CRATRINEA MI lL OUNeS 13 
CULTURAL SUGGESTIONS 
The cuttings you purchase are ready for potting or flatting. Do not put them 
back in the propagating sand. Ordinarily they will not require shading, but if 
they have been several days in transit and have softened up some, or if they are 
flatted up during warm, bright weather, a newspaper placed over the flat DUR- 
ING THE HEAT OF THE DAY ONLY will help the plants to become established. 
Under no circumstances leave paper on the plants during dull weather or at night, 
and as soon as the roots have become established and the plants stiffen up, apply 
no further shade at any time. 
The Railway Express Agency has done a grand job during the emergency. It has 
worked under tremendous handicaps. Occasionally delays occur. Very rarely 
are carnation cuttings damaged beyond redemption in transit. If your shipment 
was delayed only a day or two, this should not affect the value of the cuttings. 
If the cuttings are slightly wilted, they can be immersed in water for a short 
period and then planted. They will react perfectly to such treatment. If the 
cuttings have been slightly frozen, placing them in a cool room and thawing them 
out gradually, or placing them in a bucket of cool water to take the frost out, 
will bring them through so that they will do just as well as cuttings that have had 
nothing happen to them. Of course, if stock is badly frozen, or if long delays 
have occurred so that the cuttings are heated, yellow or rotted, a claim should be 
filed at once with the express company. . 
We do not recommend potting where flatting is possible. In some sections of 
the country potting is necessary, but plants are harder to carry properly in pots, 
will require more labor in pots, and will take up valuable bench space in pots. 
Flats do not have to be over 3 inches deep, and even two and a half inches will 
be sufficient. Flats may be placed on racks, and are easily moved from place to 
place. There is less danger of plants drying out or becoming root bound in flats, 
cultivation may be practiced, and as a rule the plants do much better in flats. 
Carnations have been grown successfully in both sandy and clay soil and in soil 
having a wide range of acidity. However, a medium light soil with a pH of be- 
tween 6.0 and 7.0 is generally considered best. It is better to have the soil slight- 
ly acid than to have it on the alkaline side. The soil to be used in the greenhouse 
should be tested during the preceding autumn and again in the spring, and what- 
ever nutrients are needed should be added before the soil is moved inside. Cow 
manure, either green or. rotted, is ideal for carnation soil if this can be obtained 
easily and is not too expensive. The ideal way to prepare the soil and thoroughly 
incorporate manure and fertilizer with it is to use a Rototiller or similar tool. 
There has been a great deal of debate as to whether inside or field culture is the 
best for carnation plants. The majority of growers are of the opinion that field- 
grown plants give the best results. In the New England climate, plants that will 
be benched by the second or third week of June may safely be carried indoors, 
but from that date on, such a practice is very much of a gamble, particularly if 
the weather should be very hot. 
Benching usually starts immediately after Memorial Day, and should be completed 
by the first of August. Plants benched after the first of August, even although 
they are large and vigorous, are unlikly to produce flowers of quality until late 
in the winter. The sooner that benching is completed after the first of June, the 
earlier the plants become established, and the more successful they are likely to 
be. It should not be necessary to shade the greenhouses after carnations have 
been benched. It is true that there are usually several very hot days when some 
shade would be desirable, but it is equally true that there will be many days 
