1332 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



OCTOBEB 11, 1906. 



CAHNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



A Deal in Futures. 



The early flowering varieties •will now 

 be giving bloom of quite gdod size and 

 length of stem, that is, if allowed or en- 

 couraged to do so, but this is a matter 

 concerning which every grower must be 

 governed by conditions of his market. 



As a rule carnations are not much 

 sought for while chrysanthemums are in 

 season, therefore it would seem advis- 

 able to conserve a portion of the plants' 

 energy that would be expended in bloom 

 production to be used at a later time 

 when the divine flower is in brisk de- 

 mand and higher in price. Every fall 

 we see quantities of carnations sold at 

 very low prices, the growers claiming the 

 retailers will not pay decent prices, con- 

 sequently no disbudding is done, with the 

 result that the blooms are small, the 

 stem short and weak and the stock in 

 general anything but inviting. The 

 fault is not with the retailers, but with 

 those growers who hold a cent so close 

 to the eye that they fail to see the 

 dollai: at arm's distance. 



October Crop Not All Profit. 



Do not imagine by harvesting large 

 crops now, when artificial heat is not an 

 item of expense, that whatever is real- 

 ized is all velvet. Of course you will 

 need a certain amount of bloom to main- 

 tain regular shipments or supply local 

 trade, but see to it that this be of the 

 best grade possible, for as truly set forth 

 in a recently published essay by Mr. 

 Skidelsky, "Superior product is sure of 

 market. ' ' 



Disbudding. 



The operation of disbudding must be 

 carried on religiously at all times, pri- 

 marily to increase size of bloom and 

 substance in stem, but also to prevent 

 useless waste, for is it not reasonable, 

 in the plant's attempt to develop sev- 

 eral buds on a stem that the energy ex- 

 pended on the superfluous side buds is 

 out of keeping with economy t If this 

 be true in any degree, it is easy to see 

 the reason for curtailing somewhat on 

 bloom production at this time of year. 

 Give the time taken to develop buds a 

 little study. 



Go over the beds twice weekly, cutting 

 at the most two buds at one time from 

 the well furnished plant. Allow the buds 

 to develop fairly well, but not showing 

 color, and cut stems just as if taking off 

 fully developed flowers. The removal of 

 buds at intervals contributes to the con- 

 tinuous flowering habit and prevents the 

 serious check likely to result in removing 

 too much tissue at once. 



Two weeks of this treatment is gener- 

 ally suflScient and during that time many 

 buds will have been removed from a 

 thousand plants, but with care and judg- 

 ment in selecting such as can well be 

 spared, the increased returns will pay 

 for these and the time consumed many 

 times over. Geo. S. Osborn. 



LEAF-SPOT. 



Under separate cover I send you sam- 

 ples of Lady Bountiful carnation foliage 

 which died at the tips of the leaves. 

 Otherwise the plants are looking fine and 

 are making a rapid growth. Can you 

 tell me what the trouble is and what 

 remedy to use? My soil is a piece of sod 

 manured in the fall, turned under and 

 another coat of manure spread over and 

 left until spring, when it is plowed and 

 harrowed every week until housing time. 

 Before taking into the house a treatment 

 of bone-meal was used, but no fertilizer 

 has been added sipce planting. C. G. 



Your Bountiful are suffering from an 

 attack of the common leaf-spot, or Sep- 

 toria dianthi. To combat this disease 

 you must keep your plants overhead as 

 dry as possible, or as their condition 

 will warrant. Reduce the syringing to 

 once each week from now on, and if the 

 plants are entirely free from red spider 

 it would be well to dispense with the 



syringing altogether until you get them 

 free from this disease. It delights in a 

 close, humid atmosphere, and so you 

 want to work in just the opposite direc- 

 tion. Give all the air you can and sun- 

 light> Give water at the roots liberally 

 to promote a strong growth, but do it 

 early in the day and select bright days 

 to do your watering, so that fdl exces- 

 sive water will evaporate before eve- 

 ning. Dusting the plants with lime and 

 sulphur will help materially, especially 

 during rainy 8p.ells. Allow it to remain 

 on the plants several days before wash- 

 ing it oflP. • ' ;•' 



You will be running a little fire heat 

 before long now and you should paint 

 one steam pipe in each house with a 

 rather thick paint made of lime and 

 sulphur in equal portions and water. 

 Paint about half of the upper side of 

 the pipe, which will be strong enough. 

 By painting about three feet and skip- 

 ping that much each time you will get 

 it about right. A small crack of air 

 should be left on when the lulphur is 

 applied to the pipes to prevent it from 

 getting too strong. It is liable to take 

 the color out of the colored blooms when 

 too strong. 



The bone-meal in the soil would not 

 start this trouble, although it might add 

 some to the foulness of the air if it 

 were applied in large quantities and 

 thereby aggravate the case. 



A. F. J. Baue. 



COMBATTING GREENFLY. 



With the approach of cool weather 

 greenfly will begin to be troublesome, 

 and if neglected will soon overrun the 

 house. The damage these pests can 

 create in a short time among the soft 

 wood, foliage and tender ouds can hardly 

 be estimated. 



In order to keep the house clear of 

 greenfly, fumigation should be practiced 

 periodically and persistently, as no one 

 effort is sufKcient to keep the house 

 clean for any length of time. When a 

 house is fairly clean of greenfly a mild 

 fumigation, if carefully performed once 

 a week, will keep them so effectually 

 in check that no great damage can oc- 

 cur. 



The conditions favorable to satisfac- 

 tory fumigation are, first, a rather lower 

 temperature in the house than the nor- 

 mal, and especially on a day when the 

 glass is colder than the house tempera- 

 ture, as this has a repellent effect on 

 the fumes crowding them downward to- 

 wards the plants. Second, the soil in the 

 benches should be moderately dry and 



the act of fumigating should be per- 

 formed when evaporation is at a mini- 

 mum, so that there will be no tendency 

 to floating. These conditions are best 

 obtainable just at daybreak. 



The fumes do not require to be kept 

 in the house longer than twenty min- 

 utes, as by that time, if the fumigant is 

 of the right quality and strength, the 

 work should be complete, and any longer 

 retention of the fumes causes a stale 

 smell in the house. 



As soon after fumigating as possible, 

 if the day is favorable, the foliage should 

 be thoroughly syringed. This will wash 

 off those flies not yet dead and freshen 

 up the house. 



Of course, these instructions do not ap- 

 ply to fumigation where the agent em- 

 ployed is cyanide of potassium, which re- 

 quires special instructions for its use. 



BiBES. 



SCALE ON ROSE PLANTS. 



Will you kindly tell me the name of 

 this insect? I found it on my roses. 

 I often see it around this country. Please 

 tell me all about it. M. E. A. 



These specimens were dead and dried 

 u% which makes identification difQcult. 

 Tnfev are, however, scale insects (Lecan- 

 I, and seem to be the variety hemis- 

 phseiicum. They are usually found on 



