8 



The Weekly Florists' Re view« 



Uax 27. 1909. 



COCKROACHES ON ORCHIDS. 



You will find under separate cover an 

 insect which has been attacking the tips 

 of orchid roots this spring, and also last. 

 Can you tell me the name of the insect, 

 and best method of getting rid of it? 

 H. W. C. 



The pest referred to and duly received 

 is the cockroach, which if not kept in 

 check will do great damage not only to 

 roots, but also to tender foliage and 

 flowers on orchids. It is also destructive 

 on gardenias and some other flowers. 

 Cockroaches love a dry heat, and are in- 

 variably to be found near boilers or in 

 walls through which heating pipes pass, 

 To keep them in check several remedies 

 can be recommended. Mix up some lard, 

 powdered sugar and white arsenic in 

 paste form and lay it here and there on 

 pfgces of paper near their haunts. Both 

 ants and roaches relish this toothsome 

 decoction. 



Another good plan is to sink a few 

 glass jars containing some molasses and 

 water in the floor, leaving the top of the 

 jar level with the ground. Lay a smear- 

 ing of molasses on the top to attract 

 them. Many can be trapped in these 

 jars. Stale bacon placed in jars is also 

 a potent attraction. By trying each or 

 all of these remedial measures and killing 

 all you can "see, especially at night, with 

 the aid of a lantern, you will soon mate- 

 rially lessen the number of these pests, 

 but their extermination, once they have 

 obtained a good foothold, is difficult if 

 Dot impossible. W. N. Craig. 



SEASONABLE ORCHIDS. 



Trichosma Suavis. 



Trichosma suavis is not much seen in 

 cultivation, being rather rare. It is oc- 

 casionally grown as Ccelogyne coronaria 

 and is commonly known as the hair 

 orchid, from the crispy crests on the 

 disk. A native of the Khassia Moun- 

 tains, trichosmas succeed best in shal- 

 low baskets in an intermediate tempera- 

 ture, 55 degrees at night in winter being 

 ample. Fern root mixed with a little 

 sphagnum is a suitable compost, and the 

 plants should be hung well up to the 

 light and grown in a north house in sum- 

 mer. The flowers, which are carried on 

 short racemes, closely resemble those of 

 ccelogynes. They are creamy white in 

 color, the tips having spots and margins 

 of brownish crimson. The odor is very 

 pleasing. 



Ansellia Afrtcana. 



African orchids in cultivation are not 

 numerous. Ansellia Africana is a strong 

 growing variety, introduced in 1844 from 

 Fernando Po. Large pots are necessary 

 for its culture. They should contain 

 ample drainage. A compost of coarse 



fern fiber and sphagnum is suitable. Lit- 

 tle water is needed in the resting season 

 and an abundant supply while growth 

 is being made. The growths attain a 

 height of three to five feet and carry 

 light evergreen foliage. The drooping 

 flower spikes are large, carrying twenty- 

 flve to 100 flowers, and are greenish- 

 yellow in color, spotted with brownish- 

 red. They are borne on the upper part 

 of the bulbs. Ansellias require a warm 

 house, 60 degrees at night in winter be- 

 ing as low as they should be grown. 



ANOTHER [NEW PLUMOSE FERN. 



What is described as ' ' the most beauti- 

 ful sport that has yet appeared in this 

 numerous family" of crested ferns is in 

 the hands of Thomas Kochford & Son, 

 Turnford Hall Nurseries, Broxbourne, 

 Herts, the largest commercial greenhouse 



firm in England. The variety was ex- 

 hibited May 4, before the Eoyal Horticul- 

 tural Society, London, where the floral 

 committee unanimously voted it an award 

 of merit. It was staged under the name 

 Nephrolepis exaltata Lycopodioides, and is 

 said by the Horticultural Advertiser to 

 be "an exquisite plumose form, so dense 

 and mossy in appearance as to amply 

 merit its varietal name." The fronds 

 are smaller than in the case of some 

 other varieties now in commerce. 



DON'T RUB IT IN. 



In all the years that nicotine prepara- 

 tions have been used in American green- 

 houses but one accident has been reported 

 as a result of carelessness, but from Eng- 

 land there come frequent tales of death 

 and injury through ignorant use of this 

 poison. The latest case is from the Hants 

 and Sussex County Press of May 15: 



* ' Two little girls have had a very nar- 

 row escape from being killed by nicotine, 

 such as is used for fumigating green- 

 houses to destroy green fly. A boy, em- 

 ployed at Bedlands Nursery, Emsworth, 

 took some such preparation home with 

 him, needless to say, without permission, 

 which his mother used on the heads of 

 the two little girls. Both the children 

 became unconscious very quickly, and 

 were for some time in a very precarious 

 condition, but thanks to the skill of Dr. 

 Glanville, of Emsworth, they have now 

 recovered. We would urge upon garden- 

 ers to keep all such preparations care- 

 fully locked up." 



IP 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



1 



Callas. 



With Memorial day the calla season 

 practically ends. The flowers are now 

 only a fraction of their normal size, and 

 the yellowing of the foliage indicates the 

 desire of the plants for a rest. Take the 

 pots outdoors and lay them on their 

 sides, where they can get plenty of sun- 

 shine. If you have a quantity of young 

 offsets, not yet sufficiently strong to 

 flower, the best way to strengthen them 

 is to plant outdoors in rich soil. They 

 will not make much growth until late 

 summer, but by the early part of Sep- 

 tember they will have increased surpris- 

 ingly in size and strength, when they 

 can be carefully lifted and potted. 



Cyclameni. 



With the numerous other duties at this 

 busy season, it is difficult to properly at- 

 tend to the wants of all our plants, and 

 some are liable to be a little neglected. 



The little cyclamens will now be better 

 removed to a coldframe, where they can 

 be stood on a bed of clean ashes. Here 

 they will be well up to the light, and can 

 get an abundant supply of air. Until 

 we get warmer and more settled weather, 

 it is inadvisable to leave the sashes off at 

 night, but on cloudy days we like to re- 

 move them for a few hours. Be sure 

 that the young plants are not allowed 

 to become matted in the pots. If they 



have become root-bound, carefully loosen 

 the ball of roots with a pointed stick 

 when repotting them. 



Our largest plants are now in 4^/^ -inch 

 pots, and a smaller size are in 3-inch. 

 For future shifts we will use a rather 

 heavier soil, one containing no leaf-mold, 

 but a mixture of fibrous loam, rotted 

 cow manure and sand. It is better to 

 leave out bone and other fertilizers and 

 apply these in the form of top-dressings 

 later. Keep the surface soil loosened 

 and fumigate to keep thrips in check. 

 Eun lath shades over the plants during 

 bright sunshine, rather than shade the 

 glass. 



Nephrolepis. 



With Memorial day stock out of the 

 way, many carnations practically done 

 and more vacant greenhouse space than 

 we have had for many months, it is pos- 

 sible to give some attention to increasing 

 the stock of nephrolepis. If a small 

 house can be given up to these, all the 

 better. If not, a side bench can be util- 

 ized to good advantage. Cheese-cloth 

 can be tacked along the front of the 

 bench to keep the air away. Nephrolepis 

 do well in a good loam ; a little leaf -mold 

 or decayed manure is not objectionable. 

 An abundant crop of runners will now 

 be found on the old plants, and if these 

 are gotten in at once they will make nice 

 stock by fall. Of course, if this work 



Ji 



