense bulbs, 

 the largest sometimes fourteen inches 

 in circumference, with fat, healthy 

 scales. These bulbs usually have been 

 standing undisturbed for from four to 

 ten years, and the soil they grow in is 

 usually very rich in fertile matter. The 

 growths often reach as much as five feet 

 high. If these bulbs are forced, they 

 are always a perfect success. Even for 

 the earliest forcing there never appears 

 the slightest sign of the dreaded mildew 

 or rust, which practically ruins all im- 

 ported bulbs. Success with these bulbs 

 indicates that if a grower for profit 

 gave his bulbs rich land and let them 

 stand without being disturbed for at 

 least five years, some fine forcing stuff 

 would be produced. One man grows 

 these bulbs successfully; they are lifted 

 every five years and when being planted 

 the bulbs are thickly covered with sul- 

 phur. During winter the growths get 

 a heavy dressing of soot; and after the 

 stems have died down a mulching of 

 rotten manure is given. 



All movings must be done in August, 

 as in no other month of the year will 

 candidums stand replanting. A good 

 method where the room can be spared 

 is to pot up bulbs intended for forcing 

 a year before in 8-inch pots, and plunge 

 .the pots outside, allowing them to 

 bloom one year in this form. Bring 

 them under glass the second year, and 

 liberally feed them during the whole 

 time of growth when under glass. This 

 gives them time to get established be- 

 fore being forced. 



Some of our leading flower shows 

 have adopted an effective and satisfac- 

 tory method for cooling the show tents 

 during the recent hot weather. They 

 keep a continual fine spray of water 

 playing on the roofs. This process 



makes the inside of the tents delight- 

 fully cool. 



Palms of all sizes and all sorts still 

 continue to advance in price all over 

 England, and most of the big palm 

 houses around London are getting pretty 

 well cleaned out. Belgium is still buy- 

 ing from English growers, where there 

 is an opportunity to procure small stock 

 plants, causing prices here to advance 

 still further. B. J. 



HARRISn LILIES. 



When should Harrisii lilies, just 

 potted, be brought into the house for 

 forcing for Christmas? That is, how 

 much time should be given them to root 

 before being brought into the heatf 

 What temperature should be given the 

 Japan longifiorum bulbs for forcing for 

 next Easter? How many weeks should 

 be given them to root? E. S. B. 



There is no arbitrary time when these 

 lilies should be brought into the green- 

 house after potting. It depends on 

 when you want them to flower, and still 



We have read several others, but 



seems the only one to fill the bill; so 

 here is the dollar for another year. 



COPAS BROS. 

 Elyria, O. 



Aug. 9, 1906. 



more on their condition of earliness. 

 When they have made a leaf and stem 

 growth of two to three inches above the 

 soil in pots they will be well rooted 

 and can be given the heat of the green- 

 house. If the bulbs have been dug in 

 Bermuda before they were thoroughly 

 ripe, they don't force well. 



There is a large firm not far from us 

 that is uniformly successful in forcing 

 these lilies, being able to cut thousands 

 by Thanksgiving. To accomplish this 

 the plants are allowed to get well rooted 

 outside, then are brought in and given 

 about 70 degrees at night for the first 

 month. After that, if it is seen to be 

 necessary, they are given a heat of 90 

 degrees. 



The Japan longifiorum bulbs usually 

 arrive in September. They are potted 

 and left in a frame outside until the 

 first of December, or even two or three 

 weeks later. The date of Easter will 

 have much to do with the forcing. Be- 

 gin at 55 to 60 degrees when first brought 

 in. It may be necessary to raise the 

 temperature to 70 degrees by flower- 

 ing time. There is one feature connected 

 with this class of lilies that is easy to 

 observe. If subject to a night tempera- 



ture of 60 degrees, don't drop them 

 to 50 degrees. They don't like it. This 

 lowering of temperature near their flow- 

 ering time is unnatural. They just 

 stand still. It stunts them. After the 

 flower buds turn white, and are ready 

 to expand, they can be removed to a 

 cool bouse and will open their flowers 

 all right, but up to that time keep them 

 going without any lowering of tempera- 

 ture. W. S. 



Vegetable Forciog. 



CHRISTMAS VEGETABLES. 



I should like to know the proper time 

 to sow lettuce and radish seeds to have 

 them ready for market about Christmas. 

 What varieties are best for this purpose, 

 and what temperature should they be 

 grown in? N. H. G. 



To have lettuce for Christmas you will 

 need to sow your seed not later than the 

 last week in September. It takes about 

 three months from the time of sowing, 

 as it is a crop that won't stand pushing. 

 A night temperature of from 40 to 45 

 degrees is the most suitable, with a rise 

 of from 10 to 20 degrees by day, accord- 

 ing to the brightness or cloudiness of the 

 weather. 



The easiest variety to handle is Grand 

 Bapids, but this is not a head lettuce, 

 and some object to it on that account. 

 When it is necessary to grow a head 

 lettuce, I should recommend Deacon, al- 

 though it is slower in growth than some 

 other varieties, such as Tennis Ball and 

 Boston Market. I find it less subject 

 to fungous diseases. 



Eadishes can be grown in the same 

 temperature as lettuce, but will stand 

 about 5 degrees higher if desired. In a 

 temperature of from 45 to 50 degrees 

 it takes about three weeks for them to 

 mature from the time the seed is sown, 

 but in the cooler temperature four weeks 

 had better be allowed. The best variety 

 we have yet tried is Rapid Forcing. 

 This is of fine quality, quick to mature, 

 and, having a very dwarf top, can be 

 sown closer than most other varieties. 



W. S. Cboydon. 



FORQNG CUCUMBERS. 



Under the stimulus of forcing work, 

 two distinct types of cucumbers have 

 been developed, says L. C. Corbett in a 

 recent bulletin of the department of 

 agriculture. These are recognized in 

 the trade as the English type and the 

 American type. The English type is 

 purely a product of forcing-house con- 

 ditions, as the climate of England is not 

 congenial to the growth and development 

 of the cucumber in the open. The Amer- 

 ican type of cucumber is primarily a 

 product of field conditions, and the few 

 varieties which have been developed to 

 meet the requirements of the forcing 

 house are simply modifications of the ex- 

 isting field or outdoor forms. 



The English type of cucumber is a 

 long, cylindrical, uniformly green fruit, 

 with few seeds and a very fleshy seed 

 cavity; in fact, the normal seed cavity 

 of the forced cucumber is almost en- 

 tirely wanting. The triangular shape 

 characteristic of the normal outdoor 

 cucumber has been lost, and the cylindri- 

 cal outline almost perfected. There is 

 considerable difference in the size and 



