July 8, 1911 



HORTICULTURE 



35 



Seasonable Notes of Culture on 

 Florists t Stock 



ANNUALS FOR LATE CUTTING 



It is not too late to sow a number of annuals to meet 

 a deficiency that always is felt in the latter part of the 

 summer in the floral line. The most suitable varieties 

 that can be sown now are candytufts, clarkias, calendu- 

 las, coreopsis, annual larkspurs and lupines, sweet alys- 

 sums, mignonettes, scabiosas, nasturtiums, Gypsophila 

 elegans, and Shirley poppies. Sow them in some place 

 where it will be handy to use the hoe on them, as well 

 as to give them water whenever they may need it. These 

 will be found very serviceable stock at times for bou- 

 quets and floral pieces. They are bound to be gladly 

 welcomed in the autumn unless we get an unusually 

 early frost. 



COMPOST FOE BULBS 



A good many growers don't think of making any 

 special preparation in the way of soil for their bulbs. 

 The soil for bulbs should not be poor and worn out, but 

 should be good live rich soil that has been thoroughly 

 mixed some time before using. If you have plenty of 

 sod and cow manure that were heaped up last fall, use 

 it; you will have better flowers. In making a com- 

 post for all bulbs it is well to remember that it should 

 be sufficiently porous to allow the free passage of water 

 through it. If your soil is heavy you should conse- 

 quently add some sand to render it lighter. All ma- 

 nure should be used when in a somewhat dry state ; in 

 a fresh state it has often proved very destructive in 

 bulb growing. To have this compost in a fine mechan- 

 ical condition make it up now and turn it over three 

 or four times. Just before you use it see that it is not 

 too dry nor sufficiently wet to cling together. 



CARE OF YOUNG ROSES 



Houses that were planted early should now be in fine 

 growing condition. Keep the plants disbudded, but do 

 not disbud all your plants at once, and do not remove 

 all the buds from a plant at any one time, which has a 

 tendency to check growth too much. It is better to 

 look over your plants every other day. This object 

 should be to make your plants break so as to prevent 

 cropping, in a measure at least. Give a good syringing 

 every bright day and on hot days give one or two extra 

 syringings as it helps in keeping a cooler and moist air 

 which induces good growth and makes it an easy mat- 

 ter to keep clear of red spider. See that the watering 

 is carefully done; water around the plants first sep- 

 arately and then, if bed is dry, soak the whole, and con- 

 tinue to do this until the plants have filled the beds with 

 roots. Ventilate freely now so as to keep the atmos- 

 phere as bouyant and bracing as possible, for this will 

 be of material benefit in producing healthy plants. 

 Staking or tying is now in order to keep the plants in 

 an upright position. Keep the surface stirred at least 

 once a week. When fumigating for green fly wait until 

 the temperature drops below 72 degrees and see that 

 your beds are not very dry otherwise the plants will 

 scald. 



FREESIAS 



These bulbs are usually the first of the many flower- 

 ing bulbs to arrive. Where a batch is wanted for or 

 around Christmas plant as soon as you can get them 

 in flats or pans: They will do well in flats that con- 

 tain 4 or 5 inches of soil or in pans 10 or 13 inches in 

 diameter. See that each flat or pan has proper drain- 



age. Use two-thirds well decayed fibrous loam and 

 about one-third welt dried cow manure and add a good 

 dash of sharp sand. It is right to plant the bulbs 

 about two inches apart each way to insure fine spikes. 

 When planting push the bulbs. down so that they are 

 just covered. After planting place on a cool shed floor, 

 or in a cold frame. Give them a good watering and if 

 in a frame keep them shaded nntil they start, when 

 they should have full sun. Keep them under frame 

 culture away into September. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on the following: Chrysan- 

 themums; Housing Carnations; Hollyhocks; Lorraine Begoni«s; 

 Oneidiums; Asparagus Sprengerl; Lilies for Fall; Perennial Lu- 

 pines and Larkspurs. 



Varieties of Strawberries for 

 Forcing 



Strawberries will be nearly out of season by the time 

 this is in print, but home grown strawberries on the 

 table the first week in March is a thing to think of now, 

 as layers for this purpose will soon need obtaining. With 

 so many varieties grown in the field today it is quite 

 a problem to select the most suitable for early forcing 

 work. The two conditions are so extreme, that plants 

 cannot be expected to thrive to perfection in both. On 

 the one hand we have the hot sun of July and August 

 when the plants are making up their crowns; on the 

 other, when we expect them "to come forth in all their 

 glory" with flowers and later fully developed fruit we 

 have the dullest months of the year, viz., from Decem- 

 ber on fire heat can be brought to bear on them, but 

 we all know one day's sunshine is worth four of fire 

 heat. 



Some varieties answer well to artificial heat but refuse 

 to grow through the hot weather, consequently no satis- 

 factory crown can be grown in time. One very notice- 

 able variety in this respect is Eoyal Sovereign, an Eng- 

 lish variety which is a standard for forcing purposes over 

 there. This was tried here and just refused to grow, 

 although having the same treatment as other varieties. 

 Marshall is found to force earlier and better than any 

 other variety here. The plants "get away" good and 

 make up a good crown and answer well to forcing. The 

 batches started through December will not have very 

 long stalks to the fruit; in fact no variety does. The 

 flowers always carry an adequate supply of pollen. 

 Parker Earle is somewhat similar, carrying a darker 

 colored fruit but not such a reliable setter as Mar- 

 shall. 



We force more of Marshall than any other variety, 

 but for later work we find President, Nick Ohmer and 

 Dornan good. They take a little longer to develop than 

 Marshall, but fine large berries can be grown on them. 

 President is a solid fruit and ships well. Nick Ohmer 

 and Dornan throw up a strong flower spike well over 

 the pot and carry berries of excellent shape and flavor. 



Probably other readers could tell us of other varie- 

 ties which have been forced successfully. 



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Dukes Farm, N. J. 



