Febhuakv 28, 1901. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



425 



organizing of the elements of the ma- 

 nure. And as a rule the abundance of 

 Wilier used on the soil tends to add nit- 

 rifying organisms to it. 



Sod plowed under and heavily ma- 

 nured with stable manure for several 

 years seems to be very prolific of the 

 fungi that cause stem rot. 



Mr. May said he had used fifty to 

 si.\ty bushels of lime per acre on ground 

 where he had been troubled with stem 

 rot, and there had then been no further 

 losses from rot. While he had heard it 

 claimed that sterilizing the soil was an 

 injury to it, his experience was that 

 his plants grew better in soil that had 

 been sterilized than in that which had 

 not. 



Mr. Dillon had found that stem rot 

 was most prevalent where plants had 

 been set too deeply in the soil, or where 

 rains had washed soil against the 

 plants. He therefore grows his plants 

 on ridges to insure freedom from stand- 

 ing water. 



Mr. Scott had noted that in soils 

 naturally strong in lime there had been 

 but a very small percentage of loss from 

 stem rot. 



Mr. Ward believed the conditions that 

 favored development of the fungus were 

 found in nearly all soils and that the 

 fungus afi'ects many other plants. He 

 had found the fungus where carnations 

 had never been grown, as well as where 

 they had. He had lost a large percent- 

 age of stock lifted from the field during 

 a hot, dry spell, and believed that 

 weather conditions had a strong in- 

 fluence in the matter. 



The matter was further discussed by 

 many others, and it was evident that 

 there was great eagerness for full. infor- 

 mation on the subject of stem rot. 



Professor Woods was given a hearty 

 vote of thanks for his paper and his 

 answers to the numerous questions. 



CARNATION NOTES. 



Topping the Cuttings. 



Those cuttings you potted several 

 weeks ago will be making a good growth 

 now and perhaps you are thinking 

 about topping them, which should be 

 done at the right stage, so as to not 

 lose any time by allowing them to make 

 a lot of growth and then cutting it ofi'; 

 and, at the same time, it should not be 

 done too soon. 



Many growers are not particular 

 enough about this little operation and 

 allow their employes to do it any old 

 way as long as they stop them from 

 growing heavenward. Some will be in 

 bud while others will have only the 

 tiniest heart pulled out ; one way is as 

 wrong as the other. If you allow them 

 to run into bud you lose some valuable 

 time in which they might have made 

 good breaks and started several shoots 

 and at this stage every day counts. If 

 you pull out only the tiny heart the 

 plant is too young and the wood is not 

 in condition to push out strong 

 branches at once and the growth is 

 severely checked. Often, too, you will 

 pull out several blades and the heart will 

 remain and you will have them to go 

 over again when it grows out. The prop- 

 er time to stop them is just about half 

 way between these two, or as soon as 

 you can see the joints lengthening out. 

 Thty should have at least four good 

 eyes, well above the earth, to break 

 from ; but do not stop them too high. 



Some growers like to have a couple of 



Vm. G. Bertermann, President -Elect American Carnation Society. 



inches of stem between the soil and the 

 lowest branch to help prevent slemrot, 

 but I can see no advantage in it. Stemrot 

 will attack one stem just as readily as 

 it will three or four and the lower part 

 of the branches that start be'ow the 

 surface of the soil soon become the same 

 as the original stem, and are, therefore, 

 the same as so many separate plants. 

 The plants grown with the long stems 

 are likely to lie over in the field after 

 a hard rain, which soon ruins their 

 shapeliness. 



There is a great difference in varie- 

 ties, though, and you must study their 

 growth before pinehirrg. For instance, 

 such varieties as Flora Hill, .Too?t and 

 Jubilee (which really only need topping 

 once except to pick off flowering shoots 

 in case you want extra large plants) 

 should be topped rather high because 

 nearly every eye above the soil will 

 start to grow, but such varieties as 

 White Cloud and Mrs. Bradt should be 

 pinched rather low and as often as pos- 

 sible in order to form a compact, stocky 

 plant which will not only have many 

 more shoots than the straggly ones, but 

 will also be much easier to handle with- 

 out breaking off branches when housing 

 in the fall, and they will also grow 

 stronger and more upright throughout 

 the season. 



It is generally thought best not to 

 stop a plant when repotting or plant- 

 ing, but to do it a few days before or 

 after, when the roots are in working 

 condition. However, I do not hesitate 

 pinching a plant while replanting if it 

 needs it and I have never seen any bad 

 effects from it. A. F. J. B.\UR. 



CARNATION ARRANGEMENTS. 



It is surpiising that the retailers in 

 the cities in which the meetings and ex- 

 hibitions of the American Carnation 

 Society are held do not wake up to the 



advertising possibilities in the compe- 

 tition in the arrangement of carnations. 

 The society offers a silver cup for the 

 best arrangement of carnations, and 

 there was only one entry at Baltimore. 

 The prize was won by Jlr. Peter Fisher, 

 Ellis, Mass., and the arrangement is il- 

 lustrated in this issue. 



There should have been many entries 

 in this class by the Baltimore retailers. 

 It would have been of great benefit to 

 them as well as to the trade in general 

 had there been a generous display of 

 arrangements showing the varied uses 

 to which the carnation may be put in a 

 decorative way. This is the opportunity 

 to show the public what you can do 

 when given full opportunity to work 

 out your own ideas. Now that the pub- 

 lic is invited to the exhibitions the re- 

 tailers should make the fullest use of 

 the opportunity. 



We trust that the Indianapolis flor- 

 ists will not overlook the prize offered 

 by the society and that the competition 

 in this class next vear will be keen. 



WALL DECORATION. 



In one of the pictures of the Baltimore 

 exhibition in this issue will be seen a wall 

 decoration of wild smilax that seemed to 

 us worthy of a special illustration. The 

 problem of relieving a large bare wall 

 space in an artistic manner was certainly 

 well solved in this case. The design was 

 by Messrs. Black Bros., of Baltimore. 



The wild smilax is attached to a wire 

 frame which is held in position by only 

 three nails. The smilax was placed in 

 the frame on the floor and three men 

 then easily put it in position on the wall. 

 The frame is ma'de so that it can be 

 folded over and thereby be reduced to 

 half size for convenience in carrying 

 around. We believe this will jirove a 

 useful suggestion to others having wall 

 decorations to execute. 



