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32 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



May 16, 1912. 



6EBANIUMS NEED FEEDING. 



< I am sending to you under separate 

 cover some diseased geranium leaves. 

 This disease seems to be -contagious. I 

 have not used any manure in the soil, 

 and watering has been carefully done. 

 The roots of the plants are apparently 

 all right in the earlier stages. The 

 pots are standing on a mixtwl^ ef cifr 

 ders and sand. As this troublfe'is some- 

 thing new to me, I would like to kliow 

 the cause and remedy if possible. 



The ger^^nium leaves do not sho^ any 

 traces of disease, but simply have taken 

 on a ruddy tint such as is often seen 

 and which is due to dryness at the root 

 and poverty in the soil. What your 

 plants; now n6f5d is feeding, and this 

 will speedily change their appearance. 

 Give each pot a diisting of fine 'bone 

 and scratch it into the soil. For quicker 

 effect Use nitrate of soda at the rate 

 of a teaspoonful to twelve quarts of 

 water once a week. As a rule, two appli- 

 cations will suffice. While geraniums 

 do not want any fresh manure in the 

 soil, as it promotes too rank and soft 

 a growth, it is a mistake not to add any 

 manure to the soil at all. Some old, 

 well-rotted cow or mushroom manure^ 

 one-fourth to three-fourths loam and a 

 4-inch pot of fine bone to each wheel- 

 barrow load of compost makes an ex- 

 cellent potting medium. C. W. 



GEBANIUM FOLIAGE DISEASED. 



I am sending you a sample of some 

 of the leaves on my geraniums. For 

 several seasons they have been affecte<l, 

 and when planted out go to pieces. Can 

 you tell me the trouble and a preven- 

 tive? F. D. W. 



While geraniums are among the easi- 

 est of all bedding plants to grow, there 

 are each season reports from widely 

 scattered sections of whole batches go- 

 ing wrong. Without being on the spot 

 to look over local conditions, it is not 

 easy to say just what the trouble has 

 been. You speak of having "had the 

 same disease for several seasons. If 

 you continue to propagate from this af- 

 fected stock you are not likely to get 

 clear of it. My advice would be to get 

 rid of all your stock and buy in a fresh 

 lot from some reliable specialist. Do 

 this now. Plant out what you buy in 

 beds or nursery rows in order to insure 

 a good crop of fall cuttings. 



What may have caused this trouble 

 primarily must be largely conjecture, 

 and I will only say that gerapiums in 

 winter do not need a warm house; 45 to 

 50 degrees is a sufficient minimum. 

 They are always kept just a little on 

 the dry side, should not be sprayed 

 overhead, are better grown with only a 

 small proportion of animal manure in 

 the soil, and that well decayed. Fine 

 bone is excellent for them and builds 

 up a short, stocky growth, which will, 



flower freely. They like a freely ven- 

 tilated house. In a musty, ill-ventilated 

 one they will develop bacteria. They 

 should have dead, decaying leaves and 

 weeds removed and be frequently 

 spread out while growing, should not be 

 allowed to get potbound between shifts, 

 and if they show starvation in their 

 blooming pots, a dusting of Clay's fer 

 tilizer or fine bone on the surface of 

 the pots, or weak nitrate of soda water, 

 will tone them up. C. W. 



DISEASES OF GLADIOLI. 



Investigations at Cornell. 



Certain obscure diseases of the corms 

 of gladioli in storage have occasioned 

 considerable loss in the past and are 

 apparently on the increase. Arthur 

 Cowee, of Berlin, N. Y., interested 

 the plant disease experts at Cornell 

 University in this trouble, and H. H. 

 Whetzel, professor of plant pathology 

 at Cornell, together with Dr. E. Wal- 

 lace, his assistant, has made an ex- 

 tended study of one of these diseases 

 in the laboratories at Ithaca. The cause 

 of the disease has been found to be a 

 fungus, a vegetable growth which lives 

 as a parasite in the tissues of the corm 

 and slowly reduces it to a black, hard, 

 worthless mass. Now that the cause 

 of the disease has been ascertained, 

 the experts claim that there are hopes 

 of devising a method of killing the 

 parasite without injuring the gladiolus 

 cortns. 



