10 



The Florists' Review 



Skitemukk .!, 1914. 



reached by any amount of direct ad- 

 vertising. 



How It Works. 



It is a common thing in a big city 

 to see the residences near a florist's 

 well planted with flowers, shrubs and 

 trees, when his own place is overflow- 

 ing with these tnings. The effect of an 

 example is strong, and missionary work, 

 like charity, begins at home. In a 

 small town the same rule holds good, 

 and one place may be a good flower- 

 buying community, while another, no 

 larger, may be a poor one, merely be- 

 cause of the difference in the florists 

 in the two places. One is a good mis- 

 sionary, by means of beautiful home 

 grounds, etc., while the other, in his 

 hunt for business, probably loses sight 

 of the surest way to get it. 



One florist who does not fail in this 

 regard is Gust. W. Grossart, of Belle- 

 ville, 111. Mr. Grossart considers his 

 home grounds, a view of which is given 

 on the preceding page, an excellent ad- 

 vertising card, and spares no pains to 

 have his place look as well as possible. 

 So full of plants, shrubs and trees is 

 the yard that one can hardly see the 

 house; but while abundance reigns, 

 there is no overcrowding, Mr. Gros- 

 sart has done his best to remedy 

 that of which he complains: "One sees 

 «o many florists' homes poorly taken 

 <!are of and not kept as they should be, 

 to set an example for the public to see 

 and follow." 



STEVIA FOE WINTER CUTTING. 



When should stevia from 2^4 -inch 

 pots be benched for winter cutting? 

 When should we do the heaviest cut- 

 ting? When must the plants have the 

 last pinching to branch them? Do they 

 succeed better in pots or benches? 



H. & C. 



Stevias, if only in 2i4-inch pots now, 

 will not make large plants for winter 

 blooming. They can be grown either 

 in benches or pots. The latter are bet- 

 ter in many ways, as they admit of 

 bastening or retarding the flowering 

 ^season more easily. Stevia comes in 

 season in November. It is at its best 

 during December and January, but can 

 l»e retarded until March if necessary. 



C. W. 



BLACK HOLLYHOCKS. 



Are there any varieties of black 

 hollyhocks? T have a black seedling 

 that is fine. I have never seen black 

 hollyhocks advertised, and would like 

 to know if this is something new, or if 

 the black is common. Mine is an early, 

 continuous bloomer, and hardy. 



C. W. R. 



There are occasional hollyhocks with 

 <lark maroon flowers, almost approach- 

 ing black in color. In fact, they are 

 not infrequently classed as black. The 

 <olor vou have is not by any means 

 new. ' C. W. 



INSECTS ON DAHLIAS. 



r am enclosing some leaves of dahlias 

 that are doing badly. There seems to 

 be a small white insect on them that 

 looks somewhat like white fly, and also 

 a little, long, green insect that re- 

 sembles the green aphis, but is much 

 longer and runs when the foliage is 

 moved. We are much ., disturbed by 

 these pests, as we have about forty or 



fifty varieties of dahlias, some of them 

 extra fine. Will you kindly advise us 

 what remedy to apply? We have lost 

 a great many young cinerarias with 

 something of the same kind. 



C. D. J. 



. \ 



I could not see any of the insects 

 referred to on the leaves forwarded. 

 If these insects do not eat the foliage, 

 it would be best to use a contact spray, 

 such as nicotine, whale oil soap, kero- 

 sene emulsion, Aphine, or fir tree oil. 

 More than one application may be'^nec- 



Mrs. William F. Gude. 



(President elect Ladies' S. A. F. i 



essary to get rid of them. If you find 

 the foliage being eaten, add some 

 poison to the spray. Spray when the 

 foliage is dry, and sufficiently early so 

 that the foliage will be drv before 

 nightfall. ' V. W 



WHITE OBUBS IN SOIL. 



Will you ])lease tell me of an effec- 

 tive means of destroying grub worms 

 in the soil.' Is there any composition 

 available for incorporation in the soil? 

