800 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Seftbmbbb 15, 1904. 



were used on this mantel. On the right 

 side, where the lilies appear so much 

 taller, they were set in a tall vase which 

 was planted firmlj in the moss in the 

 pan. This vase was not supposed to 

 show. 



The smilait was, of course, put up first. 

 The lower draperies were caught with 

 wire, one end of which was attached to a 

 pick, and this carried into the sphagnum 

 m the pan. The lilies were wired and 

 inserted in groups with all the good 

 foliage left on the stalk. Some were 

 found to be top-heavy, even although 



well packed into the sphagnum. They 

 were let alone to lean as they would. 

 Turn the flowers every way, in, out and 

 facing the mirror. The mantel here pic- 

 tured and the molding of the mirror 

 were light in color, and displayed to good 

 advantage the green drapery, while the, 

 lilies were nearly all thrown against the 

 reflecting surface of the mirror. There 

 was no banking in the fireplace. This is 

 not necessary unless the latter is unsight- 

 ly, and even then it will never show 

 when the room becomes crowded. 



Gertrude Blair. 



SEASON FOR WATCHFULNESS. 



September and October are usually two 

 of the most trying months for the rose 

 grower, and to carry the crops success- 

 fully over this period requires constant 

 care and a great deal of skill and fore- 

 thought. The evils which beset the plants 

 at this season are many and owing to the 

 natural propensity to take a lest they 

 are in a less vigorous state to resist 

 the encroachments of the many troubles 

 to which they are heirs. 



Owing to this decrease in root activity 

 greater care must be exercised in ad- 

 justing the supply of water to suit the 

 actual requirements of the plants and, 

 as evaporation is also on the decrease and 

 any excess of water on the bench will 

 act in a^ very detrimental manner to 

 the health of the stock, it is obvious that 

 too much care cannot be taken to keep 

 them in condition to enter the long 

 winter vrithout a handicap. 



The transition from natural to arti- 

 ficial heat should be very gradual and 

 great care should be taken in watering 

 and ventilating. "Where the pipes are 

 under the benches the greatest care is 

 necessary in order to keep the soil uni- 

 formly moist. Previous to applying ar- 

 tificial heat the benches are heated from 

 above by the sun 's rays and the state 

 of the soil is easily gauged, but with 

 artificial heating this condition is in many 

 cases reversed, the heat affecting the bot- 

 tom of the soil first, hence the necessity 

 of a more careful inspection. 



The art of ventilation plays an im- 

 portant part in preparing rose stock for 

 the winter and if this is neglected or 

 carelessly performed we are sure to have 

 a stock of troubles which will last dur- 

 ing the winter. Ventilating should be 

 begun as early in the morning as the tem- 

 perature begins to rise whether this is 

 caused by the heat of the sun or by ar- 

 tificial heat, and should be gradually in- 



creased as the day warms, taking care 

 never to give so much at a time as to 

 lower the temperature of the house per- 

 ceptibly and avoiding draughts. 



The same care should be exercised in 

 reducing the ventilation during the after- 

 noon, taking particular care that the ven- 

 tilators are not closed down so much 

 at a time as to raise the temperature 

 over 5°, unless in cases of emergency 

 such as a sudden lowering in the out- 

 side temperature, accompanied by cold 

 rains or snow, showers, etc. By a care- 

 ful study oiE outside conditions the 

 grower can by intelligent manipulation 

 of valves and ventilators (if he has -i 

 good command of heat), create conditions 

 inside the houses favorable to his crops 

 at all stages and control those conditions 

 just as he desires. Bibes. 



BEAUTIES AND TEAS. 



We have one house 100 feet long, par- 

 titioned off. In one half we grow Beau- 

 ties and in the other half Bridesmaid 

 and Golden Gate. Our Beauties were 

 planted May 7 in five inches of good 

 soil and have attained the height of 

 three and one-half feet and about twelve 

 inches through. As I do not want the 

 flowers for some time yet, please give me 

 «ome afivice as to disbudding and gen- 

 eral care. Two of our benches in the 

 other house are two-year-old plants and 

 the other two one-year-old. What ad- 

 vice as to disbudding and thinning out, 

 and also what temperature would you 

 keep them during the winter! 