As the investigation progressed, it 

 became apparent that the problem was 

 a much bigger one than at first ap- 



peared. A special appropriation was 

 made by the state legislature of 1911 

 for the specific purpose of financing 

 and furthering this investigation, 

 which, it appears, was previously 

 financed by Mr. Cowee himself. 



We learn that the legislature of 1912 

 has again appropriated an increased 

 fund for continuing the work, the funds 

 to become available October 1, next. 



Field Work at Berlin, N. Y. 



It appears that considerable work 

 has been done during the winter at 

 Cornell. Donald Keddick and L, M. 

 Massey, both of the Pathological De- 

 partment of the Agricultural College at 

 Cornell, are now in Berlin inspecting 

 the methods of preparing and planting 

 the corms. Dr. Eeddick has charge 

 of the investigations in plant diseases 

 and is now directing the field work of 

 fifteen or eighteen young men who are 

 investigating the diseases of various 

 plants. Mr. Massey has been employed 

 to do the gladiolus work and has taken 

 with him a full laboratory equipment 

 for the most careful study of these 

 diseases. He plans to remain at Berlin 

 for an indefinite period, in order to 

 couple up extended field observations 

 and experiments with his laboratory 

 work. Mr. Cowee has turned over his 

 studio to Mr. Massey and this is to be 

 converted into a laboratory. Field 

 tests are being made and Mr. Massey 

 cautiously expressed a hope that mate- 

 rial progress might be made during 

 the coming summer. 



Mr. Cowee 's studio, equipped with a 

 dark room, electric light from power 

 developed upon his farm, and other ad- 

 vantageous facilities, such as excellent 

 soil, etc., prompted the establishment 

 of the station at Berlin. Mr. Cowee 

 also is the New York state committee- 

 man of the American Gladiolus Society 

 on gladiolus diseases. 



Any grower having affected corms 

 should ship samples without delay via 

 mail or express, prepaid, addressed to 

 L. M. Massey, superintendent Field Ex- 

 periment Station, Berlin, Rensselaer 

 county, N. Y. 



WELLS' LATE PINK. 



I have some stock plants of Chrysan- 

 themum Wells' Late Pink and also 

 some cuttings. The latter make buds 

 soon after potting, as also do all the 

 young shoots on the stock plants. No 

 other varieties I have do this. What is 

 the proper wav to grow such varieties? 

 What is the ' height of Wells ' Late 

 Pink? When is the proper time to 

 l)lant October Frost in frames to grow 

 outdoors in Marvland? B. W. 



Wells' Late Pink is somewhat given 

 to throwing buds while in a young 

 state. This is by no means peculiar 

 to this particular variety, as several 

 of our best kinds do exactly the same 

 thing. The only thing to do is to keep 

 the buds pinched off the young plants 

 and, if it does not start to make a 

 good growth from the top, it will give 



a sucker from the gi(Ound which will 

 go ahead and make a satisfactory 

 growth. Wells' Late Pink will grow 

 some two to three and one-half feet 

 high, according to conditions and the 

 way it is handled. If the plants con- 

 tinue to throw buds for some weeks 

 yet it will not get over two feet. 



Chrysanthemum October Frost should 

 be planted outdoors immediately if 

 best results are desired. C. H. T. 



CHEYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY. 



A special prize is offered by John 

 Lewis Childs, of Floral Park, N. Y., 

 for the C. S. A. exhibition to be held 

 in New York, November 6 to 8, 1912, 

 for best 8-inch pot of Chrysanthemum 

 Glory of Seven Oaks, first prize, $3; 

 second prize, $2. 



Chas. W. Johnson, Sec'y. 



