552 



The Weekly Florists* Review^ 



Februaky 11, 1904. 



ROSES. 



Feeding;. 



The soil in Ihe bGiiohes being liniitcil 

 in quantity and the plants having 1)p.'11 

 giving crops during the winter, the 

 heavy growth must have extracted from 

 the soil the main constituent part.^ which 

 go to form the plant and left it more or 

 less exhausted and in no condition to 

 supply the elements necessary to a jood 

 spring growth, which will shortly com- 

 mence. 



As we cannot renew the soil at this 

 season we must have recourse to some 

 other method of supplying the plants 

 with the necessary food and in such 

 proportions as the needs of the plants 

 demand. And in order that the plnnts 

 may derive the full benefit of this new 

 supply it should be presented to them in 

 a form which is easily assimilated, at 

 the proper season and in suitable quan- 

 tities. 



These foods, to be easily and quickly 

 assimilated, must be reduced to a state 

 of fluidity, or in the form of gas or air. 

 The main object, therefore, to be at- 

 tained should be to afford as much 'jolu- 

 ble matter to the roots of the plants as 

 possible, and in a slow and gradual 

 manner, so that it may be entirely con- 

 sumed in forming the soft and organic 

 parts, leaving no residue to sour the rest 

 of the soil. 



This can be accomplished by using de- 

 composed cow manure, which contains 

 the essential elements in nearly ihe 

 right proportions, and can be applied 

 either in the foi-m of a mulch, which the 

 necessary waterings will convert into 

 the fluid form, or by applying direct as 

 a liquid. 



If applied as a mulch in a pure st.Ue 

 it is apt to dry during the bright >uu- 

 shine and this makes it so light that 

 subsequent waterings serve to displace it. 

 Mixing it with one-third of its bulk of 

 good fresh loam gives it more solidity. 

 The whole should be rather finely pul- 

 verized, as it is more usable in that form 

 than if laid on in big chunks. A 

 spiinkling of bone flour added to this 

 compost is also beneficial. 



This mulch also serves a double pur- 

 pose by protecting the feeding roots, 

 which approach the surface, and keeping 

 them from sudden variations of temper- 

 ature. It also prevents the soil from 

 cracking when warm weather sets in. 



Liquid manure, being ready for im- 

 mediate absorption, is most effectually 

 employed when the roots are in an active 

 state and in want of a stimulant to as- 

 sist in the development of a crop. T!ie 

 best stage to begin with this is when the 

 young growths are from four to six 

 inches in length and it can be applied 

 onee a w-eek till the buds show color. 



Wood ashes being usually rich in pot- 

 ash, is also a very desirable manure, giv- 

 ing wiriness to the stem and adding 

 brilliancy to the coloring of the petals, 

 but being of a strong nature requires 

 caution in its use. It is always safer to 

 use these concentrated foods in small 

 quantities, even though it must be done 

 more frequently. 



Xiiquor of anmionia has also a very 

 beneficial effect as a stimulant, but 

 should not be used frequently, as it has a 

 very softening effect on the foliage. Its 

 strength should never exceed one ounce 

 to four gallons of water. 



For soils deficient in lime, a little 



should be used occasionally, but we 

 should be quite certain that it is needed 

 before applying it, as an excess is often 

 very injurious. ElBES. 



TROUBLE WITH YOUNG STOCK. 



We are having trouble to keep our 

 yoiuig roses growing. They have fine 

 "roots and start nicely. The roots turn 

 brown. We have them on the nortli 

 bench in a rose house. Tlie temperature 

 has been as low as 52 degrees. There 

 are two pipes under the bench and the 

 pots are plunged in coal ashes. 



M. B. L. 



Even though the temperature does get 

 down occasionally as low as 52 degrees, 

 this would not .iccount for the failure. 

 If the cuttings are well rooted and not 

 allowed to stand in tlic sand to become 

 too large and overripe, and potted into 

 2-:nch standards, they ought to do well. 

 Totting in soil con'.aining too much ma- 

 nure or other fertilizer would have the 

 efl'ect of sickening and rotting the roots. 

 Young rose stock does not require jilur.^- 

 ing; in fact, they rarely do well if 

 treated in this way. Smooth down the 

 ashes and place the pots on top, water 

 carefully and shade during very bright 

 sunshine for the first five days after pot- 

 ting, and while they may not grow quite 

 so rapidly at 52 as they would at 50 

 degrees, they will, all other conditions 

 being right, certainly retain their health 

 and start into growth as the weather 

 gets warmer. Eibes. 



TROUBLE WITH VIOLETS. 



Under separate cover we send two vio- 

 let plants, can you tell us what is the 

 matter with them? About half of one 

 of our houses has gone like this since 

 Christmas. The plants are growing in 

 solid beds twenty-four inches from the 

 ground, with good drainage. Note the 

 color of the tips of the buds; they look 

 as though they had been burned with 

 smoke, but we have not fumigated in 

 six weeks. We give them 42 to 45 de- 

 grees at night and 55 to 58 degrees in 

 day time with air on. Will they grow out 

 of it by Easter? A. B. C. 