I would also like to say that our car- 

 nations were planted July 18 and started 

 along finely up to about August 25, when 

 I noticed that there were quite a few 

 plants dying off. I would like to know 

 the reason and how I could prevent it. 

 Would also like to know of some good 

 fungicide to spray on carnations, and 

 how often, as a preventive to diseases. 



Subscriber. 



It depends a good deal when you want 

 the Beauties to come into crop. If you 

 wish to defer the blooming season till 

 late October or November, cut off half 

 the flower stem. By picking off the 



crown or first bud you can have another 

 good bud from the base of the bud stem 

 in from three to five weeks. 



The general care of Beauty stock from 

 now on consists in keeping them in a free 

 growing condition, allowing no check to 

 take place either from over-watering, 

 want of water or an atmospheric chiS. 

 Abundance of ventilation, even at the 

 expense of an all night fire, is absolutely 

 essential in order to discourage black 

 spot and other fungous troubles. Above 

 all have the foliage dry over night. The 

 temperature should never be less than 

 58 degrees during the night, with a good 

 crack of air on. 



The two-year-old stock should get a 

 partial rest and have some of the old soil 

 removed. Then sprinkle some air-slaked 

 lime over the bench and apply a mulch 

 of equal parts of decomposed cow ma- 

 nure and good fibrous soil. The smaller 

 wood should be thinned out and the 

 stronger shoots tied down as nearly hor- 

 izontal as possible to encourage the dor- 

 mant eyes at the base of the stem to 

 break. Give one thorough watering and 

 keep the house as cool and moist as pos- 

 sible for the first ten days. Then as the 

 eyes break and fresh leaves develop, in- 

 crease the supply of water and ventila- 

 tion. Temperature during winter should 

 be for Brides and Maids, 56 degrees 

 during the night, increasing to 75 de- 

 grees or even 80 degrees, according to in- 

 tensity of sunshine. 



The cause of your carnations dying 

 off in the bench is undoubtedly stem-rot, 

 caused by some form of bacteria, for 

 which as yet there is no certain remedy. 

 Pull out all the affected plants and re- 

 move the surrounding soil, replace with 

 fresh soil and add about one-sixteenth of 

 its bulk of equal parts of air-slaked 

 lime and sulphur. So many different 

 forms of fungi attack the carnation that 

 without some more definite information 

 any general advice might lead to disas- 

 ter. Questions on carnations, giving full 

 details of the trouble, will without doubt 

 be carefully considered by either Mr. 

 Osborn or Mr. Baur, who are fully com- 

 petent to handle such if given sufficient 

 data. BiBES. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



The Soil Pile. 



It is an excellent plan to prepare soil 

 a year previous to its being used and, to 

 obtain the best results, it should be done 

 before fall rains or cold weather set in. 

 Some growers build a pile of sod scat- 

 tering manure between the layers. Others 

 plow a piece of sod and leave to the 

 action of frost until spring, when the 

 soil is thrown into piles. Either method 

 is good but in deciding which is the most 

 advisable to pursue, much depends on 

 how the land has been worked previous 

 to its being gotten ready for bench soil. 



If the ground has been in sod for 

 many years it is very liable to harbor 

 grubs and cut worms and the latter 

 method would aid in the destruction of 

 these pests. This method, too, consumes 

 less time and is probably the less expen- 

 sive, a greater part of the work being 

 done by horses. Whether to spread the 

 manure before or after plowing or add 

 when making into piles in spring has been 

 a question with some, but considering the 

 loss that must take place when manure 

 is exposed to the weather, there is little 

 doubt but that it is economy to add the 

 manure at time of making into piles. 



When circumstances permit, I favor 



