JuiA 9, 1914. 



TTie Horists* Review 



15 



Carnation House of the Golcfsboro Floral G>.t Goldsboro, N. C. 



if they run uniformly small we prefer 

 to cut down the distance between the 

 rows somewhat. 



This spacing of the plants is a matter 

 of dollars and cents and is not so easily 

 solved as one might think. If you space 

 too far apart, you will add to the qual- 

 ity and perhaps add some to the num- 

 ber of blooms per plant, but you will 

 cut down the number of blooms per 

 square foot of bench space. If you 

 set too closely, you will add to the 

 number of blooms per square foot of 

 space, but the quality will suffer. Of 

 the two extremes we would most cer- 

 tainly prefer the former, but to avoid 

 either is our aim and that is the point 

 not always easily attained. 



Digging and Housing. 



Now you are ready to begin getting 

 in the plants. To carry in the plants 

 we use trays made of glass boxes. They 

 are of a convenient size for one man 

 to hsuidle and are made of material 

 that is found ready at hand on almost 

 any growing establishment. Have one 

 man digging and two gathering the 

 plants as fast as they are dug. Have 

 another take them right into the houses 

 to the planters and do not allow them 

 10 stand out in the sun uncovered. We 

 throw burlap over them while they are 

 Waiting to be planted, to prevent wilt- 

 ]^S- If the burlap is kept moist, all 

 the better. 



Tlic digger will lift a great deal more 

 ^oii than you want to carry into the 

 ^ouso, so the gatherers will reduce the 

 ^«'l of soil to about the size of your 

 , ^t. Jf it all crumbles off, no great 

 I'ariii is done, but we prefer to have 

 '•"at much soil with the roots, 

 re^ ^^'^^k or ten days before you are 



aa, to plant in, go over the plants 

 ana lop everything that will need top- 

 wnF y^^°^^ the plants are taken in. It 

 lot e^ *° shape up the plants and a 

 ^^ ''^~ eyes will swell and be ready to 

 gj.^^'^ out as soon as the plants resume 

 nrn^ I • '^^sre is perhaps nothing more 

 provoking than a lot of top-heavy 



plants for benching and when the plants 

 are being lifted is not the proper time 

 for topping. A. F. J. Baur. 



IF STABLE MANURE IS SCASCE. 



Stable manure is getting scarce here. 

 What would you advise us to use as a 

 substitute for it, in preparing soil for 

 carnations and chrysanthemums? Would 

 you recommend the manure in sacks or 

 a commercial fertilizer, and in what 

 proportions! H. E. H. 



The grower who is unable to secure 

 an ample supply of stable manure does 

 not, as a consequence, need to quit busi- 

 ness, although he is surely up against 

 more or less serious inconvenience at 

 times. A certain proportion of manure 

 I consider absolutely necessary under 



the present-day methods of growing, 

 but it is unquestionably true, also, that 

 elegant stock can be grown with far 

 less manure than most of us use, pro- 

 viding the soil is sufficiently well pre- 

 pared. 



I would suggest that you select a plot 

 of soil that is in fairly good shape. 

 Plow it in early August and sow down 

 to cowpeas. After the early frosts, 

 plow these under and sow down again 

 to rye, which should again be turned 

 under in the spring, when it has reached 

 a height of about fifteen inches. This 

 should put the soil in fairly good shape 

 to use that summer, but it can be made 

 much better with another year's prepa- 

 ration if you will put on, instead of the 

 rye crop, a light coat of stable ma- 

 nure during the winter, following that 

 with plowing and sowing a crop of red 

 clover in the early spring. If you can 

 get no stable manure at all, you might 

 put on a dressing of the shredded cattle 

 manure just before plowing in the 

 spring. Use about two tons to a plot 

 100x100 feet. This ought to give you 

 a fairly good soil to start with, and 

 after the plants are established you 

 should find no difficulty in keeping them 

 in good growing condition with the aid 

 of judicious feeding. 



The foregoing suggestions may be 

 modified to suit your particular soil, as 

 various soils need different treatment. 



Some day we may learn to grow flow- 

 ers without stable manure. In fact, a 

 few growers I know have advanced so 

 far in the use of chemical manures as 

 to use only a little stable manure. A 

 great deal of study and a great deal of 

 care are required, however, in the use 

 of the chemical preparations, as they 

 are all extremely concentrated and se- 

 rious damage may result from the least 

 carelessuess or ignorance. They are safe 

 only in the hands of an expert. 



A. F. J. B. 



Springfield, Mass.— Nicholas Bros. 

 have purchased the greenhouses on the 

 Robert B. Crane estate and three acres 

 of land, including the tract on which 

 the houses stand. The plan is to move 

 the range on Dennis street to the newly 

 acquired property. 



S. A. Starr, Proprietor of the Goldsboro Floral Co., and Mrs. Starr. 



