590 
•Pit RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Horticultural Notes 
Carnations for Cut Flowers 
Part I. 
Can you advise me concerning the grow¬ 
ing of carnations? Those grown in our 
greenhouse are large in flower, but many 
of them burst at the bottom of the flow¬ 
er, and all the stems are thin and weak. 
1 am most anxious to grow perfect blooms, 
and would be greatly obliged if you can 
help me. My grower made the mistake 
of using horse manure instead of cow 
manure in the ground he used. Would 
this bo entirely responsible for the poor 
results and can it be remedied? 
New York. M. E. F. 
Defects in Bloom. —The cause of split 
flowers and weak stems mentioned is like¬ 
ly due to a variety of conditions not being 
quite right, though least of all to the sub¬ 
stitution of horse manure for cow ma¬ 
nure. Judging from many houses of 
blooming carnations I have seen this Win¬ 
ter. I am inclined to think the weather 
has been in a large part responsible. Dur¬ 
ing July and August we had almost con¬ 
tinuous rain, which caused a very rapid, 
succulent growth of the plants in the 
field ; just the opposite to what we strive 
for. These plants suffered more than 
usual from the shock of being dug up and 
planted into the house. If the soil in the 
house was liberally supplied with manure 
and fertilizer, the recovery would be very 
slow—so slow that they will not grow 
out of the check until continuous bright 
weather towards Spring invigorates them. 
Treatment After Transplanting. 
—Plants of this nature will start very 
much easier and with less loss of foliage 
if planted into soil containing no addition 
of manure whatever—just.good live garden 
soil. After growth is thoroughly estab¬ 
lished, say in six or eight weeks after 
planting, feeding may be started with 
light applications of complete fertilizer or 
a mulch of rotted manure, or both. 
Plants that do not resume growth easily 
and healthily generally grow very weak 
and mature low-grade flowers on weak 
stems, especially if the temperature is not 
kept regular at 48 to 50 degrees at night 
and 10 to 15 degrees higher on bright 
days, with very little increase over night 
rate on cloudy days. These plants of re¬ 
tarded root action and low vitality will 
make inferior cuttings for next season’s 
stock, and anyone wishing good, healthy 
stock for the foundation of next season’s 
success should rather buy new stock than 
endeavor to root from diseased plants. 
Here again there is the danger that pur¬ 
chased stock may not be healthy. Better 
be sure of the health of the stock you 
contemplate purchasing before placing an 
order. 
Propagation. —Healthy carnation cut¬ 
tings root very easily. We use a bench 
4 ft. 6 ins. wide and allow a crack % in. 
wide between the 6 -in. bottom boards for 
drainage. The bottom is covered with an 
inch or two of ashes coarse enough to fill 
up the cracks. Three inches of clean, 
sharp sand is placed on the ashes, and is 
watered and firmed thoroughly. We in- 
se t 50 to 75 cuttings to the square foot, 
firm the sand and water. After that we 
water several times a week, gradually de¬ 
creasing the amount as they force roots. 
The temperature of the house is kept at 
50 to 55 degrees at night, with very lit¬ 
tle increase during the day. The first 
three weeks the direct rays of the sun 
should be kept from them, although each 
day the sun should strike them a little 
earlier in the afternoon until they have 
very short roots, when it can shine on 
them fully. Such cuttings will be much 
more hardy and will transplant easier 
than those rooted in entire shade. Many 
are prematurely weakened by remaining 
too long in the sand. When the roots are 
from Vo in. to % in. long they should be 
removed. At this stage they are growing 
fine, and the inexperienced may procras¬ 
tinate-—no hurry while they grow like 
that, all they need is a little more water. 
The experience of many men and women 
has been that they can live on water alone 
for several weeks or longer, usually with 
considerable benefit to their health, but 
the 100 million or more of us think we 
are starving if we do not get our three 
square meals daily. 
Watering. —After a cutting is rooted 
it actually m'll starve if not given regu¬ 
lar nourishment. The water cure will 
not do for newly rooted cuttings, nor will 
very rich .soil benefit them. Some grow¬ 
ers pot cuttings in 2Vi-in. pots, using 
good, fresh, though not rich soil ; others 
plant direct into benches or flats about 
2Vi ins. apart. We use 2-in. dirt bands, 
and like them better than pots or flats. 
