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10 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



''i?t^^T?»^!pJ^ 



January 13, 1910. 



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LEAFLESS ROSE PLANTS. 



We are sending you by this mail one 

 of our rose plants. We have a number 

 that are affected this way, though not 

 many are so bad as this one. What is 

 the trouble with them and what is the 

 cause and cure? We find a great many 

 small, grayish white mites around the 

 affected plants, and as we have sent the 

 soil attached, you will find them. Have 

 they anything to do with the trouble? 

 The first sign of the disease is that the 

 leaves begin to lose color and wilt up as 

 though they were burnt, and then they 

 drop off. J. W. E. 



The sample did not reach me until 

 some days after your letter. The insects 

 had by that time made their escape. It 

 is best to confine them in a corked bottle 

 when sending them by mail, as they are 

 certain to escape from a paper bag. I 

 presume they are termites, popularly 

 called white ants. They do not attack 

 living tissue, but confine their depreda- 

 tions to dead and decaying matter. 



To effect their destruction, get some 

 bisulphide of carbon, make holes in the 

 Boil about a foot apart, pour in a few 

 drops and then cover the holes. The 

 fumes, being heavier than air, instead of 

 rising will permeate the soil and kill the 

 ants. 



I could find no trace of disease in the 

 specimen plant. The trouble seems to 

 be poor culture. As the leaves were all 

 gone when it reached me, I had no data 

 to go by. The roots showed no sign of 

 disease, but were poor for the size of the 

 plant. 



To help get the plants into good con- 

 dition, give the soil a light sprinkling of 

 wood ashes, stir the surface to the depth 

 of one inch and water liberally. Do this 

 at least once a week till they begin to 

 recover, when they can have liquid food. 



Keep the night temperature at 56 to 

 58 degrees, and the day temperature at 

 60 to 75 degrees, according to the sun- 

 shine. Use the syringe every bright 

 day. EiBES. 



THE PROPAGATING HOUSE. 



The propagating house now requires a 

 great deal of attention, because the qual- 

 ity of stock in this house leads to success 

 or failure during the coming year, for 

 any carelessness or neglect at this time 

 will surely show its effects in the later 

 condition of the plants. Many of the 

 diseases which trouble the plants during 

 the dark winter months are started 

 while they are yet in the propagating 

 bench, and though good future treatment 



SES 



may help them to recover from the check 

 they received there, the fact still remains 

 that this check reduced their vigor and 

 vitality when it was most essential for 

 the cuttings to have good, wholesome root 

 action. 



It takes constant attention to avoid 

 sudden changes in temperature. Espe- 

 cially is this necessary when the span of 

 the house is low and the benches are near 

 the glass, as the cold air coming in may 

 reach the cuttings before the temperature 

 can be modified. It is easily seen that in 

 a small house, with a bottom heat of 

 from 62 to 65 degrees and a house tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees, the temperature 

 may quickly change, and it is these sud- 

 den fluctuations that cause a great deal 

 of the trouble. So I say again, keep a 

 constant watch on the thermometer. 



The amount of moisture is also an im- 

 portant matter in rose propagation. The 

 grower is required to be guided by 

 weather conditions, but you may be on 

 the safe side by having plenty of moisture 

 in the air. If it is cloudy and the sand 

 does not require water every day, put 

 some on the walks frequently, and this 

 will help to keep a moist atmosphere un- 

 til the roots have progressed far enough 

 to give the necessary supply. 



If there has been a spell of dark 

 weather, and then the sun comes out 

 bright and hot, it is well to give them 

 shade, for after a period of cloudy 

 weather the leaves are soft and are liable 

 to wilt if not attended to carefully. 



When the cuttings are potted, the soil 

 should be as nearly as possible of the 

 same temperature as the sand, so as to 



prevent a sudden chill to the soft roots. 

 It is practically impossible to keep the 

 potting shed at an even temperature, for 

 there is a constant changing of air, due 

 to the opening and closing of doors, and 

 therefore the young plants should not be 

 in the shed any longer than necessary. 



W. J. Vesey, Je. 



BAY TREES. 



Please state a remedy for scale bugs on 

 bay trees, also how to fix soil for bay 

 trees to make them start, as I have two 

 in bad shape. M. G. C. 



I suppose the ordinary brown scale is 

 the one troubling your bays. It is not 

 easy to remove these from the foliage. 

 You can .syringe with water containing 

 whale oil soap, kerosene emulsion or seal 

 oil soap, also any of the special remedies 

 used for San Jose scale. If you will lay 

 your plants on their sides the day after 

 applying it, use a hose to which a fine 

 spray nozzle is attached and direct the 

 pressure against the lower sides of the 

 leaves, you will blow off many of the 

 pests. Use the hose occasionally on your 

 plants and scale will not trouble you 

 much. In the winter the plants do not 

 like fire heat, and should be kept in a cool 

 pit. A little frost will not harm them 

 in the least. 



Bays in Belgium are grown in a black, 

 peat-like soil. They succeed well in good 

 fibrous loam to which is added some de- 

 cayed cow dung and fine bone. Scratch 

 away all the loose surface soil and give a 

 liberal top-dressing if they do not need 

 repotting or retubbing. C. W. 



OUTDOOR SPRENGERL 



Can Asparagus Sprengeri be grown in 

 the open field during the summer for the 

 foliage, just as it is used from the 

 greenhouse? If not, what would you 

 suggest to grow outside for foliage to be 

 used with cut flowers? ' H. H. G. 



Asparagus Sprengeri grows splendidly 

 planted out in rich soil in the field and, 

 treated thus, will yield an abundance of 

 greenery. Some of the thalictrums have 

 nice foliage, which mixes in well with 

 flowers. A row of these will provide you 

 with quite a lot of useful foliage. 



W. C. 



DISEASED BOSTONS. 



In the Review of December 30, orf 

 page 11, I notice, under the heading, 

 "Diseased Bostons," that C. S. desires 

 information. I would like to suggest to 

 C. S. that a probable cause of his trou- 

 ble lies in the dusting with tobacco dust. 

 Of course I have not seen the ferns and 

 can only surmise as to the nature of the 

 disease, but as W. H. T. states that the 

 injuries appear local, and I have had 

 plants of several kinds injured by a 

 heavy dusting of tobacco dust left on 

 the plants several days before being 



washed off, I think it is just possible 

 that this may be the trouble with these 

 Bostons. Fbed C. Morris. 



CULTURE OF FERN. 



I send a specimen fern. Will you 

 kindly inform me as to the culture of it? 

 M. E. H. 



Grow the fern in good loam, containing 



a little well spent cow manure and some 



sand, in a shaded house where the night 



temperature will average 50 degrees. 



Ferns like a moist atmosphere. W. C. 



