12 



The FIorists^ Review 



Febkuauv 6, 1913. 



able to produce blue flowers, whereas 

 in soil without these ingredients the 

 color would be pink. There is also a 

 new and desirable race of French hy- 

 brid hydrangeas now being offexed con- 

 taining several colors. 



Plants to be in flower for Memorial 

 day should go into a cool greenhouse 

 toward the end of February. After 

 Easter, with more bench space at dis- 

 posal, spread them out and give a lit- 

 tle more warmth; 50 to 55 degrees is 

 as much as they need. A stronger heat 

 draws them up too much. Use a rich 



compost for them, containing well 

 rotted manure and bone meal. As soon 

 as the flowerheads show, feed once in 

 four days with liquid manure. A sprin- 

 kle of fine bone as a surface dressing 

 is also good. Hydrangeas want a lot 

 of water and must never be allowed 

 to reach a dry stage. Keep aphis in 

 check by fumigation or spraying with 

 a soap or nicotine solution. If plants 

 seem backward, give more heat. It is 

 easy holding back in a cool, shaded 

 house any which may be early. 



C. W. 



BUDS EATEN HOLLOW. 



I am sending you some samples of 

 my Enchantress buds. Many of the 

 buds look as if they were eaten hollow. 

 Can you tell me the cause? F. H. 



The buds were too immature to give 

 any indications. They showed no 

 trace of anything wrong. You are 

 probably troubled with the cutworms 

 which eat the buds. They act just 

 about as you suggest. Make a poison 

 bait for these as follows: Take some 

 bran and mix with molasses until 

 fairly well moistened. Then mix with 

 it some Paris green, enough to make it 

 deadly. Drop a little of this here and 

 there, where they can get it. 



A. F. J. B. 



WEAK STEMS. 



Will you kindly tell me what makes 

 my carnation stems so weak? The 

 plants have beautiful, large flowers, 

 but the stems will not stand erect and 

 support them; the flowers droop over 

 far too much. The plants have air, 

 are run moderately cool and are not 

 forced too much. It seems as if the 

 soil needed some element to help make 

 the stems stronger. What can I do 

 for this? A. L. S. 



Your soil apparently lacks lime. 

 One or two applications, a month apart, 

 will probably correct the trouble. 

 Give a small handful to each row, 

 halfway across a 5-foot bench. Water 

 it in well, and a few days afterward 

 scratch the soil slightly to break up 

 the crust which may have formed from 

 it. Your culture seems correct other- 



A. F. J. B. 



wise. 



BUST ON VIOTOEY CARNATIONS. 



I am sending you some leaves and 

 cuttings of Victory carnations. Kindly 

 tell me the trouble and mention a rem- 

 edy, and a preventive. F. H. 



Your Victory carnations are affected 

 with the common carnation rust. This 

 variety is prone to take this disease in 

 the cutting bench. Just about the time 

 one thinks he has a fine batch ready 

 to take out, they begin to rust and 

 before it can be checked it spreads all 

 over the batch. This has caused many 



rooted cutting specialists to drop the 

 variety altogether, in spite of the fact 

 that it was still in fairly good demand. 

 The atmosphere maintained while the 

 cuttings are rooting is primarily the 

 cause of the development of the 

 trouble, and if you will give them all 

 the sunlight they will stand while the 

 roots are forming it will help matters 

 somewhat. A. F. J. B. 



POOELY FOEMED CALYXES. 



I am mailing you under separate 

 cover a White Enchantress bud. About 

 one-third of my plants bud in this 

 way, and then split. Some are more 

 round than the sample. Can you tell 

 me what to do to stop it? I have good, 

 rich soil, containing about one-third 

 cow manure and two-thirds loam. I 

 also give good ventilation and keep 

 the temperature about 48 to 50 degrees 

 at night. I am a beginner and shall 

 be glad to receive any information 

 you can offer. D. E. F. 



A combination of conditions is prob- 

 ably at the bottom of your troubles. 

 One-third cow manure is more than I 

 consider ideal for carnations; one- 

 fourth to one-fifth would be better. 

 This rich soil, along with the low tem- 

 perature you are carrying, would have 



a tendency to make the blooms come 

 unusually double and short in the 

 calyx. If the weather has been dark, 

 it would also contribute to the trouble. 

 I would suggest that you raise the 

 temperature to 52 degrees and main- 

 tain it as uniformly as possible. That 

 will likely cause the calyxes to grow 

 longer and the blooms less double. 

 Give all the ventilation you can afford, 

 to help keep the stems strong. 



A. F. J. B. 



COVEEED WITH EBD SPIDEB. 



I should like to get some informa- 

 tion about the disease which the en- 

 closed carnation shoot is suffering from. 

 I used Bordeaux mixture and lemon 

 oil, and a tobacco smudge every ten 

 days, but this treatment does not seem 

 to help any. As the disease is in one 

 corner of a solid bed, I am afraid it 

 will spread over the whole house; 

 therefore I shall greatly appreciate 

 your advice as to how to overcome it. 

 I grow Washington, Enchantress and 

 White Perfection; the Washington is 

 the one that is diseased. D. W. 



Your carnations are not troubled 

 with a disease, but with a pest. The 

 specimens were covered with red 

 spider. Spray them with the hose, 

 using all the force at your command, 

 and if possible give it to them from 

 all sides. Do this every bright day 

 until you get the plants clean. If the 

 weather is cloudy, which would forbid 

 much spraying, you can use the follow- 

 ing remedy, which I have found first- 

 class: Take five pounds of granulated 

 sugar and add to it one pound of 

 arsenic, mixing it dry. Then add 

 enough water to make a thick syrup. 

 When using to spray with, use one 

 ounce of the mixture to each gallon of 

 water. A. F. J. B. 



AN AEKANSAS EXHIBITION. 



At the recent ifieeting of the Arkan- 

 sas State Horticultural Society, held at 

 Fort Smith, there was an attractive lit- 

 tle flower show, a corner of which is 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. 

 The Electric Park Greenhouses, Fort 

 Smith, received first premium on cut 

 flowers. The Stuppy Floral Co., of St. 

 Joseph, Mo., furnished roses, the quality 



A Corner of the Flower Show at Fort Smith, Ark. 



