16 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Mabch 3, 1910. 



WBLL*S WRITINGS. 



W. Wells, the widely known English 

 ehrjsanthemum grower, who visited the 

 eastern edge of the United States last 

 autumn, lias, since his return home, writ- 

 ten many things about us for the edifica- 

 tion of the readers of the British trade 

 press. Here is one that is out of the 

 ordinary, from th^ Horticultural Adver- 

 tiser of Feb^mn^rK : 



"Dear Mr!*^itor and readers, may I 

 ask you a secret? Were you ever in 

 lovet I mean sufficiently, so to make 

 your eyes strike fire, and your heart go 

 pittity-pat like a lamb's tail? If you 

 were, you will sympathize with the writer 

 when he explains to you how he was sim- 

 ilarly affected, only not quite so badly as 

 8 me of you young men who are still 

 around about the age of 20. No, for I 

 am the best part of a long way on the 

 road for three score and ten, and J 

 thought I was proof against being affect- 

 ed by a sweetly pretty face. But the fol- 

 lowing will prove: 



"One day while I was in America, I 

 was paying a visit with friend Totty to 

 a place called Flatbush, N. Y., where 

 there is a florist's establishment carried 

 on by Mr. Eugene Dailledouze. I waa 

 struck by many things I saw there, espe- 

 cially a house about 100 feet long full of 

 Baby. Just fancy a house full of Baby. 

 Yes, and the next house was full of 

 White Babies. Yes, dear readers, there 

 were two long houses full of Babies, one 

 full of yellow and the other full of White 

 Babies. What I fall in love with Babies f 

 No, not me; I've had my share of Babies. 

 But after going through a forest of car- 

 nations and chrysanthemums, I suddenly 

 stopped, for directly in front of me was 

 one of the most beautiful faces I ever be- 

 held. Could I ever forget it? No, it has 

 haunted me ever since. But it would take 

 the writer of a love story to describe all 

 the charms (and one of my age would 

 blush in the attempt). 'But I must ask 

 your name. ' ' Whitehouse. ' Whitehouse ! 



been my motto, in this as in all other af- 

 fairs. But what do I see in the Weekly 

 Florists' Review today? Whitehouse is 

 appearing at a beauty show at Pittsburg; 

 and this is how it reads: 



" 'Dailledouze Bros., Flatbush, N. Y., 

 with Whitehouse, took a medal over three 

 of the finest vases of 100 whites any set 

 of judges ever tackled, and Alma Ward 

 was among them.' 



"Oh, Whitehouse I • • • Some 

 day, shortly, a boat will cross the Atlan- 

 tic; in that boat will be a box; in that 

 box will be Whitehouse. But White- 

 house, as your readers will see, is a carna- 

 tion. Will she reach me? Time will 

 prove. 



"The two houses of Babies were the 

 chrysanthemums called Baby (yellow) 

 and White Baby." 



HYDROCYANIC ACID GAS. 



Its Use in Greenhouses. 



The Review receives so many requests 

 for information about the use of hydro- 

 cyanic acid gas that we reprint here the 

 instructions for fumigating greenhouses, 

 prepared 'by John J. Davis, assistant to 

 the Illinois state entomologist: 



The materials necessary for fumiga- 

 tion with hydrocyanic acid gas are potas- 

 sium cyanide (ninety-eight to ninety-nine 

 per cent pure), commercial sulphuric acid 

 and water; and the utensils required are 

 half -gallon or gallon stone, earthen or 

 granite jars, and a supply of ordinary 

 small paper bags. 



It is impossible to give a set formula 

 prescribing the exact quantity of potas- 

 sium cyanide to be used, owing to dif- 

 ferences in the tightness of greenhouses. 

 In those of average tightness I have used 

 it on roses and cucumbers, without in- 

 jury to them, at the rate of one ounce to 

 3,500 cubic feet of space. 



The number of cubic feet in the house 

 should first be accurately calculated. The 



24* 



6* 



Method of Fizurinz Cubical Contents of Greenhouse. 



