July 1, 1916 



HOETICULTUEE 



Tying Young Beauties 



It is best not to l)e in too niueli of a hurry to get tln' 

 }'Oimg Beauty plants tied up, for it will do them good 

 to lie around a little, giving them a better chance to 

 break from the bottom. This should not be carried too 

 far, however, and as soon as the plants begin to be hard 

 to syringe they should be tied up. It is best to tie to 

 wires and not to stakes. This will give the grower a 

 chance to tie the plants on a slant instead of straight up. 

 which will induce them to break more freely from thi- 

 bottom. We always use five wires to four rows of 

 plants, which enables us to distribute the growth well 

 along the wires, giving the plants plenty of room and 

 making it much easier to syringe than it would be were 

 all the growth crowded on four wires. Be careful not 

 to tie the wood too tight,, for it will double in thickness 

 before the season is half over, and if the knots are tied 

 too tight the string will cut in, thus shutting off a great 

 deal of nourishment. Wlien making braces on the ends 

 of the benches, make sure that these are made well so 

 that there will be very little give when the wires arc 

 stretched. These must be tight and it will take a good 

 strong brace to hold fifteen wires, all pulling hard from 

 the ends. The center braces will not have to be very 

 strong, as they only hold the weight of the wire. They 

 should never be made of heavy wood, as that wouhl 

 throw too much shade and be very clumsy to take down 

 and handle when the houses have to be replanted. It 

 will not be necessary to stretch all the wires at once, as 

 only the bottom layer will be needed. Those should bo 

 put in and then stretched one after the other. It is best 

 not to tie them securely at first as they may have to be 

 taken up a little bit when the others are put on and 

 never should the twists be sharp as the wire is wound 

 around. By carefully tying the ends of the wires to 

 the braces they can be untied next spring and used 

 again next fall without any repair to the wire and this 

 means a great saving in labor, especially on a large 

 place. 



Disbudding 

 Until the plants are big enough, it will be of advan- 

 tage to the grower to see that the plants are kept dis- 

 budded, never allowing the buds to get to any size. It 

 will not take very long to do this work and the time 

 will be well paid for later on. The proper time to re- 

 move the buds is as soon as they sliow. Take them with 

 at least one leaf and if the plant has plenty of foliage 

 take them with two leaves right down to a good strong 

 eye. This' will insure a strong break which will grow 

 for a while before it again carries a bud. Never take 

 only the buds wlijlc disbudding, for the first eye below 

 the tud is not strong onqugli to send forth a good break 

 and if the bud is removed' without taking the eye with 

 it a weak growth" -w-ill i-esiilt wliieh will no doubt bear 

 a bud again before it gets three inches long. Growth 

 like -that is- not good for the plants, making them hard 

 to start going right. With Beauties there will be planls 

 that will make too many breaks from the bottom. 

 Keep only the strongest ones and those nearest the soil; 

 the others slinuld be rubbed off as soon as they appear, 



Were all the breaks left on there would be too many for 

 the roots to carry. 



Picking Bottom Leaves on Beauties 



As soon as the plants get on to the first wires it will 

 be necessary to go over them and remove the most bot- 

 tom leaves that are right against the soil. This is done 

 to insure an air space between the bottom leaves and 

 the soil, thus giving no chance for moisture to condense 

 under the leaves and encourage an attack of spot. Witli 

 the weather we have been getting, this part of the grow- 

 ing will require especial attention for if neglected sjjot 

 will almost surely set in, and with things favorable will 

 spread all over the plants, nearly ruining them l)esides 

 making a great deal of exti'a work. Be careful to remove 

 only the leaves that actually touch the earth and not 

 take the leaves half way to the first wire. Were this 

 done the plants would suffer and harm would result. 

 Have something along, and as the leaves are picked take 

 them up and carry them away to be disposed of outside. 

 Burning them would be the best, and if it is not possible 

 to do so at once, spread them out somewhere to dry 

 quickly and then burn right away. Wliile these leaves 

 are being picked, see that there is no spot left behind. 

 Be very careful on the back rows as these are more apt 

 to start spot tlian where there is plenty of light. 



Scratching Over the Benches 



This will have to be done quite often for there will 

 be plenty of weeds as a rule. Care should be taken not 

 to break up the soil too fine for it will be necessary to 

 have the surface rough to make it easier to water, the 

 rough lumps of soil and sod making tlie water stay 

 where it is put instead of running all over the bencli ' 

 as it will if the soil on the surface were smooth. As 

 soon as the plants are established it will be necessary 

 to scratch the benches over very lightly so as not to dis- 

 turb the roots especially with the sort of weather we are 

 getting most of the time. 



The Late Wm, F. Kasting 



Editor HoRTicui.TritK. 



Dear Sir : — ^Being away from home when W. F. Kast- 

 ing died, the news was delayed in reaching me. In his 

 passing away an outstanding figure has gone from the 

 S. A. F. It was my privilege to be intimately asso- 

 ciated with him since 1901, when he was elected vice- 

 president, and I have good reason to know and appre- 

 ciate his untiring, unselfish work in behalf of organized 

 liorticulture. A born organizer he brought into the 

 field a force which is uncommon in ciur ranks and which 

 he used unstintedly for the general good. It is _ meet 

 that we should all pay loving and appreciative tribute 

 to his memory. His like does not pass this way often 

 and he leaves a void which it will be difficult to fill. 



Ilis personality was a tonic for those who were fortu- 

 nate to come in contact with him. Whole-souled and 

 generous to a fault, large hearted and broad minded, far 

 a.l)ove pettiness, he was an inspiration to those who 

 labored with him and a tower of strength in eveiT 

 crisis. 



The pity is that he was not spared for many more 

 years to lis'. Of him it may be said with trutli, "Whom 

 the gods love die young." 



Very truly yours. 



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