December 9, 1897. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



8J 



but a French marine shot him down. 

 You will notice that the coast line for 

 many miles is indented with land-locked 

 harbors, but they are of little use for 

 commerce, for every twelve hours they 

 are a broad expanse of mud and the other 

 twelve hours are a fine sheet of water. 



But I have had you up here long 

 enough and you will be tired straining 

 your eyes at what you only dinil\' see. 

 Let us descend to the garden again. 



BiBBKR. 

 [To be continued.] 



CARNATION NOTES. 



Temperature — Ventilation. 



To keep up a desired temperature we 

 need the help of fire heat, and ventilation 

 to modify the climatic inlluences of too 

 wann and too cold. The average tem- 

 perature at night is at our place 55°, day 

 temperature on cloudy days from 60° to 

 65°, on sunny bright days from 65° to 

 75°. As soon as the day temperature 

 rises above 60° we commence to open the 

 ventilators and strive to maintain the de- 

 sired temperature as nearly as possible. 

 To do this we have of course to consult 

 the outside temperature. These rules we 

 observe at all times, whether the outside 

 temperature be moderate or freezing, so 

 long as it is in our power to uphold the 

 desired inside temperature. This cer- 

 tainly will require fire heat and may often 

 be apparently against econoni}- in heat- 

 ing. But let me say right here there is 

 no saving, as we will see further on, when 

 heat is withheld at the expense of another 

 element. 



There is another point in ventilating 

 far more prominent than the help it gives 

 to regulate the inside temperature, and 

 that is the admittance of the pure, fresh 

 air from the outside, and the expulsion 

 from the inside of that which is often 

 stagnant — in other words, an exchange of 

 air. This is readily accomplished as long 

 as the outside temperature comes near 

 the one desired inside, and when even 

 lower if we have the benefit of bright 

 sunshine when regular veiitilation takes 

 place. But in cloudy weather with a 

 lower temperature, when we may be able 

 to maintain the proper temperature with 

 closed ventilators without fire heat, we 

 need the help of tlie same to effect a 

 change of air, if we do not wish to chill 

 and check the plants in their growth. 

 Now, would it be economical to save 

 some expense in heating when the plants 

 may suffer twice that amount for want of 

 fresh, pure air? We should always bear 

 in mind that the first object of ventilating 

 is to supply fresh air; secondary but in 

 conjunction with this is the help it gives 

 in regulating the temperature. 



We ha\e also other ways of regulating 

 temperature. In summer we shade and 

 use the cooling evaporation of water, in 

 winter we use tire heat; but fresh air we 

 must have at all times and supply it at all 



times through the same channel. It is 

 hardl}- necessary to rennnd how the car- 

 nation deliglits in a fresh buoyant atmos- 

 phere, and how they turn soft, sicklv 

 and }-ellow in a close one, and thus fall 

 an easy prey to parasitic diseases. 



As I have said before, we commence to 

 raise the ventilators when the inside tem- 

 perature rises above 5o°, in all kinds of 

 weather, cloudy or sunshine, warm or 

 cold, often when as low as zero but with 

 bright sunshine, and the ventilators are 

 in a condition so they can be raised, that 

 is, when they are not frozen fast, provid- 

 ing we can sustain the inside temperature 

 to the proper degree with fire heat. 



It is not necessary in severe weather to 

 have the houses open for a long time; a 

 change of air is quickly effected; we gener- 

 ally open two to thiee inches, an hour or 

 two over noon time, or open quite wide for 

 five or ten minutes. Many may think that 

 is a sure way to chill the plants. I would 

 think so too with houses narrow and low, 

 but ours are high and roomy and the 

 ventilators open at the ridge. The cold 

 air entering will be thoroughly moderated 

 before it reaches the plants; when not 

 blown in by a gust it will pass down 

 along the damp glass, striking the heating 

 pipes on the sides of the walls, distribut- 

 ing through the lower strata of the house 

 and pushing the impure stagnant air up 

 and out. Such a change is quickly 

 effected with no injury to the plants and 

 only about 5° fall in the temperature. 

