4J8 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



KKiiurAKV 20. 1902. 



permit handling. To do this twelve 

 headers and about fifteen hundred feet 

 of perforated pipe are necessary, but 

 if much of this work is to be done the 

 outlay will not be great in proportion. 

 Second-hand pipe is just as serviceable 

 and if leaky so much the better, for the 

 more leaks the less boring there will 

 have to be done. 



The question of expense is important, 

 for to have the method practicable there 

 must be a limit to the cost of the oper- 

 ation. We compute the cost of steriliz- 

 ing a house SOO.kIO feet at about $25, 

 or in other words, it doubles the expense 

 of preparing a house for planting. This 

 is, however, a comparatively small con- 

 sideration, for if there is a saving of 

 fifty plants to do a season's work, count- 

 ing on a return of fifty cents per plant, 

 there will be a saving of twenty-fi\e 

 dollars, or the cost of sterilization, and 

 I think that our results have shown a 

 greater saving than this by far. The 

 work of the Hatch Experiment Station 

 has given sonic valuable results and yet 

 their computations on the cost of sterili- 

 zation can not be sustained by general 

 practice, for it is a much simpler opera- 

 tion to sterilize soil where there are 



has been so slight indeed that we con- 

 sider it to have been entirely overcome. 

 We have, however, suffered more from 

 "dr3--rot'' than from "wet-rot," but even 

 this has been small when compared with 

 the loss of previous years. Taking the 

 result as a whole I feel safe in saying 

 that we have found sterilization a pre- 

 ventive of stem-rot. 



In conclusion let me say that I do not 

 believe sterilization a cure for stem-rot 

 but rather a method of prevention. I 

 look at sterilization as an insurance that 

 you place upon a crop. You insure a 

 vessel load of coal, yet the plants on 

 which j-ou depend to pay for_ the coal 

 you do not insure without sterilization, 

 and when this can be done at a reason- 

 able expense I believe in so doing. I 

 do not think that better carnations can 

 be grown in sterilized soil than in soil 

 which is not sterilized, but I l>elieve it 

 gives you a greater certainty of keeping 

 your benches full and thus a greater 

 certainty of good financial returns. It 

 gives you the assurance at the start 

 that your soil and benches are free iTom 

 fimgus, from eel-worm, from earth- 

 worm, from aphis, from red-spider and 

 in addition from weed-seed. This latter 



New Carnation Golden Beauty. 



no benches than where benches are used, 

 as in our carnation houses. 



Our first larnation house benched was 

 planted with the Marquis and there 

 was a loss of perhaps a dozen plants 

 from stem-rot in this house. I did not 

 work the houses the year previous but 

 I remember the representation in some 

 parts of the bench of Marquis at Decem- 

 ber 1 was very scattering. Compare our 

 loss of perhaps a half' dozen Lawson, 

 from some fifteen hundred plants, with 

 that we have heard reported by others 

 (I call to mind one report of l.-'jOO from 

 5,000), and I thiidc you will agree with 

 me that our loss has been slight. It 



fact would alone make sterilization of 

 value. If we know exactly what our 

 soil contains and can be sure that we 

 arc not taking in what will be detri- 

 mental, there is no need for sterilizing, 

 but this we do not know. We know, 

 however, that it makes us practically 

 certain of our crop and this certainly 

 repays us for our labor. 



We have grown roses, chrysanthemums 

 and violets, in addition to carnations, 

 in sterilized soil and with results which 

 have exceeded our anticipations. I will 

 be glad to throw more light on this sub- 

 ject if it is in my power to do so and 

 I thank you for the honor which you 



have done my father and mj'self in a.sk- 

 ing for this report^ which I take pleas- 

 ure in presenting you. 



A CRITICISM OF GROWERS' 

 METHODS. 



By E. G. Gillett. 



[Read before the Amerjcau Carnatiou Society at 

 iDdlanapoUs.] 



When Mr. W. N. Rudd, at a meeting 

 at Buffalo last August, suggested that 

 I prepare a paper on this subject, he 

 also guaranteed to fight all my battles 

 should I tread a little heavy on some 

 growers' toes, so if there is any kick 

 coming when I get through, just kick 

 Bro. Eudd. 



Growers' "methods are divided into 

 classes, large, medium and small. Grow- 

 ers themselves are divided into the same 

 number of classes. The larger class are 

 those who arc backed by sufficient money 

 to have all the needful appliances nec- 

 essary to conduct their business on a 

 paying basis. If he is not a grower him- 

 self he has money enough to buy the 

 brains of someone who does know the 

 latest and best methods of growing flow- 

 ers, and money enough to hire sufficient 

 help to care for the plants while grow- 

 ing. The medium grower generally has 

 to rely iipon his own resources with 

 what help he is able to hire, and the 

 small grower follows suit. 



We arc all working to the same end, 

 the Almighty Dollar. But how to get 

 that Almighty Dollar is a great stum- 

 bling block to many of us. Many dol- 

 lars are lost yearly by growers who do 

 not know the best methods to pursue 

 after they have grown their flowers ready 

 for market. Of course, the first thing 

 to do is to consign his cut to a commis- 

 sion house to sell, and in order to make 

 money he mu.st make his shipments reg- 

 ularly, and he must stand by his com- 

 mission man through the gluts that are 

 bound to occur once or twice during the 

 season, instead of hunting up some other 

 market when for a few weeks his sales 

 are not as large as he expects and the 

 reason he well knows. Another and a 

 very important fact the grower must 

 remember, and especially is this true 

 of carnations and roses, is that after 

 cutting they must l>e placed in a cool 

 room with their stems well submerged 

 in pots of water for at least 12 hours 

 before they are fit to pack and ship to 

 market. 



Another important matter is the grad- 

 ing of your flowers, ilore care should 

 lx> taken in this, carnations especially. 

 I know that it is a great temptation 

 to many growers to put in ringers. Pos- 

 sibly you will ask me what I mean by 

 ringers. It is simply this, and espec- 

 ially is it so in carnations: In putting 

 carnations up in bunches of 26 when 

 they are selling at .$1.50, $2.00, .$3.00 

 and $4.00 per 100, if you can ring in 

 two or three short stemmed inferior 

 blooms to a bunch, see how much more 

 money I am making you will say to 

 yourself? But are you? No. Do you 

 think for one moment that the retailer 

 has not his eyes open? And do you 

 think he does not go down deep into 

 that bunch of carnations and count the 

 ringers? If you think he doesn't just be 

 a commission man for a while and see. 

 We poor devils have to carry water on 

 both shoulders and we catch it coming 

 and going. Gentlemen, I plead of you 

 right here, don't put in ringers, and 



