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The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



July 29. 1909. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Rapid growth is now being made by 

 all fern^, whether they be in benches or 

 pots. In the latter, careful watering is 

 now particularly necessary, as a single 

 drying out will cripple practically all 

 the young fronds. As the pots are now 

 ,in most cases well filled with roots, they 

 should be assisted with weak doses of 

 liquid manure. Sometimes earthworms 

 are troublesome. Use lime water or one 

 of the special worm eradicators to clear 

 them out. 



If your stock of small ferns is low, 

 now is a good time to order a fresh 

 supply. You will have a good demand 

 for these later on for use in fern dishes. 

 A few of the best ferns for this pur- 

 pose are: Adiantum cuneatum, A. 

 Croweanum,'»Cyrtomium falcatum, Pteris 

 Wilsoni, P. Victoria?, P. Cretica Mayii, 

 P. Cretica magnifica, P. serrulata cris- 

 tata, P. ha^ta, P. Wimsetti, Aspidium 

 tsussimense fAnd Davallia stricta. 



In the way of new ferns no one can 

 go far wrong in trying a few each of 

 the handsome Nephrolepis Scholzeli and 

 N. superbissima. Pteris Childsii is also 

 a fern making a beautiful plant for the 

 house or exhibition. Of course, Nephrol- 

 epis Whitmani, N. Bostoniensis, N. 

 Scotii, Microlepia hirta cristata, Davallia 

 Fijiensis plumosa, Polypodium aureum 

 and Cibotium Schiedei and other good 

 old stand-bys will all be in demand a 

 little later. Any of these make hand- 

 some pot plants. 



INSECTS IN FERN HOUSE. 



We have a house that is badly infest- 

 ed with white fly. We have ferns in this 

 house and were told by someone that we 

 dare not use the cyanide of potassium, 

 as it would kill ferns. Is this a fact 

 or will ferns stand it as strong as .otiier 

 plants? J. S. & S. 



An application of hydrocyanic acid 

 would injure the ferns if used in suffi- 

 cient strength to kill white fly. But 

 it is possible that the pest in question 

 is not the insect known as white fly, 

 but is the male insect of the brown scale 

 that so frequently infests ferns. This 

 is a whitish insect with wings, and is 

 sometimes mistaken for white fly. 



In the latter case I would try fumigat- 

 ing several nights in succession with 

 nicotine paper, rather than risk the hy- 

 drocyanic treatment. W. H. T. 



COMPOST FOR BEDDING PLANTS. 



Will you inform me if you think it 

 safe to use sandy soil for compost to be 

 used in growing bedding plants next 

 spring on land where potatoes rusted 

 last season? Would you consider a com- 

 post made last May by mixing one-third 

 green manure (one-half horse manure 

 and one-half cow manure) and two- 

 thirds sandy soil, where potatoes were 



grown last season, a good one for grow- 

 ing bedding and vegetable plants? 



C. A. P. 



The bulk of bedding plants will do 

 well in a rather sandy soil, provided 

 some leaf-mold and well decomposed 

 manure are added. The fact that pota- 

 toes rusted on the land from which the 

 soil is taken need not trouble you. The 

 rust is merely due to climatic and not 

 soil conditions. 



Such a compost as you prepared last 



^;do tiot want any manure in the soil, un- 

 less it is old. Leaf-mold, the compost 

 obtained from decayed leaves, is saf > r 

 to use for flower seeds. C. W. 



OBITUARY. 



John R. Hellenthal. 



John R. Hellenthal, a pioneer flori i 

 of Columbus, 0., died Tuesday mornin,, 

 July 27, at six o 'clock, after three week^ ' 

 illness with a complication of diseases 

 which started with appendicitis. He wan 

 not in a condition to operate on, for tly 

 physicians were afraid he would not sui- 

 vive the shock. 



Mr. Hellenthal was born in Wasserlos, 

 Bavaria, Germany, February 6, 1846. He 

 came to this country with his parents iu 

 1854. They settled in Columbus, on the 

 south side, when that part Avas out in 

 the country, and he had resided thern 

 ever since, until the city spread on all 

 sides of his place. 



At the age of 12 years he went to 

 work for the Columbus Nursery Co., as 



John R. Hellenthal. 



May should answer well for the general 

 run of bedding and vegetable plants. 

 The vegetables, such as tomatoes, pep- 

 pers, eggplants, lettuce, cabbage or 

 cauliflower, want a rather richer soil 

 than geraniums. The latter are better 

 grown with a smaller proportion of 

 manure in the soil, using fine bone at 

 the last potting, which promotes florifer- 

 ousness. Of course, for seed sowing you 



an apprentice, and had continued in th" 

 business steadily since that time. I" 

 1876 he went into business for himseli' 

 and had been located at the present site 

 of the greenhouses for over thirty years. 

 From 1890 to 1892 Mr. Hellenthal was 

 a member of the city council. At th<' 

 time of his death he was a director i" 

 the Union Building and Loan Associa 

 tion, a member of the St. Paul's Younj; 



