10 



The Florists^ Review 



June 12, 1913. 



tilatora hinged to a header, not at the 

 ridge. With two rows, one on each side 

 of the ridge, the grower opens the run 

 on the side from which the wind is 

 blowing. A smaller opening will re- 

 lieve the heated air than would be the 

 case with ventilators hinged to the 

 ridge and the wind is kept from blow- 



ing in and directly onto the plants. No 

 doubt, in the present case, good results 

 will be obtained if the sashes are alter- 

 nated, half on one side of the ridge and 

 half on the other. If all are on one 

 side, put them on the side from which 

 the wind generally comes, if there is a 

 prevailing direction in this locality. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleyas. 



There is at present an abundance of 

 cattleya flowers. It is true that a large 

 proportion of the Mossise are gone, but 

 Mendellii is still fine and gigas is now 

 quite plentiful. The Gaskellianas are 

 also coming in, so that no scarcity of 

 cattleyas is probable during June, the 

 month of brides. La>lia purpurata, L. 

 elegans and a good many bigeneric hy- 

 brids are also making a goodly show. 

 Prices during the last half of May and 

 the first par^ of June have not been 

 robust, but this is no unusual expe- 

 rience, and the grower for the wholesale 

 market should always plan to have as 

 many as possible of his flowers before 

 or after periods of pltenty. It is not al- 

 ways possible to achieve these results, 

 but. in the case of cattleyas fire heat 

 should have been discontinued some 

 time ago and the plants need an abun- 

 dance of fresh air at night, as well as 

 during the day. It is not good policy 

 to spray them over and close the house 

 in the middle of the afternoon. This 

 may suit some East Indian species, but 

 is entirely wrong for cattleyas. 



Move plants in flower into a cool, 

 airy and well-shaded house. In order 

 to keep down the temperature, rolling 

 lath blinds are preferable to whitewash 

 on the glass. It is not necessary to re- 

 move them from flowering plants, as 

 they admit a good amount of light, but 

 when used on other houses, where plants 

 are making their growth, it is better to 

 use them only to protect the plants from 

 the sun and it is surely a great ad- 

 vantage to have all possible light dur- 

 ing spells of dark, rainy weather. 



Cattleya gigas does not last as well 

 as Mendellii and some other varieties, 

 and the flowers scorch easily in any- 

 thing like direct sunshine. Therefore, 

 be sure to keep plants in flower cool 

 and well shaded. As the various sum- 

 mer cattleyas pass out of flower, keep 

 them fairly cool and drier at the root, 

 and any necessary potting or rebasket- 

 ing should be done before the growths 

 are too much started. No matter 

 whether the plants need a complete 

 overhauling and entirely fresh compost, 

 or merely a surface dressing, be quite 

 sure to firm the fiber thoroughly. This 

 cannot be done with the hand; use a 

 pointed stick of some hard, durable 

 wood, such as oak. for this purpose. 



On every clear afternoon the plants 

 will be benefited by a spraying over- 

 head, but they should be dry before 

 nightfall. Look out for the destructive 

 cattleya fly. Any abnormally fat 

 growths are pretty sure to contain eggs 

 or young flies, and while there are sev- 

 eral partial remedies, the best plan is 

 to cut out all affected young leavls. It 

 takes courage to go over a batch of 

 plants and do this, but there is no more 

 certain method of extermination if it 

 is religiously followed up. 



In regard to temperatures, no hard and 

 fast rule is possible during the summer 

 months, but 60 to 6.5 degrees at night 

 is ample. Of course, on many nights 

 these figures are sure to be exceeded. 



but it is preferable to give some ait 

 rather than to close up tightly on colder | 

 nights. It is a certainty that more cat- 

 tleyas suffer from too little air than the | 

 reverse. 



Fhalsenopsls. 



