MAKCH 3. 1004. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



?03 



Carnation Star of Bethlehem. — Haines. 



when I state that Daybreak, which 

 marked an epoch in the history of car- 

 nation culture, quite as much as Lawson 

 did, three or four years ago, was sold 

 by the raisers for the enormous sum of 

 $300. It seems to me that if the firm 

 that raised it had kept it for three or 

 four years and grown an acre of it, they 

 ■would have realized 100 times as much 

 from the blooms as they did by selling it. 



Now let me propose that this society 

 select or designate ten or twelve florists 

 in different parts of the country ; natur- 

 ally they would be in the neighborhooil 

 of our large cities or in localities where 

 ■carnations were extensively grown. They 

 should be men who are widely known to 

 be good, careful cultivators, having the 

 facilities as well as the skill to thorough- 

 ly test and demonstrate the value ami 

 merits of any variety put under their 

 care. They should not be men or firms 

 that are interested in the distribution of 

 their own seedlings. That is evident, 

 for human nature is still human nature 

 and a man who had a scarlet variet;^ 

 which he was putting on the market 

 would hardly feel that it was his duty 

 to grow and boost some other fellow '? 

 scarlet variety. If he did he would br 

 more saintly and unselfish than anyon' 

 who has lived for nearly 2,000 years. 



We cannot make this compulsory, ei- 

 ther with those who are to give these new 

 varieties a trial in their houses or on thf 

 man who intends sending out his new 

 varieties, but I believe there would be no 

 •difficulty in finding a good, capable man 

 in every neighborhood glad to grow 

 twenty-five plants of any variety sent to 

 him. There would not be so many. Even 

 supposing there were twenty new varie- 

 ties offered next year and twenty-five 

 plants of each, it would be only 500 

 plants. A comparatively small space 

 would be required and surely the flowers 

 cut from these plants would well pay 

 for the bench room. As I believe estab- 

 lishments can be found most willing to 

 give these new varieties a trial, so do T 

 believe that every man who has a seerl- 

 ling he honestly believes in and the large 

 sales of which he is anxious for, will be 



heartily glad to have it tested in several 

 different sections of this broad land. 



With all sincerity, I say that I know 

 no men or firms who intentionally sen I 

 out a poor variety of carnation. They 

 are in love with their own offspring and 

 if their offspring fails when abroad in 

 the cold world, they erred in their judg- 

 ment, but meant well. Ten or twelve 

 stations, or I may call them, trial 

 grounds, distributed over the continent, 

 including our neighbors and brethren of 

 the Dominion, would give us many tex- 

 tures of soil as well as varied climatic 



conditions. I need not enter into that, 

 for you all know in the wide expanse of 

 latitude and longitude from the shores 

 of the Gulf to the wheat fields of Mani- 

 toba and the rock ribbed coast of Maine 

 to the mild and salubrious timber lands 

 of Washington, there are lands of dark 

 clouds for months, and others of almost 

 continuous sun; states where the absence 

 of rain makes irrigation necessary and 

 localities where too much rain is feared. 



I would have these men who are mak- 

 ing these trials report to the secretary 

 of the society by February 1 of each 

 year. If a variety has not shown its 

 good qualities by that time it has no 

 place in the list of winter flowering car- 

 nations. On receipt of these reports the 

 secretary of our society should publish 

 them in the trade papers, or, if you think 

 better, have tuem printed in circular 

 form and mailed to every member of the 

 A. C. S. in good standing and to non- 

 members who applied tor the report at 

 $2 per copy. The report from the men 

 giving these new varieties a trial would, 

 of course, tell us the quality of soil, 

 temperature, what style of bench, and 

 other information that would guide us to 

 learn whether our conditions would suit 

 it. The nearest trial ground to our home 

 would naturally be the one we should 

 look to for our most valuable informa- 

 tion. Failures would doubtless be re- 

 ported from some quarters, but if the va- 

 riety was really worth our buying, it 

 would be sure to have enough favorable 

 reports to ensure its wide uistribution. 

 In addition to the report of the grower, 

 a local committee might visit the estab- 

 lishment in December and give a much 

 more valuable report from seeing the 

 plants growing and the flowers they wer-; 

 producing, than is the report of a com- 

 mittee which only sees some selected 

 flowers sent to them. Perhaps this 

 would be the most valuable estimate of 

 the merits of the varieties. 



In conclusion, gentlemen, I think the 



Carnation John E. Haines.— Haines 



