CARNATION 



other should be used— in a light, well-ventilated house, 

 either on benches, in flats or small pots, the latter pref- 

 erable, as early-rooted plants can be shifted into larger 

 pots, and the later-rooted be just in good shape for the 

 transfer to the field. Temperature the same as in the 

 propagating house, but when the young plants become 

 well established may be kept ,^° lower. 



The ground for the field or summer culture should be 

 well prepared, and any working in it be avoided when 

 too wet: planting to be done as soon as the weather will 

 permit. A good spring growth is of the greatest advan- 

 tage, especially if good plants are wanted for early fall 

 blooming. Late spring frosts will not injure the plants, 

 and a cool atmosphere is more congenial to a good 

 growth than the hot summer weather, when growth is 

 comparatively slow ; plants to stand at least 15-18 

 Inches apart each way, or at any greater distance, as 



CARNATION 



251 



through a drought than when resort is had to watering. 

 Watering, unless it can be done thoroughly and kept 

 up, should not be resorted to, and only as a last measure 

 in a severe drought. 



When the plants attain the height of 5-f) inches top- 

 ping should be 

 commenced and 

 be kept up as 

 long a s the 

 plants remain in 

 the field. This 

 operation is for 

 the purpose of 

 removing the 

 top shoots 

 where buds 

 are forming, or 



373. Carnation, Jubilee 



374. Carnation, Daybreak. 



the mode of cultivating the 

 soil to be adopted may re- 

 iiuire. From the time of 

 planting, as soon as a crust 

 forms after a rain it 

 should be broken and the 

 surface of the soil kept in 

 a mellow condition to a 

 depth of 2 inches through- 

 out the summer ; any 

 deeper cultivating is in- 

 jurious rather than bene- 

 ficial to the plants. A 

 thorough cultivating will not only destroy weeds, but 

 will keep the soil in condition in which it retains mois- 

 ture the longest, and will carry the plants much better 



where a part of the plant grows out of proportion to 

 the other, to force the plant to grow into a symmetrical, 

 bushy form. At the same time, care must be taken not 

 to cut any more than the purpose of topping calls for, 

 for the plant is just as dependent on all its leaves as on 

 its roots. Any bloom is at the e.\pense of the fall and 

 winter crop, for it retards the growth of the plant and 

 uses up energy that is wanted at a more desired time. 

 The transfer from the field to the house for the fol- 

 lowing winter culture is an ordeal to the plants and 

 ranch anxiety to the grower. If early flowers are wanted, 

 an early transfer has to be made — as early as the latter 

 part of August and beginning of September. Late- 

 rooted plants, that had not the chance of any spring 

 growth, should be given the benefit of a fall growth and 

 be transferred later. 



