May 20, 1916 



HOETIOULTURE 



693 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



condCctkd by 



e *' . t^ 



Questions by our renders in line with any of ttie topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Ruzicka. Such commonicatlons should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



Early Planting 



With labor very se-arw ami high priced, it will be a 

 good idea for growers with large jjlaces to handle to be- 

 giii planting early. The first of August will not be very 

 long slipping around, and all hovises with young plants 

 should be planted by that trine, with the exception of 

 Shawyer perhaps, so as to get a good root system before 

 the dark days of winter. With the plants ready to go 

 into the benches it will be very simple to empty the 

 houses that are poor and replant them. There may be 

 houses that are well cut oif and do not jjroniise to do 

 nnich at once and the plants may not be ready tO' go in 

 until July. These houses can be dried oif a little, then 

 mulched, and started all over again, producing a fine 

 cut of roses during the summer months when roses are 

 scarce. Roses cut from a house treated in this manner 

 will be far superior to those cut from houses that ha\e 

 not been dried oif and started again but have been kept 

 going all the time. A little planning will save a good deal 

 of time and money. To begin with, see that all the neces- 

 sary tools are on hand so that no time will 1ie wasted 

 waiting when the work is once started. Then come the 

 repairs to the benches. If they have to be rebuilt see 

 that all the necessary material is right there before the 

 work starts. One cannot depend on speedy deliveries 

 by railroads now, so it is best to order things long before 

 they are really wanted. Xow for the repairing. Wi' 

 never put any new boards into old benches unless we 

 are all out of old l)oards. \\'e try to make the Ijcnchcs 

 last as long as possible and then rebuild the whole l)usi- 

 ness, keeping the best boards for repairs in the old 

 lienches in the otlier houses. These new benches will 

 last quite a wliile and it is a pleasure to wheel into a 

 house with good benclies not having to woiTV about tlic» 

 boards breaking, etc. Then, too, when the bench begins 

 to decay it will go all at once or nearly so and can then 

 be rebuilt again. This is much better than patching 

 all the time and never having a real good bencli. 



Whitewashing 



Eight here lies one of the secrets in successful rose 

 growing. After all the old earth is taken out as mucb 

 as possible with the shovel, wash the bench thoroughly 

 with a hose, having as good a i>i'essure as is possible to 

 get. See that all the old dirt is washed out even though 



this may increase the water bill a little. After this is 

 (lone whitewash the benches well with hot lime and ap- 

 ply plenty of it. If the bench lias dried off after being 

 washed out it should be sprinkled well again, as it is 

 much easier to whitewash a wet bench, and then, too, the 

 lime will spread better, filling up every little crevice 

 which otherwise would be left unfilled, as the thick lime- 

 wash would not get into it. Copper sulphate is very 

 high this year and it may not be possilde to add a little 

 to tiie lime but \\-e think it pays even at the high price 

 as the quantity added need not be very large. A pound 

 will be sufficient for ten gallons of lime wash. This 

 little addition will do away with a great many germs 

 and fungi of all sorts, which otherwise might escape un- 

 burt and be right there when the new soil comes in to 

 pi-ey upon the new tender roots. Use fresh stone lime 

 for making whitewash, never using old air-slacked lime. 

 A little practice will soon show just how to slack it to 

 get the best results, and it should be applied as soon as 

 it is slacked and while still hot. Do not use the hair 

 brushes, as they are too expensive and will not last long. 

 (Secure the common fibre brushes which ai'e veiT tough 

 and can be bought cheap. Needless to say, all old soil 

 sliould be scraped out from under the benches before 

 the benches are wa.slied out and whitewashing began. 

 If plenty of lime is applied it will act as a preservative, 

 tfio. and benches that are well whitewashed will la.st 

 iimcli IdUger. 



Concrete Benches 



W'c (111 iKJt kniiw lii>\\ iitlicr grouci's make out with 

 these, but we do not care for them very much the first 

 few years after tliey are built. We Ci^nuot get any- 

 where near tlie cut from these that we can oil the wooden 

 Ijenches. as the roses will not grow as well no matter 

 bow carefully tlu^v may be looked after. Then, too, 

 there is a pos^iliility that tb.e houses may be used for 

 something else besi(ies roses in the future, and if rose 

 lienches were built of concrete they could not be 

 changed. If the benches can be built outside, allowed 

 1o weather for a year or two in the open air and then 

 set up in the houses, it would insure much better roses 

 tlie first few years. They will not drain so well and 

 the drainage cannot be changed for different soils as 

 can be done with wooden benclies. There is much more, 

 woi-k attaclied to the building of concrete benches than 

 woidd at first seem, and with labor hard to get it becomes 

 all the more difficult. 



ST. LOUIS 1917 SPRING SHOW. 



The chairmen of all the committees 

 for the 1917 Spring Flower Show at 

 St. Louis held a meeting at the Bour- 

 det Floral Co.'s ofllce on Tuesday 

 evening. May 9, to report to the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee, of which .Jules 

 Bourdet is the head. Adolpli .lancicke 

 reported that tlie preliminary sched- 

 ule would be ready for mailing by the 

 latter part of .Tune. 



MEMORIAL DAY. 



Kroni the silvfi-.v wiiips of nieniory, the 



fcMthers of peace ;ire fuUin^ today: 

 'Vit cover the ;;ravea of thtiusands, sleepinj; 



their manhood away - 

 To lad and lass is tjiviMi an angel's grace. 



to strew with llowei-a each resting place. 

 Miislc of iinforgottcn days, echoes thro' the 



woodland ways - 

 While the fragrant links of a flowery chain. 



girdle tlie hillside and deck the plain. 

 'I'hc pendulum of time is marking the way 



for the even step nf him" and gray — 

 May peace and Its blessings, hold, under 



the Old Flags* starry fold. 



— Oeorge Herriott. 



WASHINGTON TEST ROSE GARDEN 



To Members of American Rose So- 

 ciety: 



On May 23 the members are invited 

 to meet at 9 A. M. at the store of 

 Messrs. Gude Bros.. 1214 F street, 

 X. W., Washington. D. ('., and i)roceed 

 to the Garden. The in vital ion to at- 

 tend this examination of the hundreds 

 of out door roses is cordially extended 

 to all who may be able to do so. 



Ben.t.vmin H.\M5ioxn. Sec'y. 