Practically all of the phala'nopsis will 1 

 now be out of flower and should be 

 making new roots and foliage. Beiore 

 growth becomes too active they should 

 be given at least a surfacing of fresh, 

 growing sphagnum. If they are grown 

 in deep, cylindrical baskets and the 

 wood is much covered with active rodts, 

 it is unwise to attempt to clear these 

 away, as many are sure to be injured, 

 A far better plan is to place the re- 

 ceptacles in larger ones, filling up any 

 intervening space with crocks and char- 

 coal and covering the surface with grow- 

 ing sphagnum. Water should always 

 be applied rather sparingly to phaisc- 

 nopsis. Damping the outside of the bas- 

 kets and pans and moistening the sur- 

 face moss is better than soaking the 

 plants. A dipping is not often neces- 

 sary, as in the case of cattleyas, lo'lias 

 and dendrobes. 



Phala^nopsis come from a much 

 warmer quarter of the globe than cat- 

 tleyas and enjoy a warm, moist atmos- 

 phere, but air, especially from the bot- 

 tom, should always be afforded with the 

 temperature over 72 degrees. Avoid a 

 dry atmosphere and there will be prae 

 tical freedom from the attacks of spider 

 and thrips. When they do appear, 

 sponge the leaves affected with clear 

 water. Avoid too stuffy an atmosphere, 

 or spot or other leaf diseases wil' 

 appear, but never give such rushes of 

 air as you would for cattleyas. P. 

 grandiflora, P. amabilis, the fine form 

 Rimestadiana and P. Schilleriana are 

 the best commercial varieties to grow. 



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^ SEASONABLE j^ 

 i ^ SUGGESTIONS j 



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Insect Pests. 



At this season insect pests outdoors 

 are numerous and need considerable at- 

 tention. For all members of the aphis 

 family, including the rhododendron lace- 

 wing fly, it is necessary to apply some 

 contact spray which will suffocate them. 

 Poisons are of no value whatever. 

 Kerosene emulsion. Imperial soap spray, 

 whale oil soap. Ivory soap and any of 

 the nicotine solutions are suitable to 

 use for aphis, always using a fine, misty 

 spray nozzle. To be effective in the 

 case of rhododendrons and kalmias, the 

 spray must be directed so as to hit the 

 under and not the upper side of the 

 leaves. 



For leaf-eating worms or caterpillars 

 of all kinds a poisonous spray must be 

 used, and this should be apjdied only 

 when the foliage is perfectly dry. 

 Arsenate of lead at the rate of four or 

 five pounds to fifty gallons of water is 

 the safest and most effective poison 

 spray. It is quite adhesive, which can- 

 not be said of Paris green, hellebore or 

 other poisons, and can be used on 

 foliage considered tender without harm- 

 ing it. It should not be used, however, 

 on roses, peonies or any plants from 



which flowers are soon to be cut, as it 

 whitens the foliage considerably, and 

 this cannot be washed off clean. 



For pests in the soil, such as cut- 

 worms, root maggots and other larvse. 

 Vermine applied in liquid form at the 

 rate of one part to 320 of water is a 

 safe remedy. It is excellent for api'ly- 

 ing to greenhouse bench crops attackeil 

 by any soil pests, including eelwonns, 

 and does not harm the plants in the 

 least. To destroy cutworms, a poisoiicd 

 mash of fresh shorts, sweetened with 

 molasses and sprinkled with enough 

 Paris green to color it, will destroy 

 many if scattered about their haunts in 

 the evening. Poisoned lettuce and ciib- 

 bage leaves are also effective. Rhubarb 

 leaves and common shingles, laid among- 

 the attacked cro])s, will be used us bi'l- 

 ing places for many in the day time- 

 and if some are laid down each evenin? 

 and examined in the morning many 

 lurking foes can be easily destroyed. 



Ionia, Mich. — Mary Anna Kidder, 

 weight nine pounds, arrived May 16 ** 

 the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey B- 

 Kidder. Mr. Kidder is mayor of the 

 city and manager of the Ionia P"^' 

 terv To- 



