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August 20, 1012. 



- The Florists^ Review 



17 



Visitoift at the Establishmeot of Weadlaad & Keitnel, Elmhurit, IIL, Aaeutt 21, 1912. 



I'ait of tills Bessioii will be glvpii over to a 

 (leiieral dlscUKHlon of such Kreenlioimi' prolilemw 

 ••IS wjiterlng, disease and Insect prevciitloii. fer- 

 rillzation, packing, marketing, etc. 'llierc will 

 he a general Interchange of ideas by the leading 

 iTiowerg. 



Ir.W P. M. ' 

 Co-operation Session. 

 ■■Co-operation. Its Beneflts, Obstacles and 

 Kiitnre"— C. R. White, President New York 

 State Vegetable Growers' Association. 

 Hiscusslon. 

 .V(1.1unrnnient. 



DBAINAOE OVER ALKALI SOIL. 



We should like to get some definite 

 information regarding sub-irrigation. 

 We are building two new glass houses 

 for vegetable forcing. Our soil in this 

 part of Washington state is somewhat 

 alkaline. For this reason we remove 

 fourteen inches of the top soil, which 

 we replace with soil suitable for our 

 l)urpose. Before hauling in the new 

 soil we lay two strings of 4-inch tile 

 the full length of each 1.5-foot house. 

 This tile is laid on the level and we 

 jdace a tee at regular intervals of 

 thirty feet in each string. In these 

 tees we fasten a IV^-inch pipe with 

 cement. This pipe comes through to 

 the top of the new soil, protruding 

 about two inches above it. Each of 

 these pipes is capped to prevent clog- 

 ging when not in use. These stand- 

 pi])es are used to supply our tiles with 

 water from the top. About half of 

 the tile is placed below the level of 

 the old soil. On top of this, and cov- 

 pring the entire surface of the old soil, 

 we fill in about three inches of medium- 

 coarse river gravel. This completely 

 covers the tile, leaving only the stand- 

 l>ipes protruding. Over this layer of 

 Mravel we haul fully eleven inches of 

 good soil. What we want to know is, 

 whether this system will give us the 

 best results in sub-irrigation and, if 

 not, how can we improve itf Our 

 ground is high and naturally well 

 drained. Do you think it would be 

 wiser to omit the gravel, or will the 

 water work its way through it and 

 the soil above it as well? Are we 

 using sufficient tile and is the size 

 right ? Should the supply points be 

 more frequent? Our primary idea in 

 using this gravel was to keep the 

 alkali from working up through our 

 new soil. The advantage of additional 

 drainage was also considered. We are 

 I'lanning more construction and if you 

 'an suggest any improvement in our 

 i 'resent method, taking into consyiera- 

 tion the alkali with. which we have to 

 • ontend, we shall be pleased to have 

 your reply. W. W. F. C. 



alkali soil, but would advise that pro- 

 vision be made for carrying off the 

 surplus water after irrigating. Whether 

 gravel should be used over the tile 

 would depend upon the nature of the 

 soil, but I would not think it neces- 

 sary if it is adapted for growing 

 lettuce. The only change we can sug- 

 gest is the use of three instead of two 

 lines of tile in each house. 



I have had no experience with an 



DOUBLE AND SINGLE. 



Violet plants in the field are at last 

 beginning to move a little. They stand 

 still and appear to barely exist during 

 spells of drought and heat, but we do 

 not mind this if that arch enemy, red 

 spider, wjll only leave them alone, 

 knowing, as we do, that "after the mid- 

 dle of August, with the arrival of cooler 

 nights, they take on a new lease of life. 

 The best doubles are now grown under 

 glass all the time, the new crop being 

 planted soon after the old one has been 

 cleaned out. The advantages of indoor 

 culture are that the plants can be kept 

 moist at the root and clean of spider, 

 this making larger, healthier and more 

 vigorous plants than field stock, also 

 starting to bloom earlier than the lifted 

 plants. All growers, however, do not 

 cultivate even doubles under glass 

 through the summer, and some who lift 

 from the field are successful growers. 

 It is necessary to house doubles earlier 

 than singles for best results. The plants 

 are less hardy and are more susceptible 

 to disease in the fall. The dreaded 

 spot, which has caused so many growers 

 to abandon the culture of double vio- 

 lets, usually comes with the first heavy 

 night dews. These may not cause it, • 

 but if the plants are under glass they 

 are less liable to attack,' and for this 

 reason we always like to get doubles 

 all planted before September 1. 



With single violets, indoor culture 

 would result in absolute failure. There 



would be no trouble about getting big, 

 healthy foliaged plants, but when the 

 blooming season arrived the flowers 

 would be small, of poor color and few 

 in number. Plenty of growers have 

 proven this by experience. Singles 

 should never bfe housed until they have 

 had a few degrees of frost to check 

 their leaf growth. If planted during 

 warm weather, before the advent of 

 frost, they will simply produce a wealth 

 of foliage at the expense of flowers, and 

 the only way to improve them under 

 such conditions is to let some Irost into 

 the house on two successive nights. 



The plants are now starting away to 

 grow and runners should be removed 

 from them. There is ample time in 

 which they can make large plants, as 

 September and early October is the pe- 

 riod of most rapid growth. Keep the 

 cultivator constantly at work among 

 them and you will be surprised to note 

 the rate at which the plants will grow 

 from this time onward. 



LAND FOB ASTERS. 



We have about three-quarters of an 

 acre of ground we "wish to plant in 

 asters next spring. The ground slopes 

 to the east 'and is a red clay soil. It 

 was sown down last spring in sorghum 

 millet. This has been cut and we want 

 to prepare the soil for the asters. This 

 is our first attempt to grow asters and, 

 as cow manure is not to be had, will 

 you please tell us what to do to put 

 the soil in good condition to grow first- 

 class stock? The asters are for the 

 market here, in central Alabama. 



H. A. C. 



If you can secure any well decayed 

 horse or hog manure, do so and give the 

 ground a liberal coating. Plow the 

 ground and leave it rough over winter. 

 When the soil has sufficiently dried in 

 spring, harrow it thoroughly and keep 

 it well stirred with the cultivator until 

 planting time. Of course, you can 

 hardly stir the ground too often after 

 the planting is done. If you can not 

 procure any of the animal manures con- 

 veniently, plow as advised and broad 

 cast a good commercial fertilizer at the 

 rate of 1,000 pounds per acre, harrow- 

 ing this in well before planting. Fine 

 bone, you willfjBnd,' suits asters well; so 

 does pulverized sheep manure. In order 

 to free your clay soil somewhat, give it 

 a liberal dressing of air-slaked lime 

 in the fall, before plowing. This should 

 not be applied, however, at the same 

 time as manui'e, as it releases too much 

 of the nitrogen into the atmosphere. 



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