962 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



AruiL 30, 1903. 



an inch of loose earth covering the ball 

 to prevent evaporation. 



Be sure that you wato^i the lab:l- 

 carefully. I believe there are nicie 

 varieties mixed while planting in the field 

 than at any other time. Everybody is in a 

 hurry and there are usually some lalp- 

 ing who really do not know any betto-. 

 There should be a good man at each end 

 with instructions to look after the oth- 

 ers. Of course you run your labels in 

 the field just like you do on your 

 benches, and they should be of good size, 

 at least a foot long. Tliere is nothing 

 more aggravating than to have a lot of 

 labels lost, and small labels in the 

 field are apt to get lost. Towards even- 

 ing have one of your men take a hand 

 cultivator and go over what was planted 

 during the day and loosen up the soil 

 between the rows. You are bound to 

 tramp it down pretty well when plant- 

 ing, especially if it is fresh plowed. We 

 plant our rows fifteen inches apart and 

 the plants eight to ten inches in the 

 rows. A. F. J. Baur. 



CARNATION NOTES— EAST. 



Planting in the Field. 



Whatever method you employ in the 

 arrangements for planting stock in the 

 field, remember that it is an operation 

 worth doing well aud also merits your 

 personal attention. It is not always the 

 one who can set the most plants in a 

 given time tliat can be called the best 

 workman. A man may be both very 

 rapid and an expert at potting and shift- 

 ing bedding plants, an accomplishment 

 acquired through years of almost con- 

 stant practice, while the planting of car- 

 nations in the field consumes but a short 

 time each year, thus aft'ording less 

 chance for one to become what might be 

 called a rapid and at the same time a 

 thorough planter. 



A passing reference to Mr. Scott's ar- 

 ticle in last week's issue on "Union Gar- 

 deners," which you all no doubt have 

 read, clearly puts before you that which 

 I wish to convey, namely that there is a 

 great difference in men employed in our 

 trade, consequently choose judiciously 

 when starting to plant carnations in the 

 field. 



It is not my purpose to discourage 

 ripid work but I do insist on thorough 

 work even at the expense of less rapid- 

 ity. I have witnessed instances of so 

 called quick or expert (?) work in this 

 line and cannot forget the result seen 

 when visiting the same field a month 

 later. 



It is time and money thrown away, 

 after having gotten together a fine lot 

 of stock, to .allow carelessness of any 

 kind to enter into the work of planting 

 out, Avhile it is good policy to take ex- 

 tra care in planting stock which perhaps 

 through some accident is not quite up to 

 standard, for in many cases under field 

 culture small defects are outgrown. To 

 mark out the whole field and put men 

 or boys laden with plants at work drop- 

 ping them like potatoes savors too much 

 of the farmer carnation grower who per- 

 haps looks upon them as a catch crop 

 and is satisfied to receive a cent per 

 bloom for his product, thinking the 

 amount realized is all velvet. 



In my notes of March 26 reference 

 was made to the bed system. When 

 planting, we prepare one bed at a time, 

 getting the soil into the best mechan- 

 ical condition possible, leaving the sur- 

 face smooth. A line is stretched for 



each row, then marked out with a hand 

 cultivator opening a furrow about three 

 inches in depth. Plants are laid, not 

 dropped, in the furrow from six to eight 

 inches apart;, the planter follows and 

 guided by the size of the ball, sets the 

 plants in the moist earth at the proper 

 depth, draws a sufficient quantity of soil 

 around the ball to cover it. presses the 

 whole firmly, levels the soil about the 

 plant, leaving the soil loose on the sur- 

 face, seeing to it tliat the plant is not 

 set any deeper than when taken from 

 the flat or pot. 



When completed the plants stand not 

 less than twelve or more than eighteen 

 inches between rows and from six to 

 eight in the row according to variety. 

 It will be seen that future cultivation 

 must needs be done by hand cultivator 

 and common hoes, these two implements 

 being all that are needed; men and not 

 horses or oxen supply the power and in- 

 telligence. Each man planting will need 

 three to mark furrows, ctit out and de- 

 liver plants. Two or more such ganas 

 together with your personal supervision 

 and work ought to make satisfactory 

 progress consistent with thorough work, 

 that is if the number of gangs employed 

 correspond to the number of plants to be 

 grown. Make a special effort to keep 

 the planter supplied with but few plants 

 laid ahead, as much injury is done by 

 the drying of roots exposed very long to 

 the action of wind and sun. 



