FKBRUARY 23, 1003. 



The Weekly Rorists' Review* 



761 



House of JLawson at A. C. Brown's, Springfield, HI. 



their labors aud we look forward to their 

 aid in disposing of the various vexing 

 problems which are constantly besetting 

 us, but I believe tliat our friends, the 

 professors, being only human, are apt to 

 err just as we ordinary growers are apt 

 to do. 



Fungi, a Cause or a G>ndition ? 



Prof. Hasselbring, in his paper read 

 recently before the American Carnation 

 Society in session at CSiicago, stated that 

 fungi in every instance are the prime 

 cause of disease, not the condition. Now 

 I doubt if any successful grower who 

 has given the subject any serious con- 

 sideration will corroborate Prof. Hassel- 

 bring 's statement. If he told us that 

 typhoid, smallpox, etc., were first causes 

 and not the result of conditions he would 

 be arguing along the same lines. But let 

 us see how his theory stands when com- 

 pared with what I believe are the actual 

 facts in the case. 



"We will start at the cutting bench, say 

 with a full bench of sound, healthy cut- 

 tings, recently placed in new sand. I 

 maintain the idea that during the rooting 

 process cuttings not only do not require 

 direct sunlight, but even strong light, 

 such as will penetrate ordinary news- 

 papers with the sun shining directly upon 

 it, is far from beneficial. You will see 

 at a glance, then, that I am an ardent 

 adherent of the north-side propagating 

 house for carnations. 



But to illustrate why fungus appears 

 let us imagine our bench of cuttings is 

 in a house admitting the sun's rays at 

 all hours, but especially during mid-day. 

 During cloudy weather it is not difficult 

 to maintain an even temperature of 

 about 50 to 60 degrees, but during bright 

 weather it is not so easy. Of course the 

 glass may be shaded, but much heat will 

 generate just the same, and it is quite 

 easy for the temperature to go above the 

 danger point, which is 60 to 65 degrees, 

 depending somewhat upon the conditions. 



Effect of Light and Heat. 



Under the influence of strong light and 

 added heat, plants throw off the moisture 

 collected during the night and a wilting 

 ensnes. This process is equivalent to 

 exercise in the animal family, but we 

 don 't expect infants to take strong nour- 

 ishment and vigorous exercise, and we 

 must act accordingly with our cuttings. 

 When we give heat and light in suflScient 

 quantities to cause this wilting process, 

 evaporation takes place out of all pro- 

 portion to the cutting's vitality and abil- 

 ity to withstand the drain. One good 



experience like this will start the ball 

 rolling. Cuttings here and there, or 

 whole batches, have a shriveled appear- 

 ance and refuse to thoroughly freshen 

 up; it will not be long then before an 

 examination will disclose the presence of 

 fungus around the stems, which will kill 

 the cuttings quickly or slowly, according 

 to the temperature maintained. 



We advocate the north-side propagat- 

 ing house because of its easier manage- 

 ment. The direct rays of the sun are 

 kept out during most of the propagating 

 season, but sufficient light is admitted 

 for all purposes. The only time we ex- 

 perience difficulty at all is when the high 

 south partition or wall no longer ex- 

 cludes the sun's rays, when greater vigi- 

 lance is necessary. However, even then 

 the sun's rays strike the glass at a very 

 extreme angle and we do not suffer in 

 proportion as we used to before we 

 adopted the north side. 



Clear Sand Not Necessary. 



We have found it unnecessary to have 

 clear sharp sand; in fact, we consider 

 that a distinct drawback. The inability 

 to secure sharp sand in our section soon 

 taught us this lesson. We all know that 

 for the first few weeks the cutting is 

 obliged to subsist upon its own vitality, 

 and while the process of rooting is go- 

 ing on, a gradual hardening of the stem 

 takes place, and if allowed to remain in 

 sharp sand long after they become 

 rooted, we say they are woody. This is 

 a frequent cause for stem-rot developing 



in the plants later on, and usually pro- 

 duces the slow process of rotting unless 

 conditions very favorable to the growth 

 of fungi exist, when wholesale dying will 

 result. 



This does not occur with cuttings 

 rooted in sand containing some loam, 

 decayed leaves, twigs, etc., such as we 

 find along the banks of any small stream 

 which overflows at various times of the 

 year, depositing the sand, leaves, twigs, 

 etc., mixed .with some of the fat of the 

 land, a very fine loam. 



The nourishment contained in sand of 

 this kind, while very mild, is very nour- 

 ishing to young cuttings just putting out 

 their first tiny rootlets, and from this 

 moment on they begin to stop hardening 

 at the stem, and grow, instead of getting 

 woody and laying the found^^ion for 

 various stages of stem-rot to crop out 

 later on. 



With our system of propagation it 

 takes about six weeks during raid-winter 

 to thoroughly root a batch of cuttings, 

 and during this time they are watered 

 about six times, four times during the 

 first two weeks. After they are callused 

 they are kept increasingly dryer until 

 they are quite dry when ready to plant 

 in soil or pot up. This drying process 

 we find necessary to counteract the ab- 

 sence of sunlight. 



I do not wish to infer that good re- 

 sults are not obtainable in a propagating 

 house admitting the direct rays of the 

 sun, but the point I would make, is that 

 the chances for unfavorable conditions to 

 arise are much greater as compared 

 with the north-side house. 



Any Qieck Causes Stem-Rot. 



Any check sustjiined by the plants 

 after being removed from the cutting 

 bench, such as getting extremely dry in 

 flats or pots, will result in producing 

 that hard woody condition in the base of 

 the plant; and every grower knows how 

 plants so treated will at best die a 

 lingering death. Many plants more or 

 less affected in this way find their way 

 into the field, which is responsible for 

 much of the stem-rot found there. Deep 

 planting and imperfect drainage are also 

 large contributors to stem-rot. 



A couple of years ago we began our 

 field planting, as is our custom, about 

 May 15. The soil was quite dry, but 

 there were indications of rain; however, 

 the rain did not come, and on the third 

 day we were obliged to water the plants 

 by hand. The bright sun and a strong 



The Left Bench is Enchantress at A. C Brown's. 



