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Afbil 14, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



n 



GRAFTED OR OWN-R(X>T. 



I should be glad if you would tell me 

 what advantage there is in using grafted 

 roses for forcing, instead of own-root 

 stock. Which kind of stock would you 

 recommend in the forcing of Maid, 

 Bride, Killarney, Eichmond and My 

 Maryland? F. W. 



Some roses, such as those mentioned" 

 by F. W., with the possible exception of 

 My Maryland, do better when grafted on 

 Manetti, because the Manetti is better 

 provided with roots and can consequently 

 take up a larger amount of food than 

 these varieties on their own roots. 



This last season there have been com- 

 plaints of My Maryland showing a ten- 

 dency to go to rest when grafted stock 

 was used. Eibes. 



SOOT AS A FERTILIZER. 



What are the fertilizing elements con- 

 tained in boiler soot? Is soot of any 

 value for use on rose benches or for 

 other crops? A. F. A. 



Soot is the volatilized, unconsumed 

 portion of coal. Soot from bituminous 

 coal contains the following elements: 

 Charcoal, 371 parts in 1,000; salts of 

 ammonia, 426 parts; salts of potash and 

 soda, 24; oxide of iron, 50; silica, 65; 

 alumina, 31; sulphate of lime, 31; car- 

 bonate of magnesia, 2. 



It is an excellent manure when used 

 in the liquid form, in the proportion of 

 six quarts of soot to one hogshead of 

 rain water. It must never be applied 

 to plants that are in a state of rest. 

 RiBES. 



LARVAE OF MAY BEETLE 



Please advise me whether the large 

 white rose grubs, the larvae of the May 

 beetle, can be killed in the field econom- 

 ically by the use of some chemical, such 

 as carbon bisulphide or Vaporite, and 

 without injuring the soil for roses after 

 it is put in the greenhouses. I am not 

 fixed so that I can steam the soil, 



J. H. B. 



The larvae of the May beetle is fre- 

 quently abundant in grass land. If the 

 sod was plowed last faU and left rough 

 over winter, many would be killed A 

 good harrowing now will loosen the soU 

 sufficiently to aUow robins and other 

 birds to destroy many of the pesta. 

 Either carbon bisulphide or Vaporite 

 would be costly to use on the field but 

 If your compost can be stacked up it 

 will not cost much to suflFocate all the 



grubs with the carbon bisulphide. It is 

 better used when the soil is damp, as the 

 fumes are then more penetrating. With 

 a pointed hard-wood or iron stake bore 

 hole^ eighteen inches apart each way, 

 allowing them to go down within -a foot 

 of the bottom of the pile. Pour about a 

 teaspoonful in each hole, immediately 

 covering it up. 



Vaporite is an English preparation, 

 which kills cutworms. I have only used 

 it on a small scale, as I am afraid it 

 would be much more costly than the 

 carbon. Using the latter preparation 

 will not injure soil or plants in the 

 slightest. I have used it on the benches 

 containing growing plants and no injury 

 has ever been done by it. No other 

 agency other than steam will so quickly 

 and inexpensively rid compost of these 

 and other pests. Carbon bisulphide costs 

 about 25 cents per pound commercially. 

 Avoid using any matches while applying 

 it, as it is of a highly explosive nature. 

 C. W. 



AN ENGLISH VIEV. 



From the Horticultural Trade Journal 

 we get the following view of American 

 roses : 



"American growers do not seem to be 

 able to extol the virtues of the Killarney 

 rose sufficiently. The mere term of bread 

 and butter variety is quite inadequate, 

 even the beloved American Beauty being 

 unable to dim the luster of Eallarney. 

 This variety has been the chief selling 



sort this winter, in the big cut flower 

 markets, where we hear it said, 

 'what a wonderful rose this is,' another 

 remarking that *no other variety will 

 break ' and flower acr readily. ' On this 

 side, however, we do not find it figuring 

 as the chief market sort. Why is it? 

 Can it be that in the United States Kil- 

 larney is a different flower to what we 

 get under glass? I have never had the 

 opportunity of growing this variety in- 

 side, but the white sport plainly shows 

 its value for such work. The wood bris- 

 tles "with eyes, all of which break into 

 growth at the least incentive, while grafts 

 seem to rush away immediately. Speak- 

 ing of white roses, has any grower ever 

 tested Frances E. Willard? It was intro- 

 duced several years ago in America, and 

 at the time it was attracting some atten- 

 tion owing to^its purity and vigor. I 

 have searched many lists, but can find no 

 British firm quoting it. I believe it is a 

 hybrid tea. 



"Among the newest American roses. 

 Lady Duncan and Daybreak call for at- 

 tention. Both are hybrid Wichuraianas, 

 and should prove worthy of being added 

 to the rapidly extending list. The first 

 named resulted from R. Wichuraiana x 

 R. rugosa, and should prove quite an 

 ironclad in hardines-s. It has the habit 

 of Wichuraiana, and the foliage, spines 

 and flowers of rugosa, the color being 

 bright pink, the numerous yellow stamens 

 making a strong contrast. It gained a 

 silver medal several years ago, to be pre- 

 cise in 1900. Daybreak came out of 

 Wichuraiana x Dawson. The flowers are 

 single, deep yellowish pink, cup shaped 

 and carrying deep orange stamens. Both 

 are said to be splendid forcers. Jackson 

 Dawson is the raiser. 



"Another climber of possible value is 

 Dr. Van Fleet, which is being sent out by 

 Peter Henderson & Co. It resulted by 

 crossing Souv. du Pres. Carnot with 

 Wichuraiana. The flowers are of enor- 

 mous size, four inches and over, the color 

 being pink, deepening in the center. In 

 form they resemble a loosely built tea. 

 The variety is a tremendous grower, and 

 it gained a silver medal in 1908, as the 

 finest novelty." 



WEAK GROWTH OF YOUNG STOCK 



We are mailing you a carnation cutting 

 and should like to be informed as to its 

 disease and the treatment needed. Will 

 you kindly advise us? W. & K. P. 



If the specimen forwarded is a fair 

 sample of your young carnation plants, I 

 would advise you to discard them and to 

 buy fresh stock from someone who has 

 thrifty young plants. It is now too late 

 in the season to do as much doctoring up 

 as plants like these would need to get 

 them into fair condition. They have the 

 appearance of having been too crowded 

 and at the same time kept too wet. Their 

 weakly appearance and the loss of the 

 foliage may be attributed to these two 



causes. Leaf-spot, rust and fairy ring 

 may also be expected if such conditions 

 are kept up long enough. 



If any of the cuttings seem worth sav- 

 ing, I would pot them into 2-inch pots if 

 you have them in flats. First clean them 

 off well. If they are in pots, I would 

 take a little soil off the top and replace 

 this with good, new soil. If the plants 

 are quite potbound, I would advise a 

 small shift, say from 2-inch to 2% -inch 

 pots. Spread them out a little, if neces- 

 sary, to prevent crowding, but in that 

 case the pots should be plunged to the 

 rim in sand, to prevent drying out. Dust 

 them with Grape Dust and give plenty of 

 fresh air. Water carefully and keep their 

 surroundings clean and sweet. There is 

 nothing that equals fresh, pure air to 

 make plant growth clean and Strong. 



A. P. J. B. 



