22 



The Florists' Review 



February 19, 1914. 



ness to transact. Take, for instance, 

 the case of fumigating orchids for cat- 

 tleya fly, noted on page 18 of The Re- 

 view of February 5. What in the name 

 of all that is incomprehensible is the 

 reason for fumigating orchids that are 

 supposed to be, or suspected of being, 

 infested with fly? It might, and prob- 

 ably would, seriously damage the plants, 

 but, unless there happened to be a 

 chance mature fly loose in the cases, it 

 certainly would not harm the fly any. 

 The embryo fly in imported cattleyas 

 is usually safely ensconced in the base 

 of the old bulbs or in the flower sheaths, 

 absolutely out of the way of fumes of 

 hydrocyanic acid gas or gas of any 

 other kind that may be turned in by the 

 worthy, painstaking and active, but 



often misguided officers, who are zeal- 

 ous in guarding against any possible 

 foreign importation of pests, but are 

 frequently shortsighted when it comes 

 to observing the many pests running 

 wild in their own country. The writer 

 has suffered more than most growers 

 from the depredations of the cattleya 

 fly, but those who think its numbers will 

 be lessened by fumigation of the plants 

 at ports of entry have surely to "guess 

 again." H. E. Richards. 



[The article on this subject in The 

 Review of February 5 sought to convey 

 the idea that the federal horticultural 

 board had "guessed again" and had 

 abandoned the idea under consideration, 

 of requiring fumigation of imported 

 cattleya plants. — Ed.] 



SLOW GROWTH AFTER CROP. 



I should like to know how to make 

 Killarneys break better after cutting a 

 crop of blooms. The weather has been 

 cloudy and I have been running them 

 on the dry side. I pinched them to get 

 long stems for the Christmas crop and 

 cut beyond this pinching to two eyes. 

 Now the top eye only starts and some 

 of them go blind. I have plenty of 

 half-rotted cow and horse manure. I 

 also have plenty of fresh cow manure, 

 if you think it could be used. The soil 

 is a good clay sod. I run the tempera- 

 ture at ns to 60 degrees at night, 65 

 degrees on cloudy days and 72 degrees 

 on sunn}' days. 



I have also had trouble with Melody. 

 The plants have not moved for two 

 months and most of the last growth 

 they did make went blind. These were 

 young stock, benched in June. I also 

 have some Eichmonds that act in the 

 same way. I should like to know 

 whether the cloudy weather is the 

 cause, or something in the growing. 



J. A. & S. 



The unusually long spell of cloudy 

 weather has shown its effect on all 

 stock in the greenhouses, and roses have 

 suffered about as much as any. During 

 this weather the temperature in the 

 houses has been kept between 58 and 64 

 decrees for whole weeks, to prevent 

 soft growth, and the consequence is 

 that the roses are taking a rest. As 

 soon aa we get some sunshine and can 

 give the plants a higher temperature 

 during the day, they will no doubt get 

 busy again. While most roses made 

 some growth after the crop was 'cut, 

 the growth naturally was weak and a 

 large percentage of the shoots went 

 blind. This blind wood will help to 



strengthen the plants, support the new 

 growth and encourage the plants to 

 break from the bottom. 



As soon as the roses start new growth 

 they will require feeding. A light dose 

 of half rotted cow manure, well dis- 

 solved with water and spread thinly 

 over the benches, will be beneficial, 

 but while the plants are standing still 

 it will be well to omit any feeding. 



W. J. K. 



A START IN ROSES. 



We have had experience with carna- 

 tions, but wish now to try roses. We 

 wish to know what would be the best 

 commercial varieties to grow in a house 

 28%xl00, containing four 5-foot benches. 

 What proportion of each color is likely 

 to be needed to supply ordinary store 

 work? Will good light soil, that pro- 

 duces good carnations, do for roses? 

 How far apart should roses be planted? 

 Do grafted plants grow more readily un- 

 der a beginner's treatment than own- 

 root stock? Are there any good, prac- 

 tical books on rose growing, as useful 

 as Ward's book is to carnation growers? 



