^iii^^^fmFff^^^liffi^ff^fp^^w^^n^v^w 



IFW 



70 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



5!> 



NOVBMBEE 21, 1907. 



ported from Japan, and one or two spe- 

 cies of solanums. 



Insecticides. 



Insects, and tlie means with which to 

 fight them, are problems of interest to 

 the commercial plant grower, and while 

 progress has been made in this line, yet 

 the perfect insecticide is still in the fu- 

 ture. 



Probably the most satisfactory reme- 

 dies thus far are some of the nicotine 

 preparations, the results from these hav- 

 ing been better than from the various 

 soluble oil preparations. The latter are 

 more likely to injure tender foliage than 

 the nicotine is when carefully used, but 

 the disadvantage of the nicotine prep- 

 arations is found in their high cost. 



Fertilizers. 



In the matter of fertilizers the pro- 

 gressive plant grower is also frequently 

 experimenting, for soils vary so greatly 

 that it takes time to find out the needs 

 of each. 



In palm growing, the best commercial 

 fertilizer is one that contains a good pro- 

 portion of phosphoric acid, but ma- 

 nures strong in nitrogen are also used to 

 some extent, though an excessive use of 

 the latter produces brittle stems and foli- 

 age. 



Among the other plants briefiy noted 

 in this paper various manures are used, 

 beginning with stable manure and run- 

 ning through bone dust, dried blood, 

 spent hops, soot, nitrate of soda and 

 others. 



The future of the plant trade in this 

 country looks encouraging, for the gar- 

 den is a youthful institution in our land 

 as yet, and its pleasures and possibilities 

 are only beginning to be realized, and 

 while the proportion of profit to invest- 

 ment is probably less than in cut flower 

 growing, yet there is abundant room for 

 all the well-grown plants that are likely 

 to be offered for some time to come. 



THE READERS' CORNER. 



To Exterminate White Fly. 



Will you allow me a few lines in re- 

 gard to the white fly? Are plants 

 salable covered with white flies and their 

 eggs? I .think not. I recently bought 

 some Primula obconica which were 

 badly infested with the white flies. 

 Now, it seems to me that after so much 

 has been said in the Review in regard 

 to them and how to kill them, no man 

 need have them in his greenhouses. 



Let us rid our greenhouses of this 

 troublesome pest. I have used hydro- 

 cyanic acid gas for four years and find 

 it cheaper than other insecticides, for this 

 reason, that on almost every lot of 

 plants you get more or less of the white 

 fly. But it seems that people are afraid 

 to use it. Now, I will go to any green- 

 house in the New England states and 

 show any man how to use hydrocyanic 

 acid gas for what the trip would actual- 

 ly cost me. 



I have all kinds of plants in my 

 greenhouses and have yet failed to see 

 any plant injured by the use of hydro- 

 cyanic acid gas when properly used. 

 H. J. Blanchard. 



Ashburnham, Mass. 



Seeds of Lilium. ' —--^ 



I would suggest to G. G., the Puget 

 Sound correspondent whose inquiry ap- 

 peared on page 13 of the Review of 

 JVovember 7, that he cover his beds of 



lily seed with a good mulch of excel- 

 sior, keeping it down with long pieces 

 of Scantling or light poles. This will 

 keep the soil moist and keep down weeds. 



E. S. M. 



BRONX PARK, NEW YORK. 



The immense range of houses at the 

 Bronx Park Botanic Gardens is worth 

 inspection by anyone visiting New York. 

 The houses are finely built, and from an 

 architectural point of view leave little 

 to be desired. The collection of plants 

 was in better condition than I had ex- 



The Kdltor la pleased 

 when a Reader 

 presents Ills Ideas 

 on any subject treated In 



t'Jff^ 



As .experience Is tlie be«t 

 teacher, so do ^^e 

 team fastest by an 

 exohanffe of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brought out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling: and gram- 

 mar, though desirable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 doing: your best. 



