J94 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



very slightly disturbed by planting. 

 If you shade let it be only a very tem- 

 porary kind. A lump of clay dissolved 

 in a pail of water and thrown on with 

 a dipper will do very well. It will 

 wash off at the first rain, and then you 

 want it off. 



Weeds grow apace in this tropical 

 heat and it's a poor soil that won't 

 grow weeds; they should be kept 

 pulled, not only now but should never 

 be seen. There is no harm in a 

 scratching over of the surface for a 

 month or so after planting, but later 

 the surface should not be disturbed; 

 hand weeding should do it all. 



The young plants will grow fast, and 

 there will be no trouble with mildew 

 till the end of September, but from that 

 time till steady firing begins is the 

 most critical time, when we have slight 

 frosts at night or a rainy cold day and 

 night and the next week a warm sunny 

 time with the thermometer at 80 de- 

 grees in the shade. Just such a time 

 as I have described we have' lately ex- 

 perienced, and it is 80 degrees at noon 

 to-day and no wind to fill out the flap- 

 ping sails. 



From the time* the roses> are planted 

 till frosts occur they can't possibly 

 have too much ventilation. To digress 

 a moment. We noticed in Philadelphia 

 that they leave the end door open on 

 a warm day in October, and we hear 

 sometimes of side ventilation on roses. 

 It may do in some localities but it wili 

 never do with us. Bottom or side ven- 

 tilation or an open door for any length 

 of time would be fatal because the 

 draught would produce mildew; pro- 

 duce it to a certainty. 



When the nights get down to 50 

 degrees outside you should have a little 

 fire heat. Here is the advantage of 

 steam, as you can let it in through one 

 pipe; leave air on at night when this 

 gentle fire heat is going. You don't 

 want a high temperature but you 

 want a dry, healthy atmosphere. All 

 along about this time when using any 

 artificial heat try to keep the house 

 down to 55 degrees, and just about this 

 time put a dab of liver of sulphur on 

 the pipes. 



There are times when from various 

 causes you may not ibe able to fire till 

 end of October, and have been with- 

 out fire on chilly nights. By shutting 

 up the rose houses tight on these 

 nights you will notice in the morning 

 the dewdrops in tiny beads on the 

 edges of the pretty little leaves. If 

 that continues for three or four nights 

 you will have an attack of a fungus 

 that is much worse than our common 

 mildew. I have seen it take every 

 young leaf off in a few days, and actu- 

 ally kill the young red growth. You 

 can easily distinguish it from mildew 

 for it shows on the young, tender 

 leaves as distinct silver threads. A 

 little fire and air would have effectually 

 prevented this, but if you can't fire 

 then leave on air. Far better have 

 the house cool and dry, than cool, close 

 and damp. I have learnt what this 

 fungus will do years ago, and have not 



Vase of Tea Roses. 



forgotten it, for it touches our most 

 sensitive organ, the pocket. 



When steady firing commences the 

 night temperature should be kept as 

 near as possible to the right mark, 

 as to which there is not much differ- 

 ence of opinion. Some growers like 

 to keep higher than others. A reason- 

 ably low temperature means fewer 

 buds and higher quality, and a higher 

 temperature means more buds and 

 poorer quality. From 54 to 58 degrees 

 at night for all the ordinary Teas 

 seems to be agreed upon, and I incline 

 to the lowest mark, believing that 

 quality is better than quantity. Amer- 

 ican Beauty should have 60 degrees, 

 and the useful crimson Meteor should 

 have from 65 to 68 degrees. Without 

 a high temperature the Meteor is use- 

 less in the coldest months. 



This fall at Mr. John H. Dunlop's, 

 of Toronto, I saw some grand houses of 

 roses ventilated by a thermostat 

 which was controlled by water pres- 

 sure. He was delighted with it, and 

 if it works perfectly it must be the 

 thing, for it never forgets. You can, 

 of course, set them to any degree. I 



will have more to say about ventila- 

 tion in another chapter, but must say 

 here, that it is one of the most im- 

 portant parts of rose growing. Seventy 

 at day would be a good temperature; 

 when any above that ventilation should 

 be given, and where the ventilators are 

 continuous and open at the ridge it is 

 much safer given than, with a ventila- 

 tor here and there that lets the cold 

 wind in. 



There may be days when there is a 

 cold, cutting wind, and the sun will 

 raise the temperature of the house to 

 75 degrees, and it will be better to let 

 it remain so than let in such a chilly 

 blast. Again there may be dull, damp, 

 mild days when it is better and proper 

 to fire briskly and give air. An exper- 

 ienced gardener can tell directly 

 whether a house is too chilly or too 

 hot; whether the sashes are up too high 

 or whether the atmosphere is too close. 

 You ought to be a living, breathing 

 thermostat, but if you were you 

 oould not divide yourself into twenty 

 sections, and those gardening attri- 

 butes are no more transmitted than 

 the art of music or poetry or telling a 



