March 22, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



J 205 



Red Seedling Carnation No. 55, Raised by Wietor Bros., Chicago, and Staged at the Recent Club Show. 



stock, varieties of other people 's intro- 

 duction. A number of new sorts in roses 

 are being tested in search of soinetliing 

 vi^orth while, but it is with the red car- 

 nation shown in the accompanying ilhus- 

 trations that the immediate future will 

 have to deal. 



No. 55 is a bright shade of rod, a 

 lively, useful color. It originated in a 

 batch of seedlings three years ago and 

 was at once recognized as a promising 

 sort. Now there are about 2,000 plants 

 and it is better liked than ever. An- 

 other year's trial will be given it before 

 deciding ou its future, as it is proposed 

 to make no false start in a new field by 

 sending out a variety which will not 

 * ' trot. ' ' The flower is large, full, 

 fringed and abundantly produced, ac- 

 cording to tests to date. The growth is 

 quick and lic;ilthy, the stem strong and 

 wirv. 



GROWING THE CARNATION. 



[A |)!ipfr rciid I'V A. II. Socker licfmc tlif 

 Morris (oniitv (JniMicncis" and Florists' Society, 

 Madison. N. .!.. Marcii 14, 1!K)C.] 



In reading this paper to you on a sub- 

 ject so universal to the trade as the 

 carnation. I feel some doubt as to the 

 result. Howc\er, if these few remarks 

 are found to be of service to even one 

 of you, my efforts shall have been suc- 

 cessful. 



The carnation, as it is today, has 

 proved itself a public necessity and, as 

 such, should be handled and treated ac- 

 cordingly. That it has rapidly gained 

 in popularity and Ls the equal, or, shall 

 T say, the more successful rival of its 

 fair competitor, the rose, is due largely 

 to its keeping qualities, fragrance and 

 adaptability, for it is found first in the 

 expensive social function and foremost 

 in the workingman's home. 



All honor is due to the noble army of 

 men who are giving of their time and 

 finances to hybridizing and producing 

 new varieties in an effort to keep the 

 carnation to the front; many times, no 

 doubt, their efforts are useless, but when 

 we see an array of the finest, such as is 

 before you tonight, we can feel sure that 

 progress is ever on the march, and that 

 success surely crowns honest effort and 

 rewards untiring zeal. 



! The carnation, as I remember it ten 

 years ago to the present day production, 



I lias made rapid strides and although Mr. 

 Ward may claim that it takes 1,000 



j years for each added inch, the last one 



1 seems to have appeared in considerably 



I less time that that. What a contrast 

 we find between Portia and Robt. Craig 

 or Victory, Daybreak and Enchantress, 



, Lizzie McGowan and Lady Bountiful or 

 (c^ueen! Yet even these old favorites are 

 not to be despised, for they had in them 

 the blood with which the hybridizers 



j have been enabled to produce the pres- 

 ent-day wonders. 



Grading Carnations. 



In looking over an exhibition of new 

 j creations and noting the. differences of 

 the various kinds, I have often thought 

 that growers will one day be grading 

 the carnation as the rose into fancy, 

 first, standard and common classes. The 

 fancy class will embrace all those i)ro- 

 duetions known as novelties, among 

 which might be mentioned Aristocrat, 

 Helen Gould, Winsor, Robt. Craig, Alma 

 Ward and others we have with us of 

 even loss recent introduction. The first 

 class will include Enchantress, Ilarlowar- 

 den, Prosperity, Cardinal, etc. The 

 standard class will comprise the various 

 Ijawsons, Queen, Peru, Gov. Roosevelt, 

 Fair Maid, etc., while the common class 

 will take in what are left, and these are 

 grown more for profusion of bloom than 

 for stem and size, among which we 

 might include Glacier, Genevieve Lord, 

 Frances Joost and Floriana. 



A stimulus might be given the grower 

 if he is able to produce good flowers 

 from varieties of one class equal to the 

 varieties of the next class, by having 

 the price paid for the flowers the same. 



The cultivation of the various grades, 

 too, will need to be looked closely into, 

 and it requires the best use of all the 

 judgment and common sense the grower 

 may have. 



In the fancy class we have a type of 

 flower which can be truly likened to the 

 race horse, and as surely as we strive 

 after a higher ideal and try to improve 

 on the existing improvements, so will the 

 treatment of same require to be given 

 accordingly; but as the majority of us, 



dealing with the present-day varieties 

 and not with what are to follow, perhaps 

 a few remarks about those grown and 

 proven successful may not be amiss. 



Easy to Select Popular Sorts. 



It is easy to select those kinds which 

 meet with popular approval among the 

 growers, not because of their color or 

 fragrance, but because the grower is able 

 to adapt himself readily to the require- 

 ments of his stock. If this is not so, 

 how is it that one variety does so well 

 with one, and shows up so poorly with 

 another? 



Is it climatic conditions or treatment, 

 that brings Cardinal to the fancy class 

 in Canada, while in our own neighbor- 

 hood it is almost useless? Yet 1 fail to 

 find one man who is complaining of En- 

 chantress or Lawson. The same can be 

 said of Prosperity in the first class, and, 

 although now beginning to age, I do not 

 doubt but what this variety can be 

 brought to pay for its keep. Having 

 had to do with a house of this kind the 

 present season, I must say that results 

 arc more than satisfactory and I be- 

 lieve that with early propagated cuttings 

 grown from then until benching in July 

 in pots, success may be had. I find, too, 

 that it is a little on the race horse type, 

 a trifle stubborn and needs the "jolly- 

 ing" which a little extra heat may give 

 it to bring it along. 



This fact is very noticeable, especially 

 to one continually working among the 

 variety, and whenever the plants are 

 handicapped for want of heat, there we 

 find the less flowers. This defect can be 

 seen to perfection in the house just 

 mentioned, where one end is always 4 

 degrees colder than the other, besides 

 being subject to drafts, when going in 

 and out the house, which is apart from 

 the others, causing the plants to be back- 

 ward all winter. At the warmer end 

 there is no trouble producing fancy 

 flowers, long stems and clean foliage. 



Enchantress and its sports, the va- 

 rious Lawsons, Roosevelt, Queen and 

 Harlowarden are all varieties which can 

 be depended upon to produce good mar- 

 ketable flowers, and if handled right, 

 can be brought to a successful paying 

 investment. I would advise the average 



