8 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



December 26, 1907. 



their winter blooming begonias, which 

 presented a brilliant appearance. Some 

 of the best kinds were Agatha, Soco- 

 trana, Winter Perfection, Julius and En- 

 sign, the last two being specially note- 

 worthy. J. Hill & Co. had a splendid 

 group of ferns, in which they are spe- 

 cialists. H. B. May had a striking group 

 of platyceriums, polypodiums, davallias 

 and other ferns, mostly growing on bark 

 and pieces of wood, with a groundwork 

 of small adiantums and pterises. 



Cutbush & Son had a telling display 

 of oranges in fruit, Skimmia Japonica, 

 pernettyas and other berry-bearing 

 plants. H. J. Jones, Philip Ladds and 

 W. Wells & Co. were the leading ex- 

 hibitors of chrysanthemums, the last 

 named having a grand collection of sin- 

 gles, some of the best being Irene Cragg, 

 Kitty Bourne, Purity, Gretchen, Lady 

 Windsor and Doreen. Cannell & Son had 

 a great collection of zonal pelargoniums 

 and there were many other attractive ex- 

 hibits, including a table of pyramidal 

 Lorraine begonias from J. Vert, a yard 

 in height and as much in diameter. 



A Vexed Question. 



' ' Boards versus vases ' ' has ^been a 

 vexed question this year at the many 

 chrysanthemum shows here. Some so- 

 cieties have entirely abolished boards, 

 practically all are now using vases to 

 some extent and the doom of the board 

 system is heralded by some. Many grow- 

 ers and a large percentage of visitors do 

 not approve of the abolition of boards, as 

 one result would be a somewhat dimin- 

 ished interest in the exhibition. Unless 

 some board classes are retained, many 

 exhibitors will drop out of the running. 

 Exhibitors here must furnish their vases, 

 which is quite a serious expense item. 



L. G. 



DRACAENA ROTHIANA. 



The dracsena shown in the accompaiiy- 

 ing illustration is Rothiana, a species 

 long known to science and for many 

 years seen in collections in botanical gar- 

 dens in all parts of the world, but it is 

 only lately that it has attracted the at- 

 tention of commercial growers, first by 

 its beauty and second by its great hardi- 



ness, in which it is superior to Dracsena 

 fragrans. The specimen illustrated was 

 photographed at the establishment of W. 

 A. Manda, South Orange, N. J. The 

 plant makes a fine specimen, one to two 

 feet high, the long, pointed leaves being 

 closely set, of great substance, bright 

 green in color. It is yrell adapted for 

 either indoor or outdoor use. 



THRIPS IN BEAUTY HOUSE. 



Prevention Better Than Cure* 



This season so far there has been less 

 complaint than usual about the ravages 

 of thrips in Beauty houses. Is there any 

 explanation for this? In former years 

 we would have credited this condition to 

 either a wet or cold fall. Neither of 

 these conditions prevailed during the past 

 season ; still there are few complaints 



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Dracaena Rothiana* 



about thrips. However, it i^not good 

 policy to shout until we are mit of the 

 woods, and we have quite a long journey 

 yet. So it is best to use all precautions 

 to keep the pest in subjection. 



As a means of preventing its entrance 

 to the houses, great care should be taken 

 to see that the manure used for mulching 

 is free from the eggs. If there is any 

 danger from this source the manure 

 ■should be cooked; that is, subjected to 

 such a temperature, either by boiling or 

 roasting, that the eggs could not possibly 

 survive. 



I have frequently noticed that houses 

 which have been clear of thrips during 

 the early part of the season have devel- 

 oped a good crop of them immediately 

 after the first application of mulch. 



Use of Cayenne Pepper. 



Light and persistent fumigation of to- 

 bacco stems will keep thrips in subjec- 

 tion. This frequent fumigation has a 

 tendency to bleach the outer petals, which 

 of course reduces the value of the bloom. 

 Cayenne pepper can be used once a week 

 with good effect. To derive the full ben- 

 efit from this method of fumigating, it 

 should be applied somewhat as follows: 



Procure some iron plates and heat them 

 in the furnace, withdrawing them just be- 

 fore they become red. Lay these in the 

 path at about twenty feet apart and close 

 the ventilators. After everything is in 

 readiness, start at the end of the house 

 farthest from the door and place on each 

 plate a spoonful of the pepper. Work 

 towards the door as quickly as possible, 

 as the fumes are disagreeable and even 

 dangerous if inhaled freely. Keep the 

 house closed until the fumes are dissi- 

 pated. This should be repeated at least 

 twice a week during the season. 



Many have found this method no good, 

 but the reason is that they do not carry 

 it out consistently. If after a few ap- 

 plications they still find thrips, the 

 method is condemned. As the egg.s av.'! 

 being hatched all the time, each brood 

 should be looked after as soon as it 

 appears. Ribes. 



BEAUTIES IN GEORGIA. 



A great many people labor under the 

 delusion that the American Beauty rose 

 cannot be successfully grown as a green- 

 house crop in the south, but this is re- 

 futed by a glance at the accompanying 

 illustration, which shows one of the 



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