538 



The Wc^y Horists'^ Review. 



Jamuabv 26, 1905. 



drain the returns, a trap can be used to 

 lift. the water from the hot-well and dis- 

 charge it into the boiler. In order to 

 make a steam trap work successfully it 

 is necessary to maintain a steam pres- 

 sure of not less than six to eight pounds. 

 When the pressure falls below this point 

 traps with which I have had ezperi* 

 ence do not work well. If the pressure 

 is maintained at six to eight pounds, 

 however, there will be no difficulty in 

 maintaining a satisfactory circulation 

 with such an arrangement. If electricity 



is available an electric pump can be in- 

 stalled to do the work of the steam 

 trap or a small gasoline engine might 

 be substituted to do the same work. 

 There are several good steam traps upon 

 the market, among which may be men- 

 tioned the Morehead, the Albany and the 

 Kieley. I believe that with an intelli- 

 gent fireman who will maintain a con- 

 stant pressure on the boiler no trouble 

 will be experienced from the use of low 

 pressure steam and a good trap. 



L. C. C. 



GIVE MORE HEAT. 



We have a carnation house with solid 

 beds. The house is only two years old. 

 The plants give very *few flowers but 

 appear very healthy. Last season we 

 thought we were too late getting them 

 planted, so this year were planted in 

 June. The house has ventilators all 

 around. We keep the temperature about 

 40 degrees at night and 60 degrees in 

 the daytime. Why don't we get flow- 

 erst L. & A. H. 



If, as you say, your plants are healthy 

 and strong, the only trouble with your 

 carnations is too low a temperature; 40 

 degrees at night will not give you many 

 blooms during the winter on any kind 

 of a bed, solid or raised. Raise the 

 temperature to 50 to 52 degrees at night 

 and 60 to 65 degrees in the day. But 

 don't do it too suddenly; a degree each 

 night is fast enough. A. F. J. Baur. 



OUTDOOR CARNATIONS. 



I want to grow some carnations out- 

 doors to come into bloom about July. 

 Please tell me how to go about it. What 

 kinds to get and when. How to get 

 them and how to care for them. 



C. S. M. 



If you want carnations for bloomine 

 outdoors as early ae July you will have 

 to get started pretty soon, so as to have 

 good, thrifty plants that have been 

 topped at least once before you plant 

 them out. Cuttings that are potted be- 

 fore February 15 will do all right if you 

 keep them moving. Pot them into 2- 

 inch pots and when they are well estab- 

 lished repot into 3-inch pots and top 

 them after they have taken hold of ' the 

 soil. Plant out as early tus you can and 

 let them come into flower as soon as 

 they want to. Do not top them after 

 they have been planted out if you want 

 early blooms. Plant them where you 

 can reach them with the hose and in 

 good rich soil. A mulch of well-rotted 

 manure will help them, too, to keep the 

 moisture in the soil. The best varieties 

 we find are Crocker and Scott in bright 

 pink, Pair Maid in light pink. Flora 

 Hill and Mrs. Fisher in white and Crane 

 in red. This list might be improved 

 upon in the newer varieties, but these 

 are-all good and moderate in price. 



A. F. J. BAUia. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



Feeding. 



With the days growing noticeably 

 longer, the questior of feeding comes up 

 for consideration. I know many grow- 

 ers commence this operation much earlier, 

 but my experience has been that with 

 proper methods of handling, it is not 

 necesary; neither, is it advisable, as a 

 rule, until the .short, dark days of winter 

 are past. If your soil was of good qual- 

 ity when the plants were benched, intel- 

 ligent care will have kept the stock in 

 far better condition than if food of a 

 stimulating nature had been employed. 



Soil may be of very good quality but 

 deficient in some needed element or per- 

 haps may contain correct proportions of 

 fertilizers but not in a readily available 

 form. Top dressings of the needed ele- 

 ment and the application of lime dispose 

 of these cases in the order given, being 

 only a small part of that wUch goes to 

 make up intelligent care. 



One must needs be well posted on the 

 peculiarities and make up of his soil^ 

 how much has been cut from the plants 

 and their state of health when consider- 

 ing the question of feeding. It would not 

 be advisable to feed a variety which 

 for any reason has not bloomed well; 

 neither will any amouQt of feeding bene- 

 fit a sickly lot of plants. The chances 

 are they have the dyspepsia already. 



In the case of a variety planted early 

 and which has been giving good returns 

 all winter and its vigorous look indicates 

 continued bloom, the case is different. 

 The soil must be somewhat depleted, as 

 either size of bloom, strength of stem, 

 color of foliage or brilliancy in the flow- 

 er will indicate, but be sure the stock 

 is healthy, well over the holiday strain 

 and a goodly number of strong shoots on 

 the way. 



It is good policy before applying 

 liquid food to first rake the surface 

 soil very lightly. This not only admits 

 air but prevents too rapid leaching of 

 the liquid into the soil, resulting in a loss 

 of food or unequal feeding. 



Geo. S. Osboen. 



SEMI-SOLID BEDS. 



I would like to hear again, through 

 the BiiviEW, on the subject of semi-solid 

 beds for carnations. Are they giving as 

 good or better results than the raised 

 benchesi How does the growth, quality 

 and quantity of bloom compare? For 

 an even-span carnation house thirty 

 feet wide with walls five and one-half 

 feet high and fourteen and one-half feet 

 to the ridge give the right pitch to the 

 roof f J. C. H. 



Every season we hear of more growers 

 adopting either solid or semi-solid beds 

 for growing both roses and carnations, 

 and among them are large growers, too, 

 and among the most successful in the 

 land. Just today we had the pleasure 

 of an hour's visit from that progressive 



Two Benches 5x500 Feet of Carnation Crisis. 

 (Grown by Davla Bros , Bloomburgr, Pa ) 



: c ' 



