December 9, 1916 



HORTICULTUEE 



765 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONniC^TKD BY 



UyCSi^-yzA-^^ 



Questions by our readers in line with any of the topics prtseuted on this page will be cordially received and pronintlv answerpd 

 by Mr. Euzlcka. Such communicaUons should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTL KE "''®'^*'^^'' 



Christmas Roses 



All roses tliat will be in for Christmas will be showiiig 

 buds now, and care should be given so that they will not 

 become deformed or the foliage mildewed. Keep them 

 well disbudded and sprayed. It will also be advisable to 

 go over the plants and tie them well so that all the buds 

 will have nice straight stems. The plants can still bo 

 fed right up to the time that the buds begin to show 

 color, after which if there is a heavy crop coming o.i the 

 feed should be dropped for a while as the plants will 

 not need it to finish the buds; in fact it might even 

 prove liarmful to the crop. 



Soot 



Soot is very nice to use at this time of the year, and 

 applied properly will be a great benefit to the plants. It 

 helps put the color into the buds, in addition to being a 

 ^ood fertilizer. The imported soot is best but places 

 burning soft coal will have quite a little soot of their own 

 if it is taken care of. When applying the soot to tlie 

 benches use only enough to blacken the surface of the 

 soil nicely -and apply it as evenly as possible. If lime 

 had been applied only a short time before do not apply 

 the soot. Neither should it be used with bone as the 

 lime itself and the lime in the bone would act on the 

 soot and free too much of tlie ammonia which it con- 

 tains. It is best to have the plants fairly wet when it 

 is applied and it can be watered in as soon as it is on 

 the benches. It can also be mixed into the manure 

 water and applied with this and will be sure to be evenly 

 distributed if it is well mixed in the tank. 

 Be Ready for Snow 

 The weather has been too good to last and we can 

 look for a sudden change at any time. We hope it will 

 jiot come but no one can tell and it is best to be ready 

 in case of a blizzard with deep snow. Get some soil in 

 for potting and get all the pots put away so that the 

 severe freezing that may come will not break them to 

 pieces. All broken glass should be repaired at once and 

 if there are any old houses that may have to be braced 

 it should be done at once as putting it off may prove cost- 

 ly. With the high price of coal it will pay to go over 

 the houses good and see where leaks can be stopped up. 

 Tar paper can be put oij the backs of some of the three- 

 quarter span houses. This can be made to look fairly 

 neat if care is taken to nail all laths wliich are to hold 

 it. It will last for a few years, depending on the qual- 

 ity of the paper used and on the condition of the wall 

 under it. But it will save coal and that is the main 

 item. 



Care of Grafted Plants 



Grafted plants have one fault and that is that the 

 stock is bound to send up shoots which, if allowed to 

 grow, will take all the nourishment from the graft and 

 the result will be that the graft will die or do so poorly 

 that the plant will not pay its keep. Go over the plants 

 every now and then and get all these breaks before they 

 have a chance to get very high. A good time to tlo this 

 IS while watering, as the grower will then have time 

 to look at each plant thoroughly, and if there is 

 any growth from the stock tear it off. This is better 

 than cutting, for if it were cut it would surelv grow 

 again. If pulled away, it will be taken off right where 

 it started and the chances are that it will not start 

 again. Care should be taken not to disturb the plant 

 while doing this. If it is done while watering, the water 

 applied riglit afterward will settle the soil back to the 

 roots and there will be no haiTn done. 



Work in the Propagator 



This house should W clcaiu'd out now if the work has 

 not been done as yet for it will soon be needed. In fact 

 on many of the large places early cuttings are already in 

 the sand, these to be used for summer roses. If sand is 

 not to be had on the place have some hauled up so that it 

 will be on hand when needed. It can be piled up some- 

 where where it will be handy to get at, and if a little 

 lime is scattered over the ground first it will not get 

 any foreign matter into it from the soil underneath. It 

 can also be kept clean by not taking it off the ground too 

 thoroughly when it is being picked up to be put into 

 the benches When cleaning in the propagating house, 

 be sure to get under the benches and into all nooks and 

 corners for often one neglected comer will cause enough 

 trouble to spoil all the other cleaning work. The ]>ipes 

 under the benches should be looked over so that tiiere 

 will not bo any leaks to repair when the sand is all in 

 and the fire started. Where time will permit it would 

 be nice to scnib the house down with whale oil soap and 

 Aphine, taking care to pour a little of the mixture into 

 all crevices where insects are making their home. This 

 will kill or drive them out and if they do not find con- 

 genial quarters elsewhere they will die or move out. 

 Scatter a little lime under the benches to help s\veeten 

 the soil there. Also will help keep insects out for these 

 do not like to stay where it is clean. They must have 

 dirt and decaying matter in one form or another. Make 

 a good job of the cleaning this year. It will pay. 



BLJV 



IVI 



IHIIMG 



from the firms whose seasonable advertisenientN appear in this paper. They lake thf initiative and it I« now "op to yon" to 

 make the next mo\e in the proopvs uhirh is to make livelier hnsincsw anil better times for iir all. 



