14 



The Florists' Review 



E*EBRU1BY 10, 191^. 



TANKAGE AS A FERTILIZER. 



Would a fertilizer known as animal 

 tankage, containing nine per cent of 

 ammonia and twelve per cent of phos- 

 phoric acid, be good for feeding carna- 

 tions? If so, please state what quantity 

 should be used and how frequently it 

 can be used with safety. E. C. — Ont. 



You should join the American Carna- 

 tion Society and get a copy of the an- 

 nual report, which will contain a dis- 

 cussion on fertilizers for carnations 

 which took place at the meeting in St. 

 Louis. It referred not only to tankage, 

 but also to many other fertilizers you 

 might want to know about. 



Tankage can be used safely, in about 

 the same manner as sheep manure. We 

 prefer the latter, supplemented with 

 dried blood and bone meal. We have 

 tried both and have had the best results 

 from the sheep manure. We put on a 

 small handful to each row, halfway 

 .across a 5-foot bench. A safe rule to 

 go by, in applying fertilizers, is to 

 gauge it according to the amount of 

 sunshine. When the sunshine is abun- 

 dant, plant growth is rapid and the 

 plants take up food readily. But dur- 

 ing dark weather the growth is much 

 slower and less food is taken up in 

 proportion. Consequently, there is. dan- 

 ger of an excess of food accumulating, 

 if frequent applications are made. 

 Then, when the sun comes out and 

 growth is resumed, there is an excess of 

 available food and bad results follow. 



A. F. J. B. 



MAY BE INJURED BY GAS. 



I am sending you, under separate 

 cover, two of my White Perfection car- 

 nation plants, which are drying up 

 badly. I have about 5,000 of these, be- 

 sides 1,000 White Wonder and a few 

 White Enchantress, left over from old 

 stock of last summer, from which I am 

 taking cuttings. At the shed end, or 

 north end, of each bench I had sweet 

 peas. These were badly affected with 

 mildew before Christmas, but I finally 

 got rid of it. The sweet peas seemed 

 to improve after that, but dried up 

 suddenly about two weeks ago. This 

 was when I first noticed the trouble 

 with my carnations. The buds would 

 become about half open and then would 

 wither. Next I noticed that the buds 

 would show a little of the white petals 

 and the stigma would extend three- 

 fourths of an inch beyond the bud and 

 in a few days would wither. Now the 

 whole plant turns yellow, but does not 

 wither. All three varieties are going thft 

 same route in these three houses. About 

 eighty per cent of them are affected. 

 Those at the end of the house where 

 the sweet peas were are most affected 

 and the disease seems to diminish 

 toward the other end. 



In my other three houses I have 

 Ward, Enchantress, Herald and White 

 Wonder. I have just started sweet 

 peas in these houses, but will throw 



them out. None of this stock is af- 

 fected. Any remedy you can suggest 

 will be greatly appreciated. I shall 

 keep the plants cool, with plenty of 

 air. I shall syringe with water as 

 much as I dare, spray with nicotine 

 twice a week and give the ground a 

 coat of lime. E. E. S.— 111. 



Your letter gives me the impression 

 that your stock is affected by gas, either 

 from your boilers or from gas mains, 

 which may be laid in the street along- 

 side your place. Ordinarily the gas 

 might not come into your houses, but 

 during the recent cold weather^ with 

 the ground frozen solidly, the gas would 

 seep along until it came to the open 

 ground inside your greenhouses and 

 would escape inside the houses instead 

 of coming up in the street. I would 

 not advise putting on the lime, unless 

 there are reasons not enumerated in 

 your letter. Give all the ventilation 

 possible and follow a moder^e course 

 of culture in other respects. 



A. F. J. B. 



you join the society and secure a copy 

 of the annual report, which will contain 

 the paper and the discussion which fol- 

 lowed. The address was printed in 

 The Review of January 27. When 

 propagating, select cuttings which are 

 free from these light spots. That is the 

 best remedy at hand now. 



The light areas on the snapdragon 

 foliage are perhaps caused by a simUar 

 disease. Do not overwater or overfeed 

 them. When spring sets in, the disease 

 will probably disappear. A. F. J. B. 



BORDEAUX MIXTURE. 



Will you publish the recipe for Bor- 

 deaux mixture, which you frequently 

 recommend for use on carnations? 



G. L. B.— Ky. 



To make Bordeaux mixture, dissolve 

 one pound of sulphate of copper in 

 about half a gallon of warm water. 

 Dissolve one pound of lime in an equal 

 amount of cold water. When both are 

 dissolved, pour them into ten gallons 

 of water and stir thoroughly. It is 

 then ready to use. Spray it on with 

 a fine nozzle. A. F. J. B. 



CARNATION YELLOWS. 



Enclosed you will find some foliage 

 from carnations and also from snap- 

 dragons. Please tell me what the dis- 

 eases are and what is the best remedy 

 for them. C. F. S.— Mo. 



SHUMAN'S WHITE ENCHANTRESS. 



The illustration on this page shows a 

 house of White Enchantress at the Shu- 

 man Floral Co. establishment, near Ard- 

 more, Okla. The man in the picture is 

 William E. Roberts, Mr. Shuman's 

 grower, who says that he has had few 

 splits and that January 4 his White 

 Enchantress plants had averaged six 

 blooms each. The plants were housed 

 from the field July 15, 1915. 



The carnation foliage submitted is af- 

 fected with the disease called carnation 

 yellows. This disease is being investi- 

 gated and we ought to learn a great 

 deal about it within the next few years. 

 There was an address and considerable 

 discussion on this subject at the St. 

 Louis convention of the American Car- 

 nation Society. I would suggest that 



CARNATION PHILADELPHIA. 



What is the trouble with the Phila- 

 delphia carnation? Is it worth plant- 

 ing? It bears a good flower, with a 

 fine color, and does not split, but I 

 have heard that it does not keep well. 

 I have a stock of good cuttings and 

 plants, but do not care to bother with 

 it if it does not keep well. At present 

 it is yielding well. I am having a great 

 deal of trouble with Dorothy Gordon, 

 on account of its splitting badly, and 

 if Philadelphia has no more faults than 



House of White Enchantress of the Shuman Floral G)., Ardmore» OkIa« 



