Carnation Culture in Massachusetts 



used, as one cannot get a quantity of blooms from late struck stock. Better 

 be on the early side. 



A well-ripened cutting is preferable, and a good guide to such is to 

 select them from flowering stems with fully-developed buds, and just showing 

 color ; or with open flowers. Usually the first growth is useless, being spind- 

 ling at the base, and inclined to run to bloom. The second and third growths 

 are more stocky, and make good plants ; but always try to leave one good 

 growth on the flowering stem as a succession to the flower about to be cut, 

 as dormant eyes are not desirable, either for stock or a future crop of blooms. 



The cuttings should be sprinkled as soon as severed from the parent 

 plant, and great care exercised to prevent wilting, or the cuttings getting 

 checked in any way. Remove the lower leaves, but retain the heel, and only 

 trim off any loose part. Cut the tops back so as to admit air and light to 

 the propagating bed. 



Clean, sharp sand is best for propagating purposes. This should be spread 

 on a bench with a tile or brick bottom, firmly pressed down to a depth of three 

 inches, and thoroughly watered before inserting the cuttings in it. These 

 should be set in rows, three inches apart, and four cuttings to the inch in the 

 row, inserting them three-quarters to one inch in depth, pressed firmly, and 

 watered. A bottom heat of 60 degrees and a top temperature of 50 to 521 

 degrees will insure successful propagation in three to four weeks. Keep 

 the beds moderately moist during this time. When the cuttings are rooted, 

 pot them off into one and three-quarter-inch pots, shifting to two and one- 

 quarter and three and one-half-inch pots as the season advances and the 

 plants require the shift ; but never allow them to get stunted, or dry, as this 

 last condition is the first step toward the development of stem-rot, and, con- 

 sequently, endless trouble. 



Early planting is desirable, and may be done with safety from May 15 

 to 20, and later, when danger of severe frost is usually past in this locality. 

 Some plant out earlier, and should the season prove favorable, make a decided 

 gain in time, at a busy season, and good root action before extreme (heat 

 sets in ; but a severe frost will more than offset this gain ; and I have found 

 it safer to defer planting for a week or two later. Eighteen to twenty inches 

 is a convenient distance between the rows, and six to eight inches between 

 the plants. Great care should be exercised not to plant too deep, as disaster 

 through stem-rot is sure to follow, especially during a wet season. Thor- 

 oughly water the balls and roots before planting. Press the soil firmly 

 around the ball, but don't set the surface of the ball lower than the level of 

 the ground. Where the nature of the soil will permit, begin using the Planet 



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