August 26, 191] 



HORTICULTURE 



297 



Seasonable Notes on Culture of 

 Florists' Stock 



I IRK iTIONS in POT 01 LTI BE 



Retail planl growers who intend to grow pol carna- 

 tions for winter planl trade, should have the sto 

 potted up not later than il i lirsl week in September, as 

 they will lifl an} lime l" fori this date better than after 



it. I se a g I fibrous soil and about -third of man 



are, the whole thoroughly broken up and mixed and a 

 sprinkling of bonemeal added. After the plant- are 

 potted their transfer to thi bouse can be delayed until 

 (pule late in October. Keep them in a frame and you 

 will have healthier, stouter, more compact and finer 

 plants t" take in later. All pinching back should be 

 discontinued by the end of this month. See that t hoy 

 have an abundance of air night and day, with careful 

 watering and light and frequenl syringing, as all that 



will be needed to rue -age a healthy pot plant. Give 



them a fumigating once a week, as a preventive for 

 By and thrips. 



OINER IBIAS 



To have a line batch of cinerarias in full bloom by 

 n. \t Easter sow now withoul delay. See that you get 

 the best strain of seed, for il certainly is a single waste 

 of tune, money, space and labor to invest in a cheap 

 and poor grade of seed. Sou the seed in pans that are 

 well drained and filled with a soil composed of three 

 parts loam and two of leaf-mold, with a good sprinkling 

 of sand. Silt the mixture fine for the top layer. See 

 that the soil in the pans is pressed moderately firm, and 

 <m this sow the seeds evenly but not too thickly, and 

 then just cover with fine soil and press slightly. Keep 

 moisl and under heavy shading, to be made lighter when 

 the plant- are up. When the young plants are big 

 enough to handle — that is when they have made their 

 third ot fourth leaf — prick them out two inches apart 

 in flats. Before they get crowded in these flats pot into 

 '.'t-. nr 3-inch pots using the same mixture, only add a 

 little COB manure and let it he more lumpy at each shift. 

 Keep these plants out a- late in the fall as possible, 

 guarding them, however, against frosts, and when this 

 becomes difficult to do remove them to a cool house and 

 place them as near tlie -las- as possible. 



GL0X1N I \S \\ i R01 - m QON I \s 



A.s these plants go out >f flower thej should be 

 started on their season of re t. Place them in a house 

 where there is no shade am aaintain a free circulation 

 of air to help them to ripen up their growth. Continue 

 to water but not quit en, until the Leaves have 



died down and then li,, soi Should he allowed to be- 



comi quite drj and the pot- I aeed under a bench where 

 there is no drip and ju I water given to keep 



the tubers from shriveling. Gloxinias generally winter 

 best this way if kept in a temperature of about 50 

 -. Where this i- convenient the tubers can 



be stored in flats of dry san T - is the best way to 



winter tnbi mias to preserve them from the air, 



otherwise the el and thereby receive -erious 



injury. 



OHI II II'- 



« s ad a p their flower 

 scapes and should not be allowed to suffer from too 

 much drought al the root-. Plants that are needed for 

 early flowering -hould be gradually exposed to full sun- 

 light as thej i •■.■! 1 1 \ thrive better when thus expose 

 the middle of September. Those that are desired for 

 later blooming can be retarded by giving them a hright 

 but lightly shaded house that is kept cool, and where 

 the atmosphere i- light and drier, but under such con- 

 ditions it is not advisable to encourage a too dry atmos- 

 phere if you want to sustain your plants in good health. 

 This retarding can be done with common sense without 

 any injury. 



Oncidium varicosum will now. or soon should, be 

 showing flower -pike-. Remove part of your permanent 

 shading so as to give more light and sun. Do it gradu- 

 ally or your plant- will siiil'er by too quick exposure to 

 the sun. By October they will stand full sun. By 

 placing some plant- in an intermediate temperature of 

 about 60 degrees at night with a rise to 70 or 75 degrees 

 with sun. as desired, a siieeesston of hlootii can he kept 

 up for some time. This is a fine orchid to grow, with 

 it- large graceful panicles of bright yellow bloom, which 

 ire excellent as cut flowers. 



PEONIES 



If you have in view the making of a new peony plan- 

 tation, the sooner it is taken in hand the better. The 

 most fertile plot of ground should not be considered too 

 good for this purpose. To get the best results the land 

 should he trenched to the depth of at least two feet, fol- 

 lowed by the incorporation of large quantities of stable 

 manure. When planting a permanent bed for future 

 cutting, they should be set four feet apart each way, 

 hut if planting with the intention of division of the 

 roni- lor selling, '.'to to 3 feet apart each way will do. 

 See that the roots are set deep enough to insure the 

 crowns hem- :; or I inches below the -urface of the 

 -oil. It is best to have all your planting done before 

 the end of September as it gives the plants a chance to 

 make good root growth while the weather is warm. 



PAPER WHITE NARCISSUS 



To grow these bulbs so they will be at their best it is 

 well to allow at least an inch between each bulb. Use 

 flats that are 3 or I inches deep and fill with a good 

 loam that has abi ut one-third of well rotted manure. 

 Place them in a cold frame for the next ks. 



They can then be brought into a I se of about l". to 



50 degrees at night in October and allowed to come 

 along -lowly. Give a bench where they will get all the 

 \ fti i sri> ing this cool treatmi nt un- 

 til they have madi lots of roots, they can thou be given 

 a couple of wi I igher temperature so as to bring 



the flowers out [f they are cut when about four or 

 five flowers of the trusses are open they will last from 

 four to six days. 



Mr. Farrell's Dext notes wlU be on the following: Nephro- 

 . Euphorbia Jncqaini' I. ilium candldum ; Next Year's 



'".velanK i'r Ming Compost; Transplanting Evergreens 



i IH" 



