598 



HORTICULTURE 



May 4, 190T 



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ROSES 



VIOLETS 



GARDENIAS 



CARNATIONS 

 VALLEY 



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In our WHOLESALE COMMISSION FLORISTS' DEPARTMENT in addition 



to our regular wholesale EVERGREENS and FLORISTS' SUPPLIES 



CONSIGNMENTS SOLICITED 



HENRY M. ROBINSON & CO., \l^xr;r Boston, Mass. 



See our Greens Advertisement on pase 603. L, O. Tmlmphonm, Mmlit XBIB. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE CARNA- 

 TION. 

 By Eobt. M. Schultz, before the Morris 

 Co. (N. J.) Gardeners and 

 Florists' Society. 



Having had but little experience 

 with carnations, and trying to ascer- 

 tain the best varieties to grow for the 

 New Yorlf market, I canvassed the 

 shops and noted the opiuious of several 

 wholesaleis. We are now growing Mrs. 

 Lawson. Enchantress, Queen and Vic- 

 tory, which to my mind is a good com- 

 raercial combination, and, as I thought, 

 the poor man's varieties, but one 

 morning my wholesaler said to me: 

 "What makes Enchantress go to sleep 

 so quickly and why doesn't it hold its 

 color? Why don't you grow a carna- 

 tion like this?" holding up a bunch of 

 Fair Maids. Looking them over care- 

 fully, I remarked ihe smallness of the 

 flower, the color being very good. I 

 compared them with Enchantress. I 

 thought Enchantress would bring 

 twice the amount he was getting for 

 Fair Maid, but changed my mind when 

 he pointed out the difference In keep- 

 ing and shipping qualities, also its 

 color. I saw both varieties that had 

 been shipped two days previous by one 

 grower; I saw them sold to a retailer, 

 who preferred Fair Maid for the rea- 

 sons mentioned above; I must admit 

 that Enchantress did show up in poor 

 shape, while Fair Maid was as fresh 

 as if just picked. I just mention this 

 incident to show you that size of flower 

 does not count if It hasn't the color and 

 the keeping and the shipping quali- 

 ties. Three different persons spoke to 

 me of this variety, and I believe it is 

 worth a trial. "They also mentioned 

 Joost, Goethe, Abundance, Queen and 

 several other varieties of the smaller 

 types, and told me that these were 

 the money-makers for Long Island 

 and the Hudson growers. 



Now the question arises: Is there 

 more profit in growing these small 

 varieties than in novelties and fancy 

 lands? Novelties and fancies embrace 

 those kinds which are adapted to the 

 private gardener and for show pur- 

 poses, but I do not consider them 

 profitable for a commercial grower. 

 Would they, if grown more extensively 

 for market, show a balance on the 

 right side of the ledger? This Is a 

 question open for discussion, and I 

 would like to see it threshed out and 

 opinions given by growers more able 

 than I to handle the subject. The 

 ideal commercial carnation is the one 

 that has size, color, stem, keeping and 

 shipping qualities; produce one with 

 these attributes and you will win favor 

 with the commercial grower as well as 

 the private gardener. This is the kind 



the commercial man would like to 

 handle, and the varieties that produce 

 the greatest number of lirst-class flow- 

 ers to the square root. 



Of the varieties In vogue there are 

 some first-class ones to stick to, and 

 of the new varieties of 1907 introduc- 

 tion we have several presented to us 

 which we believe will make good. We 

 have pinks, reds, and variegated forms 

 to chose from, but as yet the commer- 

 cial man has not found his ideal white, 

 but from what I have seen and heard 

 of late, I venture to say that the day is 

 not far distant when we will see sev- 

 eral good whites disseminated. 



The commercial value of the carna- 

 tion is being felt more every year, and 

 many groweis have and will discon- 

 tinue growing roses, violets, etc., to 

 take up and grow ilils divine flower. 

