54 AMERICAN CARNATION CUI^TURE. 



Beds, benches, growing under glass, and a knowledge of the 

 blooming periods of varieties are the four factors destined to solve 

 the problem of a constant and uniform succession of carnation 

 bloom. God gave the plant. It is for man to evolve the plan. 

 There are enough facts and physiology now possessed to inaugu- 

 rate it within a year. 



SOIL FOR BED AND BENCHES. 



The depth of the soil on the benches has passed through its 

 controversial era; it was fought on the extremes of from two and 

 one half to eight inches, and each had advocates; five inches is 

 now accepted as the economic mean. Whatever mode is adopted 

 to sustain the soil, sub-drainage must be perfect, the soil should be 

 compact and not too rich in humus. It is easy to supply fertilizers 

 and difficult to diminish them. Some growers displace all the 

 bench soil every year, and substitute fresh; others remove a part 

 and add a proportional amount of new soil. This practice does not 

 arise from an impoverishment of the bench soil by the crop, but 

 as. a matter of precaution against possible bacterial germs in the 

 old soil. 



Science has long known and experience has proved that soils 

 contain countless microscopic bacterial organisms. Some classes 

 of these microbes promote vegetative growth by transforming the 

 nitrogen of humus into a condition to be absorbed by the roots, 

 and assimilated by the plant. They are nitrogenizing microbes, 

 and are beneficial to plant life. 



There is a different class of germs in all soils that work just 

 opposite results. Their function in life is to dissipate nitrogen and 

 starve the plant. They are de-nitrogenizing microbes. The heat 

 and moisture maintained in greenhouses, makes culture beds for 

 these prenicious soil germs. Experience has proven that safety 

 against them is in the annual substitution of fresh soil. Xo soil for 

 benches is better than old disintegrated sods from an old pasture, but 

 never taken from near trees, fences or hedges. There the sod or 

 soil is full of microbes, pupas, and puncturing pests. After being 

 transplanted, carnation plants should be shaded from the direct 



