March 24, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



893 



pens it shows either vicious abuse or 

 gross neglect, or both, toward the older 

 cuttings. Here is about what hap- 

 pens : 



On arrival of the cuttings, which per- 

 haps are fine, they are potted into the 

 smallest sized pot because they will root 

 through and stait to growing quicker. 

 As soon as they have made a little 

 growth a cutting is taken oft", and in 

 taking off the cutting nearly the whole 

 plant is taken along. It would not do 

 to wait a couple of weeks longer because 

 it would get too late and, besides, a bud 

 might appear and make the top useless 

 as a cutting. Then, not satisfied with 

 this abuse, that critical grower who will 

 send back a lot of cuttings because there 

 was a little rust or a few were not rooted 

 lieavy enough, or for some other slight 

 fault, will let them remain in the same 

 small pots to become starved and stunt- 

 ed by the time they are planted in the 

 field. Then when these stumps fail to 

 start up and make as uniform a lot of 

 plants as the young tops that were looked 

 after and cared for like a two-minute 

 trotter, this grower will tell you about 

 it and try to give you the impression that 

 if he had not been so wise he would 

 have had no good plants at all. 



If a variety grows strong enough to 

 produce good plants from these tops, 

 just think what fine plants those early 

 cuttings would make when handled prop- 

 erly. Too many growers estimate their 

 stock of a variety by the number of 

 plants they have, regardless of the size 

 or quality of the plants. You may have 

 3,000 plants and yet not have more than 

 enough to fill a bed that holds 1,000 fair- 

 sized plants. 



Keep the Plants Clean. 



Look over your young stock every few 

 <lays and top what plants are ready and 

 try to top all the plants of a batch with- 

 in as short a time as possible, so as to 

 leave them as near a uniform stage as 

 possible. If they were a uniform lot of 

 cuttings you can usually top ninety per 

 cent the first time and the balance will 

 need only a few days to catch up. This 

 will have more or less bearing on the 

 uniformity of your plants all through 

 the summer. Not only will you find 

 much more pleasure in handling a nm- 

 forni lot of plants, but you will also find 

 it much easier. They will start about 

 the s;ime. they will need supporting about 

 the same time, and they will begin flow- 

 ering about the same time and, in fact, 

 whatever you do for tliem will suit each 

 plant the same as all the rest. 



If a lot of young weeds are starting, 

 be sure to have them pulled out. Not 

 only will tliey rcb the plants of their 

 food, but the plants are standing close 

 enough together without the weeds, and 

 they will cause them to choke and draw 

 up. 



On bright days when watering, give 

 them a good syringing so there will be no 

 danger of carryins a lot of red spider 

 out to the field. If that pest gets a good 

 hold on your plants in the field you will 

 have a hard battle to fight. If there is 

 any rust on them, pick off the affected 

 leaves and burn them. Dust the plants 

 with air-slaked lime, grape dust or sul- 

 phur, and keep the foliage moderately 

 dry except for a weekly sharp syringing 

 to keep red spider away. Fumigate reg- 

 ularly or, if your young plants are in 

 the same house with a lot of blooming 

 plants and you don 't want to smoke so 

 often, you can dust the young plants 



Crimson Rambler Rose with GenistaFragrans at the Base. 



quite heavily with tobacco dust to pre- 

 vent greenfi.v from attacking Ihem. 



It is not a bad idea to have on hand a 

 little of the copper and ammonia solu- 

 tion in case of some of the spot diseases. 

 In fact, a light spraying about once each 

 month will do no harm and it might 

 ward off a bad ease of spot. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



CARNATIONS NOT KEEPING. 



I have read in the Review about some 

 of the carnations at the Detroit conven- 

 tion going to sleep in a short time when 

 put in water. The general opinion was 

 that high feeding was the cause of the 

 trouble and another was that the plants 

 had not had the proper amount of air 

 on account of the seveie winter.' I have 

 been considerably troubled this winter 

 with carnations going to sleep. I grow 

 mine in a temperature of .50 degrees, air 

 as much as possible on all favorable oc- 

 casions, and have only fed once this win- 

 ter, sparingly, with sheep manure. 1 put 

 the flowers in water as soon as cut. keep- 

 ing them about twenty-four hours in a 

 temperature of 35 to 40 degrees. They 

 last but a short time after being put in 

 vases the following day. If some of our 

 large carnation growers w-ould give me 



their method of handling the cut flowers 

 they would be doing a great favor to 

 uuir:; than one reader of the Eeview. 



G. M. H. 



There is nothing wrong with your cul- 

 ture, and if you handle your carnation 

 blooms properly after cutting you will 

 have less trouble. You keep them at 

 3.5 to 40 degrees, which is just 10 degrees 

 too cold. If you will keep them in a 

 temperature of 4,5 to 50 degrees you will 

 find that the blooms will draw up much 

 water and they will grow and the petals 

 will be crisp and firm. When exposed to 

 a warmer temperature they will stand up 

 a long time. Raise the temperature in 

 your cut flower room 10 degrees and I 

 think your trouble will be over. 



A. F. J. BAtFR. 



NOTES ON VARIETIES. 



The following notes on varieties are 

 gathered from the experience gained 

 in the carnation houses of G. Van Boch- 

 nve & Bro., Kalamazoo, Mich.: 



White Cloud is still the best white 

 for winter months. The soil here seems 

 to suit this variety. Flora Hill, the 

 best for sprin", summer and fall, but 

 is weak in midwinter. Lorna is a fine. 



