Fbbbuabx li), 1U14. 



The Florists' Review 



21 



STBEAK DISEASE ON SWEET PEAS. 



I should like to know how to get rid 

 of the disease called streak disease'' of 

 sweet peas. Could the richness of the 

 soil have anything to do with it, and 

 what are the first signs of it? What, 

 if anything, will prevent it? C. I. 



The cause of the streak disease is un- 

 known, nor is any remedy yet known 

 for it. At one time it was believed 

 that the punctures of aphides caused 

 the disease. This has been disproved, 

 but it has been further proved that 

 they carry the infection from diseased 

 to healthy plants. Plants showing the 

 disease should be pulled up promptly 

 and burned. The National Sweet Pea 

 Society of Great Britain has recently 

 offered a cash prize of 10 guineas and 

 a special gold medal to any person who 

 can prove that he or she has a certain 

 cure for the streak disease, and both 

 here and abroad the experiment stations 

 are investigating this malady, but, as 

 before said, comparatively little is as 

 yet known about it. . C. W. 



SWEET PEAS UNDER GLASS. 



I should like to get some information 

 about the culture of sweet peas. We 

 have a house, 14x100, running north and 

 south, without benches. There is enough 

 head room for sweet peas anywhere in 

 the house. What varieties would you 

 suggest to be sown at once, and how 

 much manure should be mixed in the 

 soil? How much seed will be needed for 

 each row, and how far apart should they 

 be thinned out? How long will it be from 

 sowing to picking, and how long will 

 the picking last? We can give plenty 

 of air. Is a temperature of 45 degrees 

 at night enough ? What diseases trouble 

 sweet peas most, and how can we pre- 

 vent them? H. Y. S. 



Give the border a liberal coating of 

 rotten manure; if you have cow manure, 

 it is preferable to horse manure. Let 

 it be three to four inches thick. Dig 

 the border at least two spits deep, mix- 

 ing the manure in well. In your some- 

 what narrow house you cannot grow 

 more than three rows. Let one go 

 directly down the center, the others five 

 feet away. This arrangement will al- 

 low a 2-foot path along the sides. 



Among the best of the true winter- 

 flowering varieties are Christmas Pink, 

 Mrs. F. J. Dolansky, Mrs. Wm. Sim, 

 Watchung, Mrs. A. Wallace and Flor- 

 ence Denzer. These are all grandiflora 

 varieties. There are new Spencer win- 

 ter-blooming varieties offered by A. C. 

 Zvolanek in large variety, which bloom 

 freely, but the seed is still high priced. 

 However, you might sow your center 

 row with Countess Spencer and White 

 Spencer, and the other rows with the 



earlier varieties. The Spencers will 

 come in nicely later on. The midwinter 

 varieties will start blooming in eight to 

 ten weeks, and, with good care, they 

 will flower for three months. Countess 

 Spencer and White Spencer will be 

 later, but will give you much flner 

 blooms when they do come. For three 

 rows, each 100 feet long, sow one and 

 one-half pounds of seed. Of course, you 

 will not need anything like all the 

 plants which will germinate. Thin 

 them out three to four inches apart, and 

 you will get better branched and more 

 vigorous plants. If half the seed were 

 used, you would probably have suffi- 

 cient plants, but if you wish to econo- 

 mize on seeds, sow in flats and later 

 transplant th*' seedlings three to four 

 inches apart. 



A temperature of 45 degrees at night 

 will be all right for a start, but when 

 flower buds appear advance it to from 

 50 to 52 degrees at nighti Several dis- 

 eases affect sweet peas, but none so seri- 

 ously under glass as outdoors, as mois- 

 ture, temperature, ventilation, etc., can 

 be regulated to suit the plants. If seed- 

 lings are left too thick or hilled up, 

 stem-rot may occur. Streak disease is 

 not so common inside as outdoors. Bud 

 dropping is due to excessive feeding, 

 too low a temperature or too much 



moisture. It, however, is most common 

 in midwinter. Mildew is caused by 

 cold draughts; careful ventilation will 

 prevent it. Aphjjj must be controlled by 

 fumigation or spraying. Eed sp^^^r 

 sometimes appears, especially near'neat- 

 ing pipes; an arid condition favors its 

 spread. C. W. 



SWEET PEA BUDS DROPPING. 



We started sweet peas the latter part 

 of August in solid beds with cinder bot- 

 toms for drainage. We enriched the 

 soil with rotted horse manure. The 

 sweet peas grow well and have good 

 flowers, but suddenly the buds dry up 

 and we do not get any flowers for some 

 time. We have a carnation house next 

 •^0 them which we fumigate with Nicot- 

 icide. Will the fumes hurt the sweet 

 pea flower buds, or what do you think 

 is the cause of the buds drying up? 

 The varieties of sweet peas we use are: 

 Mrs. Alex. Wallace, Mrs. Sim, Snowbird, 

 Dolansky and Zvolanek. E. K. 



There is always more or less danger 

 of sweet pea buds dropping in midwin- 

 ter, when we have our most severe 

 weather, accompanied frequently by 

 long dark spells, and unless houses are 

 modern and of best construction, snow 

 may lie on the roofs a considerable 

 time. With such climatic conditions to 

 contend with, a loss of buds is almost 

 certain unless the temperature of your 

 house can be kept up to 50 degrees as 

 a minimum. To corrfect the trouble, let 

 it run 2 or 3 degrees higher. It can ad- 

 vance to 60 degrees on cloudy days and 

 to 65 or 70 degrees on clear days. Your 

 soil was evidently well prepared, but 

 extreme care in watering is needed from 

 December to February. It is better to 

 water too little rather than too much. 

 The fumes from Nicoticide should not 

 harm the sweet peas, although they 

 will not stand as strong fumigation as 

 many other plants. C. W. 



THE COST OF LABIATA. 



The price of freshly imported plants 

 of Cattleya labiata has been steadily 

 advancing for years. Where one once 

 could buy a case of cattleyas for $40, 

 now he is asked to pay $75, or even 

 $80. Great as is the difference between 

 these figures, it does not indicate the 

 full advance, for the plants which were 

 supplied at the lower price were much 

 finer than the plants now to be had. 

 When labiata was $40 per case, the 

 caee contained forty plants. Now the 

 same size of case contains about sixty- 

 fiy^,. plants, much smaller and much 

 less worth while having. 



There is a possibility that some for- 

 tunate individual will discover a new 

 source of supply for Cattleya labiata, 

 but if this does not come to pass, those 

 in touch with the situation feel sure 

 the price will keep on mounting until 

 it gets to the point where no commer- 

 cial grower can touch labiata. Indeed, 

 already the reluctance of the commer- 

 cial man is seen in the fact that the 

 cut flower markets are not nearly so 

 well supplied with the blooms during 

 the labiata season as they are at other 

 times during the year, when the 

 cheaper varieties are in bloom. 



FUMIGATINa ORCHIDS. 



The oracular statements made by hor- 

 ticultural inspectors and commissioners 

 are often amusing to a thinking man, 

 but, unfortunately, they are also ex- 

 tremely disturbing to one who has busi- 



