The Weekly Rorists' Review. 



OCTOBEB 17, 1907. 



CARNATION NOTBS.-EAST. 



Kerpins; Qualiticf . : ^ 



It is not enough that ■we grow car- ' 

 nations each year equal to those pro- 

 duced the previous year; there must be 

 an advance in some direction, but rec- 

 ollect that size is only one quality of a 

 carnation bloom. 



Better that a flower be of medium 

 diameter and possess lasting qualities 

 than that it be extra large but sleepy 

 on short acquaintance. You may per- 

 haps recall instances when at exhibitions 

 the winner- of some much-coveted prize 

 kept awake only long enough for the 

 judges to go around. Whether this is or 

 is not all right on such occasions, is not 

 the question at this time, but any one 

 will agree that the flower-buying public 

 is not eager for that class of stock. 



Sleepiness may be traced to several 

 causes, the most prevalent being over- 

 development, he&vy feeding or unwise 

 use of fertilizing chemicals, improper 

 treatment after cutting and rough han- 

 dling. 



Overdevelopment can easily be guard- 

 ed against by cutting the blooms when 

 about three-quarters out, allowing them 

 to finish in water and to reach the buyer 

 in the best condition. The sooner they 

 are in his hands after twelve hours of 

 standing in water the better. 



Treatment Before Cuttiog. 



Heavy feeding is very often the out- 

 come of a desire to increase the size of 

 bloom on a batch of plants which have- 

 been giving small, inferior flowers. This 



behavior is very likely due to an excess 

 of nitrogen ih the soil, causing a strong 

 growth of plant at the expense of bloom. 

 In such- casS it is obviously wrong treat- 

 ment to apply either strong liquid ma- 

 nure or a solution of nitrate of soda. 

 The need is for either potash or phos- 

 phoric acid or both, and while these can 

 be supplied in chemical form, there is 

 more or less danger connected with their 

 use. 



The only time I would advise the em- 

 ployment of chemical fertilizers in the 

 bench is near the close of the season, 

 and then merely as an experiment. Un- 

 ^p leached hardwood ashes furnish potash 

 in a most desirable form and also con- 

 tain lime, which is beneficial. Bone 

 meal of a reliable brand carries a fair 

 percentage of phosphoric acid, besides 

 being a slow-consuming natural plant 

 food. Use these as alternate top dress- 

 ings at intervals of ten days or two 

 weeks, as circumstances require. 



Treatment After Cutting. 



As soon as severed from the plant, a 

 flower can no longer receive moisture 

 from the soil and therefore must de- 

 pend upon an artificial supply carried 

 to it through its stem, but if this be 

 exposed to the air long enough for the 

 sap exuding from the cut end to evapo- 

 rate or dry, its system of water pipes 

 becomes clogged, with the result that 

 the bloom suffers. 



Get the stems into water "directly if 

 not sooner" after cutting, and provide 

 vases deep enough so that the stems 

 may be immersed two-thirds their 

 length. When cutting, it is a good plan 

 to remove the two lower sets of leav&s. 

 Place the vases of bloom out of drafts, 



in a temperature about equ^I to that 

 where grown, and allow the temperature, 

 to fall gradually eight or ten degrees. 

 Handled thus, stock is in prime condi- 

 tion after twelve hours to ship or fill re- 

 tail orders. 



The rough handling to which stock is 

 subjected cannot all be charged to the 

 express" companies. Allowing that they 

 do their share, much carelessness is dis- 

 played in packing, and who has not seen 

 boxes of flowers thrown into the delivery 

 wagon on end, side, .top or bottom — it 

 mattered not which to the driver? It is 

 up to you to stop it. 

 . -" .:■'-■: George L. Osborn. 



CARNATION NOTES.- WEST. 



'' Autumn Temperatufc*' ! 



Up to this date, October 14, we have 

 had no frost severe enough to kill vege- 

 tation outside, and to those who grow 

 ,only low temperature stock this mild 

 weather must have been a great tempta- 

 tion to put off firing until colder weathef 

 sets in. While we have had no nights 

 cold enough to do actual damage to the 

 plants in the houses, yet it is a mistake 

 to delay putting on the night man and 

 starting up the fires until everything is 

 actually frozen up. The plants should 

 be making rapid strides now, and they 

 cannot do so unless the temperature is 

 kept at a proper level. 



We have heard it argued that during 

 a bright, warm day the sun warms up 

 the soil and the boards, etc., that these 

 in turn will throw off warmth most of 

 the night and that the houses will be 

 low only a few hours. That is a mis- 

 taken idea. If the day has been warm, 

 in fact warm enough to cause flagging, 

 it is a mistake to allow the temperature 

 at night to drop below the ideal grow- 

 ing temperature.. The combination of 

 two extremes does not produce an ideal 

 condition, by any means. The plants will 

 freshen up in a temperature of 40 de- 

 grees, but that does not necessarily mean 

 that they have recovered from the ef- 

 fects of the flagging of the previous 

 dav. 



One of the Rice & Co. Wedding OutKu. 



