ACODST 10, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



17 



COAI. ASHES IN BENCH SOIL. 



Are finely sifted coal ashes, mixed in 

 the soil, deleterious to plant life! I 

 have a rather stiff soil to contend with 

 and one much inclined to cake after 

 watering. I have used the ashes in 

 the same soil in the garden and noticed 

 no ill effects, while as an agent for 

 pulverizing the soil they have proved 

 a success. Can I use them on the 

 benches for the same purpose, without 

 injury to the plants? I am using all 

 the wood and tobacco stem ashes I can 

 get, but the supply is limited. The 

 carnations were planted about two 

 months ago in the benches and I ex- 

 pect to have the house built and the 

 glass over them in August. The soil, 

 even in the open, shows a tendency to 

 form green mold. Would you recom- 

 mend the use of a certain amount of 

 air-slaked lime, and, if so, how much? 



W. S. C. 



You will find the coal ashes not at 

 all injurious to your plants, and, as you 

 state in your letter, you will find them 

 valuable in making your soil porous. 

 Your experience with them in your gar- 

 den should be a safe guide in this mat- 

 ter. I am inclined to think that if you 

 get your soil more porous by adding 

 the ashes, you will have no trouble with 

 the green mold which is troubling you 

 now. If, however, it does not disap- 

 pear, you can safely use air-slaked lime. 

 Sprinkle a handful halfway across a 

 5-foot bed, scratch it into the surface 

 and then water it in well. A. F. J. B. 



DEAD LEAVES AFTER BENCHINa. 



Enclosed you will find some leaves of 

 newly set White Perfection carnation 

 plants. The leaves begin drying at the 

 tip and dry right back to the base. If 

 you can give us any help on this we 

 shall be obliged. M. & J. 



The specimens forwarded showed no 

 signs of disease, but appeared to have 

 been badly stung by insects, such as 

 thrips or aphis. The transferring to 

 the houses might cause the leaves to 

 dry more than they would if the plants 

 were left undisturbed, but White Per- 

 fection is usually so clean a grower and 

 is so easily reestablished that we are 

 surprised to see any such trouble un- 

 less the plants were badly mishandled. 

 Two weeks ago we planted a bed of 

 about 2,000 plants of this variety, and 

 there are practically no dead leaves on 

 them — at least not enough to make it 

 necessary to clean them before putting 

 on the supports. 



I would advise you to pick off the 

 dead leaves, as they would decay later 

 and possibly cause leaf -spot. Then give 

 the plants a heavy application of Bor- 

 deaux mixture. After a week or so 

 start spraying them regularly with one 

 of the tobacco extracts, applying it 

 once or twice each week, as the case 

 seems to warrant. If the plants are in 

 bad condition you would perhaps do 

 well to throw them out and replant 

 with new, healthy plants. You could, 

 of course, nurse them along and per- 

 haps restore them to normal health, but 

 by the time you got them into good 

 shape it would be late in the season 

 and a good part of the season's cut 

 would be lost. A. F. J. B. 



CHEMICALS IN COMPOST HEAP. 



I should like to get your opinion of 

 my compost heap, which is intended for 

 flowers in general, but for carnations 

 in particular. The compost consists of 

 thirteen two-horse loads of cow ma- 

 nure, with lots of sand in it; four loads 

 of leaf-mold, 600 pounds of phosphate 

 and 200 pounds of high-grade potash. 

 It has been turned over twice during 

 the two months in which it has been 

 piled up. The land on which I intend 

 to grow the flowers is a sandy loam, 

 on which good horse manure was used 

 two months ago. There is a crop of 



cowpeas on it now. Some mums now 

 growing on the land seem to do well. 

 L. A. D. 



Without knowing anything about 

 your soil, or the quantity of soil you 

 put this fertilizer into, I can give you 

 no opinion as to what results you may 

 expect from it. We usually confine 

 ourselves to cattle or stable manures 

 when preparing our soil for the benches, 

 adding other fertilizers as they are 

 needed later in the season. This is a 

 much safer method than to mix with 

 the soil a lot of chemical manures in a 

 haphazard way. A chemist might ad- 

 vise you correctly on this subject, if 

 you will submit to him a sample of the 

 soil. A. F. J. B. 



TWENTIETH CENTUEY. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 one of the early planted carnation 

 houses of the St. Clair I'loral Co., Belle- 

 ville, 111., with the proprietor and as- 

 sistants also appearing in the picture. 

 The variety here planted is Twentieth 

 Century. This is a seedling raised on 

 the place, which has been grown for 

 five years. It is the result of a cross 

 of Lawson and Nelson Fisher, having 

 the Lawson color, long, strong stems 

 and good calyx. It is an early and 

 continuous bloomer and an easy rooter. 

 For the next season 4,000 plants have 



House of Carnation Twentieth Century, St. Clair Floral Co., Belleville, 111. 





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