WINTER WORK III 



Carnations like fresh air and plenty of it, and the man who 

 keeps the ventilators shut down tight in order to keep the 

 heat in is not among the best growers. A little crack of 

 air whenever things warm up a little means healthier stock. 

 If you are depending on your own Carnations for 

 Christmas and New Year, exercise proper care in cutting 

 the flowers; go over the plants carefully and only cut 

 those that are nearly fully open. A careless man may cut 

 as they come, but that is wrong; let the flowers not fully 

 developed remain, yet not so long that they are overde- 

 veloped and so go to sleep soon after being cut. Do your 

 close cutting at Christmas, when you need the flowers most. 

 At the same time an oversupply in the market then may 

 mean weak prices, while there may be a greater call after 

 the holidays than can be supplied. One must get to know 

 the probable conditions as nearly as possible and act 

 accordingly. 



WORK IN LATE WINTER AND SPRING 



It is really from the second week in February that 

 many growers get the most out of the plants, and the man 

 who considers that his work is done on the benches after 

 this date, and does nothing beyond disbudding and cutting 

 the flowers, makes a great mistake. He who intends throw- 

 ing his plants out early in Spring in order to make room 

 for bedding stock need not be so particular; but even with 

 him, if he intends cutting flowers until Easter, it will pay 

 well to spend a few hours each week on a bench and attend 

 to the routine work, such as has to be done in order to feel 

 that everything is in first-class shape, and those who have 

 it that way are the ones who are making the growing of 

 Carnations a paying proposition. Disease of any kind is 

 liable to attack a Carnation plant, no matter how clean the 



