rsif'^wjf^'i^f^f^'. '^y^'.Citr' 



••«'.--:'T,. 



MAT 28, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



15 



The Wittbold System of Mechanical Irrigation at the Establishment of the South Bend Floral Co. 



Carbolineum, and that it is extensively 

 used, some of the railroad companies 

 treating their ties with it. There is lit- 

 tle doubt but that it is an excellent 

 preservative for wood that is subjected 

 to moisture. But the material itself, 

 and the fumes from it, are very de- 

 structive to plant life. I had some 

 plant boxes made and treated with it, 

 and knowing the danger from it, left 

 them in the open, exposed to sun, wind 

 and rain for two years. They were then 

 planted with strawberry plants for forc- 

 ing, and some of the leaves were affected 

 by the fumes generated by strong sun- 

 shine. If the treated wood is given a 

 coating of paint a few weeks after the 

 Carbolineum has been applied, and has 

 been exposed to the elements, no harm 

 will come from its use. 



I. L. Powell. 



Vines for a HUlside. 



In the Review of May 16 I note an 

 inquiry, headed "Vines for a Hillside," 

 signed W. C. K. If he wants something 

 hardy, rapid-growing, with handsome, 

 glossy green foliage throughout the sea- 

 son, can he find anything better than the 

 Memorial rose, Eosa Wichuraianaf It 

 is sure to grow downward, for I have 

 tried unsuccessfully to train it up on a 

 porch. It will grow fifteen feet in one 

 season, if strong plants are set. It has 

 a beautiful bloom; with a spicy odor in 

 early summer, on last year's growth, and 

 showy red berries in the fall. I doubt 

 whether there is anything to beat it for 

 W. C. K.'s purpose. 



John Kkahenbuhl. 



weather to even check them. We have 

 just completed a test with the hydrocy- 

 anic gas, and must confess this also 

 failed to kill thrips in rosebuds. This 

 was also used double strength in the last 

 test. 



And now what can we. do? Red pep- 

 per and tobacco smoke were tried and 

 tried again on this place long ago, with 

 no success. We have a fine stock of 



s 



Thrips. 



What can we ever do ^o be able to 

 destroy this little mite? I have fought it 

 diligently for years. I have tried all 

 the so-called cures, and given them thor- 

 ough trials, too, but to no avail. For 

 instance, we sprayed nicotine two to 

 three times a week ever since^ our roses 

 were planted last summer, and for the 

 last month every day, and frequently 

 twice a day, using the solution twice as 

 strong as recommended, but fail in warm 



Tbe Kdltor la pleased 

 wben a Reader 

 presents bis Ideas 

 on any sublect treated In 



t\l^ 



As experience Is Uie best 

 teaober, so do ^^e 

 learn fastest by an 

 excbanee of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brouKbt out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanBhlp, spelling' and grram- 

 mar, thouf^h desirable, are not necea- 

 aary. Write as you would talk when 

 doing: your best. 



WX SHALL. BE GLAD 

 TO HKAR rROM TOU. 



roses, but must surrender it to thrips al- 

 together unless some kind brother crafts- 

 man can suggest something better than 

 the remedies I have mentioned. 



^J. F. A. 



MECHANICAL VATERING. 



Growers are so accustomed to the use 

 of the hose that it is difficult for them 

 to believe that there is any method of 



saving labor in this direction which will 

 produce equally good results. But there 

 is a widespread interest in the several 

 forms of mechanical watering now in 

 use, or under trial, by progressive grow- 

 ers. Louis Wittbold, who is the patentee 

 of one of these systems of labor saving 

 watering, says he is in receipt of numer- 

 ous letters, coming even from a half 

 dozen countries of Europe, regarding his 

 system, and that nearly every inquiry 

 eventually leads to a small order for the 

 nozzles, which are a special feature of 

 the system. Possibly the extent of the 

 interest is best shown by the statement 

 that in April he sold over $250 worth 

 of nozzles. As the nozzles are only a 

 few cents apiece, it shows how many 

 orders there must have been. 



Last year the South Bend Floral Co., 

 at South Bend, Ind., installed the Witt- 

 bold system, both in the greenhouses and 

 in the open field for the irrigation of 

 its stock growing outdoors. The ac- 

 companying illustration is possibly the 

 best one ever produced showing the ap- 

 paratus working. It is difficult to make 

 a photograph which shows the spray, as 

 the nozzles break the water up into such 

 fine particles that the camera does not 

 catch them except when the light is at 

 a peculiar angle. Mr. Gingrich, the 

 manager of the South Bend Floral Co., 

 is well pleased with the way the system 

 works, and Mr. Wittbold says that in 

 nearly every case where he receives a 

 trial order it results in a larger one as 

 soon as the trial line has been in opera- 

 tion for a few weeks. The system is of 

 particular interest to growers of con- 

 siderable acreage of outdoor stock, for 

 the reason that labor this season is so 

 scarce and high in price that anything 

 which minimizes the labor required pos- 

 sesses special attractions. 



Ames, Ia. — R. Gardner, instructor in 

 horticulture, Iowa Agricultural College, 

 during the last two years, has just been 

 elected to the position of assistant hor- 

 ticulturist at the McDonald Agricultural 

 College, St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, 

 Canada. 



