4o6 



Garden and Forest. 



fNUMBER 235. 



I must ask you to return the label, as it is the only one I 

 have, and I desire to use it as a sample in sending for others. 



Oakdale, L. I. C B. \V. 



[The legend on this neat label is perfectly clear, and the 

 ink does not seem to have faded or "run" a particle. — Ed.] 



Meetings of Societies. 

 The Florists at Washington. 



THE annual meeting of the Society of American Florists 

 at the national capital last week was more numerously 

 attended than any which preceded it. The report of Sec- 

 retary Stewart showed that the membership of the society 

 had increased during the j'-ear and its influence extended 

 in every direction. Mr. William R. Smith, Superintendent 

 of the Botanic Garden in Washington, was elected Presi- 

 dent for the ensuing year, and Professor Trelease, of St. 

 Louis, was made Vice-President, and St. Louis was chosen 

 as the place of meeting for next year. Mr. John Thorpe, 

 the Chief of Floriculture of the Columbian Fair, announced 

 that all the floor-space of the great Horticultural Building 

 had been already taken up, and that exhibitors from abroad 

 had shown a greater interest than the florists at home, and 

 had already applied for more than half of the space to 

 be disposed of. The trade exhibit was particularly good, 

 and filled the large lower hall of the Armory where the 

 convention was held. Excellent displays of Orchids and 

 other choice plants were made by Messrs. Pitcher & 

 Manda, of Short Hills, New Jersey, and by Mr. H. A. 

 Dreer, of Philadelphia. The display of Tuberous Begonias 

 by Mr. J. W. Elliot, of Pittsburg, was noteworthy, and so 

 was a collection of Cacti by a southern firm. 



We give below condensations of a few of the more im- 

 portant papers read, and will give others in a future num- 

 ber of the paper : 



THE president's ADDRESS. 



The address of President Dean was a careful review of the 

 year in its business and cultural aspect. He noted in particu- 

 lar, not only a growing volume of trade, but a demand for a 

 better quality of plants required for bedding, such as Crotons, 

 French Cannas, Tuberous Begonias and aquatic plants. 

 Among the improvements of the year were noticed the adop- 

 tion of regulations for governing trade exhibits held at the 

 time of the annual meetings. These rules will help managers 

 to classify the exhibits, will facilitate the work of the judges, 

 and enable exhibitors to display their certificates on the even- 

 ing of the first day. The offering of gold, silver and bronze 

 medals for new hybrids or seedlings, or for the discovery or 

 introduction of new seedlings, will, no doubt, prove an encour- 

 agement to floriculturists in the fascinating work of cross-breed- 

 ing and obtaining new and improved forms. The great im- 

 provements made in the Chrysanthemum, the Rose, the 

 Carnation and other flowers is attributable to the high standard 

 adopted at floricultural exhibitions, and the formation of soci- 

 eties for the purpose of improving special plants, like the Rose 

 Society, the Orchid Society and others, was to be commended, 

 since they would prove helpful auxiliaries to the parent society, 

 and it was recommended that at the annual meetings, experts 

 in each specialty should review their work and record the latest 

 developments in their particular fields as a part of the pro- 

 ceedings of the society. 



After speaking of the colossal proportions which the business 

 of commercial floriculture had assimied in America, President 

 Dean recommended the establishment of an institution which 

 would afford scientific training and general business educa- 

 tion for young florists. Floriculture is a profession which, 

 above most others, requires special training, and the time 

 has come when young men should know more than the mere 

 routine practice of the trade, and should be instructed in the 

 scientific possibilities of plant cultivation. He further recom- 

 mended the establishment of an experiment station to which 

 florists could refer the vexed questions which constantly arise 

 in their practice. It might be practicable, and, indeed, advan- 

 tageous, to unite these two institutions so that the students and 

 professors of the college would form together the working 

 corps of the station. No better material could be provided 

 for the laboratory research of the student than that which could 

 be supplied by inquisitive and eager florists throughout the 



country. An institution like this would become the organized 

 centre of investigation and training, and it would give an im- 

 petus to the work of discovery and the dissemination of knowl- 

 edge of plant life, and would help to establish floriculture in 

 its true basis as a science as well as a business. 



