Eii:i;k-MUi:i! 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



41 



New Cbrysanthemum Edgar Sanders. 



)Kiiiits cdiniiieicial scale, 88 points oxhi- 

 liitioii >eale; No. 2'J-l, liglit crimson, 

 with mahogany leverse, Japanese, in- 

 ciivved. scoiini: 7.j points exhiLiition 

 scale: Xo. 40-1. light rose pink. .Japanoc. 

 incurved, scoring 84 points commercial 

 scale. 



PinLADELPiii.\. Pa.. Xov. 1G. — Xatlian 

 Smith & Son exhihited Adrian, creamy 

 white. .Japanese, incurved, which scored 

 87 points commercial scale, 82 points ex- 

 liiliition scale. Harry A. Fee. by same 

 <'xhil)itors. a bronze red with yellow tips, 

 Japanese, reflexed. scored 8.'? points com- 

 mercial scale. 8.1 points exliibition scale. 

 No. 29-1, also by same exhibitors, scored 

 72 points commercial scale, 74 ]ioints 

 exhibition scale. 



CixcixxATi, O.. Nov. 2.3. — Nathan 

 Smith & Son exhil>ited Mrs. F. J. Tag- 

 gart, yellow, .Tapaiiese, leflexed, scoring 

 8.5 points commercial scale. ((iolden 

 Wedding x (iiddmine.) 



Ci.xcixxATi, 0., Nov. .30. — Polar Queen 

 ( Xagoya x ilrs. .Jones), a creamy white, 

 incurved, outer petals reflexed variety, 

 shown by Xat.han Smith & Son, scored 

 90 points commercial scale. 



Enwix Lox.SDALE. Secretary. 



CARNATION NOTES. 



Bone and Wood Ashes. 



In regard to mixing wood ashes with 

 bone meal I would say that circum 

 stances alter cases. It is generally con- 

 sidered that wood ashes or lime will 

 liberate the ammonia contained in the 

 bone and allow it to escape as gas. 

 This would cause us to refrain from 

 mixing the two alone and allowing the 

 mixture to stand any length of time. 

 In fact we never mix these two fertiliz- 

 ers as we prefer to use them separately 

 wlien using them for top dressing, but 

 •when mixing up a lot of soil for lillin>; 

 the benches there is no reason whv all 



cif the above fertilizers should not be 

 mixed into the soil at the same time. 

 The soil will absorb all the ammonia or 

 ntlicr properties escaping from the fer- 

 (ilizers and there is no danger of any- 

 thing going to waste in that way. W. 

 li. made no mistake in mixing them into 

 the soil unless he put in loo much, as 

 he did of the manure. 



Propagating. 



With the cuiting bcnrh icady to re- 

 ceive the cuttings ihe next thing to do is 

 to select the cuttings and get them into 

 the sand at once. We prefer if possible 

 to take them olV the plants in the morn- 

 ing if the day is bright, but on cloudy 

 da.vs it makes no diflfcrence what time of 

 day you take them off. Tliere is a 

 wide difference between what one grow- 

 er thinks is the best cutting and what 

 another grower will tell you is the only 

 cutting to strike if you want good stock 

 for next year. And yet another will 

 tell you that it makes no difference 

 whether you take the side shoots from 

 the blooming stems or the .voung bloom- 

 ing shoots before they begin to shoot up. 



We ])refer the side shoots from the 

 lower part of the flowering stems for 

 several reasons. We believe that if you 

 keep on taking the young flowering 

 shoots you will in course of a few sea- 

 sons have plants that will run to grass 

 instead of bloom. Then again, the side 

 shoots are usually better matured and 

 will make better, bushier plants, because 

 the joints are short and the eyes close 

 together and they usually have a good 

 heel, which is always a good thing in a 

 cutting. Another reason is that you will 

 be almost certain to get your cuttings 

 from plants that are bloomers and not 

 from plants that may already have a 

 tendency to run to grass instead of 

 bloom. I must say, though, that the 

 above is merely a theory of ours, as we 

 liave never actuallv tested it and know 



of no one else who has ilone so. We do 

 know,, however, that the side shoots from 

 up near the bud will keep running into 

 bud instead of making growth, and con- 

 sidering all we think our theory is alxmt 

 correct. 



One of the most important tilings in 

 selecting cuttings is to select none from 

 diseased plants. Although the cuttings 

 may root and oftentimes seemingly out- 

 grow the disease, and you will think 

 \ou are rid of it, .yet the time comes 

 when you will see that very same dis- 

 ease again. You can also oftentimes im- 

 prove a variety by selecting cuttings 

 only from ])lants that show extraor- 

 dinary vigor in growth or in the size 

 of the bloom or some other quality which 

 the variety may lack. 



Take nothing but good, strong cut- 

 tings, as the strength of tlie plants will 

 dejjend largely on the strength and vigor 

 of tlie cutting. I do not mean that you 

 should select cuttings that are mammoth 

 in size, but fliat .you should select only 

 short jointed, plum]) and well matured 

 cuttings. Trv to get them as near of a 

 uniform size as possible, and one of fair 

 average size is preferable to an extra 

 large one in most cases. 



In trimming the cuttings, be sure you 

 nu\ke a clean cut at the base with a 

 sharp knife. Occasionally one runs 

 across an individual who thinks that the 

 onl.v way to have success in rooting car- 

 luitions is to pull them apart at a joint 

 and 1o stick them into the sand with- 

 out any cutting. Others will have no 

 other cuttings except those with a heel, 

 and if a ragged thread half an inch 

 hmg hangs onto the bottom it must be 

 left on. according to their idea, and noth- 

 ing can convince them that a clean cut 

 will c-allous over quicker than a raggetj 

 break, and that all superfluous threads, 

 etc., at the base will only rot and cause 

 fungus. We trim oft' the ends of the 

 grass just above the unfolded heart 

 blailc^. as we think it helps to keep the 

 cuttings from wilting and thc.v can be 

 stuck closer together in the sand with- 

 out crowding, besides being much easier 

 to handle. 



Stick the cuttings in the row about 

 threefonrths ineh apart and nuike the 

 rows about twice that distance apart, 

 using an ordinary table knife to cut the 

 furrows, which shciuld be deep enough 

 to allow the cutting to go down about 

 one inch without bruising the end. Wa- 

 ter thoroughly after the cuttings are set 

 and keep the sand moist right along, 

 but avoid getting it soggy. During the 

 ne^t eight weeks a good spraying about 

 once each day will keep the sand damj) 

 enough and it is seldom we need to soak 

 the bed heavily. This spraying is one of 

 the most particular jobs you have in 

 rooting your cuttings. 



Just when to spray and wlien not to 

 spray requires a great deal of jiulgment. 

 and on it hangs very largely success or 

 failure. You should .spra.y and shade 

 just enough to keep the cuttings crisp 

 and at the same time you should not 

 shade enough to make the cuttings soft 

 and liable to damp off. nor spray so that 

 the cuttings will remain damp on the 

 foliage over night. You must studv the 

 weather, and if the atmosphere is loaded 

 with moisture and the skv is likel.v to 

 remain overcast, you had better not 

 spra.y the cuttings unless they look 

 wilted. A dark rainy da.y acts on the 

 plants and cuttings very much the same 

 as night does, and the cuttings will re- 

 quire about the same conditions as re- 

 gards shading and spraying. 



