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The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Decimbeb 24, 1908. 



Colttirc in the Field. 



With well hardened stock, plant early 

 in the field and early in the houses. 

 From about July 20 to September 10 

 all that work should be done. Field cul- 

 ture requires no great skill. Have the 

 ground rich enough to produce a vigor- 

 ous growth of the young plants. This 

 is necessary, as the early planting in the 

 houses gives the plants only a short time 

 to gather health and strength for the 

 work expected of them in the future. 



The way of planting, the distance be- 

 tween plants and other details of the 

 work in the^ field are left to your own 

 way of doing such work. Shallow culti- 

 vation in the rov^, merely breaking the 

 crust of earth around the stems of the 

 plants, will produce the best results. Dur- 

 ing drought the frequent use of the culti- 

 vator will help the plants to maintain 

 a healthy growth. The topping or cut- 

 ting back of the plants in the field should 

 be attended to regularly. Never allow 

 the branches to develop buds in the field. 

 Aim to have upright, bushy plants, the 

 best that can be grown. 



Housing: of the Plants. 



To transplant the plants from the field 

 to their permanent quarters in the house 

 requires careful work. In this opera- 

 tion careless workmen are worse than 

 none. 



"With clean houses and the benches 

 thoroughly whitewashed, the work of 

 soiling the benches may proceed. This 

 soil should be taken from a field which 

 bore a cultivated crop the previous year. 

 Such soil, with an application of from 

 four to six inches of well rotted barn- 

 yard manure in early spring, well plowed 

 under and frequently replowed, with a 

 liberal amount of raw bone, medium fin-, 

 thoroughly mixed with the soil, has, in 

 my experience, always given good resuit.. 

 With such soil the plants will need no 

 feeding, except a light sprinkling of wood 

 ashes, till January. 



In the field lift the plants carefully 

 with a spade. If possible, leave a lump 

 of earth on each plant. This will be a 

 material aid to the plant in recovering 

 from the shock received in lifting. 



Shade the houses only in extremely 

 hot sunshine. Plant firmly, the same 

 depth as in the field, with the roots well 

 down in the soil. Water thoroughly the 

 first time, spraying frequently for two 

 or three days, but less as the plants 

 recover. 



' Treatment in the House. 



All draughts of air on the newly-set 

 plants are a positive injury. After they 

 have taken hold of the soil, good ventila- 

 tion and bright sunshine are an actual 

 necessity for a sturdy growth. Water 

 freely now, when needed. Keep ven- 

 tilators open day and night. Destroy 

 weeds by light cultivation. When the out- 

 side temperature drops to 45 or 40 de- 

 grees, artificial heat may be used. After 

 this heat is once used, be sure to main- 

 tain your usual night temperature when 

 it is cold enough to do so. From this 

 time on, all water should be applied 

 under, not over the plants, except in 

 syringing for red spider. 



Stem-rot and its twin brother, bench- 

 rot, will be more or less busy. Remove 

 and burn all infected plants at once, as 

 all the lime or other so-called remedies 

 applied externally will not cure a disease 

 that is in the blood of the plant. Spot, 

 fairy ring, and softening of the leaves 

 of the plant, caused by damp, putrid at- 

 mosphere, can be checked by a light fumi- 



gation of sulphur at night and good ven- 

 tilation in the daytime. For bacteria, 

 so-called, pull out and burn infected 

 plants. Such treatment, as before men- 

 tioned, I have given plants in my care 

 for many years, with good results and no 

 serious failures. 



Some Brief Rules. 



Let me now repeat a few things I 

 consider an actual necessity for suc- 

 cessful cultivation of the carnation. 

 First, use ripe cuttings, from healthy 

 plants only. Discard all rooted cuttings 

 that have any signs of disease. All soils 

 used, whether in pot, flat, bench or field, 

 should be fresh; that is, carnations 

 should not have been grown in it for two 

 or three years previous; neither should it 

 be newly plowed sod. Use shallow cul- 

 tivation in house or field. Take no plants 

 to the house that show a weak or sickly 

 condition. Keset in the house as fast 

 as lifting in the field proceeds. Plant 

 firmly always. A good, friable, well pul- 

 verized soil, well enriched, is always 

 right. Cultivate thoroughly always. 

 Plant early in the field for best results. 

 Eetain varieties that do best on your 

 soil. Keep an even temperature in your 

 house at night. Keep up VFith the times 

 in trying out the newer varieties, and 

 success should, and I hope will, crown all 

 in the cultivation of this most popular 

 flower. 



THRIPS AND THJE MITE. 



We are sending you some carnation 

 buds and blooms affected by thrips. Of 

 this we are positive, but we fear that 

 they are also affected by the insect some- 

 times referred to as the carnation mite. 

