178 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



(using onl}' two wires the lon<,' way), 

 and on a (i or 7-foot bench I reach only 

 to the center wire. 



The advantage I claim is that one 

 man can do the work quickly and easily, 

 and that there are no wires or strings 

 running through the bench the long way 

 close to the ground, which gives you plen- 

 ty of room to reach your center rows 

 when putting on a top dressing or 

 working the soil. Of course every one 

 thinks his way the best, so let's wait and 

 see what 1901 will bring. 



A. N. SlIKHG. 



Lansing, Mich. 



CARNATIONS IN THE 20th CEN- 

 TURY. 



The carnation eiilors tho iirw ri'iilury 

 with colors flying. Step liy vii.|.. hark 

 in the seventies and eiglitii . ii lirLMn lo 

 rise from comparative (il.-^inii\. until 

 during the last ten years it .aiiic with a 

 rush, with leaps and bounds, and stands 

 now, witli tho searchlight of the twentieth 

 century turned full upon it, a fair and 

 beautiful rival of the rose. The latter 



out a year and a half or so later, com- 

 prises a story so often told that it must 

 grow monotonous to some; but it is a 

 fact that wc must proceed along the 

 beaten path and be wary of radical de- 

 parture from established methods. Thus 

 we will continue to select the best cut- 

 tings, root them in th'e most ideal way, 

 give them good quarters at all times. 

 whether in the house or field, leave no 

 stone unturned to effect improvements 

 wherever possible. 



We have never yet reached a stage 

 where further improvement was impos- 

 sible. We can for many years continue 

 to have our soil nearer perfection, to 

 ascertain which ingredients are best for 

 a complete plant food, and the best pos- 

 sible condition to have them in. We 

 can still continue to ascertain the right 

 time to open our ventilators, and the ex- 

 act time they should be closed. We can 

 still build better houses than some of the 

 glass palaces we even now see. Our 

 systems of heating and ventilation can 

 yet be improved. 



But with all this continual striving for 

 greater improvement, we must be pre- 



View in the packing room of the Chicago Carnation Co., Joliet, III. 



must always be given first honors. It is 

 a point we carnationists will concede. 

 But to a greater or lesser extent, those 

 honors will henceforth have to be shared 

 with the "divine ilower." 



The carnation will no longer stand 

 back and quietly await its turn to be 

 disposed of after the roses have been 

 cleared away; but, instead, the once 

 modest little pink is as saucy as any 

 rose, and will do quite as much elbowing, 

 good blooms bringing anywhere from $6 

 to $20 per 100, and even more. 



The carnation enters the new century 

 with an enviable record, and the most 

 alluring prospects for greater improve- 

 ment. The same forces which contrib- 

 uted to the present advancement will 

 continue to be the beacon light of the 

 twentieth century. Of these, improved 

 methods of culture and hybridization or 

 crossing are co-equal for lienors, and 

 to these two forces we must look for the 

 greater improvement in the future. 



From the time the cutting is separated 

 from the old plant until it is thrown 



pared to encounter an occasional setback. 

 Kach particular year is not always a de- 

 cided advance; in the matter of experi- 

 ence it undoubtedly is. I.ui ilide are 

 many unforeseen pos.-iliilii h - »lii<li ean 

 and often do tempor:uil\ < li" 1 ■ ad- 

 vance; for instance, an nnta\..ialile sea- 

 son for plants in the tivld, errors of 

 judgment in various matters; those we 

 all must experience, for we are all at 

 school; there are no graduates, and cer- 

 tainly none so well versed that mistakes 

 are an impossibility. 



Experiments with sub-watering and 

 indoor culture are yet in their infancy. 

 Just how much they will contribute to 

 the greater excellence of th'e carnation, 

 or the profits of growing, if at all, is 

 yet to be determined. So far, we must 

 confess that our experiments with sub- 

 watering are not all that could be de- 

 sired; as yet we see no practical differ- 

 ence between it and the raised bench sys- 

 tem; certainly not enough to warrant 

 the l-xtra expense of putting in the sys- 

 tem. We shall continue our experiments, 



however, in the Iiojje of evolving some- 

 thing of real practical benefit to the 

 grower. 



Indoor culture is undoubtedly making 

 greater progress than sub-watering. Here 

 and there are to be found very excellent 

 examples of the possibilities of this de- 

 parture from old tim'e methods. The 

 consensus of opinion is that fewer blooms 

 are produced, but they are of better qual- 

 ity, and since the latter is what we are 

 striving for, more good reports may be 

 expected from this system right along. 

 We were so placed as to be unable to 

 continue our experiments in this direc- 

 tion this season, but will do so next sea- 

 son, and hope for greater success than we 

 hare hitherto had. 



To the hybridist are we indebted for 

 the magnificent creations we have today. 

 The conscientious hybridist is deserving 

 of the good wishes and tsteera of every 

 lover of carnations. He is, however, of- 

 ten held up to criticism, not to say 

 scorn, for disseminating varieties which 

 do not come up to expectations. Quite 

 frequently the variety in question may 

 prove worthless commercially, and ye't 

 if some of these same kickers who very 

 often have excellent reasons for com- 

 plaint were to exchange places with the 

 liybridist, I am inclined to think that 

 they would outdo him in holding too 

 closely to the opinion accredited to every 

 old crow, viz., that each think their own 

 yotuig crows the blackest, and in this 

 way bring upon himself or themselves 

 iiHire criteism and trouble than they ever 

 dreamed of. 



It takes a thoroughly impartial mind 

 to see all of the weak points of a pet 

 seedling, and to compare it properly 

 with other varieties, alid do justice to 

 all; but as none are perfect dissatisfac- 

 tion must exist. The mass of wreckage 

 and debris we have gone through in or- 

 der to get the comparatively few very 

 good paying varieties we have today is 

 almost appalling, but continual improve- 

 ment and the law of "the survival of 

 the fittest" will certainly continue this 

 process indefinitely, and we may never 

 hope, at least for a long time to come, 

 to reach a stage when we will no longer 

 be compelled to invest in stock of new 

 varieties which are heralded as improve- 

 ments over existing ones. Let every 

 grower who wants to. raise seedlings, but 

 let him be mindful of the fact that his 

 brothers in the trade expect, and right- 

 fully so, to get a good thing when they 

 pay a good price for it. 



The seedling man's pathway is not 

 strewn with flowers in the sense usually 

 accei>ted by this term, but is literally 

 strewn with defective varieties, as he 

 proceeds on his way culling out year 

 after year. Often several years' work 

 is brought to naught by a variety going 

 to the bad when all indications pointed 

 to a promising future. Verily the hy- 

 bridist earns what little he makes on a 

 new variety. Were it not for the in- 

 tense interest he takes in his work many 

 would abandon it, finding the details en- 

 tirely too intricate and time-devouring 

 to k-ecp it up. 



Tlie seedling of the future must em- 

 brace all of the good qualities of the 

 various sections of the Dianthus family. 

 The blooms must be large, the color 

 must be good, the habit and growth of 

 tlu^ plant sturdy, vigorous and ideal ; 

 and th'e production of blooms must be 

 early, free and continuous. Here is 

 abundant room for the hybridist to con- 

 tinue his work. The process of assimilat- 