T. K. G. 



A house 28%xl00, containing four 5- 

 foot benches, would hold about 1,500 

 rose plants, planted five rows to the 

 bench and sixteen inches apart in the 

 row, or seventy-five plants in a row. The 

 safest varieties for a beginner to plant 

 would be Killarney, White Killarney 

 and Mrs. Aaron Ward, in the propor- 

 tion of one-half Killarney and one-quar- 

 ter each of White Killarney and Ward. 

 The Wards should be planted in the 

 warmest part of the house. 



The soil for roses should be heavier 

 than a light carnation soil. If the 

 subsoil is clay, about one-third of this, 

 mixed with two-thirds of the light soil, 

 would make a good mixture for roses, 

 with plenty manure, preferably cow 

 manure, and the addition of some bone 

 meal at the time of planting. Though 

 grafted stock costs more than own-root, 



the varieties mentioned grow so much 

 better and more quickly at the start if 

 grafted, that it is good economy to buy 

 the grafted plants. 



As to a practical book on rose grow- 

 ing, the one best suited to your pur- 

 pose would probably be "Commercial 

 Eose Culture, Under Glass and Out- 

 doors," by Eber Holmes; price, $1.50. 

 It is for sale by The Eeview, as is also 

 the little book entitled "The History 

 and . Culture of Grafted Eoses for 

 Forcing," which costs 25 cents. 



W. J. K. 



OUTDOOR ROSES IN THE SOUTH. 



I want to plant out 100 roses for cut 

 flowers during summer, here in central 

 Alabama. Will you please tell me what 

 size of plants to purchase for quick re- 

 sults? Would stock from 4-inch pots 

 be large enough? Give me the names 

 of a few good red, white, pink and yel- 

 low varieties. What ki|pds would do 

 best in our soil, which is a heavy clay 

 loam? H. A. C. 



Stock from 4-inch pots, if kept well 

 mulched and watered, would give you 

 fair results, but if you are willing to 

 pay a little more I would advise buying 

 grafted outdoor-grown plants. These 

 have a vigor vastly superior to plants 

 raised from cuttings. The hybrid tea 

 roses will be the best for you to grow, 

 as they are perpetual bloomers. You 

 will get better results from your heavy 

 soil if some sand is incorporated with 

 it. A few hybrid perpetuals are tol- 

 erably free-flowering, including Frau 

 Karl Druschki, white, and Mrs. John 

 Laing and Mrs. Sharman-Crawford, 

 pink. 



Excellent hybrid teas are: Caroline 

 Testout, salmon pink; Gruss an Teplitz, 

 light crimson; Double Pink Killarney, 

 flesh pink; Double White Killarney; 

 Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, cream, 

 shaded lemon; Mme. A. Chatenay, car- 

 mine rose; Mrs. Aaron Ward, rich yel- 

 low; Sunburst, coppery orange; Antoine 

 Eivoire, soft peach; Lady Pirrie, cop- 

 pery reddish salmon, and Rhea Eeid, 

 rich red. 



Maman Cochet, light pink, and its 

 pure white form are persistent bloom- 

 ers, and Clothilde Soupert, with pearly 

 white outer petals and a rosy center, 

 flowers all summer. C. W. 



AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. 



The executive committee of the Amer- 

 ican Rose Society met Monday, Feb- 

 ruary 9, and took up various important 

 questions relative to the coming ex- 

 hibition. The judges were chosen, sub- 

 ject to their acceptance. The Mrs. Ger- 

 trude M. Hubbard gold medal will be 

 awarded Monday, March 2."^. This gold 

 medal is a special prize provided for in 

 perpetuity by the late Mrs. Gertrude 

 M. Hubbard, of Washington, and the 

 provisions are that it is to be given 

 once in five years to the raiser or origi- 

 nator of the best rose introduced in the 

 five years previous to the award. The 

 rose is to be of American origin. This 

 will be the first occasion on which the 

 prize will be awarded. 



A special prize of $25 was offered by 

 Treasurer Harry O. May for the best 

 twenty-five blooms of any undissemi- 

 nated varietv of rose. The Waban 

 Rose Conservatories offer a prize of $25 

 for the best fifty Eusaell roses, and a 

 special prize is offered by the executive 