Where had I heard that name? Had I 

 heard it, or had I read it? Why, had I 

 not read 'From Log Cabin to White- 

 house* — the story of President Lincoln, 

 who worked so hard and educated himself 

 until he rose from the lowly life of a log 

 cabin until he became the President of 

 the United States, and resided at White- 

 house. But what of my beautiful White- 

 house! I can scarcely get the name out 

 of my thoughts. 'Whitehouse must be 

 mine,' and now some three months have 

 elapsed since my first sight, what have I 

 done to win her? Private detective 

 agency? No; fair means have always 



method of doing this may be illustrated 

 by a simple computation on the dimen- 

 sions given in the accompanying figure, 

 the understanding being that the length 

 of the house is 100 fee*. 



The cubic contents of the rectangular 

 part of the house, a c d e, equals 24 X 

 6X100=14,400 cubic feet; that of the 

 triangular part, a b x, equals 8X8X100 

 -f- 2=3,200 cubic feet; and that of the 

 other triangular part, b c z, equals 8X 

 16X100-7-2=6,400 cubic feet. The cubic 

 contents of this house are, therefore, 

 14,400+3,200-f6,400=24,000 cubic feet. 

 Assuming the house to be of no more 



than the average tightness, wed may saf elj 

 use the potassium cyanide at the rate of 

 one ounce to every 3,500 cubic feet of 

 space, and 24,000 divided by 3,500 equals 

 6.8-+-, which is the number of ounces re- 

 quired in this illustrative case. 



The Necessary Preparations. 



The next procedure is to get the ma- 

 terials in readiness fer use, and to place 

 the jars in the house. For every ounce 

 of the potassium cyanide used, two ounces 

 of sulphuric acid and four ounces of 

 water are required. Two ounces of the 

 cyanide is about the right quantity for 

 each half -gallon jar; therefore, for a 

 house of the foregoing dimensions, four 

 jars should be placed at equal intervals 

 along the aisles, and the 6.8+ ounces of 

 it divided into four equal parts, and 

 each part put into one of the paper bags. 

 These are used not only for convenience 

 in handling the cyanide when placing it 

 in the jars, but also because they slightly 

 delay the action of the acid upon it, thus 

 giving the fumigator ample time to leave 

 the house before the reaction occurs. 



The jars being placed and the cyanide 

 properly weighed and bagged, the next 

 step is to close the ventilators, in order 

 to prevent all avoidable escape of the 

 gas. The water — four fluid ounces to 

 each avoirdupois ounce of cyanide — is 

 then placed in each jar, the sulphuric 

 acid — half as much as of the water — is 

 added, and as soon after as possible the 

 bags of cyanide should be put into the 

 jars and the house vacated immediately. 

 Doors should be locked and labels posted 

 designating the danger. No one should 

 enter the house until it has been thor- 

 oughly aired by opening the side doors, 

 and the ventilators, if convenient. It is 

 advisable to fumigate in the evening, 

 keeping the house closed until morning. 

 I have never found a greenhouse so tight 

 that the fumes would remain in it in 

 dangerous quantity all night; neverthe- 

 less, it is safest to air the house well 

 before entering. 



Precautions and General Directions* 



As cyanide of potassium is a powerful 

 poison, it should be handled as little as 

 possible, and if touched with the bare 

 hands they should be thoroughly washed 

 at once. It should be stored in tightly 

 closed cans or jars, plainly labeled, and 

 kept where it will be inaccessible to per- 

 (Continned on page 72.) 



ASTERS IN POTS. 



I often have calls for asters in pots, 

 in bloom. Will you kindly tell me what 

 varieties are especially suitable to grow 

 in pots and what special preparation of 

 soil is necessary to bring the best re- 

 sults? I intend to grow them outdoors. 

 M. W. 



Compost such as you would use for 

 chrysanthemums or carnations will an- 

 swer well for asters in pots. Three- 

 fourths good pasture loam and one-fourth 

 well rotted cow manure is a good mix- 

 ture. Plunge the pots in ashes or soil, 

 to prevent their .drying out. If allowed 

 to root through the bottoms of the pots 

 into good soil, they will be much finer 

 plants. 



The robust varieties, such as Semple's 

 and American Branching, are less desir- 

 able for pot culture than Queen of the 

 Market, Victoria and Mignon. The ear- 

 liest variety of all is Dawn of Day, a 

 pure white variety, which one grower has 

 flowered as early as May. C. W. 



