Afbil 30, 1914. 



The Florists' Review 



17 



PLANTING IN THE FIELD. 



Pushing the Work Systematically. 



Planting the young carnations in the 

 field is one job that you want to com- 

 plete as quickly, once you have begun, 

 as it is possible to do it. Having satis- 

 fied yourself as to the weather condi- 

 tions from this time on and having 

 got your inside work in such shape 

 that you will be able to give your undi- 

 vided attention to the planting, you are 

 ready to make a start. It requires a 

 little foresight and system, where any 

 quantity is to be handled, but system 

 is a prime necessity on any place, if 

 things are to move along smoothly. A 

 few points that we find a great help 

 to us might be of some benefit to you 

 as well. 



Before we begin operations, we make 

 up a list of all the varieties on each 

 bench. These are jotted down in rota- 

 tion as they stand on the bench, and 

 notation is made, approximately, of the 

 number of plants of each variety. By 

 consulting these lists, we are able to 

 locate each batch of any variety with- 

 out having to hunt all over the place 

 for a batch that we thought we had 

 somewhere. Each batch is checked off 

 as it is taken out. Try this and you 

 will be surprised at the amount of time 

 it will save you. 



Filling the Trays. 



Have enough trays of a convenient 

 size to hold as many dumped plants as 

 your force can set out in an afternoon, 

 unless you have enough help to be able 

 to have one force dumping while the 

 other plants out. We find that on 

 nearly every place there are several 

 men who have more or less work to do 

 inside, before they can help on the 

 planting. So we put all the available 

 help to dumping out plants in the morn- 

 ing, setting the plants in trays, and by 

 noon we usually have enough plants 

 dumped to run all hands at planting for 

 the afternoon. Our soil is fairly sandy 

 and dries off quickly, enabling us to re- 

 sume planting soon after a rain. So, 

 if a rainy day comes along, unless it 

 has the appearance of a prolonged spell, 

 we dump out enough plants for a whole 

 day's planting, having first given the 

 plants a good watering, so that, they 

 will not suffer for water even should 

 they stand a couple of days. Be sure 

 you provide enough burlap to cover 

 the plants after they are dumped out 

 of the pots and are waiting to be 

 planted, as they will dry out quickly on 

 a bright day. 



With Line and Trowel. 



During the planting we divide the 

 force into droppers and planters. A 

 good man will plant about as fast as 

 a boy will drop the plants. We use a 

 line to plant by and trowels to plant 

 with. We have known fields that were 

 so mellow that one could plant without 

 a trowel, but even in such fields we 

 think a trowel is best. It enables the 

 men to get down to (he moist soil bet- 

 ter after a day or two of sunshine has 

 dried out the soil somewhat on the 

 surface. We use hand cultivators and 

 therefore plant more closely than others 

 who use horse-power for cultivating. 

 Our rows are spaced sixteen inches 



The Editor Is pleased 

 when a Reader 

 presents his ideas 

 on ai77 sublect treated In 



c«: 



As experience Is the beet 

 teacher, so do we 

 learn fastest by an 

 exchanee of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brought out 

 by discussion. 



Good i>enmanship, spelling and 

 grammar, though desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would talk 

 when dointr your best. 



\rK SHALL BK GLAD 

 TO HSAR FROM TOU 



apart, while the plants are set about 

 eight inches apart in the row. Have 

 the plants set just deep enough to cover 

 the ball of soil with a half inch of loose 

 soil to keep it from drying out. 



Be sure to have the plants standing 

 up straight. We have seen many 

 plants set leaning to one side, which 

 is wrong. If you have ever bought 

 plants and found them one-sided, that 

 is the reason for it. Do all the neces- 

 sary walking on the planted portion of 

 the field, and after each day's planting, 

 before quitting time, have the culti- 

 vators run through. A. F. J. Baur. 



PLANTS WINTERED OUTDOORS. 



Last fall we had a surplus of carna- 

 tion plants, which were left in the 

 field. Would you kindly let us know 

 whether it would do to plant these in- 

 side in the coming fallf The plants 

 are small, but bushy. Please notice 

 that we are located in the southeastern 

 part of Washington state. E. B. P. 



If these plants are properly cared 

 for until benching time, there is no 

 reason why they should not make good 

 plants for that purpose. In your cli- 

 mate, where the winters are not so se- 

 vere as they are farther east, the 

 plants would likely live through the 

 winter in good condition. They will 

 require regular cultivating and the 

 usual care given the young plants, I 

 am not conversant with your market, 

 but it has just occurred to me that it 

 might pay you better to allow these 

 plants to bloom outside this summer 

 and to use young stock for your 

 benches. Left outdoors, they would 

 probably give you several times the 

 value of the young plants, in blooms. 



A, F, J, B. 



LEAF DISEASE IN TEXAS. 



Our carnations in the greenhouse 

 have the black spot. The blossoms for 

 some time have been inferior, but only 

 in the last few days have we discov- 

 ered beyond a doubt that the disease 

 is black spot. The carnations in the 

 field, which we expected to put in the 

 greenhouse for next season, were cut- 

 tings taken from the plants now in 

 the greenhouse. The plants in the field 

 show some signs of the black spot. We 

 wish to obtain your advice on what 

 course to pursue. As the season for 

 the blooming of the plants in the house 

 will soon be over, it does not make 

 much difference about them. Will 

 there be any chance to save the plants 

 that are now in the field? Or would 

 it be better to destroy all the carna- 

 tion plants, both in the house and out- 

 side, which we have on hand and buy 

 our entire stock of plants for next 

 season's use? R. F, C. 



I do not know of any disease of car- 

 nations called black spot; you prob- 

 ably mean what we call leaf-spot. This 

 disease is propagated by means of 

 spores, which multiply rapidly in a 

 humid atmosphere. The fact that cer- 

 tain young plants were propagated 

 from old plants which were affected 

 by the disease does not necessarily 

 mean that the young plants will be 

 affected too, unless some of the spores 



