m 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Adodbx 20, 1908. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



The Massachusetts Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, Amherst, Mass., has 

 made an exhaustive study of the blossom 

 end rot of tomatoes and has published 

 a bulletin on that subject, dealing with 

 it from a scientific standpoint. The 

 purpose of such bulletins is supposed to 

 be to afford assistance to the citizens of 

 the state, but it is a matter of doubt 

 how much value the average tomato grow- 

 er can get from these technical discus- 

 sions — what the grower wants to know 

 is not that "the organism isolated is an 

 aerobic, spore-producing, monotrichic, oval 

 form, producing a yellowish color on 

 most media," but how to make his crop 

 worth more of the yellow medium of 

 exchange. 



A PROnTABLE CUCUMBER. 



Please tell us what kind of cucumber 

 is the most profitable to grow in green- 



houses in winter. 



E. B. 



I . consider the Improved White Spine 

 forcing cucumber the most satisfactory 

 of all for" growing under glass, and this 

 is the most popular in all localities 

 where cucumbers are grown. All dealers 

 have special, selected seed for forcing, 

 but those advertised in the Review are 

 not excelled by any others on the market. 



H. G. 



THE ENEMIES OF ASPARAGUS. 



We are mailing you, in separate pack- 

 age, a stalk of asparagus, two years old. 

 Kindly tell us what the trouble is and 

 how to check it. W. E. T. 



The asparagus stalk received did not 

 show either beetle or rust, the two chief 

 enemies of the asparagus, and I am at a 

 loss to say just what to do for the 

 plants, not knowing the condition of the 

 field. If there are only one or two stalks 

 so affected, I should think that they were 

 injured by the cultivator or hoe. If 

 many plants are affected, I should sug- 

 gest looking over them carefully for bet- 

 ter signs of the enemy. 



Bust of asparagus is now becoming 

 very common and can be detected by the 

 brownish color of the field of affected 

 plants and by the blistered stalks. Under 

 these blisters a fine brown dust can be 

 found. The effect of the beetle is quite 

 different. The field remains green — that 

 is, what foliage is left on the stalks — 

 and the spotted beetle, a bug about the 

 size of the melon beetle, in color red, 

 yellow and black, can be easily found 

 eating. Experiment stations are giving 

 considerable attention to these of late 

 and some new methods may be successful 

 in dealing with the pests, but I am un- 

 able to learn of any positive relief in 

 either case that would not cost more than 

 the bed is worth. 



Burning off the tops after the bed is 

 mowed in September will do much to 

 destroy the enemy. All weeds around the 

 field should have been kept closely cut at 

 all times. After mowing the asparagus, 

 rake everything up in narrow windrows 

 and burn up clean, leaving the ashes for 

 fertilizer. 



Start in next season and keep the soil 

 well cultivated, perfectly loose and free 

 from weeds, and watch for any appear- 

 ance of the fungus or pests, which may 

 be kept down by spraying with various ' 



Fresh 

 Importation 



JOHNSON'S VIGOR 



MUSHROOM SPAWN BS^. 



Per brick, 15o; 10 pounds, 75c; 25 pounds, $1.50; 

 100 pounds, $5.50; 500 pounds, $S5.00 



Special quotations on 1000 lbs. and over. Directions for culture accom- 

 pany each order. 



Write for prices of French and Dutch Bulbs. 



See oar Big^ Pansy Offer in last issue. 



Johnson Seed Co., ...v.; .Philadelphia, Pa. 



Mention The Review wiien you write. 



A BED OF MUSHROOMS 



Raised from our Spawn, will bear loniEer and yield better than from any other variety of 

 Spawn. This is proven by facts. Full particulars and information how to succeed in mushroom 

 raisiuR free. We warrant you, if using our method of growing mushrooms, that all will go well. 



KIRKEBY & 6UNDES1RUP SEED CO., 4273 Milwaukee A*e„ Chicago 



MUSHROOM SFKCIAUSTS 



Mention The Review when you write. 



USE ANGLO-AMERICAN MUSHROOM SPAWN 



Made direct from spores of selected specimens; nature's way of producing spawn. This 

 spawn is made by an expert and will be used exclusively this season by the largest grower of 

 mushrooms in the United States. It will please you if you want the best. 



FREE SAMPLE BRICK TO GROWERS AND DEALERS 



ANGLO-AMERICAN SPAWN CMENNETT SQUARE, PA. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



FLORISTS have a gplendid opper 

 tunity of raising Mnsbrooms bs 

 utilixing the waste ntaoe nnder the 

 bcmchea. and then utiluing the waitc 

 material of expended mashrooB 

 bed* in growing flowers. Lambert 't 

 Pure CiUtnre MUSHROOM 

 SPAWN, the best Spawn in the market, is sold by all 

 leading seedsmen. A fresh sample brick, enough foi 

 a triaTbed, together with illustrated book on "Mmsh- 

 room Culture," will be mailed posti>aid upon receipt 

 of 40o in postage stamps. Address Amerleai) 

 Spawn Company, St. Paul, Minn. 



solutions if started early in the season, 

 when they first appear. 



Some of the newer varieties of aspara- 

 gus are rust-proof and growers will do 

 well to use such varieties when planting 

 a bed. H. G. 



BOTTOM HEAT. 



I have a house with solid beds that 

 I want to use for vegetables next sea- 

 son. Would it be advisable to put pipes 

 in the soil to provide bottom heat? I 

 heat with water. * A. C. 



The correspondent does not say what 

 vegetables he will grow and for lettuce 

 and some other vegetables bottom heat is 

 not necessary, but for cucumbers, toma- 

 toes and peppers it is important, espe- 

 cially in winter, when the plants are 

 small. Later in the spring, when the 

 days are long and warm and the plants 

 are full-grown, it may well be dispensed 

 with. 



Where it is deemed advisable to put 

 in bottom heat in solid beds, rows of 

 drain tile should be beneath each row 

 of cucumber or tomato plants. When 

 steam is used a %-inch pipe inside a 

 3-inch line of tile will give excellent 

 drainage and a good bottom heat. The 

 heat, however, should not be left turned 

 on all the time, but only a short time 

 each morning and evening. By having 

 a few soil thermometers always in place 

 along some rows, it will be easy to tell 

 how long it is safe to leave the steam on 

 at a time. If hot water is used it will 

 be necessary to use larger pipe and tile. 



IVE ACRES with the 

 Skinner Irrigation will 

 produce as much crops as 

 TEN ACRES without it. 



The Skinner Irrigation do. 



TROT, O. 



SWANSON'S 



New varieties of Mush- 

 room Spawn is the best 

 Spawn on the market. 

 Write for price list and 

 book about Mushrooms. 



Paul Swanson, 



2743 W 47tb tl., 



CHICAGO 



A 1-inch or 1^-inch pipe in a 4-inch 

 tile would probably be steadier and more 

 satisfactory than the steam. It will 

 be found necessary to examine the soil 

 frequently and well down into it, to see 

 that the roots have the proper amount of 

 moisture. Be careful of the roots. 



Shiremanstown, Pa. — The Review 

 has received the following communica- 

 tion from John F. Eupp, the primrose 

 specialist of Shiremanstown: "If this 

 solicitation obtains your approval, will 

 you kindly assist me in giving Mrs. Eupp 

 a post card greeting on her birthday, 

 August 25, by having as many friends 

 send cards as you can?" The Eeview 

 takes pleasure in publishing this request, 

 and hopes that numerous readers will 

 show their good will by responding. 



