24 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Mabch 21, 1912. 



quite erratic, only about one-sixth of 

 them blooming; the few flowers we got 

 were beautiful. They all made a start 

 and they were all planted at the same 

 time, with conditions precisely alike. 

 Some of them grew two inches and then 

 stopped; others grew six or eight 

 inches and stopped. Those which 

 bloomed made fine plants, averaging 

 eighteen inches tall. Can any reader 

 of The Eeview tell us the reason for 

 the trouble? G. G. & S. 



HYACINTHS DOING POORLY. 



I am sending you, under separate 

 cover, three hyacinth bulbs. Any in- 

 formation as to what is wrong with 

 them will be greatly appreciated. The 

 hyacinths were planted in October in 

 flats and buried in about eight inches 

 of soil. Early in November we had 

 severe weather and upon examining 



is no removal of snow, straw coverings 

 or frozen earth necessary before they 

 can be removea. Another year see if 

 you cannot find space in a cellar for 

 your Dutch bulbs and ycu will save 

 yourself labor and have first-class bulbs 

 which the frost cannot injure. C. W. 



ASTER BEETLES. 



I have been much troubled with the 

 yellows among asters on clay ground, 

 losing an average of one-third of the 

 crop. I tried a light sprinkling of lime 

 on clay ground, working it in before 

 planting. As a result, the disease was 

 confined to about five per cent of the 

 crop. There are some in the trade 

 offering prepared lime for florists' use, 

 and I presume it would be worth while 

 for those who grow in quantity to give 

 the lime a trial. Of course, plenty of 



View of Farquhar's Italian Garden. 



manure is necessary for asters in every 

 case, but, needless to say, it should be 

 well rotted. Above all other flower 

 crops, asters need a change of soil 

 every season. 



In all that is written on the aster, 

 no one seems to tell us the cheapest 

 and best way to get rid of the black 

 bug that gives so much trouble late 

 in the season. E. F. 



Where a few plants only are grown, 

 hand-picking for the aster beetle is 

 usually resorted to, but this is impos- 

 sible where large batches are grown. 

 I find that the best remedy, and one 

 which never fails to work satisfactorily, 

 is to spray the plants with Paris green 

 and water, at the rate of one ounce to 

 fifteen gallons of water. A little lime 

 added to the water lessens the danger 

 of burning the flowers or foliage. Do 

 not spray during bright sunshine. Al- 

 ways use a fine spray nozzle and be 

 sure, especially, to wet every flower. 

 The beetles will not trouble you after 

 one good spraying. The Paris green 

 may slightly color the white flowers, 

 but dip them in a pail or tub of water 

 and they will lose all trace of it. 

 Arsenate of lead can not be used, as it 

 whitens the foliage and spoils colored 

 flowers. C. W. 



FARQUHAR'S ITALIAN GARDEN. 



Horticultural hall, in Boston, surely 

 never presented a more beautiful and 

 better furnished appearance than when 

 the doors were thrown open March 15 

 for a view of the elaborate and taste- 

 fully arranged Italian garden which 

 occupies the entire main exhibition 

 hall and loggia. Work on this mammoth 

 undertaking has been in progress for 

 about a month. The structural work 

 was in itself a big task, as a wide bal- 

 cony has been built, which, entered 

 from the loggia, goes around the en- 

 tire hall except where the musicians' 

 gallery is located. On the outer side of 

 the balcony is a balustrade covered with 

 a beautiful arrangement of flowering 

 plants and vines, while at the back 

 is a towering mass of evergreens and 

 deciduous flowering shrubs, among 



them found that they had made good 

 roots but were frozen solid. We then 

 set them in a cold house, covering them 

 lightly. The weather became more se- 

 vere and froze them harder. We then 

 took them into a house at 45 degrees 

 and buried them about six inches deep 

 under a bench, which has no radiation 

 under it. You can see by sample in 

 what condition they came out. Did 

 the freezing do the harm? S. C. 



The two hard freezings to which the 

 hyacinths were subjected were undoubt- 

 edly the principal reason for the failure. 

 They will withstand severe freezings 

 outdoors and come through all right if 

 well mulched, but in flats or pans it is 

 otherwise. It is still a common practice 

 to bury bulbs outdoors, cover with soil 

 and later protect them with straw, 

 leaves, boards and other material. 

 While bulbs thus treated do well, it is 

 often a disagreeable matter to get them 

 out in winter, and many of the most 

 up-to-date growers, at least in the colder 

 states, now stand all their bulbs in cel- 

 lars which are frostproof, or nearly so, 

 without the use of fire heat. Stock of 

 just as fine quality can be grown from 

 bulbs stored in this way. They are 

 readily accessible at all times and there 



Another View of Farqahar's Italian Garden. 



