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The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Septembbb 10, 1908. 



cool for them. There can be no ques- 

 tion about frames growing much better 

 plants than houses during the hot months. 

 The growth that little spring struck cut- 

 tings have made is really surprising and 

 the color is splendid. In order to keep 

 the foliage a good color, see that the 

 glass has only a light shade. If mealy 

 bug infests any of the plants, use a spray 

 nozzle on the hose and blow it off. For 

 fumigating, nothing equals hydrocyanic 

 acid gas. It is as safe as nicotine and 

 far more death-dealing for pests. We 

 have never had any foliage plants in- 

 jured when it is used with care, and it 

 certainly saves an immense amount of 

 sponging. 



Biennials and Perennials. 



The seedling pansies should now be 

 BuflSciently large to transplant. If you 

 are intending to winter them outdoors, 

 choose l;tnd with a good slope, where 



there will be no danger of water stand- 

 ing. If you only grow a few hun- 

 dreds, it is much better to prick them 

 out in coldframes, leaving the sashes oflf 

 until the ground is frozen solid. The 

 same holds good of double daisies, myo- 

 sotis, Silene pendula and any other plants 

 of doubtful hardiness. Keep batches of 

 the earlier transplanted perennials and 

 biennials freely cultivated. They grow 

 rapidly now and their growth is all the 

 faster for a constant tickling of the 

 earth with hoe or cultivator. 



Lawrence, Mass. — The employees of 

 Thornton Bros, were tendered a pleasant 

 outing at Lake Cochickewick Wednes- 

 day afternoon, August 19. The outing 

 was held at the camp owned by the hosts. 

 This was the second outing given by 

 Messrs. Thornton to their employees. 

 The first was held early in the summer, 

 at their farm in New Hampshire. 



' CARNATION NOTES- WEST. 



Removing the Shade. 



If your plants have been on the 

 benches long enough to take hold in the 

 new soil, there should be no shade what- 

 ever over them from now on. During 

 July and August we like just a little 

 shade over them, to break the fierce rays 

 of the sun, and we think it does the 

 plants good. But after September 1, if 

 the rains have not washed the glass 

 clean, what is left on should be rubbed 

 off with a brush. 



From now on the sun is hot only for 

 a few hours during midday, if at all, and 

 it will do the plants good, rather than 

 harm, inasmuch as it will help to ma- 

 ture the growth, which at this stage is 

 apt to come soft, on account of an abun- 

 dance of soluble plant food contained in 

 the new soil. To keep out the sun and 

 light will not only aggravate the soft- 

 ness, but it will also cause the plants to 

 draw up and grow spindling and weak. 

 The effects of such a condition will show 

 all through the winter in weak stems and 

 thin-petaled and small flowers. 



During these fall months, when the sun 

 still has some strength and the light is 

 good, your whole attention should be di- 

 rected toward getting a sturdy, robust 

 and well matured growth. You must 

 start the winter with your plants in 

 that condition if you want them to hold 

 up through December, January and Feb- 

 ruary in good shape. Then is when your 

 good or bad judgment and the care given 

 during the fall assert themselves and 

 come to the surface. 



Mulching and Watering. 



The mulch you put on the beds, or 

 should put on soon, will keep the soil 

 evenly moist' with much less watering. 

 This will result in a more even and 

 steady growth. It does not necessarily 

 mean that you will keep the soil moister, 

 but merely more evenly moist. The fact 

 is, you can run the soil slightly drier, 

 because you have it under better control, 



there being less danger of its getting 

 too dry and no necessity for flooding 

 the beds to prevent drying out. You 

 must keep close watch on it, however, 

 by frequent examination here and there. 

 You can tell nothing by the appearance 

 of the mulch, so you must dig into the 

 soil with the hand. 



Watering should be confined to the 

 soil now, and the plants kept dry ex- 

 cept when you syringe them. If the 

 plants are clean, this syringing may 

 be done every second day, less or more 

 frequently, as may seem best to suit the 

 case, in your judgment. 



Dead leaves and diseased leaves should 



be kept picked off now, while it can 

 be done conveniently. Later, when your 

 supports are in place and the plants have 

 made considerable growth, it will mean 

 much more work and mutilation of the 

 plants. Picking such leaves off now may 

 mean freedom from disease next winter. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



PREPARING CARNATION SOIL. 



Can a black clay soil in which good 

 farm crops were grown — wheat last sea- 

 son — be used successfully for filling the 

 benches for carnation growing, or would 

 it pay to get sod soil which is not on 

 the place? What is a good way to pre- 

 pare an acre or so of land for sod soil 

 for the benches, and how long should it 

 lie before using it? C. B. 



There is no reason why you should not 

 use the soil you describe with fair suc- 

 cess. If it has been growing good farm 

 crops it is likely to be in good mechan- 

 ical condition, except that it may lack 

 somewhat in fertility, according to our 

 standard in greenhouse soil. This can 

 be remedied to some extent if you have 

 on hand some good cattle manure, about 

 two-thirds rotted, and also a moderate 

 addition of sheep manure. You can 

 make it so that the plants will take 

 hold nicely and you can add to the fer- 

 tility during the winter by moderate 

 feeding as it may be needed. For this 

 season, with no soil prepared, I would 

 certainly prefer this soil to a fresh lot 

 of sod soil. 



Every grower knows that a good, heavy 

 sod, on a soil of proper texture for 

 the crop to be grown, and properly pre- 

 pared, makes the best soil obtainable. 

 The reasons are that soil of that kind 

 will be full of vegetable fiber, which 

 is rich in plant food. Grass is a very 

 non-exhaustive crop, and soil which has 

 been in grass for many years is likely to 

 contain its natural amount of each of 

 the plant foods, nitrogen and potash. 



If you wish to work on your soil for 



Jung's Strain of Comet Aster. 



