



• ; ■i.-.^v 



June 18, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists* Review: 



It 



ough soaking and the temperature be 

 kept as low as conditions will allow. 



Syringing should be practiced every- 

 day, not only with the object of keeping 

 spider in check, but to keep the atmos- 

 phere in a proper condition of moistness. 



After root action begins, all the small, 

 strawy wood should be removed and the 

 stronger canes cut back to at most four 

 eyes. From thence ordinary cultural di- 

 rections apply. EiBES. 



THE ROSE CHAFER. 



Will you kindly tell me what kind of 

 beetle the enclosed is, and also a rem- 

 edy for it? It destroys the outside 

 roses, eating holes in the blooms and 

 buds. C. C. S. 



This insect is the rose chafer, or Ma- 

 crodactylus subspinosus. It makes its 

 appearance early in summer and feeds 

 upon the flowers and foliage. There is 

 but one brood in the year. The insect 

 lives in the beetle stage about a month. 

 As yet no practicable method of de- 

 stroying it in its breeding places has 

 been found. 



Syringing with hot water, at or near 

 the boiling point, will destroy ,them 

 without causing injury to the plants. 

 Spraying the bushes with the following 

 mixture will also aflford relief: One 

 pound Paris green to fifty gallons of 

 Bordeaux mixture. 



The insects, being very sluggish in 

 the early morning, can easily be collected 

 and destroyed. Eibes. 



EEL WORMS IN ROSE BED. 



I have a solid bed of roses that is af- 

 fected with eel worms. Would it be safe 

 to remove a foot of the soil, replace with 

 new soil and then plant with new plants? 

 Would it be safe to plant roses in the 

 same hoilse in a bed across the walk, 

 with Bew plants? 



Do the "pesky varmints" attack 

 grafted stock as readily as the un- 

 grafted? E. C. E. 



Since eel worms are present in all 

 soils, in manures and frequently even in 

 water, it is impossible to get rid of them 

 without cooking the soil and manure and 

 boiling the water. 



It is a rare occurrence to see a house, 

 which has been planted with healthy 

 stock and properly cared for afterwards, 

 affected with the pest. 



It is always safe to avoid planting 

 young stock taken from infested plants, 

 but I have never seen any evil effects 

 following the use of infested soil where 

 cultural methods were perfect. 



The use of the Manetti stock for 

 grafting has certainly had a deterrent 

 effect on the spread of this pest. In 

 fact, such stocks seem to be immune 

 from its ravages. • Eibes. 



OIL as: A PRESERVATIVE. 



We have not tried creosote in our 

 houses, but we have tried linseed oil, and 

 hare found it a great help in preserving 

 wood, and if it did any damage to the 

 plants we did not discover it. As it read- 

 ily dries in, the odor leaves it and it acts 

 somewhat ks a priming of paint. 



While we have never done it, we think 

 that it would pay to paint all new 

 benches, both frame and boards, as lum- 

 ber is getting to be at a premium, and 

 good lumber can hardly be had at any 

 price. J. L. O 'Quinn & Co. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS I 



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Cinerarias. 



There is nothing gained in sowing 

 cinerarias before the early part of July. 

 Seed' started in spring gives unsatis- 

 factory results. The plants simply pine 

 away during the hot months. Cinerarias 

 love cool treatment at all stages of their 

 growth and their really rapid develop- 

 ment starts with the advent of cold 

 nights in September. In sowing the seed 

 select a bench in a north house, or, bet- 

 ter still, a frame having a north aspect. 

 Cover the pan with a sheet of glass and 

 lay a sheet of heavy paper over this. 

 Leave a shutter over the sash to still 

 further reduce drying out. A compost 

 of leaf -mold, sand and fine charcoal will 

 be found suitable. Sowings of cine- 

 rarias can be made until the middle of 

 August, but if you want plants early in 

 the winter start your seed not later than 

 early July. Buy the best strain of seed 

 you can procure, in preference to any 

 cheap mixture. 



Begonia Inca m ata. 



Begonia incamata, the useful midwin- 

 ter blooming begonia, is worthy of more 

 extended culture. More vigorous in habit 

 than B. Gloire de Lorraine, it is also 

 paler pink in color, but a shade that 

 is attractive. It is some time after the 

 flowering season ends before really good 

 propagating shoots are obtainable. Plen- 

 ty of these are to be had now, and there 

 is still ample time to root and grow these 

 along into nice plants in 5-inch or 6-inch 

 pots for sales next Christmas. 