 This we believe from the fact that we 

 have found the small, white eggs in many 

 of the buds that have rotted. We are 

 now using hydrocyanic acid gas to kill 

 the thrips, according to the directions 

 prescribed by the late William Scott, and 

 wc find this to kill many of them, but our 

 great trouble here in the south is to keep 

 them out of the house, since they come 

 in from the outside so freely. We have 

 had little cold weather so far, and only 

 last week we found several in a rose- 

 bud that was growing in the field. This 

 bud was practically killed by the frost, 

 yet the thrips seemed to be very much 

 alive. If this gas does not kill the in- 

 sect that lays the eggs in the buds, what 

 would you recommend other than to pick 

 off the buds as soon as they become af- 

 fected? 



For the benefit of some growers who 

 might fear to use the hydrocyanic acid 

 gas, we will tell how it affected some 

 plants other than the carnations. In the 

 same house were some palms, ferns, cy- 

 clamens, araucarias and Asparagus plu- 

 mosus and Sprengeri. None seemed to 

 suffer but the plumosus, and since we 

 began to spray them with water before 

 the fumigation none seem to be affected 

 by the gas. 



We will thank any of the growers to 

 help us in finding the cause of the rot- 

 ting of the carnation buds and prescrib- 

 ing a remedy to eradicate them from the 

 greenhouses. We find that they are 

 worse in the Enchantress, White En- 

 chantress and Mrs. Patten than on any 

 other varieties we grow. H. & B. 



Inasmuch as you are positive that 

 your trouble is caused by thrips and 

 the carnation mite, I will discuss them 

 only. I do not consider hydrocyanic acid 

 gas as being nearly so good to fight 

 thrips as nicotine, in whatever form you 



may be able to reach them best. Your 

 proposition seems a rather difficult one, 

 on account of the pests coming in from 

 outside. The only difference I could 

 recommend, however, would be simply to 

 keep after them as long as the weather 

 conditions are such as to allow them to 

 breed outside. Whatever will destroy 

 them inside, should also stop' them from 

 coming in. It seems that if, after having 

 destroyed those inside, you would thor- 

 oughly spray the plants with a nicotine 

 solution twice or three times weekly, it 

 should be quite uninviting to those which 

 are outside. I would advise spraying 

 thoroughly those on the side benches es- 

 pecially. ' The same remedy should prove 

 effective against the mite, but bum every 

 rotted bud you come across. Then you 

 will be sure of that many destroyed. 



A. F. J. B. 



ASPECT FOR HOUSE. 



At what angle should we run a house 

 for best results for carnations, the house 

 to be even -span t I refer to the different 

 angles as to the sun. Please advise me 

 in your columns which one is best, as I 

 want to build for the best results. 



0. Ja B. 



It is generally considered that the east 

 and west house is the best for growing 

 cut flowers, such as roses, carnations, etc. 

 This is proven by the fact that fully 

 ninety-eight per cent of all the houses 

 built for that purpose run that way. 

 There is considerable difference in 

 opinion as to preference between even- 

 span, short-span-to-the-north or short- 

 span-to-the-south, and also between 

 ridge-and-furrow or detached houses. 

 Each has its adherents and its prefer- 

 ences, but on the direction lengthveise, 

 opinion seems to be practically unanimous 

 in favor of east and west. 



The other angles are entirely out of 

 the question, in my opinion. If I could 

 not run my houses east and west I would 

 run them straight north and south, even- 

 span, and using as large glass and as 

 little wood as possible. In such a house 

 good stock can be grown, as I have seen 

 on one or two occasions. In this case I 

 would also build my house quite vpide, 

 up to fifty-six feet, making the roof as 

 flat as practical and with wide alleys be- 

 tween the houses if more than one is 

 built. I would build this way only in 

 case it were impractical to run them 

 east and west, however. A. F. J. B. 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY. 



Patten & Co., Tewksbury, Mass., regis- 

 ter Carnation Sara Nicholson; parentage, 

 Ethel Ward crossed with Harry Fenn; 

 color, glowing crimson; size of flower, 

 three inches; habit, an upright grower, 

 free and fragrant, a commercial variety, 

 early and continuous bloomer. Genevieve, 

 parentage. Lady Bountiful crossed with 

 White Lawson; color, pure white; size 

 of flower, three and a half to four 

 inches; habit, strong upright grower, 

 fragrant, classed with the fancies. 



Albert M. Hekr, Sec'y. 



Brookltn, N. Y.— David C. Thomson, 

 in charge of the Prospect park green- 

 houses, is holding a Christmas flower 

 show. 



MiSHAWAKA, Ind. — J. L. Carney, the 

 florist and landscape gardener, has open- 

 ed a first-class store at 110 East Second 

 street. 



