, ■V'^i;* , , . V, ■•_ -i ;.■ .y .^WiiivrpT 



406 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Januarx 12. 1905. 



times a day, according to the weather, 

 using a fine spray so that the pots may 

 not become soaked. 



The Grafting Gtse. 



Now, while waiting for the Manetti 

 to root, it is time to get a grafting 

 case ready and, although this need not 

 be an elaborate affair, there are a few 

 things that are very necessary. The 

 case must be tight; this is the first 

 and, I consider, the most important 

 item. It ought to have bottom heat so 

 that an even temperature of 75 degrees 

 can be maintained day and night. We 

 have had experience with all tempera- 

 tures from 90 degrees down to 75 de- 

 grees and have come to the conclusion 

 that To degrees is right. 



The grafting case should have a fair 

 amount of light. A rose house is a 

 good place for a case during January 

 and February grafting, but it must be 



on each side, hinged at the top; also in 

 a small case three feet ^ide, one sash, 

 eighteen inches high at the back and 

 twelve inches at the front. These I 

 should say would be the extremes in 

 size. Anything between would serve 

 the purpose very well, but my prefer- 

 ence would be for six inches to a foot 

 of head room over the stocks when 

 grafted. 



Of course there are many notions and 

 frills which may be added to suit the 

 fancy of the builder, but I shall re- 

 peat the necessary points: First, have 

 the case tight, not pretty tight nor 

 anything but very tight. Second, have 

 bottom heat and, third, have direct 

 light. Put in two or three inches of 

 coal ashes or sand, pound firmly and 

 wet thoroughly, for this, it must be re- 

 membered, is where the necessary mois- 

 ture is coming from for the first few 

 days. If all instructions have been 



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\ 



\ 



Showing the Root System of the Manetti Stock. 



shaded from the strong sun during the 

 middle of the day, with some thin 

 material that will not shut out all the 

 light; newspapers are very satisfactory 

 for a man who doesn't wish to waste 

 money. A north propagating house can 

 be used with good results during 

 March, when rose houses are becoming 

 too hot for the best work. 

 y In regard to size, this is not so im- 

 portant. We have done good work 

 with a case seven feet wide, two feet 

 high in the middle, eXren span, one sash 



carried out everything should now be 

 ready for the operation of grafting. 

 (To be continued ) 



ROSES. 



Gu-e in Propagating. 



The care of the propagating house 

 should now be one of the most import- 

 ant duties because from the quaUty of 

 the stock raised in this house depends 

 the success of the crops, and any care- 



lessness, neglect or unskilled treatment 

 accorded to the stock at this stage will 

 be reflected during the after life of the 

 plant. 



Many of the uls which trouble the 

 plants during the winter months are 

 contracted while they are yet cuttings 

 in the bench and though they may seem- 

 ingly recover from the checks received 

 there by the good treatment given them 

 while in pots and after being benched, 

 the fact must never be forgotten that 

 this check reduced the vitaUty at the 

 time when vigor was most required to 

 lay the foundation of a good root ac- 

 tion. 



To avoid extreme and sudden fluctua- 

 tions of temperature in the propagating 

 house requires unceasing care, especially 

 where the house is low and the benches 

 . raised so as to be near the glass, as the 

 cold air from the outside is apt to fall 

 on the cuttings before being modified by 

 the temperature of the house. 



It can be readily seen that with the 

 temperature of the sand at 62 degrees 

 and a house temperature 10 degrees 

 lower, where the house is small gr6at 

 care must be taken to keep a steady 

 temperature and that it is liable to 

 either a sudden raise or fall at short 

 notice. 



The question of moisture also requires 

 careful consideration and thel grower 

 has to be guided by the weather. It is, 

 however, a wise plan to keep on the safe 

 side by having plenty of moisture and 

 if the sand in the benches does not re- 

 quire moistening every day during the 

 dark weather the paths can be moistened 

 frequently, thus securing a sufficiency to 

 preserve the leaves in good condition 

 until root formation has progressed far 

 enough to give the supply. 



Shading should be attended to in 

 order to prevent any vfilting of the 

 foliage, as the leaves being so much 

 softer after a prolonged spell of dark, 

 cloudy weather, are more liable to suffer 

 when they are exposed to a sudden burst 

 of sunshine. 



Have a supply of soil in good con- 

 dition, so that the young plants may 

 receive no check by being potted in 

 cold, wet soil. The soil for first potting 

 should be as near the temperature of the 

 sand in the cutting bench as possible so 

 that the tender young rootlets may be 

 neither chilled nor scorched. 



The temperature of the potting shed 

 should also be a matter of consideration 

 as exposure to a high dry temperature is 

 just as fatal to these tender members 

 as exposure to too low a temperature, 

 and of course too long an exposure to 

 even the right temperature is equally 

 fatal. BiBKS. 



EEL WORMS. 



We are sending you two sample rose 

 plants. Bridesmaids, from two houses on 

 our place, with soil for examination, also 

 a separate package of black sod soil 

 which we could secure if it is better than 

 the clay soil we have used, sample of 

 which you will see about the roots of the 

 two plants. The plant from No. 12 was 

 planted from healtny young stock May 

 11, our own propagation. The one marked 

 No, 14, planted May 16, 2%-inch stock 

 bought and shifted once, to 3-inch, before 

 it was benched. The plants were watered 

 carefully by experienced growers who 

 have hitherto had success with roses. 

 They made a nice summer growth, were 

 run at 58 degrees at night after cool 



