344 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



December 20, 1906. 



that is another story. You will find a 

 chapter on watering in "The Florists' 

 Manual ' ' which is better than the above. 

 The writer has not improved by practice 

 since that chapter was penned. W. S. 



ASPARAGUS SPRENGERI. 



Should the seed of Asparagus Sprengeri 

 be removed from its red shell when 

 gathered? How is the seed best sown, 

 in small lots, and how long does it take 

 to germinate? C. B. 



It makes no difference whether the 

 seetl is what seedsmen call cleaned or 



sown with the red, fleshy covering. For 

 several reasons it is always cleaned when 

 handled by seedsmen, but if you have 

 saved your own crop you need not go 

 to the trouble of cleaning the seed. Sow 

 ill flats two inches or three inches deep, 

 on a smooth surface and keep the seeds 

 from touching when you scatter them on 

 the surface. Sift on enough soil to just 

 cover the seeds out of sight. Fresh seeds 

 sliould be up in seven or eight weeks. 

 Some growers soak the seeds of aspara- 

 gus for twenty-four hours, but in your 

 case there will be no need of that. 



W. S. 



CARNATION RUST. 



I enclose samples of foliage of my 

 Harlowarden and Lawson carnations. 

 Will you tell me Avhat is the trouble and 

 the remedy? W. H. F. 



Your carnations are affected with the 

 common carnation rust, which I have pre- 

 scribed for repeatedly in my answers to 

 inquiries. The main cause of this 

 trouble is too much moisture on the 

 foliage. If you keep the plants dry it 

 will not trouble you any. To get rid of 

 it, pick off as much as you can and then 

 ddst your plants with dry-slaked lime 

 and sulphur in equal portions, or you 

 can use grape dust. All these have a 

 drying effect and will tend to keep the 

 spores of this disease inactive. Dispense 

 with the syringing as much as you can 

 for a time, but keep a sharp eye out for 

 red spider. When you water, be care- 

 ful to wet the soil only, and give air 

 abundantly at every opportunity. 



A. F. J. B. 



NITRATE OF POTASH. 



Will you tell me in what proportion 

 to use potash for carnation beds? J. B. 



When you say potash I presume you 

 mean nitrate of potash. Use a good 3- 

 inch potful to fifty gallons of water, 

 which is plenty strong enough for this 

 time of the year. During the dark days 

 of midwinter feeding should be light, 

 if indulged in at all, so go cautiously. 

 When the days begin to lengthen you 

 can give it to them without much dan- 

 ger. . A. F. J. B. 



CARNATIONS OUTDOORS. 



Wliat varieties of carnations would be 

 best for growing outdoors? H. W. 



of 31/0 -inch pots, plants that have been 

 topped at least twice, you will be able 

 to cut several blooms to the plant by 

 August and several times as many dur- 

 ing September and October. The Queen, 

 Moonlight and Indiana Market are good 

 whites for this purpose; Beatrice, Fair 

 Maid, Enchantress in light pink; Wra. 

 Scott, E. Crocker in bright pink. Rose- 

 pink Enchantress cannot be used in this 

 class as it conies light pink during hot 

 weather. Use G. H. Crane for scarlet. 



A. F. J. B. 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY. 



Everything is in readiness for the 

 meeting in Toronto, Ont., January 23 

 and 24, excepting the flowers for the 

 exhibition, and the attendance. 



The exhibition ought to be good and 

 large, as the premiums offered are large 

 and many of them. The flowers, as 

 soon as they enter Canada, will have 

 special care from the express company 

 providing tlie society label is used. This 

 label can be procured by applying to 

 the secretary, and it will also pass them 

 through the custom house without any 

 delay or annoyance. 



The attendance ought to be large, as 

 the papers to be read and the discus- 

 sions that will come up are imusually 

 interesting. The one and one-third fare 

 will apply to all of the country covered 

 by the Central, Trunk Line, and the 



New England and Canadian Passenger 

 Associations. 



The premium list can be had by apply- 

 ing to the secretary, and in this con- 

 nection he wants to publicly apologize 

 to William Scott, of Buffalo, N. Y., for 

 inserting the name of another party in 

 place of his as judge. The list of judges 

 should read W. N. Rudd, Mt. Green- 

 wood, 111.; William Nicholson, framing- 

 ham, Mass.; William Scott, Buffalo, 

 N. Y. 



January 16 is the last day for entries 

 to reach the secretary. Intending ex- 

 hibitors who have not yet joined the 

 society will please note and apply for 

 the premium list at once, so as to get 

 entry blanks and information needed in 

 time to get their entry in before Janu- 

 ary 16. Albert M. Hekr, Sec'y. 



The Toronto Convention. 



The sixteenth annual meeting and ex- 

 hibition of the American Carnation So- 

 ciety will be held in the City hall at 

 Toronto, Ont., January 23 and 24. All 

 arrangements have been made for one 

 of the most successful meetings the so- 

 ciety ever has had. Arrangements have 

 been made whereby all exhibits bearing 

 the society's label, obtainable from Sec- 

 retary Herr, and addressed to E. F. Col- 

 lins, Toronto, will be passed through the 

 custom house without delay and without 

 payment of duty. George H. Mills is to 

 be superintendent of the exhibition. The 

 judges are to be W. N. Rudd, William 

 Nicholson and William Scott. 



The general premiums are those of 

 recent years. The special premiums in- 

 clude the society's gold, silver and 

 bronze medals and the S. A. F. silver 

 and bronze medals. A premium of $100, 

 divided into three purses, is offered 

 for the best display, fifty blooms to a 

 vase and not to exceed twenty varieties. 

 The Canadian Horticultural Association 

 offers a silver cup worth $50 for the 

 best six vases of fifty blooms each. The 

 Steele-Briggs Seed Co. offers a silver 

 cup worth $25 for six vases of twenty- 

 five each. The Montreal Gardeners' and 

 Florists' Club offers a cup worth $25 to 

 the exhibitor making the largest dis- 

 play. The Dale Estate offers a silver 

 cup valued at $25 for 100 blooms of any 

 carnation to be disseminated in 1907. 

 J. H. Dunlop offers $10 for fifty white 

 carnations; W. Gammage, $10 for 

 twenty-five blooms of any pink seedling; 

 W. J. Lawrence, $10, for fifty blooms 



There are a number of varieties which 

 can be bloomed quite successfully during 

 the latter part of the summer, if tney 

 are handled accordingly, though we have 

 none that will produce heavy crops natu- 

 rally during that time. To get best re- 

 sults you should get the cuttings into 

 the sand at once, and if they were rooted 

 now it w#uld be even better. Shift along 

 as rapidly as needed and top as often as 

 the plants will stand it, the idea being 

 to get as many breaks by planting-cut 

 time as possible. If you can plant out 



Establishment of Charles Dauernheim, Kimmswick, Mo. 



