December 4, 1902. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



45 



R. E. Richardson, Pink, H. W. Buckbee, YeUow. 



Two New Chrysanthemums Shown'at the Chicago Exhibition. 



until the disc florets are in view; these 

 produce the pollen which may be collect- 

 ed on a camel's-hair pencil or a tooth- 

 pick, and then applied to the stigma of 

 the flower previously prepared. If a 

 toothpick is used, never use it for more 

 than one kind of pollen. By allowing the 

 camel's-hair pencil to stand in an open- 

 mouthed vial of alcohol, a few moments 

 after using, it may, when dry, be used 

 upon another variety without fear of the 

 pollen of the former operation affecting 

 the present. 



PoUenizing should be done on bright, 

 sunny days as far as possible. In wet 

 weather, a dry, warm house can be util- 

 ized, and the work continued each day, 

 provided sufficient pollen is at hand. On 

 bright days, pollen is generally very 

 abundant, and may be collected, stored 

 in vials and labeled ready for use. If 

 kept perfectly dry, this pollen will re- 

 tain its vitality throughout the chrysan- 

 themum season. 



After fertilization, give the plants only 

 suflScicnt water to keep them from wilt- 

 ing. Always keep a record of the work, 

 showing the parents of the seedlings. It 

 will afford you pleasure to know how a 

 meritorious variety was produced, and 

 may suggest possibilities along other 

 lines. 



Seeds ripen in five to six weeks. Those 

 fertilized early in the season give the 

 greatest number of seeds, doubtless due 

 to the weather being more favorable at 

 that time. Do not anticipate super- 

 abundance of seed. The crosses which 

 give but a few seeds generally produce 

 the best seedlings. Hand pollenized seeds 

 are of more value than those naturally 

 fertilized. It at least seems rational to 

 expect more from seed secured by the 

 union of our best kinds than from that 

 produced by the wind without intent — or 

 the bee, whose only object is to secure 

 his daily sustenance. If this be true, 

 our results depend upon the degree of 

 intelligence employed in the selection of 

 parents, and the thoroughness with 

 which every detail is attended to. 



CARNATION NOTES— EAST. 



I CANNOT do without the Review. — 

 W. J. Miller, Delevan, Wis. 



Xmas Outlook. 



The warm weather of November has 

 somewhat upset our calculations on the 

 supply of blooms for Christmas. How- 

 ever, those varieties which are nat- 

 urally late show prospects of furnishing 

 a larger supply than anticipated. 



Every grower will naturally give close 

 attention to every detail necessary to 

 bring out the largest possible amount 

 of bloom at that time. I do not advise 

 any rise of temperature any more than 

 the lowering of it. On the one hand, 

 you may get a few more blooms at the 

 expense of quality and damage to plants, 

 on the other a few forward ones may 

 be held back, vrith the result of split 

 calyxes later. 



Every grower, of course, knows the 

 conditions and requirements of his par- 

 ticular trade; but my expetience has 

 been that it is not good policy to cut 

 closely at any time. After the holi- 

 days there is usually a scarcity of 

 flowers, but by no means is there no de- 

 mand. For this reason it is not best 

 to cut everything in sight; besides, the 

 Christmas price can be held for some 

 time afterwards, resulting in no loss 

 financially, at the same time keeping 

 your plants healthy, they having had no 

 severe cheek as is often the case with 

 heavy cutting or forcing. 



Salting. 



In view of the fuel question, which 

 affects all lines of trade, this year's 

 holiday trade will necessitate some close 

 figuring on the part of carnation grow- 

 ers. I venture to say that it will be a 

 supreme test of the so-called salting 

 process. 



The flower-buying public are becoming 

 more critical each year ; this season they 

 will be pretty careful to put their money 

 on the winning horse, "Quality." It is 

 useless for me to go into the details of 

 salting, as you have all read rnore_ or 

 less about it in past years, and in view 

 of the fact that it is said the practice 

 is decreasing, the less said the better. 



I will close the subject with reference 

 to a catching ad borrowed from Mother 

 Goose Melodies, and which I have used 

 with success : 



The Three Grades. 



"Carnations fresh, carnations old 

 Carnations in the water nine days old." 

 Try some fresh ones. 

 (Pat. not applied for.) 



Geo. S. Osborn. 



CARNATION NOTES-WEST. 



One of the troubles that is almost sure 

 to strike you in a mild form or other- 

 wise in the near future is the bursting 

 of the calyxes on some of your varie- 

 ties of carnations, and you should be 

 very careful right along to avoid the 

 conditions that cause this trouble. While 

 the weather is bright, there is usually 

 very little calyx splitting, but at this 

 time of the year we are very apt to have 

 an occasional dark and wet spell of 

 weather, and during these is when the 

 trouble most often breaks out. You 

 should always have your carnations in 

 such condition that you can control 

 them at will in case of cloudy or sunny 

 weather, and it sometimes takes a pretty 

 level head to keep things as they should 

 be. 



A bad case of overwatering during 

 dark weather will cause splitting. A too 

 severe drying out at the roots during a 

 bright spell will also cause splitting, 

 so you see you always want to keep a 

 happy medium, so that in case a cloudy 

 spell sets in you can soon have your 

 soil on the dry side by withholding the 

 water, and in case of a warm, bright 

 day you can by giving one good water- 

 ing have your plants well supplied with 

 the extra water they need on such a 

 day. There is perhaps no plant that we 

 grow that demands more regularity and 

 uniformity in conditions than the car- 

 nation. The same may be said in re- 

 gard to the food you give them. A too 

 strong dose of food will cause splitting, 

 while a severe case of starving will 

 bring about the same result, so watch 

 your plants carefully and give them 

 what they need and no more. 



