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The Florists' Review 



Decemukk 12, I'JIL'. 



PLOWING OLD PLANTS UNDER. 



I had a few hundred carnation plants 

 left in the field, which were allowed to 

 bloom during September and October. 

 Next spring I intend to sow oats on 

 the spot where the carnations were, so 

 as to plow the oats under for manure. 

 In the following season I would use 

 this plot for carnations again. Would 

 you advise me to pull the plants up or 

 leave them to be plowed under in the 

 spring! C. B. 



Under the plan you suggest, I do not 

 think it would be altogether necessary 

 to pull up those carnation plants before 

 plowing the field. If there was no 

 stem-rot among them^ and if the plants 

 are allowed to decay thoroughly before 

 carnations are again planted on the 

 ground, no harm will likely result. We 

 have seen this done repeatedly, with no 

 harmful results. I would advise plow- 

 ing them under this fall. A. F. J. B. 



ROOTING CARNATION CUTTINGS. 



Please instruct me how to take off 

 carnation cuttings and how to root 

 them. Should they be cut close below 

 the joints or not especially close! What 

 should be the temperature of the house 

 and what should be the temperature of 

 the sand in the bench! How often 

 should the cuttings be watered! Should 

 they be shaded when first put in sand, 

 and how long! How long will it take 

 them to root! What danger points must 

 I guard against in rooting carnations! 

 L.S. 



Take your carnation cuttings from 

 the blooming stems, near the base. By 

 giving a sideways pull you can take 

 them off without breaking off the leaf 

 at the axil. Cut them at the bottom, 

 as far below a joint as possible, in 

 order to have considerable stem to in- 

 sert in the sand before you come to the 

 first pair of leaves. 



An overhead temperature of 50 de- 

 j;rees is about right, and if you have 

 two steam pipes under the bench there 

 will be enough bottom heat to keep 

 the sand just about right. Do not board 

 up in front of the bench to hold the 

 heat under the bench, or there will be 

 too much bottom heat. 



Water often enough to keep the sand 

 in a moist condition. No hard and fast 

 rules can be laid down as to how often 

 water should be given. The only rule 

 would be that the cuttings should never 

 suffer for want of water, and, if the 

 drainage is perfect, overwatering is 

 hardly possible until the cuttings are 

 rooted. 



You will have to shade the cuttings 

 from the direct sun for a few days at 

 least. Then begin to let them have a 

 little of the afternoon sun, increasing 

 it from day to day, until they,.will stand 

 up in the full sun throughput the day. 

 Watch them carefully, however, so as 

 not to overdo this in the early stages. 



Four to five weeks will suffice to 

 root most varieties. Varieties differ 

 somewhat in this respect. During the 

 next ten weeks you should have no 

 trouble in rooting your carnations, and, 

 for the best results all around, this is 

 the proper time for rooting them. After 

 March 1 you will find more difficulty. 

 Not only will the sun be much stronger, 

 but there will be more wind, causing 

 draughts in the house on account of the 

 ventilation necessary to keep down the 

 temperature. A. F. J. B. 



STIGMONOSE. 



Enclosed you will find some carnation 

 leaves that have brown spots on them. 

 Please let me know what is the cause 

 of them and whether the results are 

 likely to be serious. E. C. 



Those spots on the leaves of your car- 

 nations are caused by stigmonose, which 

 is one of the most prevalent diseases 

 of carnations today. Your remedy will 



be in selecting the cuttings for your 

 future stock. Avoid any cutting that 

 shows any of these light spots, and in a 

 season or two you will have your stock 

 clean, provided you also keep the plants 

 free from insects. 



There is little you can do for the 

 plants which you have blooming now. 

 Avoid excessive feeding and over- 

 watering during the winter months. 

 Give all the air you can when weather 

 conditions are favorable. In fact, do 

 everything you can to promote a sturdy, 

 hard growth, as any softness in the 

 growth will show an increase in these 

 light spots. A. F. J. B. 



DRY ROT OF CARNATIONS. 



Will you kindly give me some infor- 

 mation in regard to the following 

 trouble! On my carnation benches 

 there are quite a few plants that are 

 dying. They seem to wilt and turn a 

 light green. After a few days they are 

 entirely dead. When the plants are 

 pulled up, there seems to be a kind of 

 rot affecting the main stem, starting 

 above the roots and going up through 

 the center of the stem to the shoots 

 that branch out. There it stops. The 

 stem resembles an elder stalk and is 

 brittle. The shoots are green and ap- 

 pear to be all right, as you can see by 



Proserpine Tulips and Primulas in a Gold Basket. 