If the cuttings are purchased it is al¬ 
ways wise to shade them for the first 
week after planting, as we cannot tell by 
looking at them whether they have been 
finished in the sun or shade. Do not 
water young plants until the soil in the 
pots or bands dries out slightly. Too 
much water is aheaps injurious for car¬ 
nation plants at all stages of their growth. 
Outdoor Treatment. —Early in May 
the plants are set in the field in good 
garden soil, moderately well fertilized. If 
the soil is too rich and the season wet, 
like the one just past, the growth will be 
rapid and soft, and the plant will be very 
difficult to start in a healthy condition 
indoors. Some growers plant 12x14 ins., 
others in rows 20 ins. apart and S ins. 
apart in a row, so as to enable cultivation 
with a horse. Cultivate thoroughly and 
often, especially after each rain, unless 
the rains are too close together. During 
long dry spells cultivate regularly, so as 
to conserve the moisture in the soil. 
Greenhouse Benches. —Very nearly 
all growers—and all the more successful 
ones—renew their soil every year. Occa¬ 
sionally we meet an exception to this 
rule who uses the same soil year after 
year with apparently good success, though 
the amateur will be more sure of success 
by renewing the soil each season. The 
majority of carnations are grown on 
benches. There are some exceptions to 
this rule, as in all other matters. One 
large grower in New England has been 
growing the best quality flowers reaching 
the Boston market on solid beds in soil 
that has not been changed since the world 
began, aud some of his houses are over 
20 years old. Another feature of his 
treatment, that doubtless will be tried out 
in many places, is that the plants are 
never set out in the field, being planted 
direct into the houses in the Spring. The 
benches should have bottoms of boards 6 
ins. to S ins. wide, dipped in thick white¬ 
wash made from fresh lime. The boards 
should be spaced % in- apart for drain 
age. about 2 ins. of coarse manure placed 
on the bottom. This will fertilize, af¬ 
ford drainage and keep the soil from fall¬ 
ing through. The soil should be plowed 
the Autumn previous to being used and 
heavily manured. Plow again in the 
Spring and add a fair coat of lime. This 
soil should not be made' too rich, or the 
first-mentioned trouble will be encoun¬ 
tered when setting plants into it. Shade 
the glass before starting to plant. If the 
glass is lapped (as all glass should be), 
whiting applied on the inside will be ideal 
material. As soon as the plants begin 
growth remove the shade with a stream of 
water from the hose. It will not come 
off the first time, and after a few days 
intermission go over it again. Uusuall.v 
we have our glass clean with three appli¬ 
cations of water. Some growers use 
newspaper direct on the plants, and claim 
to have very good results by this method. 
Cannot speak from experience, but we 
think the shade on the roof has the advan¬ 
tage of helping to lower the temperature 
E. J. W. 
Garden Notes from New England 
An Early Start.—A remarkably early 
season has caused great activity among 
the garden-makers of New England, and 
some land has been plowed, I am afraid, 
before the soil was in proper condition 
for such work. Nevertheless, the ground 
has dried out very rapidly, and by the 
middle of March amateurs here and thex-e 
had their peas planted. Amateur and 
commercial growers alike are having dif¬ 
ficulty in getting an adequate supply of 
manure, and the price is so high that in 
many cases gardeners refuse to pay it, 
even when the manure can be obtained. 
Many market gardeners are holding’ off 
somewhat, hoping that lack of, business 
will compel the fertilizer makers to drop 
their prices. One things is certain. Mar¬ 
ket gardeners must produce their crops 
at low cost this season if they are to 
make any money, and fertilizer now forms 
one of the most important production 
items. There’s a growing tendency to 
mix fertilizer at home, and in a number 
of cases this work is being done by com¬ 
munity effort. Prof. H. F. Thompson of 
the Market Growers’ Experiment Station 
at Lexington says that growers can make 
up a good fertilizer containing four per 
cent ammonia, eight per cent phosphoric 
acid and four per cent potash at about 
$45 per ton. allowing a fair figure for the 
mixing. In many place#?, however, this 
April 16, 1921 
same quality of goods can be purchased 
ready mixed for about $50 a ton, and as 
this is at least $15 less than last year’s 
prices, it is evident that the situation, is 
gradually righting itself. 
