12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



May 23, 1907. 



want them to break. Avoid cutting back 

 into the hard wood, as the breaks Will 

 not come so readily, nor will they be as 

 strong as from the young, tender growth. 

 Tobacco in any form will destroy the 

 -black aphis as readily as it does the 

 green ones. A. F. J. Baur. 



CARNATION NOTES-EAST. 



Toppios. 



Upon the attention given to toppin|» 

 in the field depends the future shape of 

 the plant, and this, in turn, has much to 

 do wi^_its praductiveneaju 



Primarily, the operation of topping 

 may be said to be carried on for the 

 purpose of diverting the plant's efforts 

 in blooming, so as to increase the number 

 of shoots desired to be brought into 

 bloom later. In bringing about this re- 

 sult one must repiember the strain that is 

 to come during the winter months, striv- 

 ing in every way to produce vigor and 

 conserve energy. 



The mere fact that topping has been 

 religiously observed while the plants are 

 in the field is no guarantee of their sub- 

 sequent good behavior. The attention 

 must be intelligent and considerable 

 thought must be given the matter, for 

 there can be no arbitrary rule laid down 



which seems to most concern the begin- 

 ner, but if the first top, made some 

 time before planting out, was properly 

 done and one will profit by observation, 

 there need be no hesitation. 



The best course of instruction one can 

 take in carnation plant building is to 

 grow about a hundred plants from seed, 

 allowing them their freedom the first 

 summer. At liftfng time select about 

 twenty-five of those you have observed 

 to be the most widely separated in habit 

 of growth. Bench and grow these long 

 enough to propagate a few from each. 

 __ThfiiyQUiig stock will furnish a good 

 field for experiment, besides being a 

 pleasant diversion from the everlasting 

 grind. Geo. S. Osborn. 



CARNATION NOTES.— WEST. 



Shading the Blooming Stock. 



The weather has been so unsettled this 

 spring that one could not go by the date 

 to any great extent, but had to simply 

 take things as they came along and 

 judge as best he could as to what con- 

 ditions would likely follow in the near 

 future. So it has been this season with 

 shading the blooming stock. In March 

 the weather was hot enough to have 

 justified one in putting on some shade. 



shoot the shading material high up in 

 the air and let it come down on the 

 glass like rain. This will make count- -^ : 

 less little spots on the glass, and with V- , 

 a little practice you can get it quite 

 evenly all over the house. We have 

 found nothing better than the gld- 

 fashioned lime wash. If you want it to 

 be quite temporary, use air-slaked lime 

 and water. If you want it to stick, then 

 use fresh lime and slake it with water. 

 There are many other , materials used 

 for shading, one of the most popular be- 

 ing white lead and naphtha. This makes -~ 



a splendid shading material wTien it is to 

 be permanent, and it is easier on the 

 paint on the sashbars than lime. When 

 you want it off, however, you must rub 

 it off with a brush, as a rain will not 

 affect it in the least. A. F. J. Baur. 



PREPARING SOIL. 



^ We are sending you this box of soil 

 and would like your advice in preparing 

 it for carnations and Sprengeri greens. 

 The sod was plowed up last fall, six 

 inches deep, and put in a pile with a 

 scraper, and now we are working it over 

 with a plow and harrow. Please advise 

 us what proportions of bone meal and 

 manure are required, and ajso how much 



Forty SaslieB Of Pansles. Housa and Frames for Vegetable Plante. 



Establishment of J. F. Sked, at Westerville, Ohio. 



as to how often to top, the weather and 

 the nature of the soil having great in- 

 fluence on growth. 



Then we have the characteristics pe- 

 culiar to each variety, some being natu- 

 rally bushy, others sprawly. In visiting 

 different growers my attention is some- 

 times called to a plant and the question 

 is put, "How would you top this one?" 

 Unless positive of the variety, I always 

 ask about it before going further. 



The operation is one which cannot be 

 well fitted into any routine; that is, we 

 are unable to select any certain day in 

 the week and top, whether or not" any 

 more than one hundred blooms can be 

 cut from an equal number of plants on a 

 certain day every week. For general 

 guidance a few remarks will perhaps be 

 of assistance. 



Go over the plants often — two or three 

 times a week — topping those showing 

 formation of stem between the leaves, 

 and, at the risk of being insistent, I 

 would request that you use a sharp knife. 



Be careful to leave no tops or leaves 

 so removed to remain on the ground and 

 decay; also keep the field clear of dead 

 or diseased plants. 



How high or low to top is the question 



except for the likelihood of just such 

 weather as did follow last month and 

 this, when even a light shade on the 

 glass would have done more harm tlian 

 good. 



Usually we find the middle of April 

 about the time when the first shade is 

 needed, but not so this year. The sun 

 is getting so strong now, however, that 

 even though the nights may be cool and 

 some of the days cloudy, when it does 

 shine it bleaches the buds that show 

 color, and also the partly opened blooms, 

 quite badly. Especially is this true of 

 Mrs. Lawson, and a light shade should 

 be put on if it has not already been 

 done. In fact, all the pinks, both light 

 and dark, will have better color from 

 now on if shaded somewhat. The white 

 and scarlet would better be left un- 

 shaded, if practical, as long as the 

 weather is not actually hot. If the 

 soil has not been allowed to become ex- 

 hausted and water is applied liberally, 

 the quality will be good unless it gets 

 considerably hotter than we have had it 

 as yet. So this shade should be merely 

 for the benefit of the color and should 

 be light. 



Use a common brass hai^d syringe; 



sand is necessary. , We intend to take it 

 into the houses in July, and jjlant the 

 carnations in it about August 1. H. B. 



The texture of the soil you send is 

 fairly good and if prepared properly 

 should grow good stock. I would have 

 handled it differently, however, from 

 what you have done. Seeing that it is 

 not of extra quality, I should have begun 

 j)reparing at once, instead of scraping it 

 into a pile without adding any manure. 

 You should hav« added at once about 

 one-fourth its bulk of cow manure, or 

 good stable manure with straw bedding. 

 1 can not see how you can benefit it 

 much with plow and harrow if it is in a 

 pile of any depth. Get some men at it 

 with shovels and have them pile it over 

 dear to the bottom, after first spreading 

 on the manure. Let them mix it thor- 

 oughly and break up all the larger lumps- 

 No sand will be needed and the bone is 

 better mixed in after the soil is spread 

 on the benches. For the carnations use 

 about thirty pounds of bone to .500 square 

 feet of bench. Later you can give an-, 

 other dressing if deemed advisable. 



Spreng'ri will stand several times as 



