July 25, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



roses and peonies. Pull or cut out Man- 

 etti or briar shoots from hardy roses or 

 they will soon destroy the plants. 



It is too early yet to sow sweet peas 

 for winter blooming. Wait until August 

 10 at least. Allow twelve to fourteen 

 weeks from sowing to flowering. 



Pot on primulas before they become 

 too much matted with roots. Give plenty 

 of ventilation, removing sashes entirely 

 in dull weather. 



Keep weeds pulled up or cut down 

 from compost piles. They grow with 

 surprising rapidity now and soon exhaust 

 the soil. 



A late sowing of mignonette can now 

 be made outdoors. With a favorable fall 

 it will still yield some nice spikes. 



Do not cut the lawns around your 

 house too closely during the hot summer 

 months. 



Violets are starting to make runners. 

 Keep these picked off and stir among the 

 plants frequently with the cultivator. 



Discontinue the pinching of Stevia ser- 

 rata and bouvardias after the end of 

 July. 



Keep young gardenias in pots and 

 benches pinched. Syringe freely, but be 

 careful not to overwater at the roots. 



SEASONABLE CULTURE. 



SyrioKtag:. 



We have had many hot days in the 

 last two weeks and such weather means 

 lots of work syringing, if one is to keep 

 his plants in good shape. Plants should 

 be sprayed over four or five times during 

 the day. It need not take more than a 

 minute, as all that is necessary is to 

 turn the hose on full force and dash 

 water over plants, roof, walls and every- 

 where. This will run the temperature 

 down immediately and hold it down for 

 a time. The beds need not necessarily 

 get too wet from this frequent syringing. 

 A man who knows how to handle a hose 

 will not get the beds wet at all from 

 spraying, except only for the water that 

 runs down the stems of the plants. .The 

 leaves of the plants put on a hard, leath- 

 ery texture from frequent spraying that 

 can be obtained in no other way ; in 

 fact, it is the only secret of the splendid 

 foliage one sees at the exhibitions in 

 the fall. 



If plants are not kept well sprayed on 

 hot days it is not at all unusual for 

 them to get * ' stuck ; ' ' that is, the shoots 

 get tough and hide-bound and the 

 growth of the plant is very materially 

 checked. When you see your plants get- 

 ting in that condition, you can take it 

 for granted that they are not getting the 

 moisture in the atmosphere that ihey 

 need. 



Buds. 



It is not too early to begin taking 

 buds if you want flowers by the end of 

 September. There are, of course, only 

 very few kinds that will come perfect on 

 this early bud. Monrovia, Mme. Gastel- 

 lier. Marquis de Moiltmort and Gustave 

 Grunewald are practically all I know of. 

 It does not pay to have very many extra 

 early flowers, but a few, as the early 

 birds of the season often catch the 

 worm of the long green species. 



Iiuects. 



Insects are, as usual, out in force, the 

 caterpillar being the worst offender to 

 date. To keep clear of caterpillars one 

 must begin at the beginning, and kill all 

 the butterflies that get into the house be- 

 fore they have a chance to lay any eggs. 

 This will mean a good deal less work 

 later. It is a good plan to walk through 

 the house once in a while, when you are 

 not busy. You will find lots of nests of 



eggs and lots of colonies of tiny cater- 

 pillars just starting out to see life on 

 their own account. If you catch them 

 all while they are on the one leaf, that 

 is the end of them, but if they once get 

 scattered it means ' a separate hunt for 

 each one. A caterpillar lives only to 

 eat, and the way it attends to business 

 twenty-four hours a day and seven days 

 a week furnishes a good object lesson of 

 the success that results from persistent 

 effort in any direction. 



Charles H. Totty. 



PARASITE ON MUMS. 



I have today sent you, under separate 

 cover, a specimen of a parasite plant 

 which is giving me considerable bother in 

 my chrysanthemum beds. I think it is 



an orobanche, but am not quite certain. 

 Can you have it identified? J. J. C. 



The specimen sent is a cuscuta, com- 

 monly known as the dodder plant. It is a 

 parasite, and as soon as the plant has 

 firmly attached itself to its host the root 

 into the ground dies. It is not very com- 

 mon in the northern states, except in wild 

 swamps or such places. I know of no 

 way to get rid of it except by tearing it 

 off the plant piece by piece, and that is 

 slow work. 



I am not botanist enough to know how 

 many species of dodder there are, but the 

 specimen sent is the common one, Cuscuta 

 Gronovii. Chaeles H. Totty. 



A HARMLESS INSECT. 



What is it that looks so much like soap 

 suds, full of air bubbles, found on the 

 under side of leaves of strawberry 

 plants? I took about half a teaspoonful 

 into the house and under the glass found 

 an insect, green, with rather a dark 

 back, eyes and six legs. It could walk. 

 Sometimes I have found more than one 

 in the suds. Eose bugs are abundant. 



L. W. 



I have not noticed the insect spoken 

 of on strawberry foliage. It is, however, 

 common on grass and many weeds in 

 early summer. An old and popular fal- 

 lacy was that this was the sputa of 

 frogs and toads, and such many still be- 

 lieve it to be. The insect ejecting this is 

 not a destructive one and will do no 

 harm to your strawberries. I regret that 

 I cannot give any remedy for rose bugs, 

 except the rather slow and laborious one 

 of hand picking. Poisons seem to have 

 no terrors for this disagreeable pest, 

 which seems to be unusually abundant 

 and destructive this season. C. W. 



PREPARING MULCH. 



The Compost Pile. 



Preparing mulching for fall and win- 

 ter use should now claim the attention 

 of growers. During the warm weather, 

 soil and manure can be got in any con- 

 dition desirable and the compost can be 

 worked over so that it will be in just the 

 proper condition for storing. 



A compost consisting of two-thirds de- 

 composed cow manure and one-third good 

 loamy sod should be put into a neat pile 

 and allowed to lie for two or three 

 weeks; it should then be turned over and 

 chopped up. At intervals of ten days it 



should be turned over and all weeds and 

 grubworms destroyed. 



Keep Compost Qear of 'Veedt. 



While in the pile and at all times the 

 compost should be kept clear of weeds, 

 as these attract insects which will make 

 it a breeding place. Material which has 

 been left in a neglected heap and covered 

 with weeds all summer is not fit to be 

 put in a mulch compost, as it is invari- 

 ably swarming with noxious insects, 

 such as thrips, etc., and usually is the 

 depository for their eggs, which quickly 

 hatch out in the congenial atmosphere 

 of the rose house. There is no doubt 

 but that thrips and other pests are im- 

 ported into the houses in this manner, as 

 I have frequently noticed that soon after 

 the first application of mulch these pests 

 begin to make their appearance. 



By getting the material ready now, 

 you will save some anxious hours during 

 the dark, wet days of winter. Bibes. 



