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28 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* ^^^^ ^ 1909. 



FLORICULTURE IN ILLINOIS. 



State University Gathers Facts. 



The authorities of the Agricultural 

 College and Experiment Station at the 

 University of Illinois recently published 

 and are now distributing a pamphlet 

 "devoted to the business of setting forth 

 to farmers and others interested in the 

 development of agriculture in Illinois, 

 and to the members of the Assembly, 

 which must provide the funds, the needs 

 of the Agricultural College and Experi- 

 ment Station, if they are to meet at all 

 adequately .the rapidly increasing de- 

 mands that are laid upon them for in- 

 struction and information." 



Eeferring to the work for flericulture 

 undertaken two years ago at Urbana, the 

 pamphlet says: 



Amount Invested. 



"According to reliable estimates which 

 have been compiled, we find that more 

 than $20,000,000 are now invested in the 

 floricultural business in Illinois. More 

 than $4,000,000 of this amount is repre- 

 sented by buildings and a considerably 

 larger amount in land. There are 719 

 commercial florists in our state, receiving 

 from their sales approximately $3,000,000 

 annually, while they expend for labor 

 $700,000 and $30,000 for fertiUzers. In 

 addition to the above, there are over 100 

 retail florists and commission men de- 

 pendent upon the growers for the stock 

 which they handle. 



"The glass area devoted to floriculture 

 in Illinois is not less than 16,000,000 

 square feet, which covers 12,500,000 

 square feet of land. Aside from all this, 

 we find there are in the state more than 

 2,000 farmers and gardeners using glass 

 for the growing of various plants. In- 

 deed, we find that this industry is not a 

 localized one, for nearly every cOunty has 

 large floricultural interests. 



"The glass area devoted to floriculture 

 in Cook county is not less than 7,000,000 

 square feet, while some of the other coun- 

 ties run as follows : Du Page county, 600,- 

 000 J Kane county, 200,000; Sangamon 

 county, 200,000; McLean county, 175,000; 

 Will county, 125,000. 



"These figures go to show that the 

 floricultural industry is one belonging to 

 the entire state. Indeed, no other state 

 has so general an interest in this thriving 

 and important industry. There is no 

 doubt that Illinois ranks second to none 

 in the value of her floricultural output. 



State Work for Florists. 



"During the past two years work has 

 been carried on in several lines. Investi- 

 gations for the repression of thrips in- 

 juring roses and carnations under glass 

 were begun at Bloomington in October, 

 1907, and the amount of injury caused 

 by this insect each week was recorded 

 until June 15, 1908. The total number 

 of carnation buds examined was 68,048. 

 A test of six proprietary compounds con- 

 taining nicotine was made to determine 

 their efficiency for spraying, fumigating, 

 and for the two combined. On roses, 

 badly infested with thrips, five applica- 

 tions of sprays resulted in ridding eighty 

 per cent of the blooms of these tiny 

 insects. On carnations, there was 57.7 

 per cent injury on the check section, 13 

 to 18.5 per cent on the different fumi- 

 gated sections, and 11 to 13 per cent on 

 the sprayed sections. 



"In order to test methods for the con- 

 trol of thrips on cucumbers in green- 

 houses, experiments were begun at 



Streator in March, 1908. Hydrocyanic 

 acid gas at a safe strength was of no 

 practical value in killing thrips. It was 

 found that spraying with a very weak 

 solution — one-quarter ounce of a 40 per 

 cent nicotine preparation to one gallon of 

 water — applied early in the day while 

 the thrips were oil the upper surface of 

 the leaves, was effective in killing the 

 insects, and if the material was syringed 

 off at once no injury to the leaves re- 

 sulted. 



"Analyses are also being made to de- 

 termine the nicotine content of various 

 commercial preparations of tobacco. This 

 was done so as to determine their value 

 as insecticides. 



"At the present time, the state green- 

 houses are devoted to an experiment with 

 carnations testing the value of chemical 

 fertilizers as supplementing stable ma- 

 nures. This experiment comprises thirty 

 combinations of fertilizers and these are 

 repeated with four different varieties of 

 carnations, in order to check results. To 

 finish this work, will require at least three 

 years. The results will be of great value, 

 as the fertilizer question is one of the 

 greatest importance to the commercial 

 grower. 



Problems of the Florist. 



"Among the many questions confront- 

 ing the florist of today, the following are 

 of the greatest importance: 



"1. Study of fertilizer requirements 

 of plants other than carnations. Although 

 the results of fertilizer experiments with 

 carnations may be of value in the grow- 

 ing of roses, chrysanthemums and other 

 plants, separate experiments should be 

 carried on with each, as the requirements 

 are not the same. The intensive method 



of farming under glass requires close 

 attention to the kinds and amounts of 

 fertilizer used. 



"2. A study of the various insect pests 

 troublesome to greenhouse and garden 

 crops and a determination of the best 

 methods for their extermination, should 

 be made. 



"3. The fungi prevalent in floricul- 

 tural work should be studied and methods 

 for their control should be determined. 



"4. A great many of the flowers raised 

 in the state of Illinois are shipped great 

 distances, not only to neighboring states, 

 but to all parts of the country. There is 

 also much shipping done from small 

 towns to larger centers. Studies should 

 be made for increasing the keeping quali- 

 ties of the flowers, and the problems of 

 packing and shipping should be investi- 

 gated. 



"5. Studies and actual tests should be 

 made in various methods of bench con- 

 struction. The high price of lumber has 

 led to the use of many other materials 

 for this purpose. 



"6. The questions arising from the 

 use of refrigeration plants should be thor- 

 oughly investigated. This includes the 

 handling of cut flowers in artificially 

 cooled houses and the cold storage of 

 various forms of plants and bulbs to 

 retard their growth. 



"7. There seems to be a great future 

 for the growing of many of the hardy 

 adnuals, perennials and bulbs for both 

 cut flowers and decoration of home 

 grounds if this line were properly de- 

 veloped. 



"This station could carry on many of 

 these lines of investigation and many 

 others if it had the proper facilities, and 

 so save the people thousands of dollars." 



GREENFLY IN ROSE HOUSES. 



What do you consider the best and 

 most economical means of exterminating 

 greenfly in greenhouses containing roses 

 planted out for cut flowers. F. H. W. 



There are many very effective methods 

 of killing greenfly, and every florist has 

 his own particular fancy. Smoking with 

 tobacco stems, or other fumigants con- 

 taining tobacco in some form, is the 

 most common practice, and if carefully 

 performed, is one of the surest and saf- 

 est methods. Some prefer to steam the 

 stems, thus raising a vapor which con- 

 denses on the leaves and stems. This is 

 also a sure way to exterminate the pests. 



The most effectual method, however, is 

 to release the fumes of cyanide of po- 

 tassium. This is a rather delicate opera- 



tion, and dangerous alike to plants and 

 operator if not properly performed. Full 

 instructions as to this method have ap- 

 peared from time to time in these col- 

 umns. These should be carefully studied 

 before using this method. Ribes. 



MOVING KILLARNEY ROSES. 



Would you please let me know whether 

 it is safe to move our Killarney roses 

 from the bench into the solid bed next 

 summer? They were planted last July, 

 and are in a healthy condition. How 

 much drying off do they require before 

 moving? We also have a bench of 

 Richmond. Should they be treated in the 

 same way? 



Our Rhea Reid sheds its foliage about 

 every five weeks. Is this a common 

 trouble with it? C. S. 



It is perfectly safe to shift Killarney 

 roses from table benches into solid beds. 

 This operation can be performed any 

 time during June and up till September. 

 Before moving them, they ought to get 



