Calendar of Operations 

 June 



Plants will now be in the height of the summer crop of bloom, will 

 require an increasing quantity of water, and may be liberally fed. The 

 amount of evaporating surface through the foliage and petals, in connection 

 with the increasing heat, will consume the moisture in the soil five or six 

 times as rapidly as during the winter time. Cuttings taken early in May will 

 now be rooted, and should be potted up immediately and set in the open 

 ground as soon as the roots have formed a fair-sized ball. Cuttings taken 

 from the sand at this period may be planted immediately in the open ground, 

 just preceding a rain. If successful in planting out such cuttings, so that 

 they will not receive a serious check, they will make very fine medium-sized 

 plants by the ist to the middle of September. The later-struck stock is 

 usually vigorous and healthy, for the reason that the cuttings are taken from 

 plants in excellent condition. This, however, will not prove true, if the stock 

 plants have been starved and allowed to run down in health. 



All plants for growing inside during summer should now be upon the 

 benches. Plants that are intended for blooming in pots should be shifted 

 as needed, and plunged in an open position outdoors. It is well to place 

 the bottom of the pot upon a floor of ashes, which should be made firm by 

 rolling or beating. The position should be sheltered from prevailing winds 

 and exposed to full sunshine, with an abundance of room for each plant. 

 English growers do not recommend plunging carnations in pots, but in our 

 hot, dry climate I think it preferable. The pots should be raised and turned 

 every two weeks, in order to break the roots at the bottom and prevent the 

 plants from rooting through the ashes into the soil. As fast as the benches 

 are exhausted, the plants should be thrown out and the soil removed as 

 promptly as possible. I strongly advise the burning of all discarded carna- 

 tion plants as soon as thrown out. At this season of the year, the carna- 

 tion is more or less infected with various insects and fungi. If old plants 

 are burned as soon as taken from the greenhouses, the insects as well as their 

 eggs will be destroyed ; whereas, if the plants are thrown out on a heap, or 

 anywhere upon the land, some considerable portion of the insects will escape 

 to other plants, and finally find their way on to the carnation fields, or into 

 the houses, to again annoy the grower and injure his stock. 



Plants in the field will need cultivation and frequent hoeing, at least 

 once in every two weeks ; cultivation once a week will be no detriment. 

 Growth is now pushing forth rapidly, and the blooming shoots will begin to 

 elongate toward the bud formation. These should be cut back as soon as the 



242 



