March 2, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



18 



FEBTILIZINO THE FIELD SOIL. 



I am seeking a little of your valuable 

 advice about the planting of carna- 

 tions in the field. I sowed the land 

 last fall with rye, so as to plow it under 

 this spring to serve for manure. Farm 

 manure is not obtainable in this sec- 

 tion and I have been thinking of put- 

 ting bone meal on after it is plowed 

 and then harrowing it in. How much 

 bone meal per acre would you advise 

 me to use? Any other advice would 

 be gladly welcomed. A. C. W. 



Be careful that you do not overdo the 

 fertilizing of your carnation field. There 

 is danger of starting stem-rot by having 

 it not in the proper state of decomposi- 

 tion. The green crop which you are in- 

 tending to turn under this spring would 

 be all that I would advise for this 

 spring. If you have a lot of wood 

 ashes it would be a good idea to put on 

 a good sprinkling of it before you har- 

 row, instead of the bone. If you need 

 more fertilizer on the field, and you 

 cannot get stable manure, I would ad- 

 vise you to get ground sheep manure 

 instead of bone. Plow the field late 

 next fall, after you have dug all the 

 carnations. Then put on the sheep ma- 

 nure at the rate of about two tons to 

 the acre and harrow it in slightly. Be 

 sure this fall plowing is deep. In the 

 spring plow only moderately deep, so 

 the manure, will not be worked down 

 too deep. 



I might add that it is not considered 

 wise to make your field soil too rich. 

 You do not want a rank growth in the 

 field, and if your soil is moderately rich 

 in plant food, so that the plants will 

 make a moderate growth, it is better 

 than if it were extremely rich. The soil 

 in your benches should be a great deal 

 richer than that in the field, as that is 

 where you want the strong growth. 



A. F. J. B. 



NAME or CAENATION. 



We are sending you under separate 

 cover a carnation bloom which was 

 taken from an odd plant that is among 

 a bench of our Rose-pink Enchantress. 

 We consider it something special, for 

 it is a strong grower and free bloomer. 

 I have taken from it seven blooms and 

 forty-eight cuttings and there are five 

 flowering shoots left on the plant. 

 Please give me the name of the variety. 



A. M. B. 



The plant that is mixed with your 

 Rose-pink Enchantress is Afterglow. 

 This is a good record for that variety, 

 and if you succeed in getting as good 

 results on an average per plant next 

 season you will find it highly profitable. 

 It will give you a high quality of bloom, 

 but most growers have found it hardly 

 prolific enough in flowering. 



A. F. J. B. 



AMERICAN CAENATION SOCIETY. 



Department of Registration. 



William Kleinheinz, of Ogontz, Pa., 

 has registered Carnation Miss Dimple 

 Widener, Mrs. Thos. Lawson x Lady 

 Bountiful; scarlet; size, three and one- 

 half inches; clean grower; free bloomer; 

 long, stiff stems and free from disease; 

 never splits and every flower comes 

 perfect. 



Entries for the Boston Show. 



Members of the American Carnation 

 Society will please bear in mind that 

 all entries for the Boston show should 

 be in the hands of Secretary A. F. J. 

 Baur, Indianapolis, Ind., by March 18; 

 $2 will be charged for each entry made 

 after that date. 



Only members of the A. C. S. are 

 eligible to compete in the general car- 

 nation classes, excepting section G. If 

 you are not a member, send in your ap- 

 plication now or when you forward 

 your entries. Include $3 to cover the 

 first year's dues and entrance fee. The 

 fact that you may not be a member 

 now need not prevent you from compet- 

 ing at the show, but you must become 

 a member before your entries will be 

 accepted. 



Send for a premium list. Copies have 

 been mailed to all members. 



In section H, class 51, the donors re- 

 quest that the requirement of five 

 inches in size be omitted. The $25 gold 

 medal or $25 in gold will be awarded 

 to the twelve largest blooms, one or 

 more varieties, regardless of size. Make 

 a note of this. 



Members of the A. C. S. may now 



secure membership buttons. , A wide 

 distribution is desired. The price is 75 

 cents. When you send in your dues, 

 just add 75 cents for one of these 

 buttons. • 



Why not send in your dues now, and 

 thereby save the secretary some work 

 at the convention? 



A. F. J. Baur, Sec'y. 



THE SOIL OR THE FERTILIZER? 



I am sending you a sample of soil 

 from our benches, in which we are try- 

 ing to grow roses, carnations, violets, 

 lettuce, etc. Will you kindly let us 

 know whether it is a suitable soil for 

 this purpose, as well as for a full line 

 of pot plants? 



I also enclose a sample of a fertilizer 

 which we have used on this soil. The 

 advertised analysis of the fertilizer is 

 as follows: Animal ammonia, 6.5 per 

 cent; nitrogen equivalent, 5.85; animal 

 phosphate, 1.8; phosphoric acid, 8.26; 

 pure potash, 3,0. When used as a top- 

 dressing, it creates a mold on the soil, 

 and young stock planted in soil in 

 which this has been used damps off. 

 We have to buy all our soil each year, 

 and this is what was delivered last 

 year. Our stock is not in the best of 

 condition; the plants do not seem to 

 take hold and grow as they should, 

 especially the roses. We have used 

 liberal quantities of both cow manure 

 and bone meal. If you can give me 

 any information on this, it will be 

 much appreciated. W. E. 



The sample of soil has not reached 

 me, so I can say nothing about it. 



The fertilizer used, if the analysis is 

 correct, should have no ill effect on 

 plants. It would be advisable, how- 

 ever, to refrain from using it on very 

 young stock. By mixing it with twice 

 its bulk of good sod, when using it as 

 a mulch, it will be rendered safer. Cow 

 manure is the safest and most suitable 

 manure when it can be had pure, and 

 by using it in the proportion of one 

 part to four or five of soil good results 

 can be obtained. Ribes. 



VALLEY IN COLD STORAGE. 



What temperature is correct for val- 

 ley when held in cold storage? How 

 should valley be treated upon being 

 taken out of cold storage? What is the 

 coldest the temperature can become be- 

 fore it will hurt valley in cold storage? 

 Would not injury be more likely to oc- 

 cur if the temperature should run up? 



H. H. K. 



A temperature varying from 25 to 28 

 degrees, but as near the latter figure as 

 possible, is best. I have had good suc- 

 cess in holding them at 26 degrees, but 

 28 degrees seemed to give even better 

 results. When taken out of cold stor- 

 age, valley must not be at once placed 

 in a warm, light house, or it will sus- 

 tain great injury and will perhaps be 

 rendered entirely useless for forcing. 



Thaw out in a cool cellar, shed or other 

 building; if dark, so much the better. 



The temperature, if allowed to remain 

 below 24 degrees for any considerable 

 time, is liable to damage the pips. On 

 one occasion a batch was held at 20 de- 

 grees for an experiment, but one ex- 

 perience of that kind suflSced. The 

 greatest injury, of course, comes from 

 the temperature running up. Lily of 

 the valley in the open ground becomes 

 active even when the temperature is 

 below freezing, and if your cold storage 

 temperature should rise and remain at 

 32 degrees or even a degree lower for a 

 few days, the pips would sustain injury. 



A fluctuating cold storage plant must 

 be avoided. If you cannot keep an even 

 temperature, it will be far better to 

 purchase from some reliable firm which 

 specializes in this class of valley pips. 



C. W. 



