August 22, 1914 



HORTICULTURE 



277 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



Questions by our readers In line with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Ruzleka. Such communications should invariably be addressed to the oflioe of HORTICULTURE. 



Cool Nights 



Towards the end of AiigU!-t the cool nights generally 

 begin, and it is advisable to have everything in readiness 

 to start the fires in the steam boilers on a minute's notice. 

 It would be a poor policy indeed to shut the houses down 

 tiglit to save a little coal, and if this was done tlie results 

 might prove ruinous. Have the boilers all overhauled, 

 and plenty of wood on hand so that it will not take long 

 to get the steam up to pressure. The houses should 

 never be allowed to droj) below 64 deg. F. at night, for 

 in spite of the cool nights the day temperature will run 

 up over 80 with the vents up full. As long as this con- 

 tinues, Gl at night with plenty of air will be right. All 

 boilers should have a graduating valve on tliem. so that 

 when the steam runs up on the boiler, there will be only 

 so much pressure on the pipes and no more. This you 

 will find will prove very helpful in regulating the tem- 

 perature for even with the best of care the steam will go 

 up and down in the boiler. A pipe with eight pounds 

 of steam in it will be about right now. and will also give 

 heat enough. If the pressure is increased to forty or 

 more, then the pipe is too hot, and the heat too intense 

 to serve the purpose well. Where the above mentioned 

 valve is used, the pressure on the pipes can be regulated 

 to so many pounds and tliere will be no more on the pipes 

 than the amount needs, no matter how much pressure 

 there is in the boiler. 



Sulphur 



As soon as the steam is used a little sulphur can be 

 painted on the pipes here and there; say, every ten feet 

 paint about tliree foot of pipe with a thin mixture made 

 of sulphur and water, with a little lime added. One pipe 

 in a house twenty feet wide will be plenty for a little 

 dose, and with the wide houses use pipes in proportion. 

 There does not have to be any mildew in sight, but it will 

 prove beneficial to the plants even though there is none. 

 There should not be over eight pounds pressure in the 

 pipes at the time the sulphur is applied, or it will be 

 likely to evaporate too rapidly, and make the fumes in 

 the houses too strong for the plants. 



Lime 



It is verv important now to use a little air-slacked 

 lime all through the houses after each watering or syr- 

 inging. It should be perfectly dry, and should he blown 

 around with a pair of bellows. There is a little trick in 

 doing this, and it should l)e borne in mind when the work 

 is being done. The object of the lime, or rather the 

 lime dust, is to take out whatever moisture may linger 

 around the bottom leaves at night. Lime absorbs water 

 from the air more readily than anything that we know 

 of, and if all the dampness is taken out from around 

 the base of the plants, tliere will he little danger of the 

 moisture condensing there and inviting hlackspot to 

 start in. Now in blowing the lime underneath the 

 plants, make sure that too much strength is not used in 

 handling tlie bellows, as that would .<end most of the dust 

 right across the bench, and into the walk on the oppo- 

 site side. This would ilo the plants very little good, and 



that is why tb.e dust should be blown only hard enough 

 to get in under and then it will rise slowly among the 

 plants, as the air carries it, and will accomplish what it 

 was intended to do. 



Syringing Plants 



Syringing will be vciy important now, and growers 

 should lose no ojiportunity to syringe all their rose 

 plants. As fall advances the days will grow shorter and 

 there will be streaks of dark weather when it will be 

 unsafe to syringe. It is therefore advisable to make 

 most of everything now, and have the plants as free from 

 spider as it is possible to get them. , Watch out for all 

 the corners of the benches, around the braces, and so on. 

 Here is where they generally start. Wien tying or 

 doing anything ai'ound the plants, mark all spots where 

 traces of spider can be found, by tying a piece of card- 

 board to the wire or .-take riglit on the spot, and then 

 when the syringing is done these places can be syringed 

 with extra care, and the pests cleaned out. 



Tying 



This should receive all the care and thoroughness with 

 which all tying should l)e done, for it is one of the impor- 

 tant factors that figure in success. In tying Beauties 

 or other roses to wires, see that the plants are well dis- 

 trilnited, and that there are no places where the growth 

 is bunched together or the plants mistreated otherwise. 

 With stakes, this means the same. We would hardly 

 call tying, a job where a string is run all around the 

 plants and tied in one knot, holding all that there is to 

 the plant grouped in a bunch right around the stake. This 

 metliod will kill the leaves quicker than anything that 

 we know of. and should never be employed. It takes a 

 little more time to tie all the leading shoots separately 

 each one by itself, but the extra labor is more than repaid 

 by the saving of the i)lant's vitality, a considerable 

 amount of which would otherwise be lost. It is not nice, 

 or ffood for the plants to be allowed to lie all over, after 

 they are well established, but they sliould never be 

 bunched in tying. Tie them securely, but at the same 

 time loosely so as to give them all the chance they are 

 entitled to,'to grow. Needless to say when tying to wires 

 the string should be run about the wire once or twice 

 before the shoot is tied fast. This will keep the shoots 

 from sliding all around when they are being syringed. 



Shaking the Plants 



From now on it will be advisable to shake the plants- 

 well right after each syringing so that they will be sure' 

 to get dry before the night comes. Do not wait until all 

 the houses are syringed before this is started, but have 

 a bov start as soon as one house is done, or in the wide 

 houses, as soon as the man with the hose gets a safe dis- 

 tance awav, so that no water will come back on the shook 

 ])lants. The plants in the back rows will need this more 

 than the plants in the front rows, and should lie done 

 first and .shook better. Needless to say the plants sliould 

 not be broken with the shaking, but they should be 

 shook firmlv but gently as well. 