Freesias. 



Your flats and pans of freesias, which 

 will have lost their foliage some weeks 

 ago, should be shaken out when the bed- 

 ding-out rush is over. If you do not cut 

 your flowers with too long stems, these 

 home-grown bulbs are superior to any 

 you can buy, either from Bermuda or 

 California. In taking out the bulbs, 

 place the little offsets by themselves. 

 These^ . if sown moderately thick in 

 flats, will make good flowering bulbs for 

 another se4S0n. To secure freesias for 

 Christmas, a time when fancy prices may 

 be had, the bulbs should be gotten into 

 the soil during the first half of July. 

 Give them a good soaking after, plant- 

 ing. Stand them where the sun cannot 

 strike them, where they will not dry 

 out too rapidly, and allow them to dry 

 out well before applying more water. 



In the way of varieties, refracta alba 

 is still the dominant variety. Ninety-five 

 per cen^ sold as alba turn out to be yel- 

 low — nothing more nor less than Leicht- 

 linii. Few firms carry the true, pure 

 white form, which is nrach better than the 

 golden substitute commercially. Fisch- 

 er's Purity is by long odds the finest 

 freesia on the market. No one who has 

 grown this sort will want to bother with 

 any other sorts. In Europe there are 

 some promising hybrid freesias, which 

 some day, when lower priced, will become 

 popular here. F. Amethyst, lilac mauve. 



and F. Armstrongi, pink, found wild in 

 Cape Colony a few years ago, are the 

 best of these. 



Begonia Rex. 



Sections of leaves of Begonia Eex root 

 rapidly during the hot summer months. 

 Laid under a bench on a bed of moss 

 or placed in the regular propagating 

 bench, they will speedily make roots. Al- 

 though not much seen on the markets, 

 these handsome begonias meet with a con- 

 siderable sale. They are excellent house 

 plants and, planted under the shade of 

 trees, they make splendid leaves out- 

 doors if the ground is rich and fairly 

 moist. Plants when potted will succeed 

 well in a coldframe, if well shaded. 



Vallota Ptirpurea. 



The brUliant but comparatively little 

 known Scarborough, Vallota purpurea, is 

 one of the finest bulbous plants for pot 

 culture for summer flowering. Not in- 

 frequently we see pots of these on the 

 doorsteps or piazzas of quite humble cot- 

 tages, so finely flowered as to excite our 

 admiration. These vallota flower better 

 when well potbound. They want a cool 

 house and can be grown outdoors alto- 

 gether from June to October. In the 

 way of compost, fibrous loam, broken 

 charcoal, sand, and a fourth part of old 

 and dried cow 'manure suit them. There 

 is now a pure white vallota in Europe. 

 Could it be propagated and placed on the 

 market at a moderate price, it would jump 

 into instant favor commercially, flo\frer- 

 ing as it would when choice white flowers 

 are decidedly scarce. ~~f 



Peperomia Argyrea. 



Peperomia argyrea may be propagated 

 cither by root division or from the leaves 

 in the same way as Eex begonias. Whole 

 leaves on which a portion of stem 

 been left should be inserted so th^ the 

 leaves touch the sind, GutMie central 

 parts of the leaves and/drop a little 

 sand over the same. K€ep well watered 

 and shaded and "piy^ff as soon as the 

 little plants appear. These peperomias 

 come in very useful for making up table 

 centerpieces, for filling up the vases of 

 tkll growing plants and for dishes of 

 mixed tropical subjects. In winter they 

 require a temperature of 55 to 69 de- 

 grees, but in summer will thrive in any 

 greenhouse or frame. 



Amaryllis. 



Young plants of amaryllis can be ma- 

 terially strengthened by* planting out- 

 doors. Give them a location in the full- 

 est sunshine and where, during dry weath- 

 er, a soaking from the hose can be given. 

 A mulching of old manure is also helpful. 

 Keep the ground well stirred after heavy 

 rains or artificial waterings. Plants with 

 bulbs of flowering size should have a 

 bench in a sunny house, in preference to 

 outdoor culture. Do not withhold the 

 water supply, as the foliage should re- 



(Continued on paRe 66) 



