78 



The Weekly Rorists' Review. 



November 29, 1906. 



TROUBLE WITH CROCKER. 



Please inform me as to the trouble 

 with my Ethel Crocker. All the blooms 

 look like those which I send you. They 

 do not break good, and when they do 

 break they are about half size. I have 

 looked for thrips, but do not find any. 

 The soil seems to agree with all the rest 

 of the stock. The plants look fine. 



W. R Y. 



The blooms you sent were badly shriv- 

 eled and I could not form any idea of 

 what might be wrong with them. The 

 bud was in good condition, but failed to 

 disclose any trouble. Since your trouble 

 is with E. Crocker, I will mention some 

 of its peculiarities, and perhaps you will 

 be able to get your information from 

 them. Crocker is a warm-weather vari- 

 ety. It will produce fine blooms in the 

 fall and again a heavy crop of grand- 

 blooms in the spring, unless it is han- 

 dled especially with a winter crop in 

 view. When handled the same as other 

 varieties it is inclined to rest during mid- 

 winter. In a cool temperature it will 

 burst a large percentage of its blooms 

 during the short days and many blooms 

 will come streaked and off color. To 

 grow Crocker well, you must give it 54 to 

 56 degrees at night and don 't feed it too 

 liberally during the winter. We grew it 

 successfully for a few years, but have 

 discarded it on account of its peculiari- 

 ties. A. F. J. B. 



CARNATION NOTES.-WEST. 



Propagation. 



Having decided to begin propagating 

 your carnations and having overhauled 

 and whitewashed the bench, filling in the 

 sand is the next step. It is a good idea 

 to screen all propagating sand before 

 putting it in the bench. This is to make 

 sure there is no trash of any kind or 

 lumps of clay in it. The whitewash 

 should be thoroughly dried before any 

 sand is put on. Fill in to a depth of 

 about three inches or a little over before 

 it is packed down. When packed down 

 it should be two and one-half inches 

 deep. To pack it down some use a com- 

 mon brick, which we consider clumsy. 

 To make a good packer take a piece of 

 planed plank 2x6x12 for the body and to 

 make a handle take a piece of 2x4 eight 

 inches long. Cut out a V-shaped piece 

 from the middle of one side and cut oflF 

 the corners from the opposite side. Then 

 nail onto the body and you have a handle 

 that you can hold tightly without cramp- 

 ing your hand. 



The lines for inserting the cuttings are 

 made with a common tableknife, and if 

 you like you can use a stick to guide it 

 straight. With a little practice you will 

 be able to draw straight lines without the 

 stick, but be sure you get your rows 

 straight. It may save you much trouble 

 some time. Anyway it is a good idea to 

 form the habit of being neat and orderly 

 about everything you do. It's a good 

 habit. 



When inserting the cuttings always 



begin at the back of the bench and work 

 towards you, and when one row is full 

 draw another line to the right of it and 

 one and one-half to two inches away, 

 and begin inserting from the back again. 



When you have inserted the last cut- 

 ting then insert the label directly in 

 front of it as though it were a cutting. 

 On this label should be written plainly 

 the name of the variety in full and the 

 date they were inserted. Do not trust 

 to memory, as you are likely to forget 

 by the time they are ready to come out, 

 and you may not take them out yourself, 

 anyway. Any of your men should be 

 able to make out the identity of any 

 variety without trouble. The date will 

 help you to keep track of them better. 

 If you know when a cutting was put in 

 the sand, you will know about when it 

 should be rooted. 



When finished sticking a batch of cut- 

 tings they should be watered enough to 

 wet the sand thoroughly, which will 

 cause the sand to settle firmly around the 

 cuttings. The cutting should be inserted 

 in the sand about three-quarters of an 

 inch deep, according to the size of the 

 cutting. Perhaps it would be better to 

 say it should be set deep enough so that 

 it will stand upright when being wa- 

 tered. Of course they are inserted in 

 an upright position to start with, 



A. F, J. Baur. 



NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 



The first arrivals of Japan lilies in 

 Europe are somewhat disappointing to 

 the importer. A larger percentage than 

 usual are unpacking rotten and fifty per 

 cent of a recent consignment unpacked 

 in Hamburg proved to be useless. As is 

 usual with the first consignments the 

 bulbs were not fully ripe when lifted in 

 Japan, with the result that many have 

 shrunk considembly in transit, and con- 

 sequently on aVrival are found to be 

 much below specified measurements. It 

 is becoming the practice in England for 

 many growers to particularly stipulate 

 when placing their orders, that their de- 

 liveries shall be taken from the second 

 shipment, for by this means only can 

 they be certain of the bulbs being ripe 

 and well matured. 



Gladiolus Colvillei alba The Bride im- 

 ported from Holland is causing some 

 trouble in England this year. It is well 

 known that if this bulb is packed in too 

 close a case for export, it will be found 

 on arrival to be heated, mildewed and 

 probably rotten. In spite of this fact 

 some firms still persist in packing bulk 

 quFiDtities loose in close cases, and I re- 

 cently came across a consignment of 

 really magnificent bulbs that were totally 

 spoiled. Instead of being packed in pa- 

 per bags jmd then in open cases, which 

 is the only way this bulb will stand 

 ti-ansit, they were loosely packed in close 

 cases and chaff run in between the bulbs, 

 with the disastrous results stated above, 

 in ordering this bulb many growers are 

 now stipulating on their orders just the 

 manner in which they want them packed. 

 Since the price has been up cultivations 

 in Holland have been heavily manured to 

 haf^ten the growth. Too heavy manuring 



Exbibition Design by J. S. SimmoQs, Toronto. 



