JULY 29, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



Concrete Benches Built in Plant House by Geo. B. Windier, St. Louis. 



that tlie vents are lowered for any show- 

 (is that may come up in the night. 



Alfred Burton. 



The cause of black spot on Beauties is 

 usually some check to root action, cause(} 

 by overwatering, by defective drainage or 

 by errors in growing, principally by try- 

 ing to effect a too rapid growth during 

 the first two months after planting. 



It is also a recognized fact among 

 Beauty growers that Beauties are much 

 more susceptible to this particular disease 

 than they were ten or fifteen years ago. 

 In fact, this tfuth has been so apparent 

 that many firms have ceased growing 

 Hcautics to some extent. In many estab- 

 lishments where these used to form the 

 linger part of the crop they have been 

 entirely eliminated. 



In order to get rid of this trouble, it 

 is necessary first to find the cause, and, 

 if possible, to remove it. 



The remedies are to give plenty of 

 M^ntilation on all favorable occasions, 

 !<' <'P the atmosphere as dry as is con- 

 sistent with growth apd keep red spider 

 •I'ld other noxious insects in check. A 

 •listing of one part air-slaked lime to two 

 I'lrts flowers of sulphur once a week, 

 ' "ile it may not eradicate the disease, 

 '' 'II to some extent prevent its spreading 

 ' ' '1 sweeten the atmosphere. 



During cold, damp weather it is good 

 ' 'ipy to fire up now and then, to dry 

 the house and prevent souring. 



ihe most commonly used remedy is the 



; I'per solution (cuprum). This should 



•applied at least twice a week, and 



"dd be left to remain on the foliage 

 '"1 twenty-four hours before syringing. 

 ' nozzle with a very fine spray should be 

 " •'! when applying the solution, so that 

 "''I'y part of the foliage may be thor- 

 'I'ffhly saturated. All affected leaves 

 '""uld be picked oflf and burned, and all 

 ' 'aying matter removed from beneath 

 ""' benche-s. 



't requires a deal of patience and per- 



sistence to overcome this trouble when 

 once it has gotten a hold, and usually 

 before it is conquered it leaves the house 

 in a more or less dilapidated condition. 



BiBES. 



Black spot on Beauties is, in my opin- 

 ion, due to a lack of growth, combined 

 with close atmospheric conditions. The 

 best remedy is to pick off the worst af- 

 fected leaves and get the plants growing. 

 Wallace R. Pierson. 



BEAUTIES A SECOND SEASON. 



Our American Beauties have been dry- 

 ing ofl for about six weeks and the soil 

 on the bench is now hard and dry. The 

 plants are healthy and the canes vary in 

 length from one to six feet, some of the 

 shorter ones coming from breaks on old 

 canes two or three feet above the bench. 

 Please give explicit directions for prun- 

 ing and also subsequent care, to insure 

 good blooms later. H. L. T. 



— ; 



It is not customary and seldom profit- 

 able to run American Beauties over a 

 second seasofa, and when this is done it 

 requires the greatest skill and care to 

 make them pay. 



If these plants are on raised benches 

 thoy will require but little drying off; 

 in fact, they invariably do better with- 

 out it. It is better not to prune much 

 at one time, as by so doing the plants 

 are denuded of much of the necessary 

 foliage, without which it is hard to keep 

 root action going. 



If it is designed to allow these plants 

 to remain where they are, a proportion 

 of the smaller wood should be removed 

 and the stronger canes should be tied 

 down, to encourage the latent eyes near 

 the base to break. The top soil should 

 then be removed; that is, as much of it 

 as can be removed without injuring the 

 roots, and the surface should be given a 

 dusting of air-slaked lime. 



The bench should then receive a good, 

 rich mulch, in bulk equal to the soil re- 



moved, and the whole mass should get a 

 thorough soaking. For a week or ten 

 days the house should be kept as cool a*, 

 possible and the syringe should be ap- 

 plied two or three times a day during 

 bright weather. 



When the new foliage becomes abun- 

 dant, pruning can be practiced, cutting 

 out the older and harder wood to make 

 room for the new. When root action is 

 resumed, they will require just the same 

 care as young stock under like condi- 

 tions. BiBES. 



BUILDING CONCRETE BENCHES. 



The Geniuses Are Busy. 



Once upon a time it was the saying 

 that the florist who did not have a for- 

 tune in sight in some pet carnation seed- 

 ling was an unimaginative person, devoid 

 of that spark to which all progress is 

 due. Today there may be no less carna- 

 tion seedlings, but the concrete bench has 

 supplanted them as the source from 

 which riches are expected to flow; for 

 certain it is that the method of building 

 benches with cement has been the subject 

 of more study by more men, in the last 

 two or three years, than has any other 

 one phase of greenhouse work. 



It is a comparatively simple matter to 

 build with concrete when the bed is on 

 the ground and retaining walls are all 

 that are needed, but when a table is 

 wanted it becomes another story; when 

 legs and a bottom are to be built the 

 question of how to build best is compli- 

 cated by the problem of how to build with 

 economy of time and material — there 

 never is any question of ultimate econ- 

 omy, for any concrete bench will last in- 

 definitely. 



So keen has become the interest in 

 concrete construction that hundreds of 

 florists are experimenting at bench build- 

 ing, some making sectional benches that 

 ran be manufactured in the sheds at odd 

 moments, to be set up when and where 



