648 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Febbuart 9, 1005. 



T:, 



too cold to water your plants with. In 

 fact, a few years ago I noticed an ac- 

 count of some experiments made with 

 water at various degrees and, if I re- 

 member right, the plants watered with 

 water at about 38 degrees made the best 

 growth of all, although the difference 

 in any of them was slight. If you want 

 to heat the water have a sort oi a drum 

 made of o-inch or 6-inch pipe and about 

 six to eight feet long. Attach this 

 drum to your steam pipes and keep it 

 full of steam when watering. Kun the 

 water pipe through this steam drum and 

 you will find it tempered considerably 

 after going through it. There may be 

 better ways, but I have seen this method 

 in successful operation. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



OUTIXX)R CARNATIONS. 



Please name the best summer blooming 

 carnations for outdoors, say one white, 

 one pink, and one red. L». M. 



If I had to confine myself to three old 

 varieties for summer blooming carnations 

 I would choose Flora Hill for white, 

 Crocker for pink, and Crane for red. 

 However, we also grow Indiana Market 

 and Moonlight for white and Beatrice 

 for light pink. A. F. J. Baxjr. 



A GOOD son- 

 Please tell me what constitutes a good 

 soil for carnations. K. H. B. 



A soil suitable for carnations should 

 be of a rather light sandy character, 

 with plenty of fibre in it. This should 

 be taken from the top spit of pasture 

 land and should be put into a neat pile, 

 with about one-fifth of decomposed horse 

 manure added. This should be chopped 

 up and turned over several times previ- 

 ous to placing it on the bench. R. 



LEAF-MOLD FOR SOIL. 



Last August I went to the timber, 

 found some sandy land and scraped 

 away the dry leaves and took about an 

 inch of soil from the top of the ground 

 and mixed it with black loam and ma- 

 nure two years old, one quarter manure, 

 one-quarter black soil, and filled my 

 benches five inches deep with the mix- 

 ture. I set my plants in it the last week 

 ill August and I have had an abundance 

 of flowers since Thanksgiving. I have 

 carnations now three inches in diameter 

 and stems twenty-eight to thirty-four 

 inches long. The stems are stiff and 

 erect, carrying the flowers upright. I 

 tell you, they are nice! I am going to 

 put them in next fall the same way 

 again and I believe if anyone wants to 

 try my experiment he won't lose any- 

 thing by doing so. Alfbed Bunnion. 



WHERE QUALITY IS WANTED. 



I am growing carnations in a house 

 18x40 and want quality rather than 

 quantity. I have liQchantress, Prosper- 

 ity and Mrs. Lawson, which are doing 

 fine. Other varieties, such as Patten, 

 Manley and Golden Eagle, are fair. 

 Would like a good white, as Wolcott 

 bursts badly. I saw some blooms of 

 The Belle which were fine but have never 

 seen it growing. I must grow them all 

 in one house. What varieties would yon 

 recommend t W. H. 



Lawson, Prosperity and Enchantress in 

 their respective colors where quality is 

 the main object. You will find Lady 

 Bountiful more satisfactory as a white 

 than The Belle. Flamingo wiU give you 

 a fine quality scarlet. You can tell 

 better than I how they should be planted 

 in the house, as you know which bed is 

 the warmest. Lawson, of course, wants 

 the most heat, while Enchantress wants 

 to be grown cool, the others medium. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



SOIL FOR CARNATIONS. 



I would like to ask if there is any- 

 thing that could be done with the soil in 

 the field that would be of any benefit in 

 growing carnations? The soil is of a 

 very hard nature, although I have put 

 on a little manure every season. Would 

 there be any danger of getting on too 

 much for the carnations? Would sand 

 spread on the land be of any benefit? 



W. S. H. 



You can hardly improve upon Mrs. 



Perhaps the best way to get your 

 soil into a lighter, more mellow condition 

 would be to manure it heavily and sow 

 clover on it for a year or two. How- 

 ever, if you are obliged to use it this 

 summer you must find some other way. 

 Too much manure is not good, as it is 

 apt to start stem-rot, but you need not 

 be afraid to put on a good coat if it 

 is mostly straw. It should have been 

 put on and plowed under late in the 

 fall, so it would be pretty well rotted be- 

 fore planting time. To spread on a lot 

 of sand and plow it in might help some, 

 but I think a good dressing of wood 

 ashes will do more to loosen up the soil 

 than the sand would. Also be sure it 

 is well drained. All the manuring and 

 doctoring will do but little good if the 

 water stands on it much of the time. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY. 



Department of Registration. 



M. Winandy, Chicago, registers Liz- 

 zie McXey, color scarlet red, size three 

 inches in diameter, length of stem eigh- 

 teen to twenty inches, strong and erect. 