Unfortunately, I was away from home 

 when the plants came to hand, making it 

 hard to determine just what is their 

 trouble, but in our experience there are 

 several things conducive to the condition 

 described. Are you certain that the tem- 

 peratures mentioned have been main- 

 tained all the time, or have there been 

 one or two occasions that the house has 

 been overlooked and the temperature al- 

 lowed to run up and then the ventilators 

 thrown open wide, with a consequent 

 very sudden lowering of the tempera- 

 ture, and a strong draught of very cold 

 air falling directly on the plants affect- 

 ed ? And, again, while the beds are raised 

 twenty-four inches, this does not always 

 insure good drainage, even though it 

 would naturally seem as if it should, for 

 I have known beds as high as three feet, 

 in a sandy soil and only about two and 

 one-half feet wide, where they caught 

 some drip, to become so soggy that this, 

 coupled with heavy airing, would cause 

 the plants to look as described. Then, 

 again, A. B. C. says they have not fumi- 

 gated in six. weeks, but he does not say 

 how soon the buds looked like this after 

 fumigating. The injury is not always 

 apparent at once. 



StiU another thing will cause plants 

 to look forlorn and the buds white at 

 the tips and spotted, and that is black 

 aphis. Of course, I take it that A. B, C. 

 knows if he has this pest in the house, 

 and, if so, my advice would be to puU 

 and burn the plants at this time of the 

 year and put in some spring crop, as they 

 would never recover, even with severe 

 measures, to be at all profitable for Eas- 

 ter; in fact, unless they pick up very 

 soon I should consider this the better 

 way, whatever the trouble, as a plant that 

 is out of health as late in the season as 

 this is a very questionable article for 

 profit, and especially so in violet plants, 

 as they do not as readily respond to doc- 

 toring as do some other plants. 



E. E, Shuphelt. 



THE CARNATION SCHEDULE. 



The program and schedule has been 

 issued for the thirteenth annual meet- 

 ing and exhibition of the American Car- 

 nation Society, to be held at Harmonia 

 hall, Wilcox and Center streets, Detroit, 

 ilarch 2 to 4, 



The program includes papers on "The 

 Management of Exhibitions," by W. N. 

 Kudd, of Mount Greenwood, III.; "The 

 Exhibition of Carnations on Lines Sim- 

 ilar to Those of the Chrysanthemum So- 

 ciety,'' by Wm. Scott, of Buffalo, and 

 "The Maintenance of Health and Vigor 

 in Carnations," by Robert Craig, of Phil- 

 adelphia. Discussions will be opened: 

 On Mr. Rudd's paper, by Adam Graham 

 and J. F. Sullivan; on' Mr. Scott's pa- 

 per, by H. M. Altick, J. C. Rennison 

 and F. H. Beard: on Mr. Craig's paper, 

 by E. G. Hill, Geo. S. Osborn and George 

 Bayer. 



Tliere are premiums of $10 and $6 for 

 100 blooms of the several colors, $5 and 

 $3 for vases of fifty blooms, open to all 

 varieties disseminated prior to July 1, 

 1903; $3 and $1.50 for twenty-five 

 blooms, open to all varieties dissemi- 

 nated prior to July 1, 1902. In each of 

 these classes the color divisions are as 

 follows : White, Daybreak shade of pink, 

 Lawson shade of pink, Scott shade of 

 pink, scarlet, crimson, yellow variegated, 

 white variegated and "any other color." 

 John Breitmeyer's Sons offer $50 and 

 $30 for the best" collection of carnations, 

 not less than ten or more than fifteen 

 varieties and not less than fifty nor more 

 than 100 blooms to a vase. The W. J. 

 & M. S. Vesey premiums of $25 and $10 

 are offered for collections of not less 

 than six or more than ten varieties, not 

 less than fifty or more than seventy-five 

 blooms to a vase, open to all growers 

 with no more than 25,000 feet of glass 

 in carnations. The Sullivan-Rackham 

 premiums of $25 and $15 are offered for 

 collections of not less than five or more 

 than eight varieties, not less than twen- 

 ty-five blooms or more than fifty of each 

 variety, open to all growers with no more 

 than 15,000 feet of glass in carnations. 

 A silver cup is offered for the best 

 exhibit of 20O blooms one variety, open 

 to all. Premiums of $10 and $5 are of- 

 fered for collections of single blooms, 

 not less than twenty-five varieties to be 

 shown. The Lord & Burnham premiums 

 of $30 and $20 are offered for the best 

 collections of commercial varieties intro- 

 duced prior to 1903, not more than ten 

 varieties and fifty blooms of each to be 

 shown. 



A silver cup will be given to the best 

 vase of 100 blooms of Enchantress, the 

 introducers not to compete. The Chicago 