 Notice the atmosphere in a house that 

 has not been ventilated for a day or two; 

 the air is heav}', your breathing is op- 

 pressed, and then notice it again after a 

 quick change, how light and delightful 

 the air feels and breathes; the plants will 

 feel just the same way. It must be very 

 severe weather before we omit ventilating 

 for one d ly. 



The carnation adapts itself very readily 

 to the winter culture, but we must never 

 forget that it is a plant of the temperate 

 zone and as such it requires a moderate 

 temperature and an abundance of fresh, 

 pure air. 



A close observer will notice two pecul- 

 iar characteristics in the carnation. The 

 plants show their greatest activity late in 

 the afternoon and evening. When the sun 

 sets the buds commence to open, and 

 there are visible signs that the plant is at 

 work, building new cells, e.xtending its 

 growth; the lu.ster of vitality is spread 



over it. Incited by the warmer day tem- 

 perature it begins when the temperature 

 is cooling down. These are all unmis- 

 takable signs as to what temperature the 

 plants require. But this knowledge is 

 often misunderstood and leads to careless- 

 ness. Now, suppose the temperature 1: as 

 been all day from 6s° to 70° and the out- 

 .side temperature is 40°. When the sun 

 sets and the ventilators are not closed in 

 time and no fire heat is ready, the tem- 

 perature will drop in a short time to 50°, 

 even before the sun has set in the west. 

 What effect this sudden drop below the 

 night temperature will have on the plants 

 during their most active time cannot be 

 misunderstood. That means to close the 

 ventilators in time, have fire heat ready, 

 so the drop from the day to the night 

 temperature comes gradually ar.d reaches 

 the average point, say about at S or 9 

 o'clock. After midnight it may drop two 

 or three below 55°. 



The other characteristic peculiarity is 

 the working of the plant in daytime and 

 especially so on sunny days. This is of 

 a more delicate nature, for it is the work- 

 ing in the expanded flower for reproduc- 

 tion, producing seed. No fertilization 

 will take place in a temperature below 

 60°. With this I wish to remind what 

 day temperature the plants require to 

 keep them in their routine action for a 

 full day, and to point out the error of 

 many who attempt to grow their plants 

 in too low a temperature. 



I notice in the Weekly Florists' Re- 

 view that Messrs. Bassett it Washburn 

 are the happy posses.sors of a red-flowered 

 Mrs. G. M. Bradt. I regret to destroy the 

 illusion of it being the only one, for any 

 possessor of a dozen or more plants may 

 find them among his. This variety sports 

 verv easily. The color of the red flower 

 is the same as the stripes in the normal 

 bloom. It is not unusual that we cut 

 often a dozen at a time in a house filled 

 with this variety. They appear here and 

 there but are never constant, and for this 

 reason I have never tried to set the sport 

 and cultivate it separately. The flower is 

 of equal form and size as the striped ones, 

 only of a pleasing soft red, a not unwel- 

 come addition to this excellent variety. 

 Fred Dorner. 



LILIES, CARNATIONS AND STONE 

 WALLS. 



Several questions come from Sparta, 

 Wis., and are as follows: 



"First, about Easter lilies. Our earliest 

 lot got a start and have continued to grow 

 in spite of the coolest treatment we could 

 give them. Now, however, we are able to 

 keep them just above the freezing point. 

 They are from twelve to twenty inches 

 higli. If we continue to keep them cool 

 can we keep them back for Easter?" 



Yes, I think you can if you will keep 

 them down to 35° to 36° at night and not 

 over 40° to 45°, if possible, by day. Re- 

 member that if you keep them very cool 

 they will not need as much water as if 

 growing fast. 



"Those potted later were left out till 

 within a few days ago when our below 

 zero weather arrived. On examining them 

 we were surprised to find no top growth 

 and scarcely any root growth. We thought 



