May 12, 1917 



HOETICULTURE 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



Queetlons by oor readers In line with any of the topics proented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Buzlcka. Such communications should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICUL.TDEB. 



Declare War, Too 



Time flies, and since our last article appeared, many 

 things have happened in the world and in the green- 

 house. With war on all sides, growers will have to de- 

 clare war, too, in order to hold their own should the bot- 

 tom drop out of the flower market the coming year or 

 two. The very first thing to attack will be all the leaks, 

 the ones in the roofs first and all the rest of the leaks 

 next. Rust on the iron work should be fought with red 

 lead and oil first and white lead to re-enforce it. Rust 

 on pipes should be fought with linseed oil and lamp 

 black. There will be many insect enemies to be warred 

 on, among them the one which spreads most rapidly now 

 in the spring, greenfly. Keep the plants free from this 

 pest, as it is hard enough to keep the plants growing 

 without having them covered with fly to retard them. 

 Spider will creep in the comers unless the grower is 

 right on the job, and with the weather we have been hav- 

 ing the chances for syringing are none too plentiful. 

 Weeds will begin to creep in among the plants if liquid 

 manure has been used. These are gi-eat for breeding 

 spider and should be pulled out as soon as they appear. 

 There will be many unlooked-for enemies seeking to ruin 

 the roses which we are trying to grow. Let us be at 

 war, and prepared for more war imtil we have won. 



The Heating System 



With all the defects in the heating systems still fresh 

 in mind after the winter just passing away, it will be 

 best to make note of all the little things and see that all 

 is ordered at once so that when the time comes all the 

 necessary repairs will be on hand to complete the work 

 once the repair work is started. It will pay, too, to look 

 over all repairs received to make sure that they are just 

 what is wanted, as many manufacturers are forced to 

 employ many new hands with the i-ush of work, and 

 even with the best of care things sometimes get mixed 

 up, or often it happens that the wrong numbers are 

 stated when sending for repairs, and the fact is not dis- 

 covered until after the parts arrive. It is therefore wise 

 to go into details and see that all is right, and see that 

 the parts are put away where they will be found when 

 they are wanted next summer. As fast as the boilers 

 are retired, see that they are cleaned fairly well so that 

 they will not rust too much before they get their thor- 

 ough cleaning next July or August. 



Early Planting 



Growers cannot start their planting out too early. 

 Many of the large places have their planting well under 

 way, in many cases half done, and it is well for them 

 tjiat this is so. It is cool, now, and although the fre- 

 quent rains disturb the work more or less, it will leave 

 the men free to get more work done later on in the sum- 

 mer, such work as painting and repairing. Do not let 

 the place go unpainted because paint is high. It is not 

 very likely to be a bit lower for some time to come and 



the chances are that it will be much higher, and labor 

 wiU certainly not be any more plentiful or cheaper 

 either. It is too early to cut back old plants except for 

 summer flowering, but young plants can be set out very 

 nicely now. Be sure to have everything done right. It 

 will take longer but it is always better to be safe. See 

 tl.at all the old soil is removed from the benches and 

 tl;at the benches are washed out thoroughly with a high 

 ])ressure hose after all the soil is wheeled out. After 

 tliis a good coat of hot lime applied as thick as possible 

 will go a great way to sweeten the old benches and help 

 Iceei) them from decay. All old earth that sifts through 

 the benches while wheeling should be removed before 

 the benches are washed out. This work should be well 

 done, for if it is let go each year will fill up the houses 

 more, and after a time there will be a layer of old green- 

 house soil all over the houses. This will always be full 

 of insects and disease germs, a regular breeding place. 

 Therefore take time and clean out well. See that the 

 bracing for the benching is spaced so that it would not 

 iiaterfere wdth the cleaning and see that aU pipes are 

 high enough to get under with the scrapers. If the 

 benches are old and in need of repair use old lumber to 

 do this if at all possible. If new lumber is put in, tlic 

 bench will always be too good to throw out and rebuild 

 and will never be any good. The only way is to patch 

 to last so long and then throw out the bench, using the 

 better lumber for jiatcliing other benches and building 

 the one bench new. This will save time and money in 

 the long run. 



Depth of Soil 



If the plants that are to be planted are very small it 

 will pay not to fill up the benches too much, as mulch 

 can always be applied later on to make up for any soil 

 that may be missing. If the benches are filled with five 

 inches of soil this will be plenty. It will settle to four, 

 which will be just right, and when smnmer or early fall 

 comes around the mulch the plants will receive will take 

 care of them nicely, and they will dig into it far better 

 than they would if they had plenty of soil in the benches. 

 With proper care in feeding, plants that have all the 

 roots confined in four inches of soil will do far better 

 than plants that have too much soil to roam around in. 

 See that the drainage is all right as the benches are 

 filled, and if there are many boards that are too close 

 together see that they are spread or tliat a little is 

 chopped off one of them to make drainage. One-half 

 inch will be about right and only six-inch boards should 

 be used for the bottoms. Where solid beds are used see 

 that the cinders, gi-avel or whatever is used for drainage 

 is properly stirred so that there will be no dead spots 

 to keep the plants very wet in one place and veiT tin- 

 in another. Also see that the surface of the cinders or 

 gravel is perfectly level so that the plants will have an 

 even depth of soil all over. Tins is very important if 

 they are to grow evenly and well. 



