Ji LV :.'7, 1!)1G. 



The Florists^ Review 



11 



WHICH SOIL IS PREFERABLE? 



We Iiuve soiiio soil in wliioh we wisli 

 to plant carnations, but we fear it is 

 too light a loam. It was the only soil 

 Ave could get in tlie spring, wlien we 

 jM'ocured it, but now we have an oppor- 

 tunity to get a heavy loam from whicli 

 n big crop of clover has just been cut. 

 Which soil would you advise us to use? 

 As good decayed manure is dilTicult to 

 get here, wliat would bo the best kind 

 «f fertilizer to mix with tlie soil? 



D. W. L. & S.— Pa. 



If you had plowed the clover field in 

 ]\Iay, 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 ])reparing it, I doui)t 

 whether it would be wise to start at 

 this late date. You could hardly ex- 

 pect to get it into first-class shai)e, ex- 

 <'ept for extra late planting. If you 

 liave prej)ared the light soil jjroperly, 

 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 otlier. 



Tliore is no substitute for manure, 

 oxce[>t in a limited way. If you will 

 talvo pU'nty of time to ])repare your soil 

 with green cover crops, you can use 

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

 <lisi>ense witli the stal)h> maimre almost 

 entirely, but it will require more time 

 to do it. If you want to prepare your 

 soil in a few months, you must use 

 stable manure to i)ut tlie Inunus into it. 

 It is not necessary that the stal)le ma- 

 nure be rotted, when mixing it witli the 

 soil, if you will take a few montlis 

 for preparing your soil. I Ivave never 

 yet seen tlu> jdace where stable manure 

 oould not be ])rocured if the proper ef- 

 fort were made long enough in advance. 



A. F. J. B. 



rOREST SOIL IS UNSUITABLE. 



Will you j)lease inform me whether 

 leaf-mobl tai<en from the woods anil 

 put in the benches would be a satisfac- 

 tory carnation soil? How soon should 

 I plant the carnations in the benches 

 so as to start cutting the blooms early.' 

 Whii h are the l)est whites anil l)est 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. II. — t). 



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 i-arnations 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, liovv- 

 ever, should have l)een plowed not later 

 than last fall, so as to give tlie sod 

 time to rot. I would advise vou to 



select some good garden soil, wliirh has 

 been under cultivation and pr()|ieily 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 maiiuic at the 

 rate of a jieck of the manure to eaidi 

 yard of soil. Work this over thorough jv 

 and let it lie three to four weeks be- 

 fore using it. After the jilaiits are 

 estaWished, you can give the iicressar\' 

 food in the shape of mulches and dress- 

 ings. 



White Wonder is our best jiaying 

 white carnation. ^Matchless is a better 

 shipper, l)ut will not give quite as nmiiv 

 blooiiis. There is little difVerem-e in 

 quality. Beacon is the biggest Christ- 

 mas cropper in the reds, while; Champion 

 is the best all-season varietv. 



A. F. .r. 1]. 



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 liardwood 

 ashes, bleached or unbleached, at .fl 

 ])er load. How much of the ashes 

 should I mix with the soil, and what 

 value have the ashes as plant food, in 

 comparison with animal manure at the 

 same price per load .^ Could 1 eliminate 

 the animal manure altogether or should 

 I use some of both? I am growing car- 

 nations, mums, roses and a gi'iieial line 

 of other stock. IMease state, .also, wliat 

 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 wliat 

 l>roportion .' (i. J. T.- Teim. 



The princi|ial (di'inents in woud ashes 

 are potash and lime. Potash, nitrogen 

 and phosphoric acid are the three priii 

 cijial elenuMits that m.ake iqi a rimi 

 plete fertilizer. We are furtiier told 

 that most soils are ]dentifully siqiplied 

 witli ])otash. Hence, unless the utiier 

 two elements are added in sutliiieiit 



(|uantities to reduce the proportion •f 

 potash materially, the addition of ])ot- 

 ash will jiroxe of no benefit. The lime 

 in th« wood ashes would act in the 

 same way as lime ai»|)lied in any othei' 

 form. It would serve to liberate |)laiit 

 food more frefdy and would helii to 

 sweeten the soil. 



You will see, for the reasons men- 

 tioned, that you cannot expect to sub- 

 stitute wood ashes for animal nianuri-. 

 The animal manure is ncM^ded for the 

 nitrogen content and also for the hu- 

 mus, which enables the bacteria to work 

 ])roperly. Phos[)horic acid is added l)y 

 the use of bone or aidd phosphate. 



Tailless you feel sure that your soil is 

 deficient in potash, I would suggest that 

 you do not api>ly the wood ashes until 

 after the [)lants are (>stablish<'il in the 

 l)en(dies. Then, if the growth seems 

 tlabby and tlie stems weak, give one or 

 more aj)i>lications of the ashes, scrat(di- 

 ing it into the soil lightly before; water- 

 ing. This will harden the growth and 

 stiffen the flower stems. 



The foregoing statements hold good 

 outiloors 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 neeiled, , ai)ply tliem before 

 plowing, so as to get them mixed with 

 the soil. A. F. J. B. 



ARE THEY THE CHAMPIONS? 



Down in Paducah, Ky., there resid<> 

 two keen students of lost motion in 

 routine work. They are L. Weiss and 

 II. F. Droste, two growers, who caTni! 

 out of Germany, landed in Kentucky 

 and then proceeded to show their speed. 

 By eliminating all the unnecessary hand 

 and arm moNcments in benching carna- 

 tions, for instance, ^Messrs. Widss and 

 Droste have hung up the record of 

 benching ."^jOOfl carnations in an hour 

 and fifteen minutes, which is 2,4itO 

 jdants in OTie hour for the two men. 

 Messi's. Weiss and Droste do not con- 

 sider themselves the only jiebbles on 

 the beach, but if any two men can beat 

 the record thev will have to move 

 liv(dy. 



-Mr. Weiss aiul Mr. Droste are em- 

 ]doyeil by Srlimaus Bros., of Paducah, 

 who operate* one of the largest and 

 most up-to date ranges in the Blue drass 

 state. The aeeompanying illustration 

 shows the working force of the 



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



