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1666 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



April 18, 1907. 



pick oflf all flowers. Give them a shift 

 before they become potbound. 



If your seedlings of Asparagus plumo- 

 sus nanus and smilax are of suflicient 

 size, pot off without delay. 



Keep at the seedlings and prick them 

 off as fast as they are of sufficient size 

 to handle. If allowed to become crowded 

 and drawn they will be of little value. 



An additional sowing of asters can 

 now be made. Victoria, Comet and Queen 

 of Earlies are all good sorts. 



If you have any left-over rambler 

 roses, cut out all the old flowering wood 

 and give the plants a chance to make 

 new shoots from the bottom. 



Be sure you do not allow zonal gera- 

 niums to dry out badly at the root or 

 they will soon show the effects of it. 

 Give yellow-looking plants a weak dose 



of nitrate of soda to color them up. Do 

 not, however, persist in its use, as it 

 causes too rank foliage at expense of 

 flowers. 



Fall potted bulbs of auratum and 

 speciosum lilies will now have pushed 

 up young shoots. Give them a cool, 

 light, airy house. Don't force them, as 

 they resent it. 



It is six weeks to Memorial day. Look 

 out for the lilies, spiraeas, hydrangeas, 

 candytuft, feverfew, marguerites and 

 other crops coming along. Push those 

 which may seem a little backward and 

 retard those which are early. 



If you have any late tulips and nar- 

 cissi in flats and can hold them back in 

 a cold pit for Memorial day they will 

 bring better money than you could pos- 

 sibly obtain now. 



THE ENGLISH CARNATION SHOW. 



As reported in a recent issue, the Win- 

 ter-Flowering Carnation Society in Eng- 

 land held its second annual exhibition 

 March 13 at Regent's park, London. It 

 was a very successful affair, although not 

 of great extent as compared with the 

 exhibitions of carnations often seen on 

 this side of the Atlantic. The accom- 

 panying illustration is reproduced from 

 a photograph of the largest exhibit in 

 the show and will serve to give American 

 grow'ers an idea of the character of the 

 English exhibition. There are some 

 twenty-five varieties in this display, which 

 was staged by Hugh Low & Co., said to 

 be the largest growers of carnations in 

 England. They have several large 

 houses devoted to carnations and grow 

 practically all the American varieties. It 

 will be noted that they staged not only 

 cut blooms, but growing plants in pots. 

 The attendance at the exhibition was 

 large. The visitors seemed thoroughly 



interested and the exhibitors did a large 

 business in booking orders. The two 

 British novelties, Mrs. Burnett and Bri- 

 tannia, sold better than the new Ameri- 

 can sorts. This was doubtless at least in 

 part due to the fact that several exhib- 

 itors showed these varieties in first-class 

 style and the new American sorts were 

 not in flower, although young plants of 

 Beacon, Winsor and others were shown. 



STIGMONOSE. 



I enclose a few leaves from my carna- 

 tion plants; the youog stock. Can you 

 tell me the trouble and what causes the 

 spots? They are making a vigorous 

 growth. I thought perhaps it might be 

 aphis, as there have been a few on them. 

 I am also having trouble with aster 

 seedlings; also some other seedlings, in- 

 cluding cabbage, tomatoes, cauliflower 

 and smilax. There is something that at- 

 tacks them apparently under the surface 

 of the soil. I have examined some and 

 it seems to start with the top root and 

 proceed upward to the surface. The lit- 



tle plants wither up until they fall over 

 It seems to attack them soon after thev 

 get through the soil. I thought at first 

 it was a fungus, but it seems to be a 

 dry rot. I was careful in watering tho 

 seeds. The flats were set in a sunny 

 place. What shall I do to check tli,' 

 thing? I have been using air-slakol 

 lime. R. M. 



Your carnations are suffering from ;i 

 disease which was formerly known a; 

 bacteriosis, but which is now calleu 

 stigmonose. This is caused by th. 

 punctures made by insects, such as aphi« 

 thrips or red spiders, etc. The lighv 

 spots you see are destroyed leaf cells an^' 

 you cannot change them by any externa) 

 applications. In fact, I have heard ot 

 no remedy for destroying the poisoi, 

 which is left by the insect after with- 

 drawing its proboscis, and the only way 

 I know of to get rid of the disease is by 

 selection of cuttings. 



When propagating, look over your 

 plants carefully and take only cuttings 

 which do not show any of these light 

 spots. The next season you will see less 

 of it, though you will hardly get rid of 

 it in one season. In fact, if you work it 

 out in three seasons you will be doing 

 well. Frequently the cuttings will de- 

 velop these spots in the sand, even when 

 none showed at the time they were taken 

 from the plants. If potted up and 

 handled carefully, they will apparently 

 outgrow it during the summer, but the 

 next winter it reappears and selection 

 must be practiced again and again, until 

 it disappears entirely. All this time 

 great care must be taken to keep off all 

 insects to prevent fresh inoculation. 



Varieties that show a tendency toward 

 this disease should be propagated as late 

 as is possible, in order to get the more 

 vigorous cuttings towards spring, when 

 the disease begins to disappear. The less 

 spots the cuttings show, the better are 

 your chances for clean stock for the next 

 season, though, as I said before, the spots 

 frequently appear later on. The poison 

 seems to run all through the plant and 

 shows itself at any severe check to the 

 plant, especially when the sunlight is 

 weak. 



At first it was supposed that each spot 

 was caused by a puncture and that when 

 these spots appeared it signified the pres- 



Display of Hugh Low & G>. at the Second Exhibition of England's drnation Society, London, March 13, 1907. 



