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14 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Febbuakt 29, 1912. 



sterile soil was recommended, when 

 seed is to be sown under glass, as a 

 preventive of damping off and of stem- 

 rot. Investigations at the Massachu- 

 setts College of Agriculture, some years 

 ago, showed that most of the destruc- 

 tive stem-rot. in the field comes from a 

 fungous infection in the seed bed. 

 Keeping the surface dry, well stirred 

 and aired was urged as the best pre- 

 ventive. 



For the September market it was 

 recommended that seed of late varie- 

 ties be sown in frames about the first 

 part of May, or in sandy soil outside 

 tioifa the middle to the last of April. 



Diseases and Pests. 



Passing to the troubles of the aster 

 grower, lantern slide pictures were 

 shown of plants affected by the yellow 

 disease, and others showing injuries by 

 the tarnished plant bug. No remedy 

 has been found for the yellows. Main- 

 taining a nearly uniform condition of 

 soil moisture by thorough cultivation 

 seems to be the best preventive. Ama- 

 teurs having small plots that are sub- 

 ject to this disease were advised to try 



mulching the plants to preserve uni- 

 form moisture. 



The wide-spread injury caused by 

 the tarnished plant bug was declared 

 to be commonly attributed to other 

 causes. Attacking the tips of the 

 branches, it causes the blasting of the 

 terminal buds and the dwarfing of the 

 plant. These bugs can not be poisoned. 

 Spraying with Whale Oil soap or kero- 

 sene emulsion renders the plants dis- 

 tasteful for the time being. Growing 

 in partial shade when possible was rec- 

 ommended, as these insects seldom 

 work in the shade. A trial of cheese- 

 cloth shading was suggested, where 

 the stunted growth caused by this 

 plant bug was prevalent. 



The question of growing asters for 

 cut flowers on muck land was brought 

 up and instances of successful trials 

 were cited, a really remarkable 

 growth having been obtained in some 

 cases. The soiling of the flowers by 

 the black dust in a dry time has proved 

 an objection in some cases. If that 

 could be overcome, there would appear 

 to be great possibilities in the growing 

 of this flower on muck land. 



VABIETIES FOB A BBGINirSB. 



I intend to grow a few carnations 

 next year, and, being a new hand at 

 the: business, I should like to ask 

 which, in your estimation, are the best 

 varieties of red, white and pink for 

 a beginner to grow. P. W. B. 



The Enchantress family does so uni- 

 verjsally well that I do not hesitate to 

 advise you to plant them. In addition, 

 I would recommend to you White Per- 

 fection' White Wonder, Orioriosa, Pink 

 Delight, Winona, Dorothy Gordon and 

 Beacon. All these are standard varie- 

 ties and any one of them is likely to 

 suit you better than anything else in 

 th I same line of color. Get some of 

 each and then select those that suit 

 you best. A, P. J. B. 



PBOBABI.T THBIPS. 



In a separate cover you will find a 

 bloom of a Perfection carnation. It 

 seems to be filled with small bugs, 

 hardly visible. Please tell me the name 

 of the pest, its cause and a remedy. 



L. C. 



The specimen forwarded was badly 

 frozen and I was unable to find any 

 insects in it. From your description, 

 however, I am inclined to think that 

 your plants are being attacked by 

 thrips. Look for a crawling insect, 

 about a sixteenth to an eighth of an 

 inch long and as thick as a thread. 

 Th^ color is a yellowish brown, light 

 or darjadaiieoEd^^g' to the age of the 

 insecl^9iJR|fP|!l!^ the various forms 

 of ilfl|Mi^n is the n^ost effective 

 remeoy lor this pest. In the summer 

 months you can use hydrocyanic acid 

 gas with good effect, but it is danger- 



ous to use this gas during the winter 

 period, when firing must be attended 

 to and the temperatures watched. I 

 would advise you to wage a fierce war- 

 fare against this pest while the weather 

 is still in your favor. After warm 

 weather sets in you will find it uphill 

 work to get rid of it. You can employ 

 both the spraying and fumigating 

 methods to advantage. A. F. J. B. 



PLANTS HAVE TUENED YEULOW. 



