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JANDABT 10, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



543 



As picked. After niendliiK'. 



A Bursted Carnation Calyx Repaired With Baur^s New Wire Clip. 



least possible room for objection from 

 even the most particular customer. In- 

 stead of passing around or through the 

 flower, the little wire clip used serves 

 simply to hold together the two broken 

 edges of the split calyx, holding it in its 

 natural position and bringing the petals 

 into the position that they would have 

 occupied had the calyx not been split. 

 So well is this accomplished that Mr. 

 Baur says the flowers, after being thus 

 mended, have been regularly sold with 

 the highest grade at the highest price 

 of fancy blooms, and thus far not a 

 single objection has been heard. 



The accompanying illustrations give a 

 good idea of the work done by the de- 

 vice. The first two illustrations are from 

 photographs as nearly true to life as an 

 expert photographer was able to make 

 them. They were taken from the same 

 flower, of the variety Mrs. Thos. W. 

 Lawson, before and after mending. The 

 small portion of the wire clip used to 

 mend the break that shows outside the 

 calyx may be seen in the illustration if 

 carefully looked for. No effort was made 

 to conceal anything in taking and finish- 

 ing the pictures, the photographer being 

 instructed to bring out the details as 

 nearly true to life as possible, so that 

 all that is lost is in making the plates 

 and printing. The wire clip, being made 

 of galvanized wire, is almost invisible 

 against the color of carnation foliage. 

 In the illustration showing the mended 

 flower a slight malformation may be 

 seen in the arrangement of the petals. 

 This is due to the difficulty of having 

 been compelled to put on the clip with 

 a common pair of pincers, the brass 

 model being in the hands of the manu- 

 facturer at the time of taking the pic- 

 tures. One of the guard petals was de- 

 stroyed in the operation, giving a por- 

 tion of the flower an empty appearance. 



The third picture shows the pincers 

 that are used in applying the clips. It 

 was taken from a wooden model, for the 

 same reason as that above mentioned — 

 that the brass model was in the hands of 

 the manufacturer. It was not possible 

 to show the smaller details in the in- 

 strument on this account, but the pic- 

 ture gives a good idea of the general 



construction of the pincers. The jaws 

 are shaped so that the wire clips can be 

 easily and quickly picked up. The front 

 end of the pincers is provided with two 

 prongs, by means of which the stray 

 petals are pushed up into their natural 

 position with one movement, and the act 

 of catching the two broken edges of the 

 calyx and pressing down the teeth of 



VISIBLE 



t 



INVISIBLE 



Actual Size and Visible Parts of Clip. 



the clip complete the operation. It is 

 all done in much less time than it takes 

 to tell it. The fourth illustration shows 

 the exact shape and size of the wire 

 clip a»d how much of it is visible after 

 being applied to the flower. The clip 

 used at present and shown in the second 

 picture is made of No. 22 wire, but a 

 smaller size will be used in the manu- 



held at Toronto this month, where the 

 invention and the work done by it will 

 pass under the critical scrutiny of the 

 foremost carnation men of the country. 



CAHNATION NOTES.- WEST. 



Handling New Varieties. 



You will soon be receiving cuttings of 

 the new varieties you bought if you were 

 wise enough to get your order in early. 

 Those that have already reached me are 

 all nice, clean stock and if kept growing 

 will make fine plants for benching. 

 What a difference there is between the 

 stock that is sent out nowadays, of the 

 novelties, and the way they used to reach 

 us a few years ago ! This is as it should 

 be, and if you do not succeed with the 

 varieties sent out it is your own fault, 

 generally. I say this advisedly and I 

 Avill tell you why so many times you fail 

 with a variety after the originator had 

 great success with it. 



One of the most frequent causes of 

 failure is your greed. You get the idea 

 into your head that $12 per hundred is 

 a big price to pay, but that you will be 

 smart this time and steal a march on 

 the disseminator. You will demand your 

 cuttings early, extra early, and when 

 they come you will pot them into rich 

 soil and set them in the warm end of the 

 house and whoop them up every way you 

 can. About March 1 you will get a good 

 cutting off of each plant, and instead 

 of 100 plants you will have 200 plants 

 for the $12. 



In taking off that cutting you cut 

 down that young plant close to the pot; 

 in fact, you take away most of the plant. 

 If it were a strong, sturdy young plant 

 it would hurt it most severely; but think 

 how it must injure a plant that has been 

 forced to make a quick, unnatural 

 growth, to suddenly take off practically 

 all the growing portion when it is in full 

 growth. The check is most ruinous. 

 When the lower eyes break out it is in 

 a half-hearted way and the growth is 

 weak and prone to contract any disease 

 that happens along; so that by planting- 

 out time you have 100 plants that are 

 crippled and weak and 100 cuttings that 

 are very late, and are practically bloom- 

 ing shoots, too near the bud to make 

 really first-class plants. 



Had you potted up the original cut- 

 tings, the same as your regular stock, 

 given them the same care and topped 



Model of Baur's Pincers for Applying Clip to Split Carnation Calyx. 



facture of those that will be offered for 

 sale, namely No. 25. 



The inventor anticipates a great de- 

 mand for the device, and with that in 

 view has given a large order for its man- 

 ufacture. He will be at the convention 

 of the American Carnation Society to be 



them properly, you would have had 100 

 fine, sturdy plants instead of a lot of 

 runts. The next winter you not only be- 

 come disgusted with the variety and 

 throw out a good thing, but you lose the 

 revenue from the space they occupy. 

 You not only hurt yourself financially 



