March 12, 1914. 



The Florists' Review 



23 



two weeks ago. Have not heard from 

 them. Suffice to say, I will not send 

 them any more business. It pays to look 

 after your correspondence.'^ 



HOLIDAY WINDOW BOXES. 



The country florist who is handy with 

 his saw and hammer and has some in- 

 genuity can add to his profits at Easter 

 by selling window boxes of his own 

 make, filled with seasonable blooming 

 plants. A. O. Nysewander, of New Car- 

 lisle, O., has been making up these 

 boxes, for Christmas and Easter espe- 

 cially, and half a dozen samples of his 

 handiwork may be seen in the accom- 

 panying illustration, which shows a 

 corner of his greenhouses where the 

 boxes are being prepared for holiday 

 buyers. In his town he finds them 

 quite popular, as they are good looking, 

 yet not overexpensive. 



The boxes are of the right length for 

 the average window and are eight 

 inches wide at the bottom and ten 

 inches wide at the top. The sides are 

 made of i^-inch lap siding and the 

 bottoms of 1-ineh oak. The ends should 

 be of strong 1-inch lumber. Across 

 the ends should be nailed pieces of 1- 

 inch stuff to serve as handles. If de- 

 sired, a rack may be placed along the 

 back of the box. 



BISULPHIDE AlfD WHITE FLY. 



It may be of interest to some of 

 your readers to know of an experience 

 I had with primulas infes/ted with 

 white fly. I made an air-tight box, 

 into which I ' put the primulas and a 

 piece of cotton saturated with carbon 

 bisulphide. I left the first batch of 

 plants in the box for two hours. "When 

 I took them out the flies were appar- 

 ently dead, but after a time came to 

 and seemed as healthy as ever. Then 

 I tried leaving in another batch for 

 three hours and found it a complete 

 success. Even the eggs were killed. I 

 also found that five or six hours in the 

 box would not harm the plants in any 

 way. Clair G. Norris. 



CALLA FLOWERS NOT OPENING, 



I am sending you under separate cov- 

 er a sample bud from our callas. The 

 sample shows about the average condi- 

 tion of the buds, which have been dry- 

 ing up. Some of the buds shrivel up 

 before they get as far along, while 

 others are almost open before they do 

 so, but we have been unable to get a 

 single good blossom from about 200 

 plants. The plants themselves seem 

 to be in good, thrifty condition. We 

 first thought tobacco smoke caused the 

 trouble, but we have not used any 

 tobacco smoke in the house for several 

 months and our callas still act in the 

 same way. D. V. 



This is not by any means an unusual 

 occurrence. Light fumigations would 

 not cause the buds to blight in this 

 way. Either your bulbs are diseased, or, 

 what is more probable, your treatment 

 of them has been wrong. As you do 

 not. give any details of culture, it is 

 not easy to locate the source of the 

 trouble. Callas, of course, should have 

 a rest in summer, and when in active 

 growth they need abundant supplies 

 of water. They flower more satisfac- 

 torily in pots than when planted out in 

 shallow benches. The plants are often 

 stood much too close together; this 



A G>mer in A. O. Nysewander's Show Housct New Carlislet O. 



weakens the growths and hinders the 

 plants from flowering. While they 

 stand a lot of feeding, injudicious doses 

 of strong stimulants would help to 

 cause blighted floweis. The plants like 

 feeding on the surface of the soil with 

 fine bone. A temperature of 50 to 55 

 degrees at night will give you much 

 finer flowers than a higher one. Do 

 not allow any cold air currents to strike 

 the plants, and be sure they do not 

 suffer from draughts at any time. 



C. W. 



CALLAS NOT FLOWERING. 



When should Godfrey callas bloom? 

 Over a year ago we bought some out 

 of 21/a-inch pots and they have never 

 bloomed. We have given them good 

 care. They were shifted to 4-inch and 

 later to 5-inch pots. Were they shifted 

 too much. E. & S. 



Your Godfrey callas are yet too small 

 to flower. You can get nothing from 

 those 2iA-iuch plants the first season. 

 Rest your plants outdoors after the end 

 of May, laying the pots on their sides. 

 If you are growing for cut flowers only, 

 place three bulbs in a 7-inch pot and 

 you will find that they will outbloom 

 the old calla at least two to ond. 



C. W. 



CALLA FOLIAGE DYING. 



I shall appreciate it if you will tell 

 me what causes the leaves of my callas 

 to dry up on the edges, even before the 

 leaves are of normal size, or matured. 

 They act just as if they were affected 

 by thrips. I give them a weekly spray- 

 ing with nicotine, and water them 

 either daily or at least three times a 

 week. They have a night temperature 

 of from 55 to 60 degrees, and 75 de- 

 grees on bright days, with ventilation. 



W. V. L. 



Thrips will sometimes cause leaves 

 to act in this way, but, if you are 

 spraying regularly, I am inclined to 

 think that you may be using your 

 nicotine somewhat too strong. All the 

 tobacco extracts will cause the edges of 



the leaves of many plants to turn pale 

 or brown. Try it on a marguerite 

 plant and note the effect. Three times 

 weekly is a totally insufficient water 

 supply for callas in active growth. 

 They will need at least one soaking a 

 day, and on clear days two waterings 

 will be required. Feed regularly in ad- 

 dition. A top-dressing of fine bone is 

 good, and liquid manure twice a week 

 will be found beneficial. C. W. 



PLANTING GLADIOLUS BULBLETS. 



Last year I planted some gladiolus 

 bulblets outdoors in coldframes, but 

 they never grew. Please inform me 

 how to get them started. I have about 

 2,000 on hand, many as big as a pea 

 or bigger. I am in the latitude of 

 central Minnesota. H. A. M. 



Keep the bulblets in paper bags or 

 boxes, in an atmosphere that is not too 

 drying,' until planting time outdoors ar- 

 rives. The ground should have re- 

 ceived a coating of any good general 

 commercial fertilizer, at the rate of 

 1,000 pounds per acre, and should be 

 thoroughly pulverized. Do not use 

 fresh barnyard manure. Draw drills 

 four to five inches deep, sow the bulb- 

 lets at the rate of twelve to sixteen per 

 foot run of row, and keep well culti- 

 vated and weeded all summer. These 

 will make flowering bulbs in some 

 cases the first year, and the balance 

 will flower the second year. Plant out 

 in your latitude late in April or early 

 in May. C. W. 



CURRANT WORMS. 



Please let me know the best way to 

 get rid of the worm that gets inside the 

 fruit of the currant. My last year's 

 .crop was made useless by it. H. K. 



The worm that attacks currant foliage 

 is well known and easily cared for; 

 one spraying with arsenate of lead on 

 its first appearance suffices. The worm 

 that attacks the fruit T do not know. 

 If, however, you will write to your state 

 agricultural college, you should be able 

 to get help there. Address the depart- 

 ment of entomology. C. W. 



