Mabch 26, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



13 



CAHNATION NOTES.- EAST. 



Feeding by Top-dressing. 



As soon as the bulk of propagation is 

 over, the matter of restoring the some- 

 what exhausted bench soil can be taken 

 up. 



I do not wish to imply that nothing 

 should have been added up to this time, 

 for circumstances are often such that 

 light applications of either air-slaked lime, 

 bone meal or other fertilizing material 

 are necessary during the winter, but the 

 so-calJed operation of feeding we think 

 best to defer until the propagating sea- 

 son is over. Plants are then showing the 

 marked effect of the sun's increasing 

 ])ower, in rapid, vigorous growth. To sup- 

 jjort this growth, and at the same time 

 maintain quality of bloom, it becomes 

 necessary to place within reach an ample 

 supply of plant food. Hence we have 

 come to use the term feeding, though in 

 reality we are studying to gratify the 

 appetite of our plants at all times. 



Providing the soil was of good quality 

 at the start, any varieties which for any 

 reason have given but small returns dur- 

 ing the winter months, will not be bene- 

 fited by this operation. Under this head 

 I would include small, late benched plants 

 and those recovering from the effects of 

 disease or insect peSts. 



Use of Liquid Manure. 



A few years ago the practice was to 

 feed with liquid manure, and I will not 

 say now that good results cannot be ob- 

 tained by this method, though we have 

 come to prefer feeding by top-dressing. 

 Close observation has convinced me that 

 )>lants which give but one crop in a year 

 — chrysanthemums, for example — lend 

 themselves more readily to the plan of 

 supplying food in liquid form than do 

 those classed as continuous bloomers. 



A'arious substances are used in prepar- 

 ing material for top-dressing, the prin- 

 cipal ones being bone meal, hardwood 

 ashes, soot, and manure from the cow, 

 sheep or hen, but it is important that 

 knowledge be had of their make-up, 

 source and manner of handling previous 

 to use. While it is desirable to include 

 the whole list to afford variety, it is by 

 no means necessary. Secure those read- 

 ily obtained in your locality. In another 

 paper will be explained our method of 

 I'sing- Geo. S. Osborn. 



WORMS ON CARNATIONS. 



In the Review of February 27, E. C. 

 wants to know of a remedy for worms on 

 carnations. If he will set a light in the 



carnation house at night, he will catch 

 the miller that lays the eggs which pro- 

 duce the worms. Or he might set a light 

 in a dishpan containing a couple of 

 inches of water. I tried picking worms, 

 but did not make any headway until I 

 caught the millers which lay the eggs. 

 Chas. J. Teacht. 



CARNATION NOTES.-WEST. 



Injury From Rapid Evaporation. 



During the last week we have been 

 having weather of the kind which is the 

 most trying on the cuttings in the bench 

 of all the various brands we are treated 

 to each spring. The days have been 

 bright and the sun has been quite warm 

 and, with a brisk wind a-blowing, evap- 

 oration is very rapid. During such 

 spells whole batches of cuttings are fre- 

 quently lost, if the propagator has not 

 full control of his cutting bench or if he 

 is the least bit careless or inexperienced. 

 During such times it keeps the best of 

 us guessing what to do to hold them 

 up in a fresh condition without going 

 to extremes. 



Most of the carnations for next sea- 

 son's planting should be rooted or very 

 nearly so by this time, to give the very 

 best results, but you may have a belated 

 batch of some varieties and a few point- 

 ers regarding precautions during such 

 spells as we have been having will 

 not be amiss. The point is to over- 

 come or prevent this rapid evapora- 

 tion, as that is what does the damage. 

 The temperature does not rise high 

 enough to do any damage this early in 

 the year, as long as the atmosphere is 

 well charged with moisture. Your cur- 

 tain will keep off the sun, but you will 

 find that more is needed. Additional 

 spraying might help, but it will not 

 prove sufficient usually, and if it is in- 

 creased enough to hold up the cuttings 

 during the day the cuttings will likely 

 remain damp over night and other 

 troubles will soon develop. The best 

 thing we have found is to lay news- 

 papers directly on the cuttings, besides 

 using the regular curtain, as usual, to 

 keep the sun off. The papers are laid 

 on about 9 o'clock, when the atmos- 

 phere begins to feel the effects of the 

 wind and sun, and are left on until 

 toward evening, when evaporation is 

 slower again. You will find that one 

 spraying in the morning will be suf- 

 ficient, as enough moisture will arise 

 from the moist sand to keep the cut- 

 tings fresh, providing it is arrested by 

 these papers as suggested. Never allow 

 the cuttings to be unprotected by cur- 



tain or paper, or both, when the venti- 

 lators are open more than three inches. 

 No draughts of air should ever be 

 allowed to strike them. 



Cuttings taken from the sand from 

 now on, if they are potted into 2i/^-inch 

 pots, can stand in those pots without 

 being shifted until planting-out time; 

 2-inch pots would hardly carry them in 

 good condition if the cuttings are 

 strong. Cuttings potted previous to 

 March 10, however, should be shifted as 

 early in April as possible, unless they 

 are ready earlier. That will give them 

 time to become established and to gather 

 that extra strength which means fine 

 plants for early planting. Keep them 

 topped and clean of all insects, weeds, 

 etc., even more diligently than you do 

 with your old plants, for obvious rea- 

 sons. A. F. J. Baur. 



CONTINUOUS BLOOMING. 



In the Review of March 12, A. F. J. B. 

 speaks of making carnations, in the same 

 house, crop at different times. Will you 

 please tell me how this is done? 



E, H. 



It is a well-known fact among carna- 

 tion growers that by carefully and cor- 

 rectly topping the young plants in the 

 field the plants can be gotten into a con- 

 dition in which they will bear flowering 

 shoots in all stages, and will, if handled 

 properly after housing, give a succession 

 of blooms covering a long period instead 

 of throwing a heavy crop of short dura- 

 tion. This, of course, cannot be done 

 with all varieties with equal success, as 

 some are better adapted than others. Va- 

 rieties which naturally come into bloom 

 late cannot be induced to bloom early 

 and steadily. 



This treatment must begin in the field, 

 as soon as the plants begin to bush out. 

 Instead of going over the plants and top- 

 ping back every shoot that will bear top- 

 ping, take off only the most forward 

 ones, and go over them a second or third 

 time, after four or five days' interval, 

 and take off the most forward ones 

 again. By so doing you will get a suc- 

 cession of breaks instead of a big lot of 

 breaks simultaneously. Great care must 

 be exercised, however, at housing time, 

 else all your work will be undone. The 

 tendency is to take off every shoot at that 

 time which has begun to run up, and that 

 is where the mistake comes in. Leave 

 those shoots on. This transplanting 

 causes a check to every shoot on the plant 

 and when growth is resumed they all 

 come together and there is not the dif- 

 ference between them which there was 