 Those growers who can handle novel- 

 ties and fancy kinds and produce the 

 goods will no doubt be successful, but 

 to the ordinary grower I say let novel- 

 ties and fancies alone — stick to the 

 ones from which .vou are sure to get 

 the best results. A great mistake we 

 growers make is to purchase very 

 small lots of the new introductions 

 that strike our fancy and grow them 

 in an off-handed way in some remote 

 corner, and when we see we have a 

 good thing we say words to ourselves 

 for not having purchased it in larger 

 quantities and given it a better chance. 



When a money maker is presented to 

 you take the time to look it up; see it 

 growing; satisfy yourself as to its 

 commercial value; if it appears to you 

 to be the right thing, stock a house 

 with it, and it it proves a bread win- 

 ner under your culture, you will have 

 plenty stock to propagate from the fol- 

 lowing year. 



ROSE-GROWING UNDER GLASS. 



Kxtracts from paper lead by David 

 Falconer before the Morris County (N. J.J 

 Gardeners' and Florists' Society. 



I ought to be able to write, or say, 

 something on this subject. But I 

 found on trying the writing part that 

 it was more difficult than the grow- 

 ing end. 



1 think a propagating house is a 

 decided advantage over a part of a 

 bench in the rose house; that is, of 

 course, if you have it fixed so as to 

 have control of the heat both top and 

 bottom. 



In the selection of wood we always 

 select blind wood of a uniform hard- 

 ness and do not put in any that have 

 the eyes started. 



I do not believe that flowering wood 

 has any advantage over blind wood 

 in regard to producing more flowers 

 to a plant, or otherwise. 



Young plants cannot be watched too 



closely and must not have any lui- 

 uries, such as red spider, greenfly, 

 setting pot-bound, etc. 



A plant once checked in its growth 

 will always show it when we get a 

 dark spell of weather. 



We dig up the sod in the spring; it 

 seems to be sweeter and have more 

 vitality to it than when composted in 

 the fall. 



Most soils that will grow good hay 

 will grow good roses. 



Our experience is decidedly in favor 

 of old plants — that is, running 

 them over a second year or even a 

 third. 



About the middle of July is a good 

 time to begin drying to ripen the 

 wood, to make it in condition for 

 pruning. We give very little water 

 for a few weeks until the plants nearly 

 stop growing; then we trim out all 

 the blind wood and cut back flowering 

 wood to two or three eyes. Then 

 take off about one-third of the soil, 

 and fill up the beds with the same 

 compost as we use for the young 

 plants. Then we tie down the plant 

 flat about a foot or so above the bed. 

 For a few weeks they have to be 

 syringed frequently to help them 

 break. 



We have tried the plan of not dry- 

 ing the plants, just pruning out a lit- 

 tle blind wood and mulching them. 

 By this method you get a few more 

 flowers during the summer, but by 

 the end of the year the other way is 

 much ahead. 



Do not allow the house to get hot 

 with the ventilation nearly closed. I 

 believe a close, stuffy atmosphere in 

 a rose-house, especially in the morn- 

 ing, will create more mildew than any 

 other cause. 



Watering and syringing need a good 

 deal of practice before a man can do 

 it intelligently. 



Syringe every bright day and just 

 imagine that there is a red spider on 

 every leaf when you are doing it. 



I think there is nothing equal to 

 the raised bench. You have got the 

 roots under control as well as the 

 tops and will produce more flowers 

 in the winter season; besides, with 

 the raised beds, you can get the heat- 

 ing pipes under them, which helps to 

 dry out the beds when we have the 

 short days. 



I think a house from 20 to 28 ft. 

 wide and about 200 ft. long is the 

 most practical. 



About the heating, a gieat deal de- 

 pends on the location. For exampla, 

 a house that has a rise of 6 ft. in 150 

 ft. would be diflJcult to install with a 

 nice working steam system. Possibly 

 an ideal heated house would be two- 

 thirds hot water and one-third steam. 