In speaking of the approaching World's Fair, President Dean 

 said that the Horticultural Building, now ready for the reception 

 of plants, is the largest one ever erected, and that it behooved 

 the society to see that every aid was extended to Mr. Thorpe 

 so that the exhibit can be made worthy of the occasion and of 

 the country. The main difficulty to be faced is that of obtain- 

 ing and transporting plants of sufficient size to show well in 

 such an immense building. State and local societies were 

 therefore strongly urged to induce public-spirited citizens who 

 owned desirable plants either to loan or give them to the de- 

 partment. 



FUNGOUS AND OTHER ROSE TROUBLES. 



Professor Halsted, in treafing of this subject, said that the 

 various species and varieties of the Rose have their full share 

 of fungous diseases, no less than 165 kinds which prey upon 

 the genus being recorded in the books. The black spot is a 

 very wide-spread disease of the Rose, first described in 1826, 

 now known in many countries and much dreaded. The foli- 

 age when attacked soon develops black spots, and the leaves 

 becoming elsewhere pale shortly fall to the ground. As a 

 result, Rose-houses badly infested show few leaves and fewer 

 blooms. The microscopic structure of this fungus has been 

 fully considered in the first annual report by Professor Scrib- 

 ner, of the United States Department of Agriculture, for 1S87. 

 Experiments have been carried on by the New Jersey Station 

 to warrant the assertion that it can be controlled by the car- 

 bonate of copper compound, using three ounces of carbonate 

 of copper, one quart of ammonia and fifty gallons of water. 

 The spraying should be done once a week, using a hose and 

 a nozzle that gives a fine spray. The point should be to wet 

 every part of the plant, and yet not drench it. If many leaves 

 have fallen from the plants they should be gathered up and 

 burned. As with many other diseases, some varieties are ' 

 more liable to the black spot than others. Within the past 

 week the black spot has been observed by Professor Halsted 

 upon a species of wild Rose (Rosa humilis). 



Powdery mildew of Rose (Sphterotheca panosa) is one of 

 the oldest troubles of the Rose. This develops very suddenly 

 on the foliage in the greenhouse or outside of it, giving the 

 leaves a powdery appearance and causing them to become 

 more or less misshapen. In a mild form the foliage may be 

 only mealy, but frequently the surfaces become uneven and 

 the whole leaf twisted. A remedy has been found and long 

 applied in the shape of sulphur in one form or another. Pro- 

 fessor Maynard, of the Massachusetts Experiment Station, 

 finds a small kerosene-stove the most convenient for this pur- 

 pose, and the sulphur, by means of it, is boiled in a kettle for 

 two or three hours twice a week, the house being closed dur- 

 ing the operation. The only precaution is to use no more 

 heat than is sufficient to boil the sulphur, for should it catch 

 fire it might damage the plants. In the American Florist, for 

 July 7th, Mr. John N. May writes that the best way to get rid 

 of the mildew is to close the house about eight o'clock in 

 the morning, run the temperature up to seventy-five, then 

 with a bellows fill the house full of sulphur, let it remain 

 closed until the temperature reaches eighty-five to ninety, then 

 admit air gradually. A constant circulation of air is likewise 

 recommended for Roses at all times. Potassium sulphide, 

 one ounce to two gallons of water, sprayed upon the plants, 

 has proved effective. Gardeners, from long experience, have 

 come to the belief that Rose mildew is induced by a weak 

 condition of the plant, resulting from partial starvation, irreg- 

 ular or excessive watering, and undue exposure to draughts of 

 cold air. 



Downy mildew of Rose (Peronospora sparsa) differs in many 

 ways from the one just mentioned. It is less easy to detect, 

 and, being more deeply seated, may do greater damage before 

 detected than the powdery mildew. It is less easy to eradi- 

 cate because it thrives within the substance, while the Sphae- 

 rotheca feeds superficially. The Peronospora sparsa is a close 

 relative of many of the most serious mildews, as those of the 

 grape, onion, lettuce, spinach and the rot of the Irish potato. 

 The treatment for this is the same as for the anthracnose, to 

 be mentioned later. 



A Rose rust (Phragmidium mucronatum), similar to the 

 rust of wheat, oats and other grasses, is not common in our 

 section of the country upon indoor Roses. It is not unlikely 

 that it may become a pest here, as it now is in California and 

 other states in the Union. The pest has been so violent in its 



