Decbuber 26, 1912. 



The Florists^ Review 



15 



medal; Allwood Bros., silver gilt medal; 

 G. Lange, silver medal; A. F. Button, 

 silver medal; Wm. Lawrenson, silver 

 gilt medal. 



British Varieties. 



E. F. Fel*on & Sons were awarded 

 a silver gilt medal for a collection of 

 twenty-four British varieties. The 

 most noteworthy sorts were R. F. Fel- 

 ton, Lady Meyer, Snowstorm, Lady 

 Northcliffe, Empire Day, Marmion, 

 Una Wallace, Carola, Sunstar, Lady 

 Alington, Baroness de Brienen, British 

 Queen, Union Jack, Queen Mary, Brit- 

 ish Triumph, etc. 



To gain an award of merit, a variety 

 must score at least 75 points out of a 

 possible 100. The following were suc- 

 cessful: Mary Allwood, 84 points, from 

 Allwood Bros., a brilliant cherry red 

 of perfect form, with smooth petals; 

 Snowstorm, 82 points, from W. Law- 

 renson, a giant among whites, with fine 

 depth of flower and substance; Mrs. 

 A. F. Dutton, 79 points, from A. F. 

 Dutton, pale pink, charming flowers, 

 a sport from White Perfection; Baron- 

 ess de Brienen, 76 points, from Stuart 

 Low & Co., clear salmon pink. Benora 

 also received an award of merit. 



Annual Meeting and Banquet. 



The annual meeting and banquet 

 were presided over by J. S. Brunton 

 and all passed over with great eclat. 

 At the banquet the leading speakers 

 were: M. Todd, Edinburgh; W. Law- 

 renson, Yarm; W. H. Page, Hampton, 

 and S. Mortimer, Farnham. 



At the business meeting the commit- 

 tee reported on the work of the past 

 year and referred to the donation of 

 £11 from American visitors to the in- 

 ternational banquet in May. The treas- 

 urer presented an encouraging report 

 on the funds of the society. J. S. 

 Brunton was reelected chairman; W. E. 

 Wallace, vice-chairman; L. J. Cook, 

 treasurer; T. A. Weston, secretary. 



In connection with the show, a con- 

 ference on carnation culture was at- 

 tended by over 200 persons. J. Gard- 

 ner read a paper and the discussion 

 should have been opened by the cham- 

 pion grower, W. E. Wallace, but, un- 

 fortunately, he met with an accident 

 at home about two days before and 

 was unable to attend. He is progressing 

 satisfactorily. Messrs. Sherwood, En- 

 gelmann. Page, Mason, Wells, Weston, 

 Dutton, Hawes, etc., took part in the 

 proceeidings. 



Carnations had a good inning during 

 the week and the prospects are deci- 

 dedly good for the society's future. 

 Bee. 



CARNATION CULTUBE IN BEIEF. 



(A paper by Aubrey A. Pembroke, of Beverly. 

 Mass., read before the North Shore Hortlcultnral 

 Society. ] 



The carnation is one of the best 

 flowers we have in commerce, as it is 

 comparatively easy to grow and is so 

 useful in almost all decorative schemes. 

 It is also indispensable for bouquet 

 work and designs of all kinds. It is, 

 in my opinion, second only to the queen 

 of flowers, the rose. 



As regards the cultivation of the 

 carnation, all that is necessary is al- 

 most any fairly good soil, enriched with 

 good fertilizer, and a whole lot of care 

 after planting. I think the care and 

 attention bestowed on the plants after 

 they are in the house has more bearing 

 on the success of the crop than has 

 character of the soil used. Such things 



White Wonder. Olorloea. Dorothy Gordon. 



H. F. Mason's Exhibit, Winninsf the American Cup at London. England. 



as too much heat, too much water and 

 too many draughts are the most fre- 

 quent causes of failure. The best soU, 

 to my mind, possible to get is the top 

 sod from an old pasture, plowed about 

 four inches deep and stacked either in 

 the fall or early spring, it matters little 

 which, as the results will be about 

 the same. In stacking, use about one- 

 fourth good cow manure, putting one 

 layer of sod and one layer of manure 

 alternately, sprinkling in about one 

 bushel of lime to four cartloads of 

 loam; also, a few pounds of salt can 

 be added and will prove beneficial. The 

 compost heap should be cut down a few' 

 weeks before planting and should be 

 turned over as frequently as labor fa- 

 cilities will allow, mixing in a small 

 proportion of bone fiour, which I think 

 i» more advisable than top dressing 

 with bone. 



Benching the Stock. 



The time for planting to get the best 

 results is from July 10 to August 1, but 

 good results will be obtained if the 

 planting is finished by September 10. 

 Later planting than that is not advis- 

 able, as after that time the plants will 

 not be established and in flower by 

 winter, and when they do flower they 

 will be apt to be soft-stemmed, with 

 smaller blossoms than the early planted 

 ones. Large plants will suffer much 

 more from late planting than smaller 

 ones. 



About five to six inches of soil in 

 the benches or beds will be ample. 

 There is a difference of opinion con- 

 cerning benches and solid beds, some 

 claiming the solid beds require more 

 careful watering and are slower in 

 flowering in the middle of winter. I, 

 myself, think they more than make 

 up for any lack of production in win- 

 ter by being of much better quality 

 in the spring and early summer months, 

 which, after all, is the time the houses 

 produce the greatest quantity of flowers 

 and also of money, which is the thing 

 that counts most to the commercial 

 Oian. 



The plants should be lifted with a 

 nice ball and with all the roots possi- 



ble. In planting, firm nicely around 

 the plants and leave the soil around 

 them fairly level. The habit of leav- 

 ing a basin around the plant is objec- 

 tionable, as in filling in there are sure 

 to be lots of plants that will have too 

 much soil piled around them, which 

 is a great inducement to stem-rot. It 

 is advisable not to dig more plants 

 at a time than can be planted before 

 their roots dry and the plants wilt, as 

 plants that suffer in that way will not 

 recover and start to grow half so 

 quickly as their more fortunate com- 

 panions. 



When a bench is planted, give the 

 plants a fairly good watering, enough 

 to wot the ball nicely and the soil 

 around them, but do not soak the bed 

 down as though there would never be 

 any more water to give them. Avoid 

 draughts, and shade the house a little 

 if the weather is hot, but do not put 

 on too heavy a shade or far more harm 

 will be done than by the sun. 



After the planting is finished, the 

 best advice I can offer is to watch them 

 carefully and find out for yourself the 

 exact condition of the plants, and be 

 governed accordingly. 



Heavy watering before the roots are 

 established is detrimental to the plants, 

 as is being too dry, but to a much 

 lesser degree, as the harm done by their 

 being too dry is much easier remedied 

 than that done by overwatering. 



Fumigation and Feeding. 



Fumigation should be done once 

 evory week to keep down green-fly 

 and thrips, and syringing should be 

 started on the first appearance of red 

 spider and kept up on every bright 

 day until there is not one to be seen. 

 Even then there will be plenty left to 

 come foith on the first warm day or 

 two in the spring. 



It is woU to support the plants as 

 soon as povssible after planting, either 

 with one of the carnation supports of- 

 fered in thi' trade journals or with 

 wires lengthwise of the benches and 

 strings across to prevent them falling 

 about and becoming misshapen. It is 

 better to keep ahead in this particu- 



