January 4, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



Rose Growing 

 Under Glass 



The Propagator 



Xow with the Christmas rush all over, the place will 

 settle down to regular work again, and this will, like all 

 former year,"., be in the propagating house. If this house 

 is nut running as yet, it is high time that it was started. 

 It may turn out to be a mild winter with a very early 

 spring, so it will pay to take advantage of this cold, 

 clear weather while it is with us. It will he hard to con- 

 trol the benches as soon as the days get a little warmer, 

 more so if we get a good deal of foggy weather towards 

 spring. Get the house all cleaned up and the san 1 . nto 

 it ready for the cuttings. 



Selection of Tea Wood 



It will pay to be very careful in cutting the wood for 

 propagating tea roses. Take no wood from poor, sickly 

 plants, likewise no wood from plants not true to type, 

 unless, of course, they are an improvement on the old. 

 Also do not take too much wood from one plant, aiming 

 t<> distribute cutting about evenly among all the plants, 

 thus making it very easy for them all. Take as many 

 short branches with the heel as it is possible to get, mak- 

 ing sure that they are not too hard to root well. If the 

 wood has nice, live thorns on it and is not too soft it 

 will be just right. Use a very sharp knife so as not to 

 damage the bark on the wood and be sure to see that 

 all the wood is cut so that the heel will be intact as far 

 as possible to form one end of the cutting. Then two 

 good eyes for the top, and that will make a cutting 

 which when rooted will be ready at once for a two and 

 a quarter inch pot, and it will not take long before it 

 will stand a shift, making a good plant in no time at 

 all. As fast as an armful of wood is cut shove it into 

 water for a while, after which it can be removed from 

 the water, and cut up into cuttings. These should not 

 be put into water unless it is necessary, as the less 

 water they soak up the better they will root. Do not 

 keep the wood or cuttings lying around any length of 

 time, but hustle them right on through as soon as the 

 wood is cut. Make it right up, and then put the cut- 

 tings right into sand. Select all healthy wood, free 

 from spot, spider and mildew, and take no cuttings from 

 plants that have suffered from overwatering, or those 

 growing in dark corners of the houses where there is 

 very little or no sunlight at all. Wood of this kind 

 will not make nice plants, and should these be planted 

 next summer they would lie sicker than ever next 

 winter. 



. CONDUCTED BY 



Questions by our readers In line with any of the topics pre- 

 sented on this page will be cordially received and promptly 

 answered by Mr. Ruzicka. Such communications should 

 invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



Lime 



Many benches that were on crop for Christmas will 

 be pretty well cut to pieces now, and will require a lit- 

 tle coaxing to bring them back again these short winter 

 days. Allow such benches to dry out just a little bit, 

 then apply a good dose of fresh air slacked lime, rub- 

 bing the benches over the least bit after applying to 

 better distribute it. Then follow with the hose, water- 

 ing well and evenly. If the lime has not been screened 

 and freshly slacked there will be little lumps here and 

 there that will slack after the watering. Have the men 

 go around and scratch these up spreading the lime 

 around while it is dry. It will take only a very little 

 time to do this, and will pay well in the long run. Then 

 the benches may be allowed to become quite dry once 

 more, then well watered, after which they ought to 

 show signs of growing well, and water will have to be 

 applied more and more as the growth develops. Feed- 

 ing will also be necessary as the plants need it. 



Fumigation 



The days will now soon be noticeably longer, and first 

 signs of the coming spring will soon be here, although 

 we have not had any winter as yet. With the coming of 

 the longer days Mr. Greenfly will stretch his feet and 

 attack the plants with new vigor, and unless the grow- 

 er is right there with a dose of nicotine or gas, there 

 will be so many green flies that they will seriously 

 hamper the growth of the rose plants. Fumigate regu- 

 larly, trying to arrange so that the plants will receive 

 a good syringing the day after, which will take care of 

 all flies that were not killed outright. When using 

 cyanide gas, extreme caution should be taken to lock 

 all doors, and stretch something across each doorway 

 so there will be no danger of anyone walking into the 

 gas and getting killed. It seems foolish, and yet a short 

 time back two men were killed because they drank some 

 nicotine extract by mistake. To one familiar with gas 

 no warning is necessary, for without fail there will be 

 smell enough in the house just before the one that is 

 charged with gas to warn the man who knows. But 

 even then one may forget, as did the man who for forty 

 years drove a horse and wagon to the station several 

 times a day, knew trains like a book, and was on his 

 last trip prior to his retirement, when he drove into a 

 fast express and was killed at once. Gas is cheap and 

 very effective, but it is deadly, as is cyanide itself, and 

 sulphuric acid. All these must be handled by experi- 

 enced hands only, and very carefully at that. 



