8 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Decembbb 17, 1908. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



The Propagating Bench. 



There are probably as many differ- 

 ently constructed benches for the rooting 

 of cuttings as there are styles of houses 

 in which carnations are grown, and it 

 will be observed that the leading grow- 

 ers are quick to avail themselves of any 

 improvement in house construction which 

 will raise the quality of their product. 

 The growing of carnations does not, 

 however, depend wholly upon the style 

 of house, and among the many details 

 which combine to produce more than 

 "just ordinary" results, are those con- 

 cerning the appliances by which the 

 cuttings are rooted. 



Of these it will be sufficient, at this 

 time, to mention the bench proper, as 

 perhaps it is necessary to repair the old 

 one, or a new one is in mind, and the 

 time is not far off when propagation will 

 begin in earnest. 



Advantages of the Brick Bottom. 



The construction of this form of 

 bench has been so frequently described 

 by Mr. Baur and myself that it seems 

 only necessary to repeat that its bottom 

 consists of common brick laid flat, with 

 sides and ends of the same material, on 

 edge, cemented to the bottom, and sup- 

 ports of wood or iron as may suit the 

 fancy. 



Its advantages, however, I desire to 

 urge again on readers of the Review, 

 for the more this style of bench is used 

 the more one is convinced of its peculiar 

 adaptability to the carnation. 



The drainage being perfect in all 

 parts, there is no possibility of an over- 

 supply of moisture in the sand. The 

 capacity of the bricks lor absorbing heat 

 from the pipes beneath acts as an equal- 

 izer in imparting it to the sand. Since 

 the material will not rot, there is no 

 chance of the sand becoming contami- 

 nated by decayed wood, even after the 

 bench has seen years of service. It can 

 be built by any gtbwer at no ^eat ex- 

 ■pense and, once installed, will last a life- 

 time. 



Before filling with sand, the brick 

 should receive a coat of whitewash, to 

 which has been added a small quantity 

 of flowers of sulphur while slaking the 

 Itme. This wash is preferably applied 

 hot, and with a lavish hand. 



Now, this is by no means the only 

 bench in which carnation cuttings can 

 be rooted, but it is the ideal one, and 

 "just ordinary" results fail to suit lov- 

 ers of the divine flower, 



Geo. S. Osbokn. 



CARNATION MARCHIONESS. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a not very good photograph, taken in one 

 of the greenhouses of the late L. E. 

 Marquisee, at Syracuse, N. Y. The vari- 

 ety grown in the house is the new white 

 carnation, Marchioness, which originated 

 with Mr. Marquisee four years ago, and 



the dissemination of which he was plan- 

 ning at the time of his death. The plants 

 in this house were lifted from the field 

 August 23 and the photograph was taken 

 in the latter part of October. The pho- 

 tograph does not do justice to the vari- 

 ety, because there was evidence, in the 

 number of flowering shoots per plant, of 

 an enormous crop to be on for some time 

 after the picture was taken. The flow- 

 ers are full and average frbm three to 

 three and one-half inches in diameter. 

 One of the points which appealed to Mr. 

 Marquisee four years ago, \vhen he first 

 began to work up a stock of the variety, 

 was the rapidity with which the flowers 

 develop. All growers wiU recall that 

 Prosperity, possibly the finest carnation 

 ever grown by the trade, developed its 

 flowers so slowly that it is not a profit- 

 able commercial sort. Marchioness is 

 more highly clove scented than most of 

 the varieties now on the market, fra- 

 grance having not been developed at the 

 same time that the hybridizers were im- 

 proving the other features of the modern 

 carnation. The keeping quality of Mar- 

 chioness also is said to be noteworthy. 



There are now about 10,000 plants on 

 the Marquisee place and the estate al- 

 ready has announcea that it will proceed 

 with the introduction of the variety in 

 1909. 



RED SPIDER. 



We are troubled with red spiders, 

 which we are unable to get rid of. Is 

 there anything we can do to kill them I 

 Any information you can give us will 

 be greatly appreciated. The spiders were 

 on when we took them up, as the weather 

 was so hot and dry. J. A. F. 



tiply before, and on account of the fa- 

 vorable weather conditions all of them 

 were able to live to a ripe old age. Mil- 

 lions were taken into the houses when 

 the carnations were benched and hun- 

 dreds of growers have been fighting them 

 ever since. 



Usually one can get rid of them during 

 the fall and winter, by simply spraying 

 overhead with a sharp spray, having con- 

 siderable force back of it. In obstinate 

 C9,ses, however, this can be made much 

 more effective _ by first spraying with a 

 soap solution. This can be applied early 

 in the morning and followed up toward 

 noon with the clear water from the 

 hose. The soap solution should be ap- 

 plied in a fine spray without much force, 

 as you simply want to cover the plants 

 with it. Boil; a 5-cent cake of Ivory or 

 similar soap until dissolved, in one gallon 

 of water. "When applying, dilute this 

 with clear water about one to ten. 



Be sure your plants dry off before 

 night. If they are not dry by evening, 

 drop a pinch of sulphur here and there 

 on a steam pipe arid keep a little venti- 

 lation in the house. A. F. J. B. 



BORDEAUX MIXTURE. ^ 



Is the use of Bordeaux mixture, sul- 

 phate of copper and lime, of benefit to 

 young carnation ftock? How often can 

 it be used to advantage? Is it ever used, 

 with benefit, on cuttings in the sand? 



A. C. C. 



Never before in my experience witli 

 carnations have I seen as much red 

 spider at this time of the year as there 

 seems to be spread all over the country. 

 The hot and dry summer caused them to 

 multiply as I have never seen them mul- 



I have never heard it said that Bor- 

 deaux mixture, or any kindred Solution, 

 will benefit a plant, except in so far as it 

 will safeguard against fungous diseases. 

 I do not believe there can be anything 

 in it which would act as a stimulant or 

 fertilizer to the plant. However, it is a 

 good idea to spray the young plants 

 every few weeks with a solution such 

 as Bordeaux, during the early spring, as 

 it might check or prevent a case of leaf- 

 spot, or similar disease, which might not 

 come under your notice until it had 

 gained a foothold and was doing consid- 

 erable damage. Use it as a preventive, 

 the same as you spray with nicotine to 

 prevent aphis. I believe that if these 

 two were applied alternately, so that each 

 would be applied once in two weeks, it 



Home of Carnation Marchioness. 