WX SHALL. BK GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM TOU. 



pected to find them, and credit for it 

 is due to A. Miller, the foreman in 

 charge. The houses are much too large 

 for their occupants in many cases, and 

 are in almost every case insufficiently 

 heated, although 6,000 tons of coal are 

 consumed annually. The palm and New 

 Holland houses contained some fine spec- 

 imens, most of which have been donated 

 from private estates, although a good 

 many have been collected. The nomen- 

 clature leaves much to be desired. On- 

 cidium ornithorhynchum is labeled epi- 

 dendi-um, cattleyas are labeled maxil- 

 laria, and vice versa, while a small and 

 insignificant botanical orchid was labeled 

 Odontoglossum Alexandrse. I was in- 

 formed that the labeling was recently 

 done by a botanist from the museum. 

 I wondered while looking at this ridicu- 

 lous nomenclature what the gentleman 



who recently donated his almost entire 

 collection to the gardens would think 

 could he but now view them and see 

 how they are cared for. I interrogated 

 several of the greenhouse men and found 

 that the majority of them knew little 

 about plants. The practical end of the 

 business would seem to be discouraged 

 here in many ways. The staff of men 

 is entirely inadequate, their pay wretch- 

 edly small and their plant knowledge, 

 with some exceptions, woefully deficient. 

 The Bronx Botanic Gardens are intend- 

 ed to rival if not surpass Kew, but radi- 

 cally different methods must be ob- 

 tained if they are ever to hold a candle 

 to that institution. 



An immense additional range of glass 

 is soon to be built here. Money seems 

 to be obtainable for every possible addi- 

 tion needed. It would be better, how- 

 ever, if more of it were given to the 

 men who are to grow the plants, and 

 not subordinate everything to botanical 

 research. The system of placing plants 

 in houses from each country should be 

 changed. Plants growing at an eleva- 

 tion of 10,000 feet on the mountain 

 slopes need radically different treatment 

 from those growing in the hot valleys. 

 The grounds at Bronx are extensive, 

 beautifully wooded and very romantic. 

 It is an ideal spot for a big botanic 

 garden which should be to America what 

 Kew is to the British Empire. It is 

 fervently to be hoped that needed 

 changes, which are apparent to any 

 practical plantsman, will not be much 

 longer ignored. W. N. C. 



Chrysanthemum 



By Arthur Herring^ton 



Formerly president Chrysanthemum 

 Society of America. 



The most complete and comprehensive 

 worlc on the cultivation of the chrysan. 

 themumthat has yet been published in 

 America. Its scope and character may 

 be gleaned from the list of coi/tents. 

 which comprises chapters on composts; 

 planting; benches, boxes or pots; general 

 cultural details; crown and terminal buds; 

 feeding, its object and application; care 

 of the buds; exhibition andjudg'ng; spec- 

 imen plants, plants in pots; raising from 

 seed and hybridizing; sports; hardy 

 chrysanthemums; chrysanthemums for 

 south and west; insect pests and diseases; 

 classification and selection of varieties 

 for special purposes; history of the chrys- 

 anthemum, etc. The book will be wel- 

 comed for the lucid, comprehensive, as 

 well as the practical character of its con- 

 tents. Handsomely illustrated. 168 

 pages, 5x7 inches. Price 50c postpaid. 



Florists* Publishing Co., 

 Caxtos BIdg., 334 Dearborn St., CHICAGO. 



^ PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY"^ 



A list of PLANT NAMES and the Botanical Terms most frequently met with 



in articles on trade topics, with the CORRECT PRONUNCIATION for each. 



"The Pronouncing Dictionary is Just what I have wanted." 

 "The Pronouncing Dictionary fills a long-felt want." 



'The Pronouncing Dictionary alone was much more value than the subscription price of 

 the Review *' 



A Booklet Just th* sis* to lit a desk plg'eon-hole and lis 



always ayailable. Sent postpaid on receipt of SBo. 



^lorbts' Publishing Co. .^^^S^h. Chicago 



J 



