454 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



January 28, 1004. 



for a foundation, while that from sheep 

 I would place next. While hen manure 

 is inclined to be of a fiery nature, it 

 contains properties the value of which 

 should not be lost sight of and when used 

 in conjunction with other manures no 

 harm will result. We have had unvarying 

 success with a mixture in the proportions 

 of two parts cow and one of sheep man- 

 ure with an occasional addition of a dou- 

 ble handful of hen manure to a bushel 

 of mixture. Bone meal will be found 

 profitable to use at times when the hen 

 manure is left out, adding in about the 

 same proportion. 



Means should be devised whereby the 

 solution when ready for use will be clear, 

 thus facilitating distribution. It is im- 

 possible to give any exact directions as to 

 the quantity a bench should receive, ow- 

 ing to the difference in strength of ma- 

 terials employed, how handled and time 

 consumed in preparation. However, it is 

 safe to begin with a solution of medium 

 strength and, if good results follow, the 

 plants will probably stand a stronger ap- 

 plication later. 



Weather conditions this month have 

 not been conducive to ideal growth in 

 carnations. There -is a disposition to 

 softness which is quickly perceived when 

 we are now and then blessed with a day 

 of bright sun and when considering the 

 question of feeding this soft condition 

 must be taken into account and before 

 operations are begun in earnest it w-ould 

 seem best to wait until the plants are 

 firmer in tissue and indications point to 

 a larger percentage of bright weather. 

 I will probably have more to say on this 

 subject next week. Geo. S. Osborn. 



CARNATION NOTES- WEST. 



Exhibilion Preparations. 



It is only about five weeks from the 

 time the Review goes to print this week 

 until the American Carnation Society 

 opens its convention at Detroit, and it 



ties in fine shape and you want your 

 reputation as a carnation grower to 

 spread a little outside of your own lo- 

 cality, that's the place to show the re- 

 sults of your skill. If you have neither 

 one to show, it will pay you many times 

 the price of the trip to go and see what 

 is doing in the line of improvement in 

 the carnation. 



The date being two weeks later than 

 in past years, it is to be hoped that 

 milder weather will prevail, making it 

 less risky for those shipping blooms from 

 a distance. During the past five years 

 at every convention there were always 

 several who either had their blooms 

 ruined by freezing or the severe weather 

 delayed the trains so that many blooms 

 did not arrive until near the close of 

 the convention. This is especially vexa- 

 tious to those having novelties they wish 

 to disseminate the next season. They 

 lose the best chance for publicity they 

 could possibly find. Those who have 

 blooms of standard varieties frozen or 

 delayed can recover a large part of the 

 loss from the express companies, but the 

 novelty owner cannot hope to recover 

 even a small per cent of the damage he 

 sustains through the loss of sales he 

 would make on the strength of his ex- 

 hibit. 



What I started to write about is the 

 preparations that might be begun now 

 for that exhibition. By March carna- 

 tions are usually fiue and plentiful, and 

 you will need extra fine "blooms if you 

 want to make a hit. A little feeding 

 mil be necessary, and, in fact, if the 

 plants are growing strong and the growth 

 is free, you can feed quite regularly 

 now, according to the weather. During 

 dark, cloudy weather you must not feed 

 much with manure, but rather confine 

 your feeding to wood ashes and lime. 

 When the weather is bright you can 

 make the liquid manures the main diet, 

 with an occasional dose of wood ashes 

 or lime between. You will soon see a 



Store and Show Houses of the Winona Floral Co. 



is not too early to begin preparations 

 for the exhibition to be held in connec- 

 tion with 'it. That every carnation 

 grower of any importance in the country 

 will be there goes without saying. De- 

 troit is quite centrally located, and is 

 easily reached from all directions, and 

 there surely will be a great attendance. 

 If you have anything new to show to 

 the carnation trade, that's the place to 

 show, or if you have the standard varie- 



difference in the size and texture of the 

 blooms and the strength of the stems. 



Disbudding must, of course, be at- 

 tended to as soon as the laterals can be 

 handled without injury to the main buds. 

 Take them off down as low as you will 

 cut the stems. If you want the cut- 

 tings down low take them off and get 

 them into the sand, but don 't leave them 

 on the stem to rob the bloom of its size. 

 Also be sure the stems are well sup 



ported, so that the large blooms, by th» 

 time they are half-developed, do not be- 

 come too heavy and gradually weigh 

 the stems down. Varieties that are in- 

 clined that way will be benefited more 

 by wood ashes than by manure. You 

 want to stiffen the stems all you can. 



Unlesf the calyx of your variety is 

 extra strong and the crop of buds extra 

 heavy I would not remove any of the 

 blooming stems in order to throw more 

 strength into the exhibition bloom, but I 

 would rather depend on a good strong 

 growth and liberal feeding to produce as 

 good a bloom as the variety is capable 

 of, without running the risk of bursting 

 most of the calyxes. Nothing will cause 

 calyx splitting quicker than the removal 

 of growths in considerable quantity. You 

 have noticed this fact when you propa- 

 gated all you could of a fine variety and 

 you robbed the plants of all the cuttings 

 you could get. 



It is too early yet to put on much of 

 a mulch, so you must feed with liquid. 

 There are many manures and fertilizers 

 you can use with success, according to 

 the texture of your soil, but be sure you 

 begin with weak doses. To make it too 

 strong at the beginning is worse than to 

 give none at all. A. F. J. Baur. 



ANOTHER WHITE LAWSON. 



We are just in receipt of a fine white 

 carnation flower from E. Metzniaier^ of 

 Columbus, wliich he claims is a sport 

 from Lawson, having the same style of 

 flower and habit and as free in blooming. 

 Mr. Metzmaier has taken quite a num- 

 ber of cuttings from this sport and ex- 

 pects to have quite a few plants for next 

 fall 's planting. Livingston Seed Co. 



THE STEM BORER. 



We enclose some carnation cuttings 

 which show the work of a little white 

 worm which attacks them at the surface 

 of the soil and makes its way upward, 

 completely destroying the stock. The 

 worm itself is also sent in a vial. This 

 pest is only found on one bench of young 

 stock. Other plants of the same varieties 

 and in the same soil do all right on other 

 benches. What is this pest and what 

 shall we do to get rid of it? A. G. A. 



I cannot give you the Latin name for 

 the worm, but I am of the opinion that 

 it is no other than what is usually callect 

 the stem borer. You will usually meet 

 it in the field, attacking the carnation 

 plants in the same manner as they are 

 attacking these cuttings. I do not know 

 much about this borer and can only sug- 

 gest a remedy without knowing whether 

 it will rid the place of it or not. I woulcf 

 soak some tobacco stems in boiling hot 

 water and after cooling it oif I would 

 water the soil thoroughly with it. Then 

 I would dust them heavily with helebore 

 or slug-shot. Shoot it into them hard 

 so that it will get all over the stems well. 

 They will bo pretty sure to get some of 

 it when starting in on a plant and most 

 likely it will kill them. The tobacco wa- 

 ter may drive them out of the soil if it 

 does not kill them. Unless there are a 

 big lot of these cuttings, or they should 

 be very valuable, I would burn them up 

 and steam the soil before taking it out 

 where they could get into your planting 

 ground. Once you get them in there you 

 may have a hard job getting rid of 

 them. A. F. J. BAtJR. 



