March 2, 1918 



HORTICULTURE 



197 



Rose Growing 

 Under Glass 



Supply of Potting Soil 



See that the supi)ly of potting soil is not allowed to 

 run low, and have a few loads brought in every time 

 there is opportunity to do so. Try to have it run as 

 even as possible so there will be no danger of the differ- 

 ent lots of plants behaving differently, making it much 

 more difficult to handle them. Avoid fresh manure of 

 any kind in the soil. If the soil has to be made, dig up 

 some old decayed manure somewhere and mix about 

 one-quarter manure and soil allowing this to lie at least 

 a week before it is used. Have the soil screened as soon 

 as dry enough and put away in the bins ready for use. 

 The coarse pieces that are left will come in handy as 

 crock for the larger pots later. 



Temperatures in Rose Houses 



This unusually severe winter has taken much more 

 coal than was ever expected. For this reason many 

 growers were forced to run their houses only warm 

 enough to keep the plants healthy. Now, however, with 

 the coming of the warmer weather the temperature 

 should be pushed up to normal again, and plenty of air 

 used even if a little extra coal has to be burned. It 

 will all come back when the plants begin to bear again 

 and with many places either not running or else de- 

 voted to vegetables, the market for stock should prove 

 to be good. As soon as the plants begin to grow the 

 temperature can be raised to as much as 64 nights, keep- 

 ing this up until they are getting into crop when the 

 temperature should be reduced in order to get real large 

 heads on the stems. Houses that have had sufficient 

 heat all winter can be run a little warmer now, too, and 

 the air allowed to remain on a little longer in the 

 evening. The latter is important for if coal saving is 

 carried too far mildew is likely to follow and spread 

 very rapidly for it likes nothing better than a damp, 

 stagnant air, a whif of which will be sufficient to warn 

 the experienced grower. Watch for the cloudy, foggy 

 days that are bound to come and keep the temperature 

 where it should be, with sufficient ventilation to keep 

 the air in the houses pure. It will also be well to run 

 the houses a little warmer after each watering or 

 svrinirinfr. 



CONDL'CTED BY 



'■lny(US^i^-y^^^^^'^^^ 



Qufestions by our readers in line witb any of the topics pre- 

 sented on this page will lie coidiiilly received nnd promptly 

 ansnu'red hv Mr. Ku/.icka. Such conininiiiciitions should 

 invariably be addressed to the office of HOKTICULTUUE. 



Lime 



It will do the plants a heap of good to get a dose of 

 lime now. This will help digest some of the bone, etc., 

 that was applied since last fall and still lies unused in 

 the soil or on the surface. Use fresh air-slaked lime 

 free from lumps right after a crop, just before the 

 plants are started with heavy water again, or, better 

 still, use bydrated lime, which, however, is more expen- 

 sive. It will be best to go over the benches and rub the 

 lime in sligiitly before it is watered so that it will have 

 a better chance to mix with the soil. Do not use lime 

 on benches that have just received a dose of either 

 manure or other feed such as bone or tankage as the 

 lime would dissolve the latter too fast for the plants to 

 take it. Also a lot of ammonia would be freed suddenly 

 which would likely prove harmful to the plants. 

 Drainage 



It will be very important to have aU drain pipes 

 working, all catch basins clean and to see that no 

 sewer openings are stopped up, for when the thaw comes, 

 unless the water is properly drained off it will fill in 

 somewhere and do a lot of damage. See also that there 

 are no puddles under the benches. Whenever water in- 

 sists on collecting, open a ditch or else have a tile laid 

 to take care of it. This should be done before the 

 warmer nights of spring come so that the air can be 

 kept dry and sweet. Nothing will polute the air more 

 quickly than a lot of smelly stagnant water lying heie 

 and there. With a little digging these places can be 

 easily drained. 



Conserving the Place 



Now with cost of all materials away up, repairs and 

 rebuilding will be an expensive pastime. Growers who 

 built right in the first place will have occasion to re- 

 joice, but that does not help the grower whose houses 

 are not in good repair. Begin at once and save as 

 much wear and tear as possible, and even if labor, paint, 

 etc., should be very high, prepare to take care of the 

 place right. Even if the whole place is not overhauled 

 at least the most needed repairs can be attended to. 

 After this last winter many growers will see the neces- 

 sity of tightening up leaks big and little, and should 

 they fail to do so the receivers will likely do it for them 

 for there are still places here and there that need a little 

 cold water to wake them up. If possible, order every- 

 thintr now. 





TO ENLARGE THE U. S. BOTANIC 

 GARDEN. 

 We received from \Vm. F. Gude, who 

 Is evidently on guard as usual, the 

 following copy of an amendment pro- 

 posed by Mr. Gallinger to the bill (H. 

 R. 9867) making appropriations to sup- 

 ply urgent deficiencies in appropria- 

 tions for the fiscal year ending June 

 30, 1918, and prior fiscal years, on ac- 

 count of war expenses, and for other 

 purposes, viz.: On page 50, after line 

 4, insert the following: 



Provided, That within two years 

 after the conclusion of the existing 

 war the buildings provided for in this 

 paragraph shall be removed, and the 

 parcels of land known as East Seaton 

 Park and West Seaton Park, lying be- 

 tween Third street on the east. Sixth 

 street on the west. Missouri avenue on 

 the north, and Maine avenue on the 

 south, shall be attached to and become 

 a part of the United States Botanic 

 Garden, and available for the purposes 

 thereof: Provided further. That the 



location of conservatories and other 

 improvements of a permanent charac- 

 ter which may be built within said 

 parcels shall be confined to areas not 

 intended as the sites for future public 

 buildings and driveways as provided 

 in the plan for that vicinity prepared 

 by tlie park commission. 



"Don't forget that the man behind 

 the man behind the gun is a reader 

 of the technical papers in his field." 

 — CUiss. 



