JANUABT 17, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



639 



the bench from that point. It is a hard 

 thing to check, once it gets a start. The 

 only thing to do is to pull up the plants 

 as soon as you see the first appearance 

 of the disease and stir up the soil around 

 where the plants were, to break up the 

 mycelium and help stop the spread of tbe 

 fungus. Lower your temperature at least 

 5 degrees, as 45 degrees is quite high 

 enough for lettuce and an occasional drop 

 to 40 degrees won't do your plants any 

 harm. I have often seen a drop of tem- 

 perature check the spread of certain 

 fungus diseases very effectively when 

 other remedies had failed. 



Fungus diseases seem to be becoming 

 more and more prevalent year after year 

 and the only cert&in remedy is to steril- 

 ize the soil. Tnis insures the destruction 

 of all spores of fungi in the soil and, if 

 care is used not to introduce any such 

 spores through the medium of manure or 

 other material, the crop ought to carry 

 through without any trouble. But it must 

 be borne in mind that any decayed or 

 decaying vegetable matter will produce 

 fungi, even if the soil has been sterilized, 

 so that extreme care should be used to 

 remove carefully any yellow or partially 

 decaying leaves that appear on the 

 plants; and if it is intended to plant a 

 second crop after the first has been cut 

 in the same soil care should be taken to 

 pull up the stems of the lettuce when 

 the heads are cut, so that they will not 

 be left to decay. 



I don't mean to imply that this ap- 

 plies to your case; but in going through 

 houses used for lettuce forcing I have 

 often seen not only the stems of the let- 

 tuce left in the soil, but the bad leaves 

 pulled from the lettuce and left on top 

 of the soil to rot. Then, when the next 

 erop was attacked by some fungus disease 

 the grower could not understand how it 

 came to be there, seeing that the first 

 crop had done so well. Such careless- 

 ness is inexcusable and can only result 

 in trouble, as I have said here before. 

 It is the man who is particular about 

 these little details who is surest of suc- 

 cess and, considering the increasing prev- 

 alence of fungus diseases, too much vigi- 

 lance cannot be used in preventing its 

 introduction or spread. W. S. Croydon. 



AT GRAND RAPIDS. 



In gardening under glass Grand Rapids 

 has forged to the front with such strides 

 that the lettuce industry has grown 

 to a point where it is one of the city's 

 principal outputs and there is in and 

 about Grand Bapids and contributing to 

 the Grand Bapids market almost $750,- 

 000 invested in greenhouses for the forc- 

 ing and out-of-season growing of let- 

 tuce, radishes, cucumbers and parsley. 

 It is conservatively estimated that Grand 

 Bapids this year will ship to the south- 

 em and western markets more than 500,- 

 000 pounds of the best head lettuce ever 

 grown under glass. 



This city has but one competitor in 

 the field. Toledo, Ohio, is a bidder for 

 supremacy in the forcing lettuce market, 

 but Grand Bapids has always been able 

 to hold its own. Ashtabula, Ohio, is the 

 other of the big three middle western 

 forcing lettuce producers, but that city 

 handles the eastern trade, a section that 

 Grand Bapids only caters to when the 

 Ashtabula product is exhausted. 



In the vegetable greenhouse business, 

 too, the city is attracting attention along 

 new lines. Local growers have experi- 

 mented extensively with greenhouse to- 

 matoes. It has never proved a marked 



CHOICE VEGETABLE SEEDS For Forcing 



'*8TUKES' STANDAB08" are simply the cream of the lists. Ton can't vet better ralne. 



Cucamber— Perfection Hothouse Forclne. 



selections of jfreenhouae-trrown White Spine. 



Repeated 

 . Per oz., 



60c; ^-Ib., $1.50; lb., 15.00. 

 Cauliflower— "Stokes' Standard." The very earliest In 



existence, closo-growlug, compact, perfect snow-white 



heads. Per pkt., 25c; ^-oz.. 12.50; oz., $4.00; M-lb., $12.50. 

 L.ettuce— Stokes' Big Boston. A splendid strain of this 



very popular greennoiise lettuce. Peroz., 15c; ^-lb.,40c; 



lb., $1.25. 

 L.ettuoe-Stokes' Grand Rapids. A. fine forclngr strain, 



the true uader-grlass sort. Peroz., 15c; M-lb.,4fc; lb., $1.10. 

 Radish-Stokes' Scarlet Globe Forcing. The true 18 



to 20-day sort, with small top and of a deep scarlet color. 



Peroz., 10c; M-lb.. 25c; lb., 75e. 

 Radish— Stokes^ White Marble. 16 to 18-day sort, snow- 

 white, crisp and tender. Per oz., lUc; M-lb., 25c; lb., 7Sc. 

 Tomato- Sparks' Earllana. Stokes' special strain. This 



is not to be compared with the sort usually offered. Per 



oz., 40c; >^-lb., $1.25; lb., $4.10. 