 If so, please state parts and quantities, 

 also whether the mixture can be applied 

 to the soil while the plants are in the 

 bed. F. W. A. 



Sterilization by steam is, of course, 

 the best way to destroy not only all 

 insect, but also fungoid life. As it niay 

 not be available in your case, I would 

 suggest the use of carbon bisulphide 

 in the compost. This costs about 75 

 cents per pound can at retail. A single 

 can will sterilize a cord of compost 



thoroughly. All you have to do i* to 

 bore holes here and there with a stiut 

 pointed stick, pour in some of the . ar- 

 bon, and immediately close up the 

 holes. The gas from the carbon is pmie 

 trating and destroys all soil pests. It 

 is more effective when the soil is moist 

 than when dry. If you go over y ur 

 compost in this way you will have icw 

 grubs left. The carbon can be u-od 

 with perfect safety on crops plante*! in 

 beds or benches. Make holes fi.ur 

 inches apart each way; pour a teasp(j.rii. 

 ful of carbon in each, always renum- 

 bering to cover the holes quickly. 1 

 have used carbon bisulphide in tiiis 

 way for years ^nd have never found it 

 to injure any crop. Be careful not to 

 use any matches while applying tlie 

 carbon, as it explodes rather readily. 

 In addition to carbon bisulphide, there 

 are manufactured preparations for ile- 

 stroying soil pests. 



^,^ The grubs ybu hj^ ^e pS^bly the 

 iS^Vae of the June 'bug or May beetle. 

 Eggs are .Hsually* laid in clods of cow 

 manure, and you will frequeotlv find 

 this manure simply alive with the 

 pests. On lawns, rolling with a heuvy 

 roller will kill a large proportion. 

 Kobins and skunks are fond of them, 

 also. If kainite and nitrate of soda 

 are applied to land when it is plowed 

 up, and are harrowed in, large numbers 

 will be destroyed. Lime is also ob- 

 jectionable to the grubs. C. W. 



BUSINESS EMBARRASSMENTS. 



Watertown, N. Y. — Morse F. Hart, 

 who formerly conducted the florists' 

 business of Hart & Hart, in this city. 

 has filed a petition in bankruptcy in the 

 United States District court. He has 

 liabilities of $5,218 and practically no 

 assets, as insurance amounting to $L\(iO(i 

 and household goods valued at .$150 are 

 both exempt. 



Libertyville, 111. — According to re 

 ports current in this section, the Mere 

 dith Flower & Vegetable Co. is in 

 financial trouble and as a result the 

 large greenhouse which the company 

 started to build at Union Grove will 

 not be completed, at least by the pres 

 ent company. A number of Union Grove 

 people hold stock in the concern and it 

 is thought that the company can be re- 

 organized and put on a paying basis. 

 The books of the company are said to 

 be badly muddled. 



Houston, Tex. — Charles Ehlers fileil a 

 petition of voluntary bankruptcy in the 

 Federal court August 26. According to 

 the petition, assets greatly exceed lia 

 bilities, the latter being only $3,715, 

 while the resources are placed at $5,! 20. 

 However, stock in trade forms $1."'00 

 of the assets. A list of ninety-i'ii^ 

 small local accounts due is attached to 

 the petition. The largest creditoi i** 

 the firm of Van Zanneveld Bros & 

 Philippo, of Sassenheim, Holland, v th 

 $649 due. For taxes the state is iK" 

 $15, but this is a preferred cl; i"' 

 Wages, also preferred, are placed at 

 .f200, while other preferred debts t' 'al 

 $2,000. The unsecured claims amf !nt 

 to approximately $1,500. Among t>e 

 assets are $100 for household gO' !*• 

 $3,000 real estate, $700 accounts re- 

 ceivable and $120 for horses, other I'i- 

 mals, vehicles, implements, etc. 



Rockford, HI.— W. H. Burrows ■< 

 pects to build a house, 24x250, this I'l- 

 tumn. 



