38 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Septembee 24, 1808. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



FORCING TOMATOES. 



In iJi't'ceiliiig issues of llie 1?KVIE\V 

 there a|)])ean'il I'rol'. \V. S. Blair's 

 account of tlie experiments in forcing 

 tomaioes at .Maedonald College, Quebec, 

 with a descrij)tioii of the methods em- 

 ployed in starting the i)lants and plant- 

 ing tlie two houses employed, also a 

 table showing the yield, both in weight 

 of fruit and in money value. 



Insects. 



The A\hitc lly is the most dillicult in- 

 sect to deal with. To control it, we 

 confine ourselves entirely to the use of 

 hydrocyanic acid gas. It might be 

 intercvsting here to give a brief history 

 of the life of this ]iest. This fly, you 

 all know, wiien disturbed will ily around 

 the jilaut and usually return to the same 

 plant. On examination of the under 

 side of a leaf you notice what appear to 

 be eggs, but on closer exaniiiiation with 

 a glass you will find that part only are 

 eggs and part are nymphs. Jt takes 

 about thirteen days for the eggs to 

 hatch into nymi)hs, and uhen hatched 

 they move over the undersurface of the 

 leaf for a short time and then insert 

 their beaks into the tissue of the leaf, 

 taking on somewhat the appearance of 

 a scale. These turn into the adult white 

 lly in about five weeks' time. 



This insect, owing to its sucking mouth 

 parts, cannot be controlled by poison 

 placed on the foliage, and you all know 

 that fumigation with tobacco does very 

 little good. \Ve found that one ounce 

 of jiotassium cyanide to 2,0U0 cubic feet 

 was (piite etfectivc in getting rid of the 

 fly. Of course, the tightness of the 

 house and the kind of night may make 

 it necessary to use one ounce to 1,8UU 

 cubic feet, or. even stronger. This gas 

 is made according to the following 

 formula: One ounce of high-grade cy- 

 anide of ])otassium, ninety to ninety- 

 eight pure; one ounce, by measure, of 

 commercial sulphuric acid; four ounces, 

 by measure, of water. 



Necessity of Early Benching. 



I have already stated that in order to 

 run in tomatoes after carnations and 

 vicdets it is necessaiy to sacrilit-e the 

 latter part of these crops. As a general 

 rule, the market demand for violets and 

 carnations is not brisk after Easter, and 

 therefore we think it possible in many 

 cases to discard part of these crops in 

 favor of tomatoes. In no case do we 

 think it advisable to bench tomatoes 

 later than the latter part of March; in 

 fact, 1 would say not later than the mid- 

 dle of March, for the reason that the 

 fruit comes into competition with south- 

 ern grown tomatoes, which are so plenti- 

 fully put upon the market during June 

 and .luly, and also with our own outside 

 grown tomatoes after the middle of .July. 

 We are always sure of getting a Ijetter 

 jirice for the greenhouse stock, Imt even 

 so tlie prices drop materially after the 

 middle of .luly, as is indicated Ijy the 

 returns fnim liciusc Xo. '1, as given. 



Jt is wise, .nl>-o, to have the jilants well 

 a(hani-cd for tuiuliiiig. for in this way 

 the crop is lirouLiht into fruiting much 



earlier. 



Does It Pay ? 



Our tom.'ito liou^< returned us S'l.'rl 

 cents jier scpiare Imit fmm March \'l 



A BED OF MUSHROOMS 



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

 Spawn. This is i)r()ven by facts. Full particulars and information how to succeed in mushroom 

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



KIRKEBY& 6UNDESIRUP SEED CO., 4273 Milwaukee A*e.,ChicagO 



MUSHROOM SPECIALISTS 



Alentiou The Review when you write. 



i''our perfect Cucumbers growing on one stem 



is certauily a novelty. Our strain runs remarkably 



even in size and form. Seeds ready for delivery. 



Pkt.. '250: i-j oz., 50c; 1 oz,, $1 00: '4 lb., $3,00. 



H. K. FISKK 8KKI> COMPANY, 



iL' and 1:! 1 anciiil Hall Square, BOSTON, MASS. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



to July 29. This, we think, is a good 

 showing and much in advance of any 

 returns that could have been had from 

 violets or carnations. You have, of 

 course, the expense 01 cleaning out the 

 other croj>, working over the soil, and 

 handling the plants. This is not a largo 

 job, and I might also state that, in com- 

 jiarison with iloral plants, the tomato is 

 not an expensive one to handle. 



