14 



The Florists^ Review 



December 26, 1912. 



WEAK-STEMMED ENCHANTRESS. 



I should like to get some advice on 

 carnations. My plants have nice, large 

 blooms, but the stems are weak. I used 

 new soil last fall, with cow manure and 

 some lime. I have not given any feed 

 yet. How would chicken manure do? 

 I run the house at a night temperature 

 of 50 to 52 degrees. The varieties are 

 Enchantress and White Enchantress. 

 Would lime or wood ashes help them? 



M. C. 



The temperature at which you are 

 •carrying your carnations is about right, 

 but could be reduced to 48 or 50 de- 

 igrees with good results; 52 degrees is 

 cot too high if a fairly heavy soil is 

 used, but if the soil is rather light the 

 stems are apt to lack in strength. The 

 growth will be a . trifle slower in the 

 lower temperature, but the higher qual- 

 ity of the cut will easily make up for 

 that. One or two applications of hy- 

 drated lime or of wood ashes, applied 

 a month apart, will strengthen the 

 stems materially. Use a 2% -inch pot- 

 ful of lime to each row of plants half- 

 way across a 5-foot bed. 



A. F. J. B. 



TO DRIVE OUT ANGLEWORMS. 



How many pounds of slaked lime 

 should be used in each 100 gallons of 

 water, for watering rose bedst Would 

 it drive out angleworms? Please state 

 the proportion, also, for carnations. 



W. W. E. 



Instead of watering your carnation 

 beds with lime water, I would suggest 

 that you sprinkle the slaked or hy- 

 drated lime over the beds and water 

 it in. Not that this method would be 

 particularly superior to the other, as 

 far as results are concerned, but there 

 would be greater ease of application. 

 Apply about a 2%-inch potful of lime 

 to each row of plants halfway across 

 a 5-foot bed. This will drive out an- 

 gleworms, and will benefit your carna- 

 bions in other ways as well. 



A. F. J. B. 



NITRATE OF SODA. 



Will you kindly tell me what propor- 

 tion of nitrate of soda to use in water- 

 ing geraniums and carnations? 



H. G. N. 



The standard strength, in using ni- 

 trate of soda for watering plants, is 

 •one pound of the chemical to fifty gal- 

 Hons of water. The intervals between 



applications will be determined by the 

 condition and the requirements of the 

 stock. The weather will also be one of 

 the principal factors in determining the 

 amount needed. If the weather is 

 bright and the plants are in full growth, 

 one application each week will not be 

 too much. But if the weather is cloudy, 

 be careful not to overdo it. At the 

 least sign of softness, weaken the solu- 

 tion and make the applications lees fre- 

 quent. 



Nitrate of soda is one of the most 

 valuable of chemical fertilizers for 

 feeding pot plants, in order to put size 

 and finish on the blooms, but does not 

 find much favor with carnation grow- 

 ers, on account of its tendency to pro- 

 duce softness in the bloom and conse- 

 quent poor keeping quality. 



A. F. J. B. 



THE LONDON CARNATION SHOW. 



A New Record Made. 



The annual winter show of the Per- 

 petual Flowering Carnation Society was 

 held in the Boyal Horticultural hall, 

 London, December 3 and 4. In point of 

 size, quality of blooms and attendance 

 of the public, it eclipsed all previous 

 carnation shows held in England. Alto- 

 gether it was a marked success and 

 members of the society were congratu- 

 lating one another upon the remarkable 

 advance in interest which each succes- 

 sive year brings forth. 



In the leading class for group of cut 

 flowers the gold medal went to C. En- 

 gelmann, Saffron Walden, who staged 

 quite a number of varieties of his own 

 raising. Sunstar, among his novelties, 

 was particularly radiant. Second prize 

 and silver gilt medal went to W. Wells 



& Co., Ltd., Merstham. Scarlet Glow, 

 White House and Benora were striking 

 in their exhibit. The third prize was 

 won by the Clury Nurseries. The 

 Brunton challenge cup for British nov- 

 elties was awarded to C. Engelmann for 

 Sunstar, Carola and Lady Northcliffe. 



The American Cup. 



The American cup for novelties was 

 won by H. F. Mason, Hampton Hill, 

 with Dorothy Gordon, Gloriosa and 

 White Wonder. W. E. Wallace followed 

 with Gloriosa, Benora and Dorothy 

 Gordon; third, C. Engelmann, with 

 Benora, Pocahontas and Bosette. 



The silver gilt medal for the best 

 vase in the show went to a splendid 

 vase of Lady Meyer shown by W. E. 

 Guile, of the Newport Carnation 

 Nursery. 



In the color classes the leading 

 awards went to W. E. Guile, Stuart 

 Low & Co., W. E. Wallace, C. Engel- 

 mann and H. F. Mason. Enchantress, 

 Baroness de Brienen, Pink Delight, 

 Una Wallace, Mrs. C. W. Ward, Scarlet 

 Glow, White Perfection and White En- 

 chantress were the leaders. 



In fancies, W. E. Wallace was first, 

 with Benora; Stuart Low & Co., second, 

 with the same variety. 



For novelty not in commerce, All- 

 wood Bros, scored with Mary All wood; 

 W. E. Wallace, second, with Una Wal- 

 lace; W. Wells & Co., Ltd., third, with 

 Salmon Enchantress. 



The principal non-competitive exhib- 

 its were as follows: G. Engelmann, 

 gold medal, a comprehensive collection 

 of American and British varieties; 

 Stuart Low & Co., gold medal, with 

 fine Baroness de Brienen in the col- 

 lection; Young & Co., Cheltenham, sil- 

 ver £;ilt medal; H. Burnett, silver j^ilt 



Visitors at J. E. Hoatetter'i, Maahcim, Pa^ November 30. 



