CUT-FLOWER CROPS 233 



however, believe that plants grown in benches during 

 the summer are weak and more susceptible to disease. 

 The majority of growers plant carnations in the field for 

 the summer. 



275. Preparation of the house for permanent planting. 

 -The old plants are usually removed from the houses 



early in June, for after one season the flowers become small 

 and the plants often become covered with red-spiders. 

 As soon as the plants are removed, the benches should be 

 repaired and thoroughly disinfected to rid them of all 

 insects and diseases. Most carnation-growers prefer to 

 use raised benches rather than solid beds, for it is easier to 

 control moisture conditions, and diseases are less liable to 

 trouble. 



276. Filling the carnation benches. The soil should 

 have been prepared as described in Chapter X, using a 

 compost of four parts of sod to one of manure. It should 

 be thoroughly decomposed. Select a cloudy, windless 

 day for filling the houses, for then the plants will wilt less, 

 and the fibrous roots will not dry. Watering the soil be- 

 fore planting should not be practiced, and the plants 

 should be set soon after the benches have been filled 

 and before the soil has time to dry out. 



277. Lifting the plants in the field. Great care should 

 be taken not to injure the plants in taking them from the 

 field. Some varieties have a scanty root system, and such 

 should be most carefully handled. In clay soils, some of 

 the earth is taken into the houses, but in the lighter soils, 

 most of the field soil is shaken from the roots. More soil 

 will be retained if the young plants have previously been 

 grown in pots, instead of in flats. If the plants are handled 

 carefully, the shaking of the soil from the roots is not 

 injurious. Plants of approximately the same size are 



