June 1. 1905. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



69 



CARNAnON CUT. 



How many good carnations can wo 

 expect from each plant from December 

 1 to April 15 on an average? J. M. 



The question how many carnations can 

 be picked in the time specified is diffi- 

 cult to answer. With the early planting 

 tliat usually prevails nowadays we can 

 get a good crop in October. Then again, 

 April 15 is greatly curtailing the sea- 

 son. The heaviest picking is often from 

 April 15 to June 15. The varieties dif- 

 fer as to cut, but we think for Lawson, 

 Lady Bountiful, Harlowarden, Enchant- 

 iHss and other good varieties, that you 

 would be doing well to average ten 

 blooms to a plant in that time. W. S. 



CARNATION HANNAH HOBART. 



For several years reports have been 

 coming cast of the wonderful carnation 

 called Hannah Hobart, grown by J. H. 

 Sievers & Co. at San Francisco and said 

 to sell in the market thsre at a price 

 above that of any other variety. It is a 

 pink, a shade lighter than Lawson and 

 for size of flower is rather ahead of 

 any standard sort of the day. Eastern 

 visitors at the Sievers establishment re- 

 port th3 growth very strong and the 

 production large considering the great 

 size of the blooms, an average one being 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. 

 There have been many inquiries as to 

 when Mr. Sievers intsnded to dissemi- 

 nate the variety, but he has always 

 answered that he had not yet given 

 the matter thought. It is now reported, 

 however, that he is contemplating send- 

 ing it out next season. i 



PROPAGATING HOUSE. 



Kind of Structure. 



Without ample facilities for propagat- 

 ing the florist is at a disadvantage. 

 Many w:ho propagate only in a small 

 way simply devote a portion of a bench 

 in a carnation or plant house, and witii 

 careful management get along very well, 

 but where large numbers of cuttings are 

 to be rooted, it is necessary to have a 

 special house. In some large establish- 

 ments the north side of a three-quarter- 

 span house with the long roof facing 

 south and the rear wall eight feet high 

 (to which is attached a narrow house 

 f»cing north), is used for propagating 

 This is economy of space. Little direct 

 sun strikes the roof of this house ex- 

 cept in June, July and August and it 

 would therefore be well adapted for the 

 purpose in early fall and late spring. It 

 IS very dark in the winter months and an 

 even-span house will answer all purposes 

 better. ^ ^ 



The size of the house will depend on 

 tlie extent of your business, but remem- 

 ber that for two or three weeks after 

 •I'-ttings are potted olT, the conditions of 

 a propagating house are just suited to 

 the young plants, so it is not likely to 



be too large. The house may be ten 

 feet wide and contain a center path with 

 two side benches, or, better still, nine- 

 teen feet wide and a path against each 

 wall and one in the center. This allows 

 two benches bf six feet each. 



The walls should be five feet high and 

 need not necessarily contain any glass. 

 It is not very essential whether the 

 house run north and south, or east and 

 west, but north and south is rather bet- 

 ter. It will be cooler as spring ap- 

 proaches. Ventilation should be con- 

 tinuous and on both sides of the ridge, 

 for, while it is necessary, both to keep 

 down temperature as well as afford a 

 fresh, pure atmosphere, it should be let 

 in by openings such as will not cause a 

 draught. 



Bench Construction. 



The construction of the beds may be 

 as substantial as you please. They 

 could have 8-inch brick walls, or 6-inch 

 concrete, but I really think that red 



In cold weather, when the pipes are all 

 hot, you have more heat beneath the bed 

 than you want and by opening th<Jse 

 hinged boards you let the heat escape 

 into the house. In mild weather you 

 keep them closed and less heat is needed 

 under the bed, because it is all confined 

 there. 



The floor of the propagating bed may 

 be of slate or tile, the latter much the 

 better. Slate heats quickly and cools 

 quickly, while tile is slow and less vio- 

 lent to heat and retains the heat longer. 

 There is a tile made 15x18 inches and 

 about one and one-half inches thick that 

 is just the thing. They can be sup- 

 ported by a cypress 2x4 crossing tbe bed 

 every fifteen or eighteen inches, but tee 

 iron would be much better for the pur- 

 pose. 



Heating. 



The heating will be whatever your sys- 

 tem is, either hot water or steam, but 

 hot water has some advantages over 

 steam. Steam is 212 degrees or noth- 

 ing, while with hot water you can have 

 almost any degree of heat that is desir- 

 able. The pipes should be within a foot 

 of the ground, so that t'^e heat has a 

 chance to spread and not bcrike the tiles 

 too strongly in one place. The number 

 of pipes you will need will depend some- 

 what on your climate. Five 2-inch hot 

 water pipes or three 1^4 -inch steam 



An Average Bloom of Carnation Hannah Hobart. 



cedar posts and 1-inch cypress boards 

 for the sides of the beds is substantial 

 enough. 



Build the bench so that the surface of 

 the sand is three feet above the path. 

 There is no need of bending your back. 

 A man will do more work and do it bet- 

 ter and easier if he does not have to 

 stoop. The depth of the sand can be 

 three inches but it is well to have the 

 edge-board an inch higher than the sand. 

 The sides of the bed should be boarded 

 up tight. The first board from the top 

 one, which, of course, is a fixture, should 

 be hingQd so that it can be let down. 



pipes should be enough under a bed six 

 feet wide, but be sure that you have all 

 the pipes under control by valves. Some 

 cuttings are greatly helped to root by 

 bottom heat for the first two weeks, but 

 for two weeks before potting off they 

 want little heat. In our cold northern 

 winters it is safest, in addition to the 

 pipes beneath the bed, to have two 2- 

 inch hot water pipes or one 1^4 -inch 

 steam pipe running on the side wall just 

 below the plate, with valves. You may 

 OP occasions need this heat, but it will 

 be seldom, for, as previously stat€fd, on 

 cold nights you will be firing hard, and 



