Field Culture of Carnations 



sheet. The plants should be carried from the shed, or greenhouse, to the 

 field about as fast as the droppers can handle them, and the planters should 

 keep close to the dropper with their work, so that no plants may lie exposed 

 to the sun, to wither. 



Care should always be taken to plant carnations in freshly cultivated 

 soil, which should be in such a condition that it will firm down nicely around 

 the roots. Planting should not be done in soil that is very dry. nor should 

 it be done when the soil is pasty, or in a muddy condition. If the soil is in 

 proper condition, and the plants are set without wilting, they will push forth 

 their feeding roots within a day or two, and growth will commence promptly ; 

 but if the soil lacks the proper degree of moisture, or if it be too w^et, or in 

 a sodden, muddy condition, or if the plants are allowed to wither and dry 

 out before they are planted, the growth will be checked, and the future con- 

 dition of the plant will be, to that extent, impaired. 



It may be repeated here, that nothing is gained by checking a carnation 

 plant ; on the contrary, a distinct damage results. If the best results are to 

 be attained, a vigorous, healthy, normal growth must be maintained through- 

 out the life of the plant. 



Cultivation After Planting 



In order to obtain the best results in growing carnations in the field, 

 thorough and frequent cultivation must be the rule. If planted in beds, the 

 wheel hoe should be run over these within a few days after the plants are 

 set out, certainly immediately after the first rain, as soon as the ground is 

 fit to work. This operation should be followed up by hand hoeing and weed- 

 ing, and the soil around the neok of the plant should ])e pulverized so thar 

 the plant shall not be buried, or its growth impaired, by the baking of the 

 soil about the neck, or over its roots. The wheel hoe should be run over 

 the beds after each rain. Hand hoeing should be frequent enough to keep 

 the soil mellow, and to prevent baking. Cultivation should be for the pur- 

 pose of keeping the soil in a mellow condition, especially the top soil. Some 

 cultivate, or hoe. only when they see weeds springing up. The best growers, 

 however, do not wait for weeds to appear, but keep the surface of the soil 

 constantly stirred and pulverized. 



There is a great advantage in having the surface of the soil pulverized 

 and in a mellow condition ; as such soil dries out and forms a mulch over 

 the carnation roots, preventing, to a great extent, the evaporation of moisture, 

 and largely confining such evaporation to the moisture that transpires from 

 the foliage, besides conserving the moisture during drv seasons ; w hereas. 



