232 THE PRINCIPLES OF FLORICULTURE 



is practically disease-resistant. The soil is prepared the 

 previous fall. It is plowed, then a light coating of manure 

 is spread on the soil late in November and turned under. 

 The ground is left rough during the winter, and in the 

 spring it is plowed again as early as possible, and then 

 disked several times before planting. The planting should 

 be done as soon as the danger of frosts is over. The most 

 common practice in field culture is to plant the carnations 

 about a foot apart, in rows eighteen inches apart. This 

 allows hand cultivation during the summer. Where 

 plenty of land is available, some growers prefer to plant 

 in rows three feet apart, making it possible to use a horse 

 cultivator, and hand hoeing. 



During the summer, the plants should be cultivated 

 frequently and the surface soil kept loose and open. 

 From time to time the plants should be gone over care- 

 fully, and the leaders pinched out to form stocky plants. 

 This requires good judgment on the part of the grower, 

 for varieties which naturally spindle need more severe 

 pinching than do those which produce an abundance of 

 foliage near the base. In the first pinching, much care 

 should be taken to encourage the plants to branch some 

 distance above the surface of the soil. This renders them 

 less liable to stem-rot. Varieties which naturally come 

 into bloom late should not be topped after the middle 

 of July. 



274. House culture in summer. Where land is too 

 valuable and difficult to obtain, some growers set the plants 

 directly in benches in early summer. Abundant ventila- 

 tion is given, and everything possible done to induce a 

 strong, healthy growth. As the plants receive no check 

 from transplanting in late summer, they flower earlier in 

 the fall than do field grown plants. Many growers, 