Sprouting Early Potatoes. — I see 
that a professor at the State College ad- 
advocates using the Noroton Beauty when 
potatoes are K> be sprouted in order to get 
a July crop. No doubt this is a good 
variety to use, but the Irish Cobbler will 
give very good results. The plan isn’t 
one to be understaken in a large way. 
but it does give potatoes for the table 
very early. It is only necessary to spread 
the tubers in a layer where they will be 
exposed to full sunlight for a large part 
of the day, but, of course protected from 
rain and frost. One good plan is to have 
large boxes in which they can be spread 
a layer deep, and place them in front of 
an east window, or if such a window is 
not available, put them out of doors dur¬ 
ing the day. The spi’outs begin to show 
in a few days, if the weather is fair, but 
grow rather slowly. If conditions are 
right they will be short, dark green, and 
not very brittle. It is a good plan to 
turn the tubers every day so that all 
sides shall be exposed to the sunlight. 
When the land is- ready the potatoes are 
to be cut up as usual, care being taken 
not to break the sprouts, and planted four 
inches deep, and about a foot apart in 
the l-ows. 
Cloth for Plant Frames.- —Many 
readers apparently have been interested 
in my experiments with glass cloth for 
covering hotbeds and cold frames. This 
is an ideal season for the use of this 
covering, and T expect that I shall find 
the cloth as useful this season as I did 
last Spring, even after the necessity of 
using it on the cold frames has passed. 
I think I have already spoken of the use 
I make of the sash for protecting my 
young chickens during l-ainstorms. The 
sash is either laid flat across the pens 
or else two sashes are placed together to 
form an A. In either case the purpose 
is accomplished of keeping the chickens 
dry without the necessity of confining 
them to a small coop or shutting off the 
light. 
Paper Pots. —When I am transplant¬ 
ing seedling#? started in the house I like 
to put them either into paper pots or 
into flats which are divided into compart¬ 
ments by thin partitions. Plants in these 
devices are very easily handled, and it is 
easier to care for them in the cold frame 
than when the plants are in the ground 
itself, and. of course, much better results 
ai’c obtained when the plants go into the 
open garden, because there is no necessity 
of disturbing the roots. When dirt bands 
or paper pots are used they serve the ad¬ 
ditional purpose of pi-otecting newly set 
plants from the cutworms. 
Forcing Frames. — Many amateurs 
who do not. find it feasible to have regula¬ 
tion hotbeds or cold frames may still be 
able to use small forcing frames, es¬ 
pecially for starting a few hills of mel¬ 
ons, squashes or cucumbers early, or for 
protecting any other plants which are 
set out before the season of frost is over. 
These may be simply square boxes, large 
enough for one hill, or they may be two 
or three feet long. Sometimes boxes that 
can be just covered by a cellar window 
sash work well. Of course, there should 
be a slope so that the water will run off. 
Personally I use a small forcer made of 
stiff cardboard, waterproof, with a single 
light of glass fitted over the top. After 
the need of protection is over the glass 
is taken out and a square of mosquito 
wire substituted. Then if the box is 
made to fit tight to the ground the striped 
beetles and flea beetles are kept away. 
Prim ng Sh rubs and Ctjrrants.— At 
this season of the year the average ama¬ 
teur gardener seems to find great pleasure 
in getting out with a saw and pruning 
shears. I'nfortunately, he often shows 
more zeal than judgment, with the result 
that he does more harm than good. The 
best pruning does not lie in snipping off 
the ends of the branches, no matter 
whether the work be done on trees, 
shrubs or berry bushes. In pruning orna¬ 
mental shrubs around the house, the 
proper practice is to get down to the base 
of the old and decrepit canes, cutting 
them out as low as possible and giving the 
new wood a chance to grow. E. i. F . 
Baby Cold Frames for Early plants. Fig. 23.). 
Cold Frames with Cloth Covering. Fig. 235. 
