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The Weekly Florists' Review. 



MAY 10. 1900. 



well formed, shapely bloom, and in 

 the side view of the flower you will 

 note that the guard petals are broad 

 and stand out flat from the calyx 

 without recurving, while the center 

 of the flower is well built up and the 

 calyx and stem are proportionately 

 strong. 



In figures 8 and 9 we have Gov- 

 ernor Roosevelt, a seedling of 1897, 

 which is particularly distinguished by 

 its symmetrical form, large size, 

 splendid calyx and excellent rtem. 

 This variety is possibly the most ad- 

 vanced step in the development of the 



the secondary flowers might have de- 

 veloped additional pistils. The flower 

 was nearly four inches in diameter, 

 and is the most remarkable freak that 

 I have seen among carnation seed- 

 lings, but. unfortunately, we canuot 

 proceed further in hybridizing with 

 this variety, as it produces neither 

 seeds nor pollen. 



I am asked sometimes why carna- 

 tions purchased from the stores fre- 

 quently keep but a few days, and I 

 am ofttimes asked for instructions as 

 to how to care for carnation blooms. 

 In my opinion, the reason for carna- 



Fig. 8. Carnation Gov. Roosevelt. 



carnation yet achieved. The flowers 

 reach 3%, even four inches in diam- 

 eter, with stems from 2 to 3 feet in 

 length. 



In figures 10 and 11 we have quite 

 a new departure in carnation seed- 

 lings. This is what we may term an 

 anemone-flowered carnation. You 

 will notice that this flower is com- 

 posed of a single row of broad guard 

 petals that stand out well from the 

 calyx. Around this is a thick, 

 bunchy wreath of fine, feathery petals, 

 the same as seen in the anemone- 

 flowered chrysanthemum. In the cen- 

 ter of this bloom are six miniature 

 flowers, the largest of the secondary 

 flowers being surrounded by the five 

 smaller. This flower also lias four 

 pistils instead of two, and probably 

 if it had been left to develop soine Qf 



nations not keeping after they have 

 passed through the commission 

 houses and stores arises from the va- 

 riety of improper treatment which 

 they receive. I have many times seen 

 dealers take carnations from the bos 

 as they arrive and plunge the stems 

 immediately into ice cold water and 

 set the flowers in a cold ice box. 1 

 think that this alternate chilling ,ind 

 heating of flowers, such as plunging 

 the stems in ice water and chilling 

 the flowers, and then placing them in 

 highly heated dry rooms, is the rea- 

 son for the premature withering 

 away of the carnation flowers. 



You will understand that a flower 

 immediately after being severed from 

 the plant is in a delicate condition. We 

 all know that if we subject our plants 

 in the greenhoiises to tjiege sudden 



changes in temperature, .such as chill- 

 ing them and again overheating them, 

 the plants eventually fade away and 

 die. This is especially the case with a 

 member of the plant that has been sev- 

 ered, such as the cut flowers. 



The treatment that I would recom- 

 mend in order to keep carnations as 

 long as possible is to plunge the stems 

 in water from which the chill has been 

 taken, so that it feels just slightly 

 warm to the hand. Then place the vase 

 of flowers in a room not colder than 

 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and allow 

 the flowers and water to cool down 

 with the room. Treated in this way we 

 keep carnations from two to three 

 weeks, and in some instances have 

 kept some varieties four and five 

 weeks. It the blooms are kept in a 

 room ranging at from 40 to 50 degrees 

 during the night time, they may be 

 brought into the living room where the 

 temperature is quite liigh during the 

 day time, and returned to the cool 

 room each night without serious in- 

 jury. Treated this way. carnation 

 blooms should last from 7 to 12 days 

 and even longer. 



I have found an unoccupied bedroom 

 on the north side of a house in whicli 

 there was no direct heat, or at least 

 very little heat, the temperature rang- 

 ing from 45 to 55 degrees, an excellant 

 place in which to keep carnation 

 blooms. It is in this kind of a room 

 that we are able to keep the carnations 

 from two to three weeks, and even 

 longer, as I have before said. 



After listening to this technical de- 

 scription of the advanced improvement 

 in carnation culture, a few statistics 

 concerning the magnit.ide of the busi- 

 ness, the value of the product sold, the 

 capital invested ami the persons em- 

 ployed, may not come amiss. It is im- 

 possible at the present time to make 

 correct statements regarding vhe 

 amount of capital employed, as we 

 have as yet no accurate statistics. 

 From a rough computation I am in- 

 clined to think that there is perhaps 

 two millions of dollars invested in 

 carnation growing in the United States 

 today and that there are probably em- 

 ployed in the production of carnation 

 flowers something like 5,000, possibly 

 more, people. These employes receive 

 wages ranging from $35 to $100 per 

 month, the average wages probably 

 being $45 per month. 



It is still more difficult to arrive at 

 the value of the product produced, but 

 basing our estimate upon the retail 

 prices, the probable value of blooms 

 and plants sold should be from three 

 to four times the capital invested. 

 There are about two ami one-half mil- 

 lions of young carnation plants and 

 rooted cuttings sold each year, and 

 florists produce an equal amount 

 which they themselves use for grow- 

 ing and which are not sold; so that the 

 entire production of rooted cuttings 

 and young carnation plants will Hp- 

 I)roximate five millions per annum. Of 

 these plants, at least four-fifths are 

 grown under glass during the winter 

 time for cut flower purposes, some 



