50 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



their salvation and the hot, dry air of 

 daytime, is their severe ordeal. We 

 throw water around the house and 

 lightly spray the plants for the first 

 few days, and we believe (contrary to 

 scientific exponents) that the plants 

 are greatly benefited by so doing. 

 After the first week, and the plants 

 have taken hold, we ventilate all we 

 possibly can day and night and entire- 

 ly discontinue all syringing. 

 No part of my endeavor to impart 



you can, day and night, till winter sets 

 in. There are thousands of carnation 

 houses throughout the country most 

 inadequately furnished with ventila- 

 tion. Get them altered, or grow some- 

 thing else. 



In a week or ten days the second 

 watering of the beds is needed, but no 

 subsequent watering should be so copi- 

 ous as the first one. To attempt to 

 tell you how often a bed needed water- 

 ing would be preposterous. If you 



Plant of Carnation Jubilee. 



my simple knowledge to the reader is 

 done more earnestly than that regard- 

 ing this fall management of the car- 

 nation. It is during the months of 

 September, October and November 

 that so many promising houses of car- 

 nations are ruined, and there are lots 

 of them that have too little ventilation 

 supplied them, and many growers don't 

 avail themselves of the means of ven- 

 tilation that they have. A strong, 

 sturdy, healthy plant in the latter part 

 of November will endure a lot of mis- 

 management for the next three 

 months, but a forced up, weak plant 

 at that date will never repay you when 

 the dark days come. Give all the air 



can't tell by sight or touch when the 

 beds are dry and will take a watering, 

 I might as well try to describe by 

 words a sharp or a flat in music to an 

 ear that cannot observe it when heard. 

 You should not attempt to keep a bed 

 or potted plant always at one degree of 

 moisture. Extremes are bad, but it 

 does not hurt to let them get slightly 

 on the dry side or in that healthy state 

 when a watering will be greatly ap- 

 preciated by the plant. We try to keep 

 the surface of the beds slightly loosen- 

 ed up and entirely free of weeds at all 

 times. 



Some growers tell us to keep the 

 beds free of weeds and "dry leaves, 



which should be removed." I am 

 happy to state that we have not had 

 occasion to remove any dry leaves 

 for some years, and there is no oc- 

 casion to have any if the plants are 

 properly treated during the first month 

 on the bench, particularly the first 

 week. Some of our best growers clean 

 the surface of the beds thoroughly in 

 October and November and then put 

 on a half or three-quarters of an inch 

 of mulch, which feeds surface roots, 

 prevents the drying out of the beds 

 and the necessity of continually stir- 

 ring the surface of the soil. It is an 

 excellent plan. We prefer to do it, 

 however, in February, as with out- 

 frequent snows and dark weather the 

 beds dry out slowly. For the mulch 

 we use rotten manure and loam, half 

 and half, and before putting it on the 

 bed we stir the surface and sprinkle 

 on a good dusting of bone flour, cover- 

 ing the bone with the mulch. If you 

 are going to carry your carnations 

 on into June or July this mulching will 

 be of the greatest benefit. 



I don't think I have yet said any- 

 thing about temperature. If a house is 

 very light the day temperature is not 

 of great importance providing it is 

 high enough. It is certain that some 

 varieties do better in lower tempera- 

 ture than others. Daybreak flowers 

 freely in a night temperature of 45 

 degrees, Jubilee wants 55 degrees at 

 night, or does very well at that, but 

 50 degrees at night will be found to 

 suit the great majority of varieties 

 very well, and is high enough for any 

 if first class flowers and a continuous 

 supply is expected. All of them should 

 go up to 65 degrees in the daytime, 

 unless the weather is very cold and it 

 is all fire heat; then stop at 60 degrees. 

 If the sun is shining let the house go 

 up to 70 degrees; that is only the car- 

 nation's natural temperature. Some 

 growers attribute bursting of the calyx 

 largely to a very uneven temperature; 

 that is, letting the house get down 

 some nights as low as 40 degrees or 

 less. But this may be theory only. 

 The nearer you can keep the house 

 to 50 degrees at night and to 65 to 70 

 degrees in the daytime, or noon, the 

 better success you will have. A little 

 ventilation should be given for a short 

 time every day except in the very se- 

 verest weather. On cloudy days when 

 the outside temperature is perhaps 35 

 to 40 degrees it is economy to fire up 

 and give ventilation. 



Disbudding. 



Disbudding, which was practiced by 

 few ten years ago, is now universally 

 done by all growers. It seems a great 

 labor, but when the expense is spread 

 over every hundred carnations you 

 pick, the cost is extremely small, and 

 more than that, it is now an absolute 

 necessity. Disbudding should be done 

 every week. The buds develop very 

 quickly, and they should be rubbed off 

 when quite small, not left on till they 

 are almost showing color, or disbud- 

 ding will be of little avail. The object 



