42 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Decbmbeb 14, 1911. 



plants do not need a temperature of 

 over 45 degrees or so. In such a tem- 

 perature they will pass through the 

 winter nicelj' and be in condition to 

 furnish, in the new year, quantities of 

 good, healthy cuttings. 



Too many florists are prone to forget 

 the chrysanthemums until they wake 

 up with a start some day to discover 

 that they have no stock propagated and 

 the stock plants are not in shape to pro- 

 duce cuttings. True, there are special- 

 ists from whom he can procure stock 

 at a reasonable figure, but every florist 

 has his own pets, and he can not always 

 procure them when he wants them, so 

 it is always best to propagate his own 

 varieties where possible. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



PLANT PAPWORTH EARLY. 



Harry Papworth, of the Metairie 

 Ridge Nursery, New Orleans, says that 

 he has heard so many complaints from 

 florists who have had trouble growing 

 Chrysanthemum Elise Papworth that he 



he writes. "We use it on our cutting 

 bench all the time, especially for chrys- 

 anthemums, and thereby can use the 

 sand over and over again." 



TWELVE GOOD SINGLES. 



Will you kindly let me know what 

 are the best twelve single chrysanthe- 

 mums for pot culture, to be used for 

 decorative purposes? Please mention 

 six early and six late varieties. 



W. B. 



My selection of the best twelve 

 singles for pot culture would be about 

 as follows: 



Early — Annie Stevens and Marvel, 

 pink; Irene Cragg, white; Ethel Beer, 

 bronze; Kittie Bourne, yellow, and 

 Katie Covell, crimson maroon. 



Late flowering — Mary A. Keys, 

 white; Lorna Dando and J. T. Angus, 

 pink; Golden Star and Margaret Totty, 

 yellow, and Hilda Wells, a reddish 

 crimson. 



In the latter list, Margaret Totty 



Poinsettias, Cyclamens, Farleyenset Dracaenas. 



wants to put them on the right track. 

 "We also had trouble with it," he 

 writes, "until we learned that it wants 

 to be planted early, so that they are 

 strong plants when hot weather sets 

 in." With this early planting "Elise 

 Papworth has proven to be a fine com- 

 mercial variety and better than Eaton; 

 a pure white flower with better 

 foliage." Mr. Papworth sprays the 

 cuttings and plants three or four times 

 a season with Fungine and takes occa- 

 sion to speak a good word for the 

 article. * ' We find it indispensable, ' ' 



and Lorna Dando are rather tall grow- 

 ing, but they are so beautiful in their 

 respective colors that they are well 

 worthy of a place in the list of plants 

 to be used as decorative subjects. 



C. H. T. 



Savanna, 111. — J. W. Dunn, who re- 

 cently came here from Des Plaines, 111., 

 is making steady progress. He is pre- 

 paring to move his store into the room 

 next to the First National Bank, where 

 he will have a much better location and 

 much larger quarters. 



HYDBOOYANIO ACID GAS. 



I wish to give you my experience 

 with hydrocyanic acid gas, which I used 

 as per formula of C. W. in The Review 

 of November 16. I have three con- 

 nected houses, each 21 x 145 feet, aver- 

 age height six feet, ground or solid 

 beds, giving about 18,000 cubic feet of 

 air space in each house. I used two 2- 

 gallon earthen crocks in each house, in 

 the middle walks. In each crock I put 

 of water and sulphuric acid fifty-four 

 ounces each (three pints, six ounces). 

 Then I dropped in each crock, wrapped 

 in paper, one pound two ounces, avoir- 

 dupois, of cyanide of potash, best grade, 

 and left the house tightly closed till 

 next morning early, when I opened the 

 ventilators and syringed everything 

 well. 



I had a bad dose of red spider on the 

 carnations. I have always been able 

 until this fall to keep them in check 

 with water, but they were gaining on 

 me, so I decided, to my sorrow, to give 

 them a dose of gas. In one respect it 

 was a success, as it about fixed Mr. 

 Spider — only a few are left alive — but 

 it cooked a bed of lettuce 3 x 120 feet, 

 almost ready to cut, next to the gutter, 

 practically ruining it. The carnations 

 for about eight feet on each side of the 

 crocks were badly scorched. It also 

 scorched smilax tips, plumosus and 

 Sprengeri, also geraniums and the foli- 

 age on a few mums. I have 2,000 vincas 

 in 4-inch pots and 2,000 Dracaena indi- 

 visa in 6-inch pots which were not 

 harmed at all. The soil in the beds was 

 on the dry side. 



I would like to hear the opinion 

 and experience of other growers who 

 have used the gas, so that I may learn 

 where I erred. How strong do they 

 use the gas? Hope this article will be 

 of some benefit to a brother florist who 

 is thinking of using the gas for the 

 first time, and be the means of a thor- 

 ough discussion of the best way to 

 fight our insect pests. 



A. L. Merrill. 



Here are the original instructions as 

 given for fumigating orange trees in 

 tubs: 



' ' The surest method of extermination 

 is hydrocyanic acid gas. This is espe- 

 cially necessary if you have the San 

 Jose scale. This is a most deadly gas 

 and must be used with the greatest of 

 care, as its effects are quickly fatal on 

 human beings as well as plant pests. 

 Many articles have appeared on this 

 gas in past numbers of The Review, 

 but we would advise you to use the fol- 

 lowing formula, which we have proved 

 effective. For each thousand cubic feet 

 of air space, use two ounces of cyanide 

 of potassium, best grade procurable, 

 and six ounces each of water and sul- 

 phuric acid. To find cubic area of your 

 shed or house, multiply length by 

 breadth and this by average height; 

 thus, a house 50 x 12 x 8 would contain 

 4,800 cubic feet and would need ap- 

 proximately five times the amount 

 given for 1,000 feet. Use earthenware 

 jars. Just pour in the acid; then add 

 the water, after which drop in the 

 cyanide wrapped in oil paper and get 

 out of the house as fast as possible. 

 Lock the door and be sure that no one 

 is allowed to enter again that night. 

 See that ventilators are tightly closed. 

 Choose a cold night for the operation. 

 In the morning open the doors and ven- 

 tilators wide. Syringe well. All bugs 



