■/•; 



Mat 25, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



17 



THE USE OF OLD SOIL. 



According to N. Greivelding's method 

 of handling his carnation soil, as de- 

 scribed in The Eeview of May 4, page 

 15, he uses the same soil for as long 

 a period as five years. "Would you ad- 

 vise similar treatment of soil in 

 benches six inches in depth? We have 

 heretofore changed our soil every year, 

 but should like to know whether others 

 have successfully followed Mr. Grei- 

 velding's plan. C. I). D. 



It would perhaps be better to ask 

 the opinion of persons who have used 

 soil two years successfully, as they 

 could probably give advice as to the 

 best way of handling the soil. We 

 have tried out the idea of using soil 

 two years on beds where only four 

 inches of depth was used to plant in, 

 and I am sure that it did not produce 

 as good stock as new soil would have 

 given us. Perhaps we did not handle it 

 right, and I would hesitate to say that 

 it could not be done. You will perhaps 

 remember that a few years ago, when 

 I first advocated the use of semi-solid 

 beds for growing carnations, in my 

 cultural notes in The Eeview, several 

 prominent growers argued against it, 

 claiming to have tried it and found that 

 kind of beds inferior for growing car- 

 nations during midwinter. But we were 

 using them right along with splendid 

 success, and many growers, after seeing 

 our stock, declared that they would at 

 least give them a trial. 



This theorizing on a subject reminds 

 one of the story of the man who was 

 thrown into jail on a trivial charge. 

 His attorney, after hearing his story, 

 declared, "Why, man, they can't put 

 you in jail for a little thing like that! " 

 But his argument gave little comfort 

 to the prisoner, who said, "Confound it 

 all! They've got me in jail, haven't 

 theyt" So it is with these proposi- 

 tions. Our theories, as to what will 

 work and what will not, are all knocked 

 into a cocked hat when someone comes 

 along and tells you that he has done 

 just what your theory is supposed to 

 prove impossible. 



One thing I have noticed, however, 

 and that is: In every case where soil 

 was used continuously for several years 

 with success, the beds were solid, so 

 that, when the soil was worked over, it 

 was possible to spade it a foot or more 

 in depth. There is no doubt that when 

 the roots of the plants are able to go 

 down into the soil as far as they please, 

 the soil will not be exhausted as much 

 as where the roots are confined to a 

 depth of four inches. We are inclined 



to think that therein lies the secret 

 of using soil continuously for more than 

 one season. 



Those who visited William Sim's 

 place during the big show last March 

 marveled at the fact that soil which 

 had never been changed could produce 

 such growth as was seen there. But 

 when the method of working over the 



soil was explained, one ceased to mar- 

 vel. It is needless to say that there 

 were no raised benches there. 



So, from what experience we have 

 had personally with reference to this 

 subject, and what we have seen ^else- 

 where, I woiild advise against using 

 soil on raised benches more than one 

 season — at least until someone demon- 

 strates by actual test that it can be 

 done successfully. A. F. J. B. 



CULTUEAL NOTES. 



Building of a Cincinnati Florist. 



f A paper by Ferdinand Kolbe. of North Detroit, 

 read before the Detroit Florists' Club, continued 

 from The Review of May 18.1 



General Treatment. 



Under the head of general treatment 

 are to be classed the most important 

 details in growing carnations. There 

 is, first, the temperature, which should 

 be kept as even as possible, near the 

 50-degree mark at night, letting it run 

 up to about 56 or 58 degrees on cloudy 

 days and 65 degrees on . sunny days. 

 Those varieties with naturally stiffer 

 stems will stand 2 degrees more — the 

 Lawson family and Beacon, for ex- 

 ample. 



The most important of all operations 

 is the watering, which must be at- 

 tended to with the utmost care. Keep- 

 ing the soil constantly wet will surely 

 make it sour in the course of time, 

 when it will be useless to plant growth 

 and will even rot the roots, or at least 

 retard their action. I generally judge 

 whether watering is necessary by look- 

 ing at the soil, noting if there are any 

 active roots to be seen on top. Or I 

 determine whether there is any moist- 

 ure in the soil by taking a little be- 

 tween two fingers and squeezing it; if 

 it flattens, then there is no hurry 

 about watering, but if it crumbles up 

 it is time to give them a fairly good 

 soaking. 



The air is another important factor 

 in producing a good quality of stock. 

 Do not be too stingy about your coal 

 pile. We all know that plant life, as 

 well as human life, needs oxygen for 

 its existence. Without it there would 

 be no life. This shows that the more 

 air we can give the plants, the better 

 will their constitution develop. I open 

 the vents on all possible occasions, es- 

 pecially on close, cloudy days. These 

 are the days that are most liable to 

 produce rust and other fungous dis- 

 eases. 



Diseases and Pests. 



In running up against diseases, I can 

 not help using the old, common expres- 

 sion, * * An ounce of prevention is better 



