10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Februaby 27, 1908. 



varieties, and V»d(;ause I have a good 

 seedling, am I not justified in putting it 

 on the market?" is the question we are 

 so frequently asked. 



Let the owner of the seedling think of 

 the number of horses bred from fast 

 stock which are never entered. They are 

 tried out, and if they haven't the ability 

 to deliver the goods, they are never en- 

 tered in the race. So with the carnation 

 seedling. Eaise them, if fancy leads you 

 to do so. Try your hand at it, but know 

 before they are presented to the public 

 what their powers really are. 



I believe that the qualities which go 

 to produce a good seedling are, to a 

 large extent, due to the inherent good 

 qualities of the parents, but with the 

 seedling there is apt to be an increase in 

 vigor. The best articles and papers on 

 the subject of seedlings can only be 

 from those men who handle and study 

 them most, and although a haphazard 

 seedling may make good commercially, 

 the best variety is more apt to be pro- 

 duced by one who understands the varie- 

 ties he works on, and who makes his 

 crosses with certain definite points in 

 view. 



' The dissemination of a seedling being 

 decided upon, the future success of it, 

 as a variety, depends as much on the 

 manner of producing and sending out 

 the stock as on any inherent good quali- 

 ties it may have, granted, of course, 

 that it would never have passed the seed- 

 ling stage had it not some of the in- 

 herent qualities which go to make up a 

 commercial carnation. 



Definition of Gsmmercial Sorts. \ ^'''* 

 What, then, is a commercial carnation? 

 To be brief, it is one which the grower 

 can handle so that it is a paying proposi- 

 tion for him, and this necessitates it be- 

 ing one which the public will buy with 

 profit to the retailer. This definition is 

 broad, and yet it covers, I believe, the 

 entire situation. It does not exclude the 

 fancy sorts, providing they can meet the 

 terms, providing the public will buy, and 

 providing there is a profit to the grower. 

 A very large bloom is not, as a rule, 

 obtained in the same quantity, from the 

 same space, as a smaller one. Here, 

 then, seems to be the size limit. Can 

 we secure enough more money for the 

 individual bloom to warrant the growing 

 of only such varieties as produce flowers 

 larger than the ordinary? Perhaps, with 

 some growers there would be such a de- 

 mand, but not as a rule would this be 

 true. The commercial carnation in its 

 broadest sense is the medium sized bloom, 

 the average length stem, the non-burst- 

 ing calyx, the even-colored bloom, with 

 the keeping and shipping qualities which 

 are usually a part of the make-up of 

 such bloom as I have tried to describe. 

 Light pink, intermediate pink, dark or 

 cerise pink, scarlet, dark red, and white 

 we must consider standards. 



Variegated we must class as fancy, for 

 both white and yellow variegated are 

 profitable only when grown where there 

 is a market which calls for them. 



The Measure of Value. 



The number of blooms per square foot 

 of bench, and the number of dollars per 

 year is the only question the commercial 

 grower should consider. The average 

 number of blooms per plant is a deceiv- 

 ing method of calculating the profitable- 

 ness of a variety, for one plant of some 

 varieties will eccupy the same space as 



three of a different type which run to 

 bloom and not to plant. 



Then, too, one year's experience with 

 a novelty is not always a proper guide, 

 if the results be shown merely on paper. 

 A different handling may produce dif- 

 ferent results. Very few varieties be- 

 come disseminated without having some 

 good features, and while one variety may 

 do well in a locality, another may not. 

 This is the nature of the beast, and hav- 

 ing in mind several that have failed with 

 me, and done well elsewhere, I will drop 

 tire subject. 



Given, then, a stock of standard varie- 

 ties, what is the best method of handling 

 them all the way through? To this I 

 reply, with consideration for the indi- 

 viduality of each and every variety in 

 your list. I will try to explain myself 

 on this subject. 



Three Classes of Carnations. 



Three distinct classes of varieties ap- 

 pear to me. One is inclined to soft, heavy 

 foliage and curly leaves. This type is 

 inclined to come short- jointed and to re- 

 quire an unusually heavy body of roots 

 to produce early blooms with stems long 

 enough to be worth the handling. For 

 these there is nothing but indoor culture 

 to secure the best results. 



The second class is the doubtful one: 

 The thin-foliaged, loose-jointed speci- 

 men, which makes only bloom if grown 

 inside, and very little plant. It needs 

 less soil, and, with less top, makes cor- 

 respondingly less root. Field culture, 

 with early benching, seems the best, as 

 the production of plant is easier to ac- 

 complish in the field. 