Rhubarb, for forcinK. Whole clumps that have been frozen and are just ready for business. 



Per doz., $2 00; per 100, $12.00; per lOJI, $100.(0. 

 Five-year-old Asparagus, for forcing. Very profitable. Per doz., $2.00; per 100, $12.00; per 



lOlU, $100.00. 



<$t:)J(ks S^^c/ S^<^^' 



219 Market Street, PHILADELPHIA, PS. 



Mention Tlie Bevlew when yon write. 



FARQUHAR'S PERFECTION 



FORCING CliClMBER 



A much improved strain of White Spine, long, 

 smooth, rich green, robust, 10 days earlier than 

 the old strains and more productive. Unequalled 

 under rlass. Pkt., 26c; H oz., 35c; oz., $l;Mlb., 

 $3, lb. $10. Write for complete catalogue. 



R. & J. FARQUHAR & CO., BOSTON, MASS. 



Mentloa The Review when you write. 



Walters' Improved 

 Telegraph Cucumber 



the flnest flavor and most prolific grown; as sup- 

 plied to the largest English growers; disease un- 

 known; per oz., 94.00; price per lb. on application. 



A. A. Walters & Son, Bath, ■ng'land 



Mention The Review when you write. 



success and it is too early to say whether 

 Samuel Perry's promising crop of more 

 than fifty bushels of green tomatoes will 

 be successfully ripened and colored and 

 put on the market. In his Burton ave- 

 nue greenhouses everything looks favor- 

 able and Mr. Perry is himself optimis- 

 tic. If the crop succeeds it will prove 

 remunerative. Edward Taylor and Eli 

 Cross have tried the tomato business in 

 previous years with more or less indif- 

 ferent success. 



In and near Grand Rapids there are 

 about seventy greenhouse gardeners who 

 contribute forcing lettuce and the subse- 

 quent underglass vegetable crops to the 

 Grand Rapids market. Lettuce is the 

 principal industry. When the final let- 

 tuce crop is off, the hoases are planted 

 to radishes, and in turn to cucumbers, 

 before summer. These secondary vege- 

 tables add much to the profit of the busi- 

 ness. More than 50,000 bushels of cu- 

 cumbers were last spring marketed here, 

 and the radish crop no one seems able to 

 even estimate. Parsley is also an exten- 

 sive secondary crop in local greenhouses. 



TROUBLE WITH LETTUCE. 



We are having trouble with our let- 

 tuce. The main or tap-root decays and 

 the plant dies. . Or if the disease does 

 not attack until there are a number of 

 side rootlets, it lives for awhile, but 

 the outer leaves decay at the base and 

 the plant is no good. Keeping the 

 ground moist or dry does not seem to 



Hothouse Specialties 



Our Mr. Rawson being one of tha 

 largest growers of Vegetables under 

 glass In this country, we have devel- 

 oped many special strains, including: 



Rawson's Hothouse Cucumber 



which we confidently believe superior to any 

 other on the market; 60c per oz.; $1.50 per M-Ib.; 

 $6.00 per lb. 



RAWSON'S SCARLBT CONICAL RADISH 



Best for forcing: many largest growers use It 

 exclusively. Brilliant scarlet, conical, short- 

 topped, remarkably uniform, tender, crisp; 90o 

 lb.; 10 lbs., $8.0(1; 100 IbM., $76.00. 



These and niiny other specialties fully 

 described in our Market Gardener's List for 190T, 

 just issued. Sent free on request. 



W. W. RAWSON & CO., 5 Union St., Bostoi 



Mention Tbe Rerlew when you write." 



Comet Tomato 



Tbose who force tomatoes shoold give 

 "Oomet" a trial. This variety has been the talk 

 of gardeners around Boston the past season. 

 Those who have seen it growing declare there'! 

 nothing to compare with it. Seed, $6.00 per oa. 



WILLIAM SIM, Cliftondale, Mass. 



Mention The BeTiew when yoa write. 



make any difference. We have had lil- 

 tle sunshine; otherwise the treatment 

 has been the same as last spring, when 

 we grew the finest of lettuce. Can you 

 give us any help? S. A. C. 



Your trouble is stem-rot, a disease 

 which is often prevalent in lettuce 

 houses in winter. It is the work of 

 fungus which has got into your soil in 

 some way. The answer given to H. 8. 

 in this issue will apply to your case. 

 Dull, cloudy weather is most congenial 

 to the development and spread of the 

 disease. As the weather becomes 

 brighter and warmer you will probably 

 have less trouble with it. 



W. S. Croydon. 



Haverhill, jNIass. — Perley R. FoUett 

 will build a new greenhouse in the 

 spring. 



The Review is gaining many good 

 points every year. I congratulate you on 

 your good work. You can depend on 

 my dollar every year. It is worth $10 

 to every florist who reads it. — Charles 

 Brown, Canton, O. 



