1816 



ThcWeekly Florists' Review. 



May 2, 1007. 



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stoning they can safely be thinned to 

 the proper distance. An old rule was 

 to allow one j^each for every square foot 

 of tree. But .a good, healthy tree will 

 carry rather more than this, though it 

 should not exceed it very much if first- 

 class fruit is desired. 



The trees can be syringed up to the 

 time the fruit begins to color, but should 

 be discontinued from that time till after 

 the fruit is picked, when an occasional 

 good syringing will be beneficial. 



The results of next year's crop depend 

 largely on the thorough ripening of the 

 wood; so careful attention should be 

 given to this matter towards fall, by 



keeping on the dry side and giving all 

 the air possible. The ventilators should 

 be closed only in the event of a sudden 

 cold spell, lowering the temperature 

 gradually to below the freezing point. 

 The house may be shut down on very 

 cold nights through the winter, but air 

 should be admitted, if at all possible, 

 through the day. It does not matter 

 how much frost they get; it won't do 

 the trees any harm, only freezing and 

 thawing should be avoided as much as 

 possible. So, by raising the ventilators 

 before the thermometer rises to the freez- 

 ing point, a more even temperature can 

 be maintained. W. S. Croydon. 



SEASONABLE TREATMENT. 



The plants in tho bench having now at- 

 tained their maximum size, and the soil 

 in the bench having become deficient in 

 some of the elements necessary for the 

 support and ]»roi)er <levelopment of the 

 })uds, wo should, if we wish to retain the 

 .size and quality of bloom during the in- 

 terval l)etween now and j)Ianting time, 

 find some way to supply these elements 

 and administer them in such a form that 

 the plants can make immediate use of it. 

 This can be done to a certain extent by 

 giving the food in a liquid form, as in 

 this form it is easily assimilated. 



Unfortunately, it has been proved be- 

 yond a doul)t that a too frequent use of 

 food in this form is at any season very 

 detrimental to the health of the plants 

 and also reduces the quality of the 

 1)looms. ])articu]arly if they are entirely 

 depenfjent on this form of food. 



As tho warm weather approaches and 

 the roots become more active, causing a 

 heavy growth of wood, there should at 

 all times be a reserve store of food on 

 hand from which the i)lants can derive a 

 continued sustenance and so be enabled 

 to develop good woml. foliage and bloom. 

 To protect, encourage and feed the young 

 roots during hot weather, a mulch con- 

 taining the necessary elements should be 

 applied. To be of immediate use, the 

 material should be in a concentrated form 

 and of sufficient richness to maintain the 

 plant during the remainder of tlie sea- 

 son. Well decomj)osed cow manure con- 

 tains most of these elements and in their 

 proper proportions, with few of those 

 caustic elements so prevalent in many of 

 the chemically prepared foods. To pre- 

 vent the manure from floating during the 

 process of watering, it should be mixed 

 with one-third of its bulk of good, loamy 

 soil, and to each bushel of this compost 

 sliould be added one and one-half pounds 

 of desiccated bone meal. This helps ma- 



high-grade blooms during the season of 

 hot weather, when nature is doing iiej 

 utmost to bring about maturity in a hiu- 

 ited time. Eibes. 



CAUSES OF BULL-HEADS. 



Can you give any reason for Brides 

 coming bull-headed? A good percentage 

 of the present crop are coming so. 



K. H. G. 



(it 

 it 



u 



I 



terially in giving strength to the stems 

 and foliage and substance and color to 

 the petals. 



At this season mulch can be given in 

 larger quantities than at any other time, 

 one and one-half inches being none too 

 thick if the plants are robust and the 

 compost thoroughly incorporated. As the 

 manure in the compost will absorb and 

 retain the moisture, the bench may often 

 present the appearance of being wet when 

 the soil beneath the muh'h may be quite 

 dry. Frequent examinations should be 

 made to see that this does not occur. 



A light top-dressing of wood or vege- 

 table ashes, which contain nearly all the 

 elements necessary to plant life in the 

 most concentrated form, would now be of 

 great benefit in building up the tissues 

 necessary to the ])erfect development of 



The causes which tend to induce br 

 heads are many and varied, and withi 

 knowing the attending conditions 

 would be hard to ascribe a definite car 



Some of the causes are: Too mi; 

 manure in the compost; overfeeding w. 

 liquid manure, thus producing too rani, 

 growth in the spring. Atmospheric ci. 

 ditions also have their influence. Clo> 

 muggy air, by fostering a soft, spoil 

 growth, has a tendency to cause bn 

 heads in some varieties. These and ma 

 other conditions having the same tt 

 dency should be avoided, especially 

 spring. RiBES. 



TIME TO SOV PRIMULAS. 



Will you kindly tell me the right timo 

 to sow Chinese fringed primroses, feru- 

 leaved kinds for wholesaling at Christ • 

 mas, and obconica grandiflora for tlie 

 same time. S. A. P. 



■ n 



Seeds of both the Chinese primroses. 

 Primula Sinensis and P. obconica shoulil 

 be sown without delay in pans or shallow 

 flats in a compost of leaf-mold, loam and 

 sand with a little powdered charcoal 

 added. Place in a close, moist house kept 

 at 60 degrees to 65 degrees at night and 

 cover with paper until the seeds germin- 

 ate, which should be in from two to three 

 weeks. Pick off in flats when sufficiently 

 large to handle, pot off as needed and 

 grow in coldframes during summer, pro- 

 tected with lath shadings for the best 

 results. ^'- W. 



I WATCH for the coming of the Ee- 

 VIEW each week and certainly get much 

 pleasure and profit from reading it. — 

 E. P. Hall, Shelbyville, Ky. 



IS LAWSON DETERIORATING? 



With many carnation growers, the 

 burning question the last few years has 

 l)een "Is Lawson running out?" I do 

 not think it is. In my opinion, the only 

 change is for the better. 



Lawson of course has some bad 

 faults: First, its inclination to throw 

 short stems, at least in the early part 

 of the season ;, second, it has- a tendency 

 to come off color, and, third, it bursts 

 the calyx. 



All of these faults can be greatly 

 modified, if not entirely eliminated, by 

 proper cultural methods and careful and 

 intelligent selection. Of late years it 

 has been proven that the length of stem 

 may be materially imi)roved by growing 

 under glass all summer instead of plant- 



ing in the field for a part of the season, 

 'inis may be either by shifting them on 

 gradually from 2-inch pots until they 

 finally reach the 4-inch pots or by plant- 

 ing on the permanent beds during the 

 early jiart of June. This method is ad- 

 mirably adapted to the requirements ol 

 all the varieties of Lawson, in so far 

 that it overcomes the short stem objec- 

 tion. 



Lawson is prone to produce many 

 blooms that are off shade. The plants 

 })roducing these flowers should not b<' 

 propagated from. The most careful 

 man, with the highest degree of intel- 

 ligence, is none too good to take the 

 carnation cuttings. The propagator 

 must avoid taking cuttings from any 

 plant that is deficient in length of stem, 

 habit of growth, in vigor of constitu- 

 tion, or in color, or form of flower. H 



