464 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



FEBRUARY 10. 1X3S. 



burnums for forcing as it is lilacs. I 

 am advocating an experiment, how- 

 ever, and every one waits for some 



other fellow to demonstrate the possi 

 bilities. A. HERRINGTON. 



Madison, N. J. 



CARNATION NOTES. 



New Varieties of 1897. 

 Before I enter into any discussion of 

 the new varieties introduced the past 

 season, I will say a few words in con- 

 tinuation of my last notes on types, 

 and will conclude with the different 

 build and forms of blooms of varieties 

 now in cultivation. 



Build and form of blooms differ as 

 much as habit of the plant. Different 

 tastes have different ideals, and to 

 pronounce any one form as the ideal 

 one would seem rather overbearing. 

 From a commercial standpoint, all 

 forms are desirable so long as they find 

 purchasers. Again, desirability de- 

 pends upon adaptability. If one is 

 asked to pick out his ideal from among 

 a handful of ilowers of different form, 

 the choice would probably fall upon 

 the most symmetrically built and be.st 

 rounded form, like a camellia or daisy 

 for instance. As a buttonhole bouquet 

 these have the preference, but in 

 masses, as in a basket or large bouquet, 

 these symmetrical daisy-like blooms 

 appear stiff and monotonous and it is 

 a relief when the eyes can rest on a 

 bunch of irregularly built blooms. 



We find varieties with round, smooth 

 or more or less fringed petals; the 

 same arranged symmetrically or rather 

 irregularly; also, flat, where the petals 

 are spread out horizontally, or rounded 

 where the center petals stand erect; 

 again, where the center petals appear 

 in an irregular arched form; and where 

 all petals have a tendency to incurve. 

 This latter form is objectionable as it 

 reminds one too much of the flower in 

 the last stages, going to sleep. And, 

 then again, we find blooms where the 

 petals in all forms and positions appear 

 wavy and crimped. 



We have at this time a very interest- 

 ing sight in our seedling house, regard- 

 ing habit of growth and form, and col- 

 or of blooms. There are 160 selected 

 varieties of 1S9G on trial blooming the 

 second season, from 5 to 15 plants of 

 each, and 500 seedling plants of 1897 

 selected from 2,000 out of the field. It 

 furnishes a very interesting and fasci- 

 nating study to see the many different 

 habits, forms and colors side by side. 



It is not my intention to enter into 

 a criticism of the new varieties intro- 

 duced last year; neither would I be 



justified in doing this, for in the first 

 place one must have a wider range of 

 observation than I have, their cultiva- 

 tion on our place being in rather lim- 

 ited numbers, and during their field 

 culture having been retarded in their 

 growth by a severe period of dry 

 weather. The severe drouth left the 

 plants small, and this affects two very 

 important points, namely, their ability 

 as free bloomers in the early part of 

 the season and their respective 

 strength. Therefore I must necessa- 

 rily confine myself to the observations 

 as they came under my notice on our 

 place, well convinced that success or 

 failure of a variety as experienced at 

 one place cannot be conclusive for all 

 sections. 



Flora Hill: This variety stands fore- 

 most among the whites introduced the 

 past season, and is without doubt a de- 

 cided improvement on the older varie- 

 ties. The summer growth has been 

 clean and strong, showing a very pleas- 

 ing habit, slightly spreadLug. thus not 

 appearing compact. The foliage, me- 

 dium between the grassy and broad- 

 leaved form, is of that much desired 

 bluish color, and of a texture capable 

 of much resistance to disease, espe- 

 cially rust. Our plants when received 

 were entirely free from this disease, 

 and have remained so up to this date. I 

 do believe that under certain circum- 

 stances, with which we are not as yet 

 familiar, no variety is rust proof, and 

 this variety is but a confirmation of 

 this assertion, as from a few localities 

 we hear that rust has made its ap- 

 pearance, while the general report 

 proves it free from this disease. 



Bacteriosis seems to have more pow- 

 er over this variety, for I could find 

 traces of this disease from the time 

 we received our rooted cuttings up to 

 present date. The first weeks when 

 housed it increased rather alarming- 

 ly, but soon diminished under normal 

 treatment and culture, and at this time 

 the young growth is showing scarcely 

 any signs of the disease. Further re- 

 garding the health of this variety, I am 

 happy to say that we have not lost one 

 plant, while among other varieties we 

 experienced the fatality of stem rot, 

 this variety being exempt. 



It commenced to bloom early, and 

 the early flowers naturally not so large, 

 were to my taste the best formed. 

 With the advancing vigorous growth 

 the flowers grew larger, but at the 



same time assumed a coarser, more 

 rugged and crimped appearance, dif- 

 fering much from those which have 

 been shown at the exhibitions last year, 

 but this can be greatly alleviated by 

 giving the flowers time to develop, 

 which should therefore not be cut too 

 young. When the buds open we often 

 find a light penciling aud shading of 

 pink, but this disappears entirely even 

 before the flowers are fully developed 

 and leaves them a pure white. 



As to their keeping quality. I had an 

 interesting experience. I selected some 

 blooms for seeding and removed, as 

 customary, the anthers and some of the 

 inner petals, in order to give the pistils 

 more room to develop. The remaining 

 petals expanded fully in a short time, 

 but it took five to six days before the 

 pistils were sufBciently ripe for the 

 fertilization. All this, under normal 

 conditions, shows the time for the full 

 development of the blooms. To my 

 surprise some of these blooms failed to 

 produce any pistils and kept in a fresh 

 condition on the plants for over two 

 weeks; stems appearing a little weak 

 at first, but gaining rapidly in strength 

 and length under a vigorous growth; 

 calyx strong and perfect. 



As to the quantity of blooms furnish- 

 ed up to date, I can not do otherwise 

 than call it free. We labored under a 

 disadvantage, for the plants were not 

 up to size when taken in from the field, 

 and later on we were obliged to de- 

 pend upon them for cuttings, and for 

 this reason I am hardly in a position 

 to give an approximate estimation as 

 to what the plants can do under favor- 

 able circumstances. As far as I could 

 observe, this variety is not entirely ex- 

 empt from cropping, but is scarcely 

 seen without any blooms at any time 

 and the period between crops is very 

 short. 



To give a summary of the whole, I 

 cannot call this variety perfect, for 

 perfection has not yet been attained, 

 but it stands at the head of the white 

 varieties disseminated and now in cul- 

 tivation. FRED DORNER. 



RATS AND MICE IN CARNATION 

 HOUSES. 



Will some of your readers tell me 

 how to get rid of rats or mice in car- 

 nation house? They are cutting a 

 great number of buds for me. I have 

 tried poison (Rough on Rats) on 

 bread and butter, also on cheese, but 

 they do not touch it since the first 

 night or two. I found a piece of bread 

 a few days ago in which they had eaten 

 the bread down to the butter and 

 poison, leaving the poison as nicely as 

 I could have sliced it off with a knife. 



I don't know just whether they are 

 mice or rats, as I have seen both in the 

 house at intervals. The day after 

 placing the first poison I got hold of a 

 very sick rat, which I killed. I believe 

 the mice are not usually considered so 

 cunning, and I have always been able 

 to catch them in traps with bits of 



