138 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



What soil do you use? 



"The soil," said Mr. Edward Dale, "is 

 made from the old turf off a clay loam 

 meadow. We cut it six inches deep, and 

 pile it over winter, then in spring mix it with 

 a little manure, and fill up the benches. 

 The old earth we take out every year and 

 put it back on the meadow. " 



How often do you water ? 



"About twice a week, oftener if neces- 

 sary, using the hose. This, we are using 

 to-day, is manure water, which we apply 

 about once in three weeks. " 



What are your chief insect enemies? 



"The green fly and red spider. The lat- 

 ter we kill with constant sprays of water, 

 and the former we kill with fumes of nico- 

 tine." 



Do you propagate the roses by budding? 



"No, we find grafting easier. One man 

 does it all. We splice graft them while in 

 these small pots, using no grafting wax, 

 simply tying with a string, then we place 

 them for a few days under cover where the 

 air is very moist. This season we have 

 grafted about 35,000, and about 98 per 

 cent, have grown." 



What are the commercial varieties of the 

 Carnation ? 



"The best," said Mr. Edward Dale, "are 

 Glacier (white). Marquis (pink), Roosevelt 

 (crimson) and Crane (scarlet). These of 

 course we replant every year, and we set 

 about 100,000 plants. We set the young 

 plants out of doors for the summer, and put 

 them on benches I in September, by which 

 time they are good and stout." 



What is your method of ventilation ? 



" It is automatic. These boxes enclose a 

 thermostat, a delicately adjusted instrument, 

 which regulates the water pressure, and can 

 be arranged to open the sash at any desired 

 degree of temperature." 



We came away quite thankful for the kind 

 attention we had received and quite im- 

 pressed with the possibilities of life. Bramp- 

 ton is a interesting old town, with intelligent 

 and progressive inhabitants, but with no 

 special advantages for the location of such a 

 greenhouse ; yet with nothing but sheer 

 ambition and business devotion, Mr. Henry 

 Dale has worked^up the leading cut flower 

 trade of North America. 



Fig. 2276. In the Dale Greenhouses. 

 A view in the Violet House. 