It is also a possible practice, ;ind one 

 followed l)y some growers, to plant in 

 the carnation bench by simply removing 

 a plant or two where the tomato is to 

 be set and working up only a small area 

 of soil for this purpose, thus getting 

 some crop olf the remaining carnations 

 vvliile the tomatoes are making their 

 early growth. This, however, I would 

 not advise. I do not think that there 

 is ;iny material gain i)y such a piractice. 

 The jdant does not get as good a start, 

 you cannot work over the soiJ in sucli a 

 thorough and expeditious nmnner, and 

 the carnations obtained do not compen- 

 sate for injury sustained through work- 

 ing out the carnation plants later on. 



Whether the spring forcing of toma- 

 toes can be f(dlowed profitaldy or not, 

 you all know dejiends ujion the particu- 

 lar line followed by the liorist, lie often 

 can work in certain lines at this season 

 of the ye.'ir to suj)ply a special trade, 

 sucli as liedding out stock, for instance, 

 and ])ossibly in some cases do better, 

 but J am convinced that in a great 

 many cases the forcing of tomatoes can 

 be f(d lowed to much greater profit, 



Ttie Fairness of the Experiments. 



Ii'csulls similar to, those given here can 

 lie obtained by any florist. The plants 

 in tliis experiment were given only aver- 

 age treatment, for, as we aim to run our 

 houses along commercial lines, we can- 

 not afTord to do anything except what an 

 average Jiorist woidd find it necessary 

 to (hj. 



We olitained oidy the wlodcsale prices 

 and did not c;it(M' to a special trade. 

 We could lia\(' iibt:rni('d higher prices l)y 

 placing (uir fruit on a sjieci.al market, 

 but wo lucfcr in .'ill our work to ship 

 to a coiuMiission nu'rchant, getting rid of 



There are no Dry Spots 



with The Skinner System 

 of Garden and Greenhouse 



Irrigation. 



The Skinner Irrigation Co. 



TROY, O. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



If you grow VEGE FABLES 



you need a live, practical, up-to-date weekly paper, 

 especially devoted to that industry. 

 The Weekly Market Growers Juarnal 

 "FILLS THK BILL." 



Special department forlGreenhonse Practice 



Mr. Eugene Davis, Gracd Rapids, Mich., origin- 

 ator of the Davis Perfect Cucumber and Grand 

 Rapids Lettuce, writing us uider date of July 27, 

 lilOS, says: "1 take pleasure in remitticg yi 25 for 

 three years' subscription to the Journal. Allow 

 me to congratulate you on having such writers as 

 Mr. Waid, Mr. Massey. and 'Grower.' The arti- 

 cles on 'Lettuce Growing,' by Mr. Waid, and 

 'Growing Cuiumbers,' by 'Grower,' are worth 

 ten years' subscription to a beginner. Older ones 

 (an very well read them with profit." 

 Subscription price, SI. 00 per year. Sample copy free. 



Market Growers Journal, 

 519 Illinois Life Bldg.. LOUISVILLE. KY. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



Vegetable Plants 



CABBAGE— Wakefield and Succession, 25c 



per 100: SI. 00 per 1000. 



LETTUCE— Boston Market, Tennis Ball and 

 Grand Rapids, 25c per 1(0; $1.00 per ICOO. 



PARSLEY- Strong plants, $1.25 per 1000. 



R.YINCENTJr.&SONSCO.,^'"%r-" 



Mention The Review when you write . 



FLORISTS have a splendid oppor- 

 tunity of raising M^ihrooini by 

 utilizing the waite gpace under tho 

 beaches, and then utilizing the want* 

 material of expended mushroom 

 beds in growing flowers. Lambert'l 

 Fare Culture S1U8HROOBI 

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

 leading seedsmen. A fresh sampl* brick, enough for 

 a trial Ded, together with illustrated book on "Mmsh- 

 room Culture," will be mailed postpaid upon receipt 

 of 40c in postage stamps. Address American 

 Spawn Company, St. Faal, Minn. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



our fruit on a jionoral nuirkct, for in this 

 way wo liclievo we can best study aver- 

 a<,'e e.xistin}^ conditions. 



House No. 1 represents fairly well 

 wliat can be done l)y followinfi; tlie chry- 

 santlieinuin crop with tomatoes. The re- 

 turns from this house were 07.85 cents 

 jier square foot. 



In closinji I mi^^ht state that it is 

 advisabk- to run in .a ccjiisiderable area 

 to this crop rather than only one bench 

 or ])art of a bench in different houses. 

 We much prefer to }j;ive up an entire 

 house to the crop, for in this way fa- 