As a type of the third or variable 

 class, I wish to mention Enchantress, a 

 variety which will be found superb for 

 indoor culture, and an easy variety to 

 lift from the field, even as late as Sep- 

 tember, to fill the last ends and prevent 

 loss of space. 



Methods of Handling. 



Classing these varieties, then, as we 

 do, we plan our planting as soon as we 

 can determine how much room we can 

 count on after Easter. The condition of 

 the breaks from ten to twelve inches 

 above the soil in February will determine 

 this. Get the heavy-foliaged varieties 

 ready for an early start. Then comes 

 the wait for after Memorial day, and the 

 summer's shifting is in full blast, aiming 

 always to leave a part of a house of 

 white and some *Enchantress for the last 

 of June. 



We like to handle young stock in pots 

 for the April benching, and 3-inch is a 

 convenient size to handle, this stock hav- 

 ing been shifted from 2-inch, or 2y^- 

 inch, as the case may be. Where this 

 stock has been in 2-inch, however, a shift 

 to 2% -inch and then to 3-inch is to be 

 preferred to a single repotting. 



For later use, benching out in shallow 

 soil about four inches apart gives a bet- 

 ter chance for the plants, and means 

 less work, and danger of loss or stunt- 

 ing, due to being potbound, is avoided. 



Field planting from 2-inch pots is the 

 next in order, and then the care in the 

 field. Summer watering I do not ap- 

 prove of, and for the following reasons: 

 It is seldom that the soil takes up this 

 moisture to any depth. If done at night, 

 the sun of the next day takes more, even, 

 than was given, A continual wetting of 

 the foliage at night is a great incentive 

 to leaf spot, and growth under these con- 

 ditions will be soft and is therefore an 

 easy subject to such fungus. 



The best plants come from the field 

 that gets the most hoeing, and I do not 

 think a well cultivated field can be im- 

 proved upon, except by more hoeing. 



Our system, then, is a combination of 

 the two, or rather three methods. Pot 

 culture, bedding them out in the hcmses 

 intended for chrysanthemums, and field 

 culture. 



Don't Handle AU Alike. 



"Would you plant them all inside if 

 you could?" is a question I am often 

 asked, and I can only answer it by say- 

 ing that it is an impossibility to handle 

 all our stock with any one method. Our 

 supply of bloom is broken for only two 

 months, as we cut by September, first 

 from the first planted houses, and our 

 last houses we aim to plant in early July, 

 and do not care to cut from them until 

 November. 



Last season we planted one bench in 

 March, and they are still looking well 

 and producing good blooms. 



"Do you prefer the bench to the solid 

 bed?" is another question often asked. 

 I will answer it by saying that for early 

 planted stock the bed is superior; for 

 field plants I prefer the bench. The 

 heavy-foliaged varieties seem to be in 

 their element on the beds, while the 

 others seem to even up matters. 



Watchfulness Price of Success. 



Temperatures can almost be figured by 

 classes, the heavy-foliaged varieties, as a 

 rule, standing for a little more heat. The 

 evenness of the night temperature is per- 

 haps the most essential. Seldom have 

 we had any trouble with bloom which 

 could not be traced to this source. Soft- 

 ness in such varieties as Enchantress 

 usually means an overabundance of wa- 

 ter at the root, or a too high tempera- 

 ture at night. A hard bud is usually a 

 check from contact with glass, or cold 

 draughts of air at some time, due, per- 

 haps, to a sudden drop in temperature, 

 or a broken pane of glass. If we would 

 grow carnations well, we must watch 

 them nights. 



The producing of the best is one long 

 struggle. Insects, fungi and tempera- 

 ture all make it a never-ending fight. 

 Watchfulness, combined with common 

 sense and the willingness to do hard 

 work, will succeed in meeting these trou- 

 bles, and coming out with success and 

 credit. 



To the retailer I would say, help your 

 grower. What sells best with yout 

 What colors are you wanting most? Ad- 

 vise him how they keep, and he will 

 know how to run the houses. 



And, growers, let me say to you that 

 it is poor economy to grow second-class 

 stock because business is dull this sea- 

 son. On good stock depends your future, 

 for it is one of the essential elements of 

 success. 



BEST CARNATIONS. 



I wish you would give a beginner a list 

 of the best carnations, a few only, from 

 the standpoint of fragrance, productive- 

 ness, non-bursting calyx and good stem. 

 Of course they must be strong growers. 



N. N. C. 



There are now so many splendid varie- 

 ties of carnations on the market that it 

 would be impossible for me to select a 

 few sorts and say that they will do best 

 for you. You would better get several 

 varieties in each color for trial, and then 

 select the ones which strike your fancy. 



