

~v%, ,i *.' 



JCL* 27, 1916. 



The Florists^ Review 



11 



WHICH SOHj is FBEFEBABIiE? 



We have some soil in which we wish 

 to plant carnations, but we fear it is 

 too li^t a loam. It was the only soil 

 "we could get in the spring, when we 

 procured it, but now we have an oppor- 

 tunity to get a heavy loam from which 

 a big crop of clover has just been cut. 

 Which soil would you advise us to usef 

 As good decayed manure is dif&cult to 

 get here, what would be the best kind 

 of fertilizer to mix with the soil? 



D. W. L. & S.— Pa. 



If you had plowed the clover field in 

 May, put on a good covering of stable 

 manure and plowed it again in the first 

 part of this month, I would advise you 

 to use that soil for your carnations. 

 But, inasmuch as you do not seem to 

 have had an opportunity to do any- 

 thing toward preparing it, I doubt 

 whether it would be wise to start at 

 this late date. You could hardly ex- 

 pect to get it into first-class shape, ex- 

 cept for extra late planting. If you 

 have prepared the light soil properly, 

 there is no reason why you should not 

 grow good carnations on it, if the light- 

 ness is caused by an admixture of sand. 

 It will require a little more feeding than 

 the other. 



There is no substitute for manure, 

 except in a limited way. If you will 

 take plenty of time to prepare your soil 

 with green cover crops, you can use 

 sheep manure, bone meal, etc., so as to 

 dispense with the stable manure almost 

 entirely, but it will require more time 

 to do it. If you want to prepare your 

 «oil in a few months, you must use 

 stable manure to put the humus into it. 

 It is not necessary that the stable ma- 

 nure be rotted, when mixing it with the 

 soil, if you will take a few months 

 for preparing your soil. I have never 

 yet seen the place where stable manure 

 could not be procured if the proper ef- 

 fort were made long enough in advance. 



A. F. J. B. 



roBEST son. is UNSUITABI^E. 



Will you please inform me whether 

 leaf-mold taken from the woods and 

 put in the benches would be a satisfac- 

 tory carnation soil? How soon should 

 I plant the carnations in the benches 

 80 as to start cutting the blooms early? 

 Which are the best whites and best reds 

 to grow? I shall be thankful for any 

 information you can give me, as this is 

 my first season's experience in growing 

 carnations. L. A. H. — O. 



It is rather late to begin preparing 

 your carnation soil for this season's 

 planting. Soil from the woods is not at 

 all suitable for carnations and I would 

 not advise you to use it. What you 

 need is a good medium loam, with a 

 heavy sod growing on it. This, how- 

 ever, should have been plowed not later 

 than last fall, so as to give the sod 

 time to rot. I would advise you to 



select some good garden soil, which has 

 been under cultivation and properly fer- 

 tilized. If it is fairly rich, it will do 

 without any additional fertilizer, but, 

 if you deem it advisable, you can give 

 it a dressing of sheep manure at the 

 rate of a peck of the manure to each 

 yard of soil. Work this over thoroughly 

 and let it lie three to four weeks be- 

 fore using it. After the plants are 

 established, you can give the necessary 

 food in the shape of mulches and dress- 

 ings. 



White Wonder is our best paying 

 white carnation. Matchless is a better 

 shipper, but will not give quite as many 

 blooms. There is little difference in 

 quality. Beacon is the biggest Christ- 

 mas cropper in the reds, while Champion 

 is the best all-season variety. 



A. F. J. B. 



WOOD ASHES IN THE SOIL. 



I am making a compost heap and 

 have my soil already hauled — a pretty 

 good, medium heavy, clean, virgin loam. 

 I have access to nice, clean hardwood 

 ashes, bleached or unbleached, at $1 

 per load. How much of the ashes 

 should I mix with the soil, and what 

 value hav« the ashes as plant food, in 

 comparison with animal manure at the 

 same price per load? Could I eliminate 

 the animal manure altogether or should 

 I use some of both? I am growing car- 

 nations, mums, roses and a general line 

 of other stock. Please state, also, what 

 value hardwood ashes would have out- 

 side on a field on which tomatoes, corn, 

 potatoes, etc., are to be grown. When 

 should the ashes be put on, and in what 

 proportion? G. J. T. — Tenn. 



The principal elements in wood ashes 

 are potash and lime. Potash, nitrogen 

 and phosphoric acid are the three prin- 

 cipal elements- that make up a com- 

 plete fertilizer. We are further told 

 that most soils are plentifully supplied 

 with potash^ Hence, unless the other 

 two elements are added in sufficient 



quantities to reduce the proportion •£ 

 potash materially, the addition of pot- 

 ash will prove of no benefit. The lime 

 in th« wood ashes would act in the 

 same way as lime applied in any other 

 form. It would serve to liberate plant 

 food more freely and would help to 

 sweeten the soil. 



You will see, for the reasons men- 

 tioned, that you cannot expect to sub- 

 stitute wood ashes for animal manure. 

 The animal manure is needed for the 

 nitrogen content and also for the hu- 

 mus, which enables the bacteria to work 

 properly. Phosphoric acid is added by 

 the use of bone or acid phosphate. 



Unless you feel sure that your soil is 

 deficient in potash, I would suggest that 

 you do not apply the wood ashes until 

 after the plants are established in the"^ 

 benches. Then, if the growth seems 

 flabby and the stems weak, give one or 

 more applications of the ashes, scratch- 

 ing it into the soil lightly before water- 

 ing. This will harden the growth and 

 stiffen the flower stems. 



The foregoing statements hold good 

 outdoors as well as in the greenhouses. 

 There is not much danger of overdoing 

 the wood ashes, but to apply them when 

 not needed would be wasted effort. If 

 they are needed, apply them before 

 plowing, so as to get them mixed with 

 the soil. A. F. J. B. 



ARE THEY THE CHAMPIONS? 



Down in Paducah, Ky., there reside 

 two keen students of lost motion in 

 routine work. They are L». Weiss and 

 H. F. Droste, two growers, who came 

 out of Germany, landed in Kentucky 

 and then proceeded to show their speed. 

 By eliminating all the unnecessary hand 

 and arm movements in benching carna- 

 tions, for instance, Messrs. Weiss and 

 Droste have hung up the record of 

 benching 3,000 carnations in an hour 

 and fifteen minutes, which is 2,400 

 plants in one hour for the two men. 

 Messrs. Weiss and Droste do not* con- 

 sider themselves the only pebbles on 

 the beach, but if any two men can beat 

 the record they will have to move 

 lively. 



Mr. Weiss and Mr. Droste are em- 

 ployed by Schmaus Bros., of Paducah, 

 who operate one of the largest and 

 most up-to-date ranges in the Blue Grass 

 state. The accompanying illustration 

 shows the working force of the 



William Schmaus and the Employees of Schmaus Bros^ Paducah, Ky. 



