'^mr 



706 



The Weekly Rorists' Review* 



jANUAltV 24, 1007. 



houses, can it not also be applied in oar- 

 nation houses? 



The pipes and nozzles can be so placed 

 that you can water from underneath the 

 plants; that you only water the soil, or 

 spray upward from underneath the 

 plants, or downward from above, just as 

 the case may require. 



Value to Carnations. 



I am not a carnation grower. But 

 from what experience i have had in 

 other lines, 1 say it can be done, and 

 it only needs some one to take up the 

 idea with determination to overcome 

 what obstacles are in the way. I firmly 

 believe that mechanical watering is prac- 

 tical and will save thousands upon thou- 

 sands of dollars every year in labor to 

 the greenhouse men when it is under- 

 stood, and will do better work than can 

 be done in any other way. Let me sug- 

 gest that steps be taken by the American 

 Carnation Society to determine the value 

 of mechanical watering by experiment- 

 ing or otherwise during the coming year, 

 so that more definite reports can be had 

 at the next meeting. 



McKINLEY DAY. 



I would respectfully call the attention 

 of the carnation growers and florists to 

 the recurrence of McKinley day, Janu- 

 ary 29, and would emphasize and en- 

 dorse the comments appearing in recent 

 issues of the trade papers. 



The trade is responsible for the suc- 

 cess or failure of this day, dedicated to 

 the expression of respect for our mar- 

 tyred president. Far better lose your 

 entire day's stock, or absolutely donate 

 it to the public, than to antagonize this 

 awakening sentiment of the American 

 public by exorbitant and prohibitive 

 prices for President McKinley 's favorite 

 and beloved flower on this coming anni- 

 versary of his birth. 



It is to your interest that the public 

 should know of this day. There is not 

 a newspaper in this country that will 

 not give space referring to and com- 

 menting upon.it. 



A discriminating distribution of a few 

 carnations, either white, red or pink, will 



emphasize the significance of the day, 

 and the wearers will excel themselves in 

 arousing the dormant sentiment of their 

 friends and acquaintances. 



And, lastly, and most important, con- 

 tribute $1 or more, if you can, to the 

 Florists' Memorial Fund for the Mc- 

 Kinley nionumert, and receive by return 

 mail a handsome steel engraved certifi- 

 cate. Then place this in a prominent 

 place on January 29, thereby offsetting, 

 to a uegree, any impression of selfishness 

 on your part, in a public movement that 

 benefits your business. 



H. M. Altick, Chairman. 



PROPAGATING. 



As 1 said in my last, it is time to be- 

 gin taking our stock for next year, 

 and this is a matter that needs par- 

 ticular care; I think even more with 

 violets than with some other kinds of 

 stock, for some kinds of plants are more 

 hardy and disease-resistant. But the 

 person who thinks that he can take his 

 cuttings from the stock as it runs in the 

 houses, be he ever so good a grower, will 

 sooner or later — and it is generally 

 sooner — find that his stock is deteriorat- 

 ing. 



In looking for the plants that you are 

 to propagate from, reject all such as are 

 at all stunted, or in any way run down 

 in health, or those that did not produce 

 first-class bloom as regards size, color, 

 freedom, odor, etc. Choose only such as 

 are in first-class order. They will now, 

 as the days brighten, begin to feel the 

 influences of spring and will be throwing 

 off many nice, thrifty shoots that will 

 make just the kind of stock you will 



wish. Many of those will already be 

 throwing out little white roots from the 

 shade and moisture afforded by the 

 parent clump. 



When removing these cuttings it i>i 

 well to take off only a few at a time and 

 throw them, as taken, into a pail ol 

 clean, cool water, so that they have no 

 chance to wilt. Then, when you have 

 enough for two or three flats, trim, and 

 prick out at once. 



Of course your soil should have beeii 

 prepared some weeks ago and should b • 

 composed of well-rotted sod wth about 

 one-fifth of good, rotted manure, prefer- 

 ably from the cow stable, if ybu have it 

 and screened, so as to hayi no straw! 

 leaves, or stones in it. One? of the grea 

 points in having your soil ready, is hav- 

 ing the moisture right; not too dry, ov 

 too wet, as there is nothing spoils soil 

 so quickly as handling it when too wet. 



Always have your ^ats of uniforn, 

 size, for more reasons ^lan one; the first 

 being that it economizes room in shelf- 

 ing ; then, another, in taking tally of 

 stock, you will have the same number 

 of plants in each. 



We have found the size recommended 

 several years ago by Professor Galloway 

 to be very handy and economical aS re- 

 gards material. This lets you cut your 

 lath, which you use for sides and bot- 

 tom, once in two. You will want inch 

 pine stuff for the ends and this should be 

 three inches wide and about thirteen or 

 fourteen inches long, or whatever will 

 best fit the places you have for the flats 

 when filled. The two outside laths should 

 be first nailed on and then you can 

 spread and space the rest between them, 

 leaving a crack between each of, say, 

 about a quarter of an inch. This is for 

 drainage and air and is best covered with 

 damp sphagnum moss when you get ready 

 to fill with soil to keep it from going 

 through the cracks. 



Fill the flats full of soil and firm it 

 well before pricking out the cuttings. 

 They will need careful watering and 

 shading, like all cuttings, for several 

 days. Then the shading can be gradu- 

 ally removed as they get established. 



This method of putting them directly 

 into the soil, in the flats, saves time; but 



Campion Toreador, a Seedling of Prosperity^ Grown by H. Weber & Sons Co., Oaklandt Md. 



