52 



THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



Twenty years ago we used six inches 

 of soil in the bench, and later five 

 inches was found to be enough. I be 

 lieve that four inches is ample to grow 

 any carnation, and some of the finest 

 flowers we see at exhibitions are grown 

 in less, but I would say four inches is 

 about right. 



Carnations seems to do fairly well in 

 a great variety of soils. Such sandy 

 loam as they have on Long Island is 

 undoubtedly the ideal for most of the 

 varieties, but if properly handled a va 

 ried texture of soil suits them. Mr. 

 W. N. Budd, of Mt. Greenwood, 111., 

 grows prizetakers in the fat prairie 

 land of his state, and my neighbors, 

 W. J. Palmer & Son, grow magnificent 

 flowers in a stiff loam that is almost 

 a clay. At the organization of the 

 American Carnation Society in Phila 

 delphia there was a discussion as to re 

 newing the soil annually in the benches. 

 I was surprised to hear any one say 

 that they grew them several years in 

 the same old soil. We had never dreamed 

 of such a thing, but always renewed the 

 soil every summer. Now that we have 

 come down to only four inches of soil, I 



of soil and the remainder ashes, clinkers 

 or rubble stone. 



If the soil is very dry when put on 

 the bench I prefer to give it a thorough 

 soaking a day or two before planting. 

 Make a wide hole with the trowel (but 

 your hand is the best trowel) and 

 spread the roots out in a natural way. 

 Push in the soil on the roots, and I 

 like to press the soil firmly around the 

 roots, and be sure not to put the plant 

 any deeper than it was growing in the 

 field. Deep planting has killed lots of 

 carnations. While you are making the 

 hole, arranging the roots and filling in 

 the soil with the right hand, the plant 

 is firmly grasped, with its growth inside 

 your fingers, by the left hand, so you 

 can see that the plant is at the right 

 depth, place and position, and is finished 

 off neatly in every way. An earnest 

 workman will do all this well and neat 

 ly much quicker than I can describe it. 

 Some may ask what may &quot;be considered 

 a good day s work for a man planting, 

 supposing the plants are delivered right 

 to his hand and other hands water 

 them. I would be quite satisfied with 

 1,500 in ten hours work. Any faster 



The White Sport of Carnation Enchantress. 



would certainly advocate a change of 

 every particle of soil annually. Much 

 has been written lately about semi- 

 solid beds. There are low brick walls 

 one foot to eighteen inches high, or 

 planks, for the sides of the bed. Al 

 though often called solid oeds, no one 

 advocates there being a solid foot of 

 soil only the usual four or five inches 



than this would raise doubts as to the 

 quality of the work. Soil, however, 

 makes a difference, and some varieties 

 are easier to handle than others. 



House Culture. 



The first week in the houses is the 

 most critical time with the carnations. 



If you get them well established it will 

 take a lot of brutal treatment to kill 

 them, although continued skillful man 

 agement is needed to insure best re 

 sults. I am very particular about the 

 first watering. It should be sufficient 

 to thoroughly wet every particle of soil 

 on the bench. The quantity of water 

 will depend upon the dryness of your 

 soil when planting. We shade the first 

 week after planting (and I think that 

 is of great benefit) by simply throwing 

 some muddy water on the glass. A lump 

 of stiff blue clay dissolved in a tub of 

 water and the water thrown on by a tin 

 dipper will answer every purpose. The 

 rain soon washes it off and if you don t 

 get a rain the hose will do it with little 

 trouble. In a week or at least in ten 

 days the new roots will be active in the 

 benches and no more shade is wanted 

 till the following spring. 



If the weather is hot and windy I 

 prefer to let the houses be hot rather 

 than draughty. A cutting wind is bad 

 for any plant when its roots are inac 

 tive, so keep the ventilators almost 

 closed for the first few days, and if the 

 nights are still give all the ventilation 

 you possibly can then. You will see the 

 carnations stand up in the morning as 

 if they had grown there all summer. 

 The cool night air is their salvation and 

 the hot, dry air of daytime is their 

 severe ordeal. We throw water around 

 the house and lightly spray the plants 

 for the first few days, and we believe, 

 contrary to scientific exponents, that the 

 plants are greatly benefited by so doing. 

 After the first week and the plants have 

 taken hold we ventilate all we possibly 

 can day and night and entirely discon 

 tinue all syringing. 



No part of my endeavor to impart 

 my simple knowledge to the reader is 

 done more earnestly than that regard 

 ing the summer and fall management of 

 the carnation. It is during the months 

 of July, August and September that 

 so many promising houses of carnations 

 are ruined, and there are lots of them 

 that have too little ventilation supplied 

 them, and many growers don t avail 

 themselves of the means of ventilation 

 that they have. A strong, sturdy, healthy 

 plant in the latter part of September 

 will endure a lot of mismanagement for 

 the next three months, but a forced up, 

 weak plant at that date will never repay 

 you when the dark days come. Give all 

 the air you can, day and night, till 

 winter sets in. There are thousands of 

 carnation houses throughout the country 

 most inadequately furnished with ventila 

 tion. Get them altered, or grow some 

 thing else. 



In a week or ten days the second 

 watering of the beds is needed, but no 

 subsequent watering should be so copi 

 ous as the first one. To attempt to 

 tell you how often a bed needed water 

 ing would ue preposterous. If you can t 

 tell bf , sight or touch when the beds 

 are dry and will take a watering I 

 might as well try to describe by words 

 a sharp or a flat in music to an ear that 

 cannot observe it when heard. You 

 should not attempt to keep a bed or 

 potted plant always at one degree of 



