1406 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



April 5, 190G. 



certificate of merit was also given John 

 Kuhn, Philadelphia, for a seedling car- 

 nation. This is light pink in color, the 

 edge of the petals fringed. Phil. 



FUMIGATING. 



Hydrocyanic Acid Gas, 



"We have been having much trouble in 

 fumigating with the - nicotine prepara- 

 tions. In a large house we find that our 

 men cannot paint the preparations on 

 the hot steam pipes going entirely 

 around the house, as is necessary, before 

 the air becomes charged with the fumes 

 and several of them have suffered se- 

 verely. As a result we have been experi- 

 menting with hydrocyanic acid gas. We 

 find that it works excellently in fighting 

 thrips in rose houses, although we have 

 used it in no very exact proportions. 

 The first time we tried it we used flower 

 pots with the drainage hole plugged with 

 a cork and covered with a little cement. 

 I stood in the door of the greenhouse and 

 noted that the moment the acid ate 

 through the tissue paper wrapped around 

 the cyanide the liquid boiled violently 

 and overflowed the pot. How large a 

 receptacle should be used and is there 

 a loss if the liquid boils over? I have 

 since been told that I was exceedingly 

 careless standing in the greenhouse door 

 and watching the operation. How quick- 

 ly is the gas generated and how rapidly 

 does it spread? Is it heavier or lighter 

 than the atmosphere? In other words, 

 would a man who felt himself being 

 overcome with the gas save himself by 

 dropping to the floor? R. G. 



Our experience has shown that hydro- 

 cyanic acid gas is not a good insecticide 

 for rose houses. It does not kill thrips 

 readily and is very injurious to the 

 young growth on roses. 



The gas, while only a little lighter 

 than air, spreads quite rapidly through 

 a greenhouse. A house 100 feet long 

 and twelve feet wide, walls three feet, 

 seven feet to the ridge, with three jars 

 would be filled with gas in about two 

 minutes. Such a house would require, 

 say for violets, about two pounds of 

 ninety-eight per cent cyanide of potash. 

 This would be divided into three parts, 

 each portion put in a 2-pound light ma- 

 nila paper sack. Starting at one end, 

 these sacks can be placed in the jars 

 containing the sulphuric acid and water, 

 and the length of time required for the 

 acid to eat through the paper would 

 give the operator sufficient time to get 

 to the others and out of the house safely. 

 The acid will eat through cork, so that 

 the flower-pot with the drainage hole 

 plugged with cork would not be a good 

 vessel to liberate the gas. 



The correspondent can obtain full in- 

 formation regarding the use of hydro- 

 cyanic acid by writing the Department 

 of Agriculture, "Washington, D. C, and 

 requesting Circular No. 37 (revised edi- 

 tion) of the Division of Entomology. 



Nicotine Preparations. 



For thrips in rose houses fairly good 

 results can be obtained by vaporizing the 

 stronger nicotine preparations, either 

 over single-burner oil-stoves or by drop- 

 ping into the solution pieces of hot iron. 

 A good-sized hot flat-iron, for example, 

 wiU vaporize about a pint of nicotine 

 extract. For a rose house 100 feet long, 

 eighteen feet wide and ten feet high 

 to the ridge, a pint and a half to two 

 pints of a good nicotine tract vaporized 

 at intervals of a few days will usually 

 destroy thrips. 



If the stronger extracts are to be 

 painted on the pipes, the work should 

 be done when the pipes are cool. If 

 steam is used in heating the houses the 



■r 



'is^t. 



Primula VeriS in a Unique Receptacle. 



pipes could be allowed to cool down suf- 

 ficiently in the middle of the day on a 

 warm day, so that the work could be 

 done without so much discomfort to the 

 men. 



A good way, where the stronger ex- 

 tracts are used, is to have a number of 

 vaporizing tanks fitted over the steam 

 pipes or rather attached to the pipes so 

 that the pipes will run through them, 

 having from three to five of these va- 

 porizing troughs in a house 100 feet 

 long and eighteen feet wide. The nico- 

 tine solution can then be poured into the 

 vaporizing troughs, and the hot pipes 

 will throw it into the atmosphere. 



"Various other methods of vaporizing 

 are used, but these suggestions will prob- 

 ably be sufficient. A. F. Woods. 



WITH THE GROWERS. 



Budlong, Sons & Co., Providence. 



One of the largest establishments in 

 the east is that of J. A. Budlong, Sons 

 & Co., at Auburn, near Providence, E. I. 

 "Until a little over three years ago the 

 firm was noted as one of the biggest 

 producers of vegetables for the market, 

 pickling varieties being their specialty. 

 These they still grow on an immense 

 scale, having some 1,500 acres under 

 cultivation, but whereas a few years ago 

 several miles of sashes were devoted 

 to lettuce culture, this branch has been 

 reduced somewhat and all greenhouses 

 are given up to cut flower production 

 with the exception of one large structure 

 from which a crop of rhubarb is taken 

 to be followed by flowers in early spring. 

 Between the vegetable farms, pickle and 

 vinegar factories and greenhouses an 

 army of 600 to 700 men and women are 

 on the pay rolls at the height of the 

 busy season. 



Although so short a time has elapsed 

 since the firm launched into the cut 

 flower business, they have built up one 

 of the finest plants in the country. Sev- 

 eral of the long, rather low lettuce 

 houses are given up to carnation culture, 

 the roses occupying the newer ones, these 

 latter being of the most up-to-date types. 

 The largest house, 60x700, is one of the 

 finest in the country. It contains nearly 

 19,000 Brides and Bridesmaids. One 

 house is 40x700 and two others 22x700. 

 There are two 40x450, one 40x412 and 

 several of smaller size. In regard to va- 

 rieties, Brides and Maids to the number 

 of 50,000 are planted, the latter having 

 a slight preponderance, 7,500 Killarney, 

 5,000 Chatenay, 6,000 Liberty, 3,000 

 Morgan and 3,000 Golden Gate ' are 

 grown. The last named does well, but 

 will not be grown again, owing to an 

 uncertain call for it. 



Richmond will be tried next year to 

 the extent of 3,000 plants. Several thou- 

 sand Kaiserin lifted from the benches, 

 pruned back and potted up will be 

 benched shortly for summer blooming. 

 Wm. White, the manager of this estab- 

 lishment, is a graduate under Alexan- 

 der Montgomery at Waban Conservato- 

 ries. He has certainly done wonders 

 during his short stay here, for stock 

 in all the houses is in excellent condi- 

 tion. There are few commercial places 

 kept so neatly and to those who imagine 

 that second rate goods are raised here 

 a visit wiU be an eye opener. A house 

 containing 20,000 grafted stock for this 

 season's planting contained as perfect 

 a lot as anyone could wish to see. 



Carnations fill quite a number of 



