46 GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 



be but little trouble to induce them to enter the rings 

 or meshes as desired, while if they have fallen over and 

 sprawled out over the bed before the supports are in 

 place, it will be more difficult to secure stout stems and 

 the desired straight upwaid growth. If they are early 

 in place, little time will be required in training the 

 stems, and the houses will present a very neat appear- 

 ance. Before one decides what method of training to 

 adopt, it will be well to visit houses in which the differ- 

 ent forms are in use, or to experiment upon a small 

 scale before investing largely in any of them. The best 

 support is the one that offers least obstruction to han- 

 dling the plants, cutting the flowers and working the 

 soil. Their cheapness, durability and simplicity should 

 also be considered. As stated above, the slender, up- 

 right-growing varieties will be best supported by some 

 of the methods first described, while the strong, rank- 

 growing varieties will do better with the lathing and 

 overhead mesh. If desired, the A-shaped netting can 

 be used with the individual wire supports. 



DISBUDDING. 



While it will not pay for all localities and with all 

 varieties, disbudding is almost essential for large mar- 

 kets where there is strong competition and a demand at 

 a, good price for large, single flowers, on long and strong 

 stems. Disbudding consists in the removal of all the 

 flower buds upon a stem except the strongest one at the 

 tip, or, as carnations are now used, a spray of three or 

 four slightly smaller flowers is also desirable, and we can 

 aid in its formation by pinching out the terminal bud 

 and thus favoring the development of the side buds. 

 If disbudding is to be practiced, the plants should be 

 looked over once in two weeks at most, and at the same 

 time all needed tying and training of the shoots should 

 be done. As a rule, growers who market their crops 