Can you tell me what might have 

 caused my carnation plants to turn a 

 pale yellow f The plants seem to grow 

 and they even bloom quite well. My 

 soil is two-thirds well rotted manure 

 and one-third sandy loam. The color of 

 the plants seems to indicate sour soil, 

 but I have not found it so upon exami- 

 nation. I have used wood ashes and 

 liquid manure, but quite sparingly. 



M. N. A. 



I would have to see a specimen of 

 your plants before I could suggest the 

 cause of the yellowness in them. It 

 might be caused by too much manure, 

 and again, it might be caused by stig- 

 monose or something else. If you used 

 two-thirds manure and one-third soil, 

 you surely have too much manure, ac- 

 cording to our way of preparing soil. 



A. F. J. B. 



housed late, they took hold at once and 

 began to grow and bloom by Christ- 

 mas. They were fine field plants — that 

 is, the Sangamo were — but the Boston 

 Market were little plants from inside. 

 Any information will be appreciated. 



L. M. S. & 0. 



Your plants are afllicted with tho 

 dread disease called fairy ring. Yoii 

 will find this subject treated in The 

 Review of February 8, page 16. I will 

 merely add that if your plants are not 

 too badly affected, you may be able 

 to save them, as the weather from now 

 on is likely to be in your favor. But 

 go to work on them at once with all 

 your might. A. F. J. B. 



THIBTY PEB CENT SPLIT. 



Will you kindly give me any informa- 

 tion you can as to the cause of the 

 splitting of my carnations, a sample of 

 which I am sending! Our method of 

 culture has been as follows: The plants 

 were benched in the second week in 

 July, 1911, and all flowers were pinched 

 off till September 1. The house is of 

 recent construction, running north and 

 south. By the middle of November the 

 roots were showing on the surface, 

 when a light top-dressing of decayed 

 cow manure was given. Six weeks later, , 

 as the roots were again appearing, a 

 watering of weak cow manure was 

 given. As the stems showed weakness, 

 a top-dressing of wood ashes was 

 given January 25. Care has been taken 

 in watering and ventilating. The night 

 temperature has been 50 degrees, ris- 

 ing 10 to 15 degrees on bright days. 

 On one occasion, in January, the tern 

 perature, owing to an unexpected frost, 

 dropped to 35 degrees for an hour or so. 



At present thirty per cent of the 

 plants are splitting before opening, 

 and the blooms and stems show weak- 

 ness, while the plants otherwise are 

 healthy. Our soil was stacked in the 

 spring — four loads of loam to one of 

 rotten cow manure. We were not both- 

 ered with stem-rot, except in the case 

 of C. W. Ward. Has that variety a 

 tendency to rot? Please give your 

 opinion also on the sample of soil en- 

 closed. O. A. H. 



/■: PAIBY BING. 



^"Will ybu please tell us what is the 

 trouble with our carnation plants of 

 the Boston Market variety? About 

 one-fpurth of the houSe is planted with, 

 these V^ ^^ other three^oortJbs witk'A 

 Sang«l|||E9'^ll receive the sa^ tr«Mr^ 

 ment i^ yet the- 'dangStto plants Are 

 as flne as can be. The plants were 

 bought last NovemliterP and,' although 



Neither your letter nor the specimens 

 forwarded disclosed any reason Why so 

 large a percentage of the calyxes 

 should split. Your treatment seems tc 

 be all right and the soil has the ap 

 pearance of being about as good as 

 anyone could wish for. That drop in 

 the temperature last November ought 

 not to have any effect this late. You 

 understand, of course, that splitting ib 

 not always caused by variable tem 

 perature. During the short days of 

 midwinter any check will manifest 

 itself first in the splitting of the 

 calyxes if a full crop is on. A strong 

 dose of feed, or letting the soil dry out 

 excessively and then flooding it, wili 

 have that effect. Taking off a largf 

 crop of cuttings will do the same. 

 Hence one must be careful to avoid 

 anything which might cause a sudden 

 check or spurt in the growth during 

 these winter days. 



Varieties also differ greatly in this 

 respect. Beacon jUtfiMMuAyine 9f the 

 worst offenders aua^|HH||rthat inost 

 of the specimens ^^mfflred were of 

 that variety. Sometimes, however, we 

 find a reversal of the reasonably ex- 



