May 18, I'Jll. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



29 



Ki-l-'inii. Ciiidlii. lii'X. 



First Prize English- raised Novelties at the London Carnation Show. 



done this way, make the pile as low as 

 possible, so the frost and air can get 

 at it. You can not put in too much 

 fertilizer. One-fourth stable manure is 

 not too much, if -well rotted — horse ma- 

 nure for heavy soil and cow manure 

 for ligjht soil. As to the texture of the 

 soil, the carnation is not particular, al- 

 though I am inclined to think that mod- 

 erately heavy soil is preferable. I 

 have heard growers say that in solid 

 beds the soil does not need to be re- 

 newed every year. I wish this were 

 so, but I think it pays more than dou- 

 ble to do it; we gain that much in 

 quality. 



In preparing the benches before 

 planting, I must say that it is impor- 

 tant to see that the whole house, as 

 well as the benches, is thoroughly 

 cleaned and whitewashed, in order to 

 kill as many insects as possible, es- 

 pecially thrips, which seem to be quite 

 a nuisance in plant growing. Six inches 

 of soil I consider about the right depth 

 for carnations. 



In the House. 



I do not think it necessary to give 

 details as to the operation of planting, 

 but can not refrain from cautioning the 

 planter as to depth. Planting too deej) 

 is certainly one of the main causes of 

 stem-rot. I try to place the plants as 

 nearly as possible in the same position 

 as they were when standing outside, 

 roots and all. I plant them 10x11 

 inches apart. By doulding up I ar- 

 range it so that I have plants with 

 ten to fifteen well developed shoots. 

 This insures a fairly good crop for the 

 season. After planting I give a good 

 soaking singly. After that I keep them 

 only moderately moist at the roots, but 

 keep up frequent syringing on sunny 

 days until they arc started. If the 

 weather happens to l)e sunny during 

 planting time, a little shade for a week 

 or so is beneficial, but it should not be 

 left on too long, or it will ciiuse a 

 weak and spindly growth. We can not, 

 be too particular at this time of the 

 game, for on the starting of the plants 

 depends a great deal of onr season 's 

 success. 



The next consideration is the culti 

 vating and staking. All I have to say 

 here is, do not wait too long; we ail 



know the consequences. It pays to dis- 

 bud before the side buds get as big as 

 the main bud; yet it is not advisable 

 to take them too small. 



(To be continued) 



OUTDOOR INSECT PESTS. 



For the next few weeks insect pe^ts 

 outdoors will abound and, in order to 

 save trees from defoliation, insure per- 

 fect fruit and protect a large variety 

 of plants from complete or partial de- 

 struction, a vigorous warfare must be 

 waged. No florist's outfit is complete 

 without some of the paraphernalia for 

 spraying trees and shrubs. Barrel 

 sprayers mounted on wheels, or ordi- 

 nary barrels placed in an express 

 wagon, with a pump attachment, are 

 serviceable. All sprayers should have 

 agitators to keep the spraying iicjuid 

 thoroiiiihlv stirred. It would seem as 



though many florists might do con- 

 siderable of this work and make a 

 good profit on it. The necessary outfit 

 is not costly and once customers find 

 that they can have their trees and 

 shrubs i)rotected at a moderate cost, 

 the up-to-date florist who enters this 

 iield is assured of a good return on the 

 little money invested. 



The slug or leaf roller will already 

 in some cases have attacked hardy 

 roses. Two or three dustings of helle- 

 bore early in the morning, while the 

 leaves are slightly damp, usually set- 

 tles them. If they have been allowed 

 to get a start, it will pay to go over 

 them and squeeze the slugs in the 

 rolled up leaves. Spraying with Ivory 

 soap, Whale Oil soap, kerosene emul- 

 sion or any of the nicotine extracts 

 will take care of aphis. Where a hose 

 can be called into use and there is a 

 good water pressure, the surest way 

 to keep spider, white thrips and aphis 

 in check is to syringe the plants vig- 

 orously every evening. Arsenate of 

 lead should not be used on roses. It 

 will kill any slugs on the foliage, but 

 whitens the leaves so that they are 

 unsightly. If used at all on them, a 

 little yellow ocher and Prussian blue 

 should be added to make the color like 

 the foliage. 



Arsenate of lead is the best of all 

 poisons for leaf-eating worms of every 

 description, and while most commodi- 

 ties have been rising in price of late 

 years, this has been steadily declining, 

 the present prices being the lowest on 

 record. For the currant worms, potato 

 beetles, tussock moths, gypsy moths, 

 brown-tail moths, elm beetles, tent cat- 

 eri)illars and other pests, if the foliage 

 is sprayed as soon as developed at the 

 rate of four pounds to fifty gallons of 

 water and well dried in before rain 

 comes, there is little fear of defolia- 

 tion. It is sometimes necessary to make 

 the mixture stronger if the caterpillars 

 have been allowed to get in their work 

 and have reached a considerable size; 

 in such cases five to six pounds or even 

 more can be used with perfect safety. 



•'■ White. ml. KiL-y. (lov. l),.iuM-n. |;ay Stale 



Exhibit That Won the American Cup at the London Carnation Show. 



