Sbptiucbes 1, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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Launch Decorated for a " Venetian Night " Parade, 



a porous nature, one through which 

 water will pass readily. Pot firmly and 

 stand the plants in a close, moist house 

 where they can be well shaded and free- 

 ly syringed. As the roots work around 

 the sides of the pots, give the plants 

 more light and air, but avoid any hot 

 sunshine until they are well established. 

 If you want to grow in benches, plant 

 twenty inches apart each way. Use no 

 more than four inches of soil and let 

 that be of a porous nature. For suc- 

 cessful bench culture the best plan is 

 to plant out from pots during June, and 

 from plants lifted now you cannot ex- 

 pect any blooms during midwinter. A 

 night temperature of not less than 60 

 degrees^ is necessary for the successful 

 culture of gardenias and 65 degrees is 

 better. Allow the pots or benches to 

 dry out well between waterings, to pre- 

 vent yellow foliage appearing. Syringe 

 to keep mealy bug in check. Gold water, 

 carefully directed, will take care of 

 this pest. « C. W, 



THE ASTES DISEASE. 



Aster growers have had an unfavor- 

 able season this year. From the be- 

 ginning dry weather set in and con- 

 tinued without a break for nearly two 

 months. The root aphis has been in 

 evidence and the beetles have arrived 

 in hordes. But that is not all. The 

 most dreaded so-called "aster disease" 

 is more pronounced than ever. What 

 is it, anyway, and what is the cause? 



In my field it is interesting to note 

 how this disease has distributed itself. 

 Eight or ten or more consecutive plants 

 will show the blight; then there is a 

 skip, then more disease and so on. 



The present field never had an aster 

 planted on it before, so the germs were 

 not in the soil. The plants were large 

 and thrifty when set out, with not a 

 trace of disease on them. 



Actual experiments have shown that 

 seed taken from the worst affected 

 plants have produced healthy plants, 

 without a trace of disease. Does this 

 not upset the theory of plant breed- 

 ing? 



From my own observations, I claim 

 it is not a disease, but I have yet to 

 prove it. 



In my field will probably be found 

 an unusual percentage of affected 

 plants. I think I know the reason. 

 Is the soil poor?. No — black and rich 



as fertilizers and manure can make it, 

 but it is acid. This soil, if taken into 

 the greenhouse and planted to roses or 

 used as pot soil for geraniums or al- 

 most any other bedding plants, would 

 kill them outright. This experience 

 cost me a great deal of money, till I 

 found out how to prepare my soil. 

 Simple enough — just add lime. 



But now to get back to asters. I 

 believe that soil conditions are respon- 

 sible for the so-called disease. In my 

 opinion asters are particularly suscep- 

 tible to the action of acid, which the 

 application of lime would counteract. 

 The acidity of the soil may not be 

 uniform, which would account for the 

 diseased patches in my own field. 



This argument is but a theory, but 

 next year I shall thoroughly lime my 

 aster field and wait for results. 



J. L. Johnson. 



COBEOPSIS AND SHASTA SEED. 



In The Keview of July 2S, 1910, we 

 noticed some notes on Chrysanthemum 

 maximum Edward VII and Coreopsis 

 grandiflora, in the Seasonable Sugges- 

 tions. We have looked through several 

 catalogues for the purpose of finding 

 advertisements of the seed of these two 

 perennials, but none of the firms seem 

 to carry the seed. Would you please 



tell us where we could get seed of these 

 two varieties, as we should like to sow 

 some this fall? J. S. 



Coreopsis . grandiflora is an improved 

 form of C. lanceolata, listed by nearly 

 all reputable seedsmen and grown con- 

 siderably for border effects as well as 

 cutting. Chrysanthemum maximum 

 King Edward VII is listed by Henry 

 A. Dreer, of Philadelphia, and others. 

 About all seedsmen carry one or more 

 named forms of the Shafita daisy. In 

 the catalogue of W. W. Eawson & Co., 

 of Boston, Alaska, California and Wcs- 

 tralia, all excellent varieties, are listed. 



C. W. 



DAHLIA STEMS TOO SHORT. 



Is there any way to make dahlia 

 flower stalks grow long and useful? 



J. J. H. 



There is no way that we know of to 

 make the flower stems of dahlias 

 stronger. The cactus and decorative 

 sections are notoriously short and weak. 

 The pompons are longer and stronger; 

 so are some of the show varieties. Cac- 

 tus varieties with better stems are now 

 being introduced, but there is still a 

 vast field for improvement. For com- 

 mercial use, select varieties which have 

 strong stems; the short-stemmed ones, 

 which hide their flowers, are of little 

 value. 0. W. 



GBEEN CATEBPTT.T.ABS. 



What is the best way to get rid of 

 the green caterpillar, the one which 

 troubles the mignonette so much in the 

 greenhouses and cabbage outdoors? 



G. T. S. C. 



There is only one way to get rid of 

 the green caterpillars, and that is hand 

 picking. Any spraying solution of a 

 poisonous nature would burn or other- 

 wise disfigure the plants. Hand pick- 

 ing is slow, but it is sure. 



On cabbages outdoors, air- slaked lime 

 blown through a powder bellows will 

 kill many of the caterpillars. If the 

 cabbages are not yet heading, it will be 

 safe to spray with Paris green, one 

 ounce to ten gallons of water. Salt scat- 

 tered where the worms are at work will 

 kill many of them, as will salt and 

 water. C. W. 



Canoe Decorated for a "Venetian Night" Parade. 



