56 



THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



tributed among the paths, the plants so 

 near the floor will not have the free cir 

 culation of air among the plants that a 

 higher bench will have. 



Soil 



The foundation of all is the soil. Car 

 nations are grown in different kinds of 

 soil and often in a very indifferent kind. 

 Whether it be a yellow loam or the dark, 

 fat soil of the prairie, it should be from 

 a grass or clover pasture or sod ploughed 

 up four inches deep in October and 

 stacked up with a fourth its bulk (not 

 weight) of cow or horse manure. In 

 the spring this should be chopped and 

 turned over and by the time it is again 

 moved over in filling the houses it will 

 be thoroughly mixed. The bone dust or 

 ashes is usually added after the soil is 

 in the houses. Another plan is to select 

 a piece of sod and plough it at the end 

 of September and let it lie so all win 

 ter. In the spring spread a good dress 

 ing of manure and again plough and 

 well harrow; another ploughing and 

 harrowing will put it in good condition 

 for the house. A pound of bone meal 

 to a bushel of soil is not over strong. 

 Wood ashes are often given as a light 

 dressing during winter. Liquid manure 

 is of great benefit after the benches are 



of today will be back numbers. Our 

 Lawson and Enchantress and Lady 

 Bountiful and Cardinal, ideal as they 

 seem, will be sure to give way to either 

 improvements or kinds of more vigor 

 and health, and great as has been our 

 progress in twenty years, who can tell 

 what is in store for another generation? 



CELOSIA. 



Celosia cristata (the cockscomb) is not 

 as often or generally seen as its strik 

 ing and novel appearance deserves. It 

 is seldom seen in our greenhouses, per 

 haps because when at its best the glass 

 structure is a hot, sweltering place, Au 

 gust and September being its usual time 

 of flowering. Our hot summers suit the 

 cockscomb as it does all of the celosias, 

 for they like heat. Last year we saw a 

 large oval bed, the surface of which was 

 covered with Tom Thumb sweet alyssum, 

 and every two feet was dotted a cocks 

 comb. Tt was a pin cushion bed, 

 and very striking and pleasing it was. 



When to be used as a bedding plant, 

 sow seed of this celosia in March, and 

 as soon as the little plants can be han 

 dled transplant into flats one inch apart. 

 When still larger they should be shifted 

 into 3-inch pots, from which they can 

 be bedded out. 



Celosia Cristata. 



crowded with roots, either from horse, 

 cow, sheep or chicken manure, bearing 

 in mind their relative strength, and al 

 ways being on the safe side. Over 

 feeding may produce large flowers and 

 long stems but of poor substance, the 

 flowers soon wilting and closing after 

 being cut. 



Varieties. 



The varieties of ten years ago are now 

 scarcely mentioned and maybe in five 

 years those I could name as our choicest 



If grown as a pot plant, shift from 

 the 3-inch to a 5-inch pot, which is as 

 large as they should have, or a 6-inch 

 at most. In growing a specimen in a 

 pot, the prime object is to get a fine, 

 broad head on a very dwarf plant, and 

 it is almost impossible to attain perfec 

 tion unless they are grown in hotbeds, 

 with their heads near the glass. When 

 the heat of the bed is entirely gone, 

 shift and remove to a fresh one. They 

 like heat at the roots as well as at the 

 top. When growing freely, and particu 

 larly when forming their immense 



&quot;combs,&quot; they must never be stunted 

 from lack of water; and from the time 

 they are in 3-inch pots, to insure a more 

 even moisture at the roots the pots should 

 be plunged. They want little shade, and 

 that not till the end of May; then it 

 should be only during the hottest hours 

 of the day. Their successful culture can 

 be summed up thus: A very rich soil, 

 abundance of water; perfect light, and 

 a warm, humid atmosphere. 



Few insects trouble them. If aphis 

 appears, manage to give them a mild 

 smoking, even if they are in a frame. 

 A cockscomb poorly grown is a very 

 commonplace plant, but when done to 

 perfection it is a wonder. 



Besides C. cristata there are other 

 celosias that are very handsome for the 

 mixed border. In Europe they are 

 grown for indoor decoration in pots, but 

 here our summers suit them finely out 

 of doors. They can be planted out in 

 .the border after all danger of frost has 

 passed. 



Celosia pyramidalis makes a fine plant. 

 It grows eighteen inches to two feet 

 high and should not be planted closer 

 than fifteen inches apart. 



C. Huttonii has very beautiful red 

 spikes of flowers and crimson foliage. 

 It is worth lifting and growing in pots. 



CENTAUREA. 



The plants the florist grows under this 

 name are both white and silvery leaved 

 plants. 



C. candidissima (this I think should 

 be ragusina) is a very fine, silvery leaved 

 plant and was once more largely grown 

 than at present. Its fine entire lea? was 

 grand for the edge of beds or long rib 

 bon borders. 



It is an almost hardy plant and ex 

 cept when being propagated requires 

 but little heat in the winter time. One 

 reason why this good bedding plant is 

 not more often grown is that it has the 

 bad habit of rotting off in summer and 

 leaving an unsightly gap in the bed or 

 border. 



If raised from seed sow not later than 

 September and grow along on a light, 

 cool shelf all winter. By bedding out 

 time you will have a plant in a 3-inch 

 pot, which is none too large. If propa 

 gated by cuttings lift a number of old 

 plants i October. A good many of the 

 old leaves can be shortened or cut away. 

 During winter cut up the old plant, from 

 which you will get a number of cuttings. 

 They are really more nearly divisions 

 or offshoots. They root with ordinary 

 care in the sand, and must be grown on 

 cool and light. 



C. gymnocarpa, the kind with divided, 

 feathery leaves, is not as clear and dis 

 tinct a bedding plant, but is more gen 

 erally useful. It is used largely in 

 our vases and veranda boxes as well as 

 for the edging of large beds. 



It is always raised from seed, which 

 sow in flats in January. They should 

 be grown on light and cool, but not 

 starved for want of pot room. A hot 

 bed makes them jump, but produces too 

 rank a growth. By middle of April 

 they should go into a 3 or 3^ -inch pot 