The Indianapolis Flower & Plant Co., 

 Indianapolis, registers Coral, color peach 

 blossom, very bright and showy, size 

 three and one-h^f inches, slightly, 

 fringed, very full and good strong calyx, 

 vigorous growth and continuous bloomer. 

 Allspice, color white, heavily striped with 

 red, and petals edged with red. Size 

 three and one-half inches, very full heav- 

 ily built and unusually fragrant; very 

 prolific, strong, quick, continuous 

 growth. Candace, color pink, shade 

 lighter than Lawson, size three and one- 

 quarter inches, very round, well formed 

 flower; an early and extremely heavy 

 producer throughout the season, quick 

 grower. Albert M. Herr, Sec'y. 



CARE OF CUTTINGS. 



The Chicago Carnation Co., Joliet, 



111., supplies the following directions, 



printed in its catalogue, for the care of 



young stock: 



As soon as received from the dlstrlbnter. they 

 should be potted In 2-lnch pots by experienced 

 men, who must nse great care and judgment. 

 Too many young carnations are potted too 

 deeply; that is. the root crown Is burled from 

 three-quarters of an Inch to one Inch below the 

 surface of the soil. This is wrong. The root 

 crown should not be more than a quarter of 

 an Inch below the surface of the soil; still 

 they should be so firm that when watered they 



will not topple over. Use a soil that has never 

 been in a greenhouse before. If your soil is 

 heavy or on the clayey order, add clean, sharp 

 sand In proportions that will permit of good 

 drainage and easy action of the young, tender 

 roots. As soon as potted, place In a house 

 with a temperature of 60 degrees at night and 

 not over 60 degrees in the daytime. Give them 

 a thorough watering at first, after which great 

 care must be exercised that they do not be- 

 come too wet or too dry. Strong draughts of 

 air should never be allowed to strike them, 

 nor should they be exposed to the direct rays 

 of the sun until they show signs of taking new 

 root action and signs of growing or straighten- 

 ing up of the leaves. It is a good plan to use 

 strips of burlap for shade during the lightest 

 hours of the day, taking same away entirely 

 as the sun disappears, leaving them exposed 

 to all the light possible, except sunlight, 

 until they have hardeoed up, when all shade 

 should be taken away. 



If these instructions are followed. It will 

 be only a short time until you can turn the 

 plant with the ball of earth out of the pot and 

 examine the roots. If the bottom of the ball U 

 well covered, it is a sign they are ready for 

 larger pots or the field, as the case may be, 

 according to the season. 



A BELATED LETTER. 



When William Scott, of Buffalo, found 

 tliat his health would not permit him to 

 attend the Chicago convention of the 

 American Carnation Society, he acted on 

 the suggestion of a member, and wrote 

 a letter which was intended to have been 

 read at the meeting. The letter went 

 with some other unopened mail into the 

 overcoat pocket of President Hartshome, 

 and overcoats not being in demand where 

 meeting and lodging were all under one 

 roof, did not come to light until after 

 adjournment. Here it is: 



Dear Mr. Hartshobne: Your tele- 

 gram received. It always touches a soft 

 spot when you have prooi that distant 

 friends have you in mind and hope for 

 your health and prosperity. 



You can hardly realize the keen disap- 

 pointment it is to me not to meet you 

 all in the marvelous city of Chicago. Of 

 all interesting, instructive and socially 

 enjoyable meetings that the year evolves, 

 there is to me none so heartily enjoyed 

 as the Carnation Convention. An ag- 

 gregation of scientific, practical and ear- 

 nest men intent on the development and 

 improvement in culture of the glorious 

 carnation! If the wonderful develop- 

 ment of all desirable qualities in the di- 

 vine flower during the past fifteen years 

 cannot be attributed to the influence of 

 our society, much of it can. It has stim- 

 ulated men to make wise selections in 

 crossing flowers. It has imparted to 

 thousands the most up-to-date culture. 

 Its annual display of blooms is an honest 

 tribunal and if a flower does not come 

 up to the standard required of the day 

 it quickly passes into oblivion. Finally, 

 it has impressed on a number of good 

 men to concentrate their talent, skill 

 and perseverance on the culture of the 

 carnation, and when that occurs im- 

 provement and evolution must follow. 



There are no foolish sports injected 

 into the meetings to disturb the business 

 of the convention and attract the light- 

 brained brigade away from what they 

 came to see and hear. Perhaps (I say 

 i»uardedly, pernaps) some of the staid 

 ones may retire to a secluded room and 

 have a little game with a moderate limit, 

 but that is no business of the convention, 

 as it is usually after basiness hours, that 

 pleasant time between business and bed 

 iinie which Phil Hauswirth calls the 

 "Go as you please period." 



Had I the good fortune to be with you, 

 I might have had the honor to say a 

 few words. I had prepared a Magnifi- 

 cent ( ? ) address ; I regret for your 

 sakes that you will miss it. 



In a very neat review of the Detroit 



