8 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Jdly 22, 1««0. 



BLACX SPOT ON BEAUTIES. 



Kindly state the cause and also the 

 best remedy for black spot in Beauties. 



O. H. A. 



I have grown Beauties for a good 

 many years and have had little trouble 

 with black spot. The only remedy that 

 has been necessary with me was to pick 

 off the affected leaves as quickly as pos- 

 sible and dust the plants with good, dry 

 air-slaked lime through a Peerless sul- 

 phur blower or a bellows, getting under 

 the plants so that the powdered lime 

 will rise in the house. 



There should be no trouble with black 

 spot on Beauties at this time of the 

 year. The most trouble is in the fall be- 

 fore the grower has his fires going. It 

 is good to keep a little ventilation on at 

 night so there will not be too much 

 moisture in the houses. H. A. Bauske. 



Through long experience in growing 

 Beauties, and studying the black spot, I 

 have come to the conclusion that there is 

 more than one cause for the trouble; in- 

 deed, I think I can name three distinct 

 classes of cases in which Beauty growers 

 get this trouble. 



Where the conditions are ideal for 

 Beauties, which means good, rich soil 

 and careful ventilation, black spot is 

 brought on when the plants are kept too 

 dry at the roots for too long a period, 

 at the same time getting too much water 

 overhead. The remedy in this case is 

 to pick all the bad leaves and give the 

 plants several good waterings, but do not 

 syringe for a while, and the black spot 

 will be a thing of the past in a short 

 time. 



The Beauty is a strong feeder and 

 where i)oor soil is used the plants will 

 soon take out what little nutrition there 

 is in it; they will be weaklings from the 

 beginning and as soon as the food in the 

 soil has been exhausted, if nothing is 

 added, the grower will have a bad case 

 of black spot. This is almost a hope- 

 less case, but by careful watering and 

 the use of air-slaked lime in the soil a 

 little improvement in the growth can be 

 made and some fairly good flowers ob- 

 tained, but the plants will be a long 

 time in regaining their health, if they 

 ever do. In such a case the feeding at 

 first must be slow. 



False economy often causes growers to 

 try to grow Beauties without fire heat in 

 the fall of the year, when the nights are 

 damp and cool. This is the time when 

 black spot is most abundant. The remedy 

 in this case is easy. Start the fires and 

 keep the air circulating freely in the 



house and black spot will die out in a 

 short time. 



I am not an advocate of the use of 

 any chemical preparation for black spot, 

 for these are all more or less detrimental 

 to the plants. Rational treatment and 

 careful attention to the needs of the 

 plants will prevent black spot, and good 

 cultural methods will overcome it if it 

 gains an entrance. James Psenicka. 



TERMITES OV ROSES. 



A short time ago we sent to the Be- 

 viEW an inquiry regarding white ter- 

 mites, and the answer was published on 

 page 12 of the issue of July 8. There 

 was a mistake made in our letter, how- 

 ever, as the information given in it was 

 not entirely correct. The termites do 

 not affect the flower stems, but the main 

 stalk and the roots under the ground. 

 They eat the roots where these join the 

 stalk and, entering the stalk, they eat 

 the interior of it about an inch or two 

 upward. Of course, as soon as they en- 

 ter the stalk the plant is killed. 



They affect every kind of roses, not the 

 white ones only, as stated in our last 

 letter. They also attack the chrysanthe- 



mums in a like manner. Please onder 

 stand that these do not live on the sur 

 face of the soil, but underneath, ami 

 whatever we get to exterminate thest 

 pests must be a liquid that we can pour 

 on the soil. What we should like to dis 

 cover is a liquid which we could poui 

 on the soil under the plants, and which 

 would dispose of these termites without 

 injuring the roots. We should fee pleased 

 to hear from C. W. again. L. 



The most effectual way of clearing 

 out this and all other pests which infest 

 the soil is sterilization of the compost 

 before using. As you probably have a 

 steam plant, you could easily accomplish 

 this. If you have no steam, procure some 

 carbon bisulphide and, after preparing 

 your compost, bore holes in it fifteen to 

 eighteen inches apart each way and pour 

 a small quantity in each hole, covering 

 the hole immediately after dropping in 

 the liquid. The fumes from carbon bi- 

 sulphide penetrate downward and will 

 kill everything living in the soil. It is 

 better to have the compost rather moist, 

 as the fumes are more deadly in moist 

 than dry soil. 



You could with perfect safety pour 

 two or three drops of carbon in each 

 pot, but it will be a rather slow task. 

 There is no danger of injuring the roots. 

 For chrysanthemums or roses in benches 

 this is the best of all remedies for de- 

 stroying every kind of larvae infesting 

 the soil. Carbon bisulphide is a liquid 

 and the fumes are quite strong. Do 

 not breathe them any more than neces- 

 sary. Do not use any lighted matches 

 •while pouring it out, as it is explosive. 

 I have used gallons of it for pests, both 

 outdoors and under glass, and have found 

 it effectual. I doubt if Nicoticide or 

 other nicotine extracts would destroy 

 your termites. They are useful for root 

 aphis, but have little effect on root-eat- 

 ing pests. C. W. 



CARNATION NOTES.- EAST. 



Shading Newly Planted Stock. 



Under the old plan of housing stock 

 in the fall, little attention was needed 

 in the matter of shade while the plants 

 were becoming established, but with pres- 

 ent day methods, when early planting is 

 the rule, the work being over by the last 

 of August, the question of shade is not 

 to be disposed of lightly. 



The intense heat of the sun during 

 July and August is extremely trying to 

 recently housed plants, whose root system 

 is practically at a standstill, and to keep 

 them plump until active growth of roots 

 is resumed, moisture must be supplied by 

 spraying the foliage. To accomplish this 

 in the scorching heat under clear glass 

 would require almost constant spraying, 

 thereby wetting the soil to the point of 

 saturation — a condition about as bad as 

 it is possible to imagine. For this and 

 various other reasons, shading is now con- 

 sidered a part of up-to-date carnation 



culture, the only question being ae *• the 

 best material, amount to use and method 

 of applying. 



Material for Shadtng. 



It would be a waste of space *• men- 

 tion all the undesirable features of using 

 mud or clay wash, when the whole ean be 

 summed up and described as * * too aborig- 

 inal." 



After trying many methods, we have 

 for some years used common whiting and 

 water, mixed to the consistency of rich 

 milk and applied inside with a long-han- 

 dled brush drawn from the ridge down- 

 ward. It is not essential that every 

 square inch of glass in the roof be 

 coated; in fact, it is well to leave a nar- 

 row streak of clear glass next to the bars. 

 If desired, a spray pump ean be used, 

 but, though this plan takes less time, it 

 is not possible to apply the wash as 

 evenly as with a brush; besides, much 

 material is wasted. 



It is a decided advantage to be able to 

 remove shade at your election and not be 

 obliged to make other applications after 

 rains. The whiting mixture can he easily 



