September 18, 1915 



HORTICULTURE 



375 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTKD BY 



Qacatlona by our readers io Hue with any of the topics preMotad on tbU page will be cordially recaUed and promptly ananercd 

 by Mr. Roxlcka. Sncb commnnlcatlona iBoold InTartably be addresied to the offlce of HORTICULTUKB. 



Manure for Mulching 



The manure to be usid lor mulchiiig will have to 

 be turned over almost every week now. Do not add too 

 much soil just yet, and if any coarse sod can be had 

 do not use the soil at all, using the sod instead. Never 

 add bone to the manure, or any fertilizer, as it would 

 only waste a lot of it. Lime should never be added, 

 as it would free a good deal of ammonia and nitrogen, 

 and the manure would be worth just so much less. If 

 there is no shed or other covered building to store the 

 manure, put a layer of good coarse sod under it. This 

 will take up whatever leaches and tliis sod can after- 

 ward be used wherever it is wanted for it will be very 

 rich. In turning the manure over all straw, corn stalks 

 if any, and coarse materials that would interfere with 

 applying it, should be removed. 



Packing Cut Roses for Shipment 



Beauties and some of the free-growing Teas will now 

 be cutting long-stemmed roses and these are best tied 

 in the boxes when shipping to the market. Where the 

 roses have to travel long distances this method is es- 

 pecially useful. It is very simple as after the long- 

 stemmed roses are packed a piece of rope is ran around 

 the outside of the box and into the box through the side 

 wherever wanted and the two ends are tied over the 

 stems. This will keep them from sliding around and 

 prevent their getting bruised and broken. It is also 

 well to put two thicknesses of newspaper between the 

 layers of stems every three rows or so. This will pre- 

 vent the thorns from puncturing the leaves and will 

 make the roses much more attractive when they reach 

 the market. The thorny varieties should always be 

 packed in this way for if tlie leaves are damaged the 

 bud will not show off as it should and, therefore, will 

 not bring the price that a bud with perfect leaves would. 

 Where two layers of roses are packed in one box be very 

 careful not to pack white in the bottom. The whites 

 will show the bruises more readily and no matter how 

 carefully the blooms are packed the bottom layer will 

 always get bruised more or b'ss. We would never ad- 

 vocate tills method, save in packing short stuff such as 

 No. 3 Beauties and roses that have very little market 

 value. Of these we have very few, as they are all pinched 

 at tlie j)roper time and they soon grow into number ones 

 or extras. 



Icing the Boxes 



With the weather warmer than it has been all summer 

 roses had better be iced after packing for shipment. Use 



a little more paper in the boxes and crush some ice 

 which is afterward put in the end of the box around 

 the stems. A little can be added here and tliere all 

 tl'.rough the box, being careful not to have it come into 

 contact with the buds. The object of more paper in the 

 boxes is to keep the roses cooler by keeping the heat out. 

 This will make the ice last longer and the flowers will 

 arri\e m a much better condition. 



Water in the Vases 



This had better be changed daily and the jars scrubbed 

 out at least once a week. If this is not done the water 

 will become poluted and is bound to damage the bottom 

 foliage on all the roses that are put into the water. It 

 is also apt to poison the men that have to handle the 

 roses after they are taken out of such water. The 

 poisoning we hear about every now and then from rose 

 thorns could easily be traced to bad water in the rose 

 jars. Where there are plenty of jars on hand it will be 

 a great help to set them out in the sun every now and 

 then. This will sweeten them all the way through so 

 that tlie water will, not get bad so soon. This is the 

 same with the barrels in which special Beauties are kept 

 Holl them out every now then and let the sun get at 

 iliem. They should not be allowed to stay in the sun 

 too long as they are likely to get too dry and spread 

 so that it will take quite a while to get them tight again- 

 Watering the Bench Fronts 



As the season advances the benches will not diy out 

 evenly all over, as they have been doing all summer, and 

 it will be necessary to water every now and then while 

 tlu' rest of the house will be wet enough. Watch these 

 fi-onts so that they are never allowed to get too dry as 

 tlie roses would soon show signs of check in their growth. 

 .\lso see that they are mulched, or have some coarse 

 luaterial right on them all the time, for if the earth 

 is allowed to lie exposed it will not be very encouraging 

 for the roots to work in, and we shall need all the roots 

 that we can get before very long. In watering it is 

 liest not to use too much pressure as this would wash 

 the surfac* of the branches around too much and would 

 be sure to hurt the plants. It will take a little longer 

 to do the watering if the hose is not used full force 

 but it will pay in the end. In watering it is best not 

 to Hood the benches too much as this would wiisli out 

 a good deal of plant food, but at the same time enough 

 water should be applied to wet the soil througii thor- 

 oughly, letting the water drip through evenly all over. 

 There should be no dry spot-s in the benches after they 

 are watered. 