A still, cloudy day is preferable, but 

 we cannot always choose the time. How- 

 ever, as the risk is greater on a bright, 

 windy day, it has proven an advantage 

 on such days to leave a slight depression 

 around each plant, watering with a can, 

 having sprinkler removed, in these de- 

 pressions only, applying about what 

 would fill a 3- inch pot to each plant. As 

 soon as the water disappears, level off 

 with loose soil. This covering in and 

 leveling oflT with loose soil acts as a 

 mulch in any case, whether watering is 

 done or not. No more furrows should 

 be made than can be planted immediate- 

 ly, the object being to have moist soil 

 in which to set the balls, thus making 

 good contact with soil of the field and 

 ball. 



I vpould advise strongly against top- 

 ping young stock just previous, during 

 or directly after planting. There is al- 

 ways a loss of balance between roots and 

 top when a plant is cut back or trans- 

 planted and to plant out those having 

 had little or no time to restore this bal- 

 ance or to bring the two oj>erations very 

 close together will restilt in a two fold 

 check. A thorough watering the day 

 before planting will allow the soil to get 

 into jtist about the right condition, that 

 is, not pasty, or so that it crumbles 

 easily. 



When ctiltins- plants from flats do not 

 squeeze the ball into a hard, round ball 

 with an idea of keeping it intact; if the 

 soil is in the proper state the balls can 

 be cut square and left so no further dis- 

 turbance of the roots will be necessary. 

 Strict attention to every detail, however 

 small, and which perhaps may seem un- 

 important in itself, will, taken as a 

 whole, prove a good investment of time, 

 returning a handsome rate of interest. 



There are many conditions present 

 with each grower which will compel him 

 to be his own judge as how to proceed 

 in his ovm particular case. Locality, 

 climate, aspect of land, nature of soil, 

 distance of field from houses, compe- 

 tency of help and various other circum- 

 stances we all have to meet and can 



without straying from the general plan 

 of pro{>er cultivation. 



Geo. S. Osborn. 



NELSON CARNATION. 



Will Mr. Bntir please tell me through 

 the RE\aEW whether Kelson carnation 

 does better planted indoors than in the 

 field. Plants are in .3i-inch pots and 

 somewhat rusty. Would like to know 

 his metliod of treatment for it. 



StTBSCRIBEB. 



I think you would be wise to plant 

 your Jlrs. Nelson in the field for sev- 

 eral reasons. In the first place, we do 

 not recommend the indoor culture ex- 

 cept for varieties that are difficult to 

 transplant from the field to the house. 

 In fact it was this as much as any- 

 thing that caused the indoor culture to 

 be tried in the first place. Varieties 

 that l!;.d a tendency toward dying off 

 after housing or of becoming covered 

 with rust from the excessive syringing 

 for a lew d.iys after planting were 

 found to be more satisfactory when they 

 could be left undisturbed in the fall. 

 These same things are also being largely 

 overcome these days by -extra early 

 plantiiig when the plants are yet of 

 medium size and well matured. So that 

 now about the only advantage there is 

 in incioor culture is the longer stems 

 and sui*'rior quality of blooms during 

 the early winter. Mrs. Lawson is 

 greatly benefited by indoor culture, we 

 think. Mrs. Nelson transplants as easily 

 as most varieties, and as it throws stems 

 of good length early there is no call for 

 the indoor culture. They will grow out 

 of the rust outside, and if you handle 

 them carefully next fall after you house 

 them you will have no trouble. Plant 

 it about August 10 to 20, or even earlier 

 if your plants are of good size earlier. 

 A. F. J. Baue. 



CARNATION NORWAY. 



I note in Review of April 9th that 

 W. P. E. made inquiry as to value of 

 carnation Norway and I would herein 

 like to state my success with this vari- 

 ety. 



From five hundred plants planted in 

 bench October 1st, I cut during Novem- 

 ber, December and January about five 

 hundred blooms. In February they pro- 

 duced one thousand flowers and in 

 Alarch fifteen hundred blooms were taken 

 from the above five hundred plants. I 

 am now cutting about the same as in 

 first three months. 



Habkt S. Hopkins. 



Binghamton, N. Y. 



SOIL FOR VEGETABLES. 



Please give me directions for making 

 up a soil that will be best for raising 

 vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, 

 etc., in the greenhouse. A. V. D. 



The usual compost heap that is put 

 up for roses, chrysanthemums and so on, 

 namely about 4 parts of fibry loam or 

 turf to 1 part of cow manure, will grow 

 any kind of vegetables under glass dur- 

 ing the winter. The heap may be made 

 up any time during the summer and cut 

 down when needed late in the fall. In 

 the case of quick growing crops such as 

 lettuce, beans, etc., the fertility of the 

 soil during the winter is kept up by 

 the addition of a light dressing of rotted 



