KEUKUAr.v 11, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



549 



sand on the top of the old. We never 

 use it the third time, though. 



The cuttinf;s from now on will need 

 closer watching than during the last two 

 months. The sun is getting stronger and 

 on bright days the houses get quite warm 

 and wilting is more apt to follow. When 

 the ventilators are up be careful of 

 draughts. A. F. J. Baur. 



PETER FISHER ON STEM ROT. 



[The following are the remarks of Peter 

 Fisher, of Ellis, Mass., before the New York 

 Florists' Club, February 8.] 



In looking up a subject for a short 

 paper on the carnation, I thought noth- 

 ing could be more appropriate at this 

 season of the j'ear than a discussion of 

 extremely early propagation, as related 

 to stem-rot, and its probable causes. And 

 1 offer a few suggestions as a means of 

 pieventing or minimizing the ravages 

 of this, the deadliest of all carnation dis- 

 eases. 



During the last summer stem-rot has 

 been most prevalent in the east, especi- 

 ally through Long Island, central New 

 York and Pennsylvania. Many of the 

 largest growers have lost their stock by 

 the thousands, both in the field and after 

 being planted indoors and the financial 

 loss has been extremely heavy. That 

 climatic conditions had much to do with 

 this there is no doubt and with outdoor 

 culture we, in future years, are just as 

 liable to a recurrence of the disastrous 

 results of the past season. This sug- 

 gests to me the question, wherein lies 

 the remedy? 



During the past five years or so you 

 have dtaubtless observed the growing 

 tendency toward earlier propagation and 

 planting. Sis or eight years ago early 

 August to September 20 was considered 

 about the right time to bench carnations 

 from the field. The method as adopted 

 at present is July planting from the 

 field, finishing as early as possible in 

 August. In some cases indoor culture is 

 almost exclusively adopted, usually 

 benching in May and June, and where 

 space is available I have known some 

 cases where the plants were benched in 

 February with splendid results. 



I was much interested on looking over 

 an old trade price list of Fred Dorner, 

 that veteran carnationist, to whom we 

 owe so much, to find him offering his 

 novelties with distribution commencing 

 April 1. Think of it! \Miat do we find 

 today? Xearly every buyer wants early 

 January delivery. 9ome will gladly ac- 

 cept their cuttings in December and 

 should orders remain unfilled until 

 March 15 they are liable to cancellation. 

 The points I want to bring up are 

 these. Is this increasing tendency to- 

 wards extremely early propagation anl 

 planting for or against the best develop- 

 ment and longevity of the carnation, and 

 is there not in this a probable cause for 

 so much stem-rot, especially where field 

 culture is practiced ? 



Where the intention is to adopt in- 

 door culture entirely, I believe in early 

 propagation, potting off the cuttings in 

 January or early February, commencing 

 with 2 and 2%-inch pots and re-potting 

 into 3. 3^-2 and 4-ineh as the case re- 

 quires, but never allowing the plants to 

 get stunted or pot-bound. Such early 

 stock ought to be benched not later than 

 May and. if space permits. April would 

 give better results, insuring strong root 

 action before the extremely hot weather 

 sets in. Cuttings taken a month later 

 can be benched during Mav and June. 



t'^'--HVJi:% 



The New Adiantum Croweanum. 



This method has many advantages over 

 planting January stock in the field dur- 

 ing April or early May and then lifting 

 and benching it in July, because those 

 early cuttings often get pot-bound and 

 stunted before being planted out. The 

 balls, being full of roots, become hard 

 and should the weather be warm and 

 dry for some weeks after planting they 

 dr.y out and wilt and this condition, fol- 

 lowed by hea\'y rains, is the first step 

 toward a severe loss from stem-rot, as 

 the plants are in no condition to absorb 

 the surplus of moisture. A later batch 

 of the same variety, that has not been 

 pot -bound and abused before being plant- 

 ed out, will pull through often with 

 little loss, while cuttings of the same 

 sort potted off, say in April and set in 

 the field, will often make better stock 

 than either of the earlier lots, with lit- 

 tle or no loss from stem-rot. 



This proves to me that much of the 

 trouble is caused from the stock being 

 allowed to become stunted, pot-bound and 

 abused before being planted out. and 

 herein lies one of the greatest dangers 

 in extremely early propagation. If you 

 do not intend this stock for early plant- 

 ing, indoor culture, it is much safer to 

 use a later lot of cuttings for planting 

 out and benching during .July or early 

 August. 



My experience has been that if a 

 batch of cuttings once gets extremely dry 

 and wilted, either in the sand or after 

 being potted or put in flats, better throw 

 them awaj". They never recover from 

 the check and are sure to be a source of 

 trouble and disappointment later. Avoid 

 extremes. I believe, for field culture. 

 February and March cuttings preferable 

 to December or January stock and if you 

 cannot house your slock before August, 

 cuttings taken from sand early in April 

 will give grand results. Of course this 

 refers to good, free-growing sorts. Some 

 that develop more slowly need earlier 

 propagation and planting. 



The one great drawback to indoor cul- 

 ture with the average florist is that he 

 cannot afford to throw out plants that 



are giving abundance of bloom at a min- 

 imum cost of production during the 

 early summer months. Yet I believe 

 the time is not far distant when, with 

 properly constructed houses, the carna- 

 tion, like the chrysanthemum, will be 

 grown indoors exclusively. There is too 

 much risk attached to planting out in 

 the field, new and valuable stock to he 

 at the mercy of our variable climate. 

 The experiences of the past will only 

 tend to spur us on to devise means by 

 which we shall yet overcome the diffi- 

 culties and uncertainties of our present 

 mode of culture. 



I believe, for all indoor culture, in 

 wide carnation houses, running north and 

 south, even span, thirty-three feet wide, 

 with five benches, each four feet wide. 

 This admits of a better circulation of 

 air than can be obtained on a 5-foot 

 bench. Height of side walls five feet, 

 three feet being glass; ridge fifteen feet 

 high, with continuous top ventilation on 

 each side, thirty inches in width, also 

 side ventilators to be used judiciously. 

 You will find a house running north and 

 south much cooler and better during the 

 hot summer months than one running 

 east and west and, all things taken into 

 consideration the loss from this aspect 

 during winter is scarcely noticeable in a 

 large, light structure. 



NOT FEASIBLE. 



Will carnations planted in solid beds 

 three inches each way the first of April 

 and replanted ten inches each way early 

 in July, do as well as if they were plant- 

 ed ten inches each way in the first place? 



C. W. 



I would say decidedly, no. I would 

 not think of planting carnations on a 

 liench and lifting them in July. I would 

 far rather plant them in the field until 

 that time, but if you want to grow them 

 indoors all sinnmer I would advise you 

 to keep them in pots and shift as they 

 need it luitil you can clear the benches 

 or beds for them. You would find that 

 when planted on the bed the plants would 



