AUGUST 5, 1009. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



Treatment During Re-establishment. 



As stated last week, the first watering 



II tier benching should be confined to the 

 (|('])ression left around each plant when 

 St t. It must be remembered that the root 

 system of a newly set plant is practically 

 inactive, having no power to assimilate 

 tdod. Consequently this first application 

 of water is made merely for the purpose 

 of settling the soil among the roots. The 

 old practice of soaking the whole bench 

 until a miniature rain storm occurred 

 underneath has happily passed away. 



Closely following this initial watering, 

 !i light spraying should be given, but care 

 must be taken not to confound syringing 

 with this operation. 



Spraying is Not Syringing, 



I have many times had occasion to cor- 

 icct the impression which is common 

 nniong beginners in carnation culture, 

 that these two operations are one and the 

 .same thing, and from observation I have 

 roason to believe that there are those 

 who, though they have long since passed 

 the kindergarten stage, might profit by 

 reference to the difference. 



In the florists' trade we associate 

 syringing with a strong force of water 

 'lirected against the foliage of a plant 

 and designed to dislodge some insect 

 pest. Spraying is defined as the act of 

 s('attering a liquid in extremely fine par- 

 ticles, the result amounting practically to 

 a mist. It should be apparent to anyone 

 iliat the former will work injury to newly 

 set plants, by swaying them about and 

 'lestroying the bloom on the foliage, not 



III mention the oversupply of water re- 

 vived by the soil. 



By running the water at about half 



'tad through the hose, using the thumb 



iiistead of the finger as a stopper, and 



irecting the stream well up over the 



! lants, the water will fall more or less in 



' i'^t form, varying according to the 



•■essure exerted by the thumb. 



When the water supply is taken through 



■e house in the pipe purlin, it becomes 



■ ''ich heated in warm weather and is not 



Jie most desirable for spraying. It 



iould be allowed, therefore, to run until 



"ol, using that first run off to dampen 



I'le paths and space under raised 



'cnehes, which should be done anyway. 



Ventilation. 



While benching the plants, and until 



"tiye growth is resumed, ventilation must 



'fceive careful attention. Too much air 



jy 11 cause serious wilting, while keeping 



"e houses too close has a debilitating ef- 



fect on .the plants. The carnation is pre- 

 eminently a plant demanding breathing 

 room, and the ventilation must be so ar- 

 ranged as to allow a gentle current of air 

 to circulate among the plants even during 

 reestablishment. 



The object of spraying is partly to 

 furnish moisture that may be absorbed 

 by the foliage, but the greater part of 

 the water used serves to lower the tem- 

 perature by evaporation into the kit. 

 Therefore we must have circulation of 

 air, and the more minute the particles of 

 water, the faster it evaporates. It fol- 

 lows, then, that only slow circulation is 

 needed with proper spraying. 



During cloudy' or rainy periods little, 

 if any, spraying is needed, but as much 

 air should be furnished as is possible 

 without causing wilt, and it will be ob- 

 vious that ventilation can be indulged in 

 more freely at night than during the day. 



Geo. S. Osborn. 



CARNATION NOTES.— WEST. 



Taking Note of Varieties. 



Dilring the season just passed you have 

 made some notes, mentally if not other- 

 wise, on the various varieties of carna- 

 tions you were growing, both new and 

 old, as to their relative value commer- 

 cially. With those who keep up with 

 the times by trying out the new varieties 

 as they are introduced, this is a regular 

 thing, and recurs every year. The old 

 rule of the survival of the fittest must 

 be strictly adhered to, if you would grow 

 for profit. 



My object in bringing up this matter 

 at this time is for the purpose of re- 

 minding you to look over your notes 

 again, before you begin planting your 

 benches. They may need ,some correct- 

 ing here and there. In some instances, 

 varieties which pleased you greatly at 

 one part of the season may have failed 

 to keep up their good work later. On 

 the other hand, some others, which failed 

 to get a good start, may have made an 

 extra good showing later in the season. 

 In either case, the change may have 

 come after your main propagating was 

 done and too late to get the proper rating 

 in your record book, or even after plant- 

 ing in the field had been done. 



A System of Record-keeping. 



We have a plan in operation here 

 which we consider a good one. It saves 

 us a great deal of worry at housing time, 

 and, in fact, from the propagating sea- 

 son on. 



About December 1 we draw a sketch 

 of our houses, showing each bench and 

 the number of plants required to fill it. 



Then we make a list of all the old varie- 

 ties we wish to grow the next season, and 

 allot space according to the quantity to 

 be grown of each. Space is reserved for 

 new varieties, seedlings, etc., sufl5cient to 

 take care of them. On the list of varie- 

 ties are also set down the number of 

 plants to be benched and the number of 

 plants to be planted in the field. When 

 propagating and potting up, this list is 

 constantly referred to, and it proves a 

 great help. It is, of course, constantly 

 subject to changes, according to the be- 

 havior of varieties, but no changes are 

 made without due consideration, and once 

 the question is decided, reference to the 

 list eliminates any further study, unless 

 conditions change again. Before housing 

 time this list is again gone over and ap- 

 proved or corrected, as the case may be. 

 Another good point is that no variety is 

 likely to get squeezed out by being for- 

 gotten when space is allotted at the last 

 moment. 



A Comparifon of Leading Sorts. 



Last fall the variety Afterglow got a 

 poor start with many growers, and some 

 expected to discard it. Later, however, 

 it got to going better, and made friends 

 right and left. When other varieties 

 bleached badly. Afterglow stood up finely. 

 We shall bench all the plants we have 

 this season. Winona was just the oppo- 

 .site. It was one of the first to come into 

 crop last fall, and it made a fine record 

 until hot weather. The hot sun bleaches 

 it badly, unless shaded heavily. We con- 

 sider it a splendid sort, however, and 

 shall plant it in place of Winsor. 



Victoria, a Lawson shade of pink, is 

 one of the freest carnations we know of. 

 It made a fine record last winter, but in 

 hot weather it shows thrips specks as 

 badly as Lawson. It has about the same 

 quality of bloom as Lawson, but a much 

 longer stem, and we consider it much 

 better. 



Pros. Seelye was very late in coming 

 into bloom, had only ordinary quality 

 with us, and was not a pure white. We 

 understand that it was excellent on some 

 places. 



Sarah A. Hill failed to open properly 

 until December. Then it was fine, ex- 

 cept for the bursting, until warm weather 

 set in again. 



Lloyd was ruined for last season before 

 it was sent out. The stock sent out could 

 not make plants which would make a fair 

 showing. The bloom is extra large, on a 

 good stem. It has a pearly cast, and 

 last season lacked somewhat in form. 

 Plants in the field are quite different 

 this season, and should do better. 



Defiance could not afford to defy any 



