MARCH 23, 1S99. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



403 



No. 16. Roses affected by grubs of 

 any kind at the root may be saved by 

 persistent application of lime water. 



No. 11. Device for Ventilating a Sash House. 



No. 11 is a simple device for thor- 

 oughly ventilating a sash house, either 

 span roof or lean-to. The invention is 

 entirely my own, and I have used it on 

 my violet house and other cool houses 

 with the most satisfactory results. To 

 those who have had any experience 

 in the difficult work of airing a house 

 of the above kind, top and bottom, 

 this device will particularly appeal. 



My violet house is a span with com- 

 mon 3x6 sash on each side. Every 

 other sash is screwed solidly top and 

 bottom to ridge and plate and con- 

 stitute the only fixed portion of the 

 roof. The other alternate sashes are 

 for ventilation and fit loosely in the 

 spaces. A half round or other strip is 

 screwed on each side of movable sash. 

 projecting an inch or so over the fixed 

 sash, forming at same time a cap to 

 keep out the rain and a support for the 

 movable sash. The ventilating sashes 

 may be opposite each other or opposite 

 the fixed sashes; it is immaterial as 

 regards the device. 



This latter consists of a double joint- 

 ed hinge (Fig. 1), which can be made 

 to order or improvised, as I did, by 

 riveting a T hinge and a strap hinge 

 together as shown in the diagram, a, 

 a, (Fig. 1), being rivets. Two of these 

 double jointed hinges are required for 

 each sash to be opened, one on each 

 side. The T part of hinge (B, Fig. 1) 

 is screwed on to plate (A, Fig. 2) and 

 the strap end (C, Fig. 1) on to the sash 

 (B, Fig. 2), the sash being closed tight 

 at the time. When both hinges are in 

 place a slight pushing outward from 

 the inside of the house will bring the 

 sash in position shown in Pig. 3. The 

 upper part is supported by the half- 

 round cap and slides down on edge of 

 fixed sash, the lower part moves up- 

 ward and outward until the part of 

 hinge A, Pig. 3, has passed just beyond 

 the perpendicular, where It can be held 

 by a light piece of chain fixed to top 



of each sash and the ridge, b, c. Fig. 3; 

 c, d. Pig. 2. No wind can disturb the 

 sashes in this position. 



A slight pull from the inside closes 

 the sash, the cam-like action of the 

 hinge pushing it home by its own 

 weight and holding it there. This de- 

 vice is so mechanically perfect that it 

 is quite fascinating to operate it. A 

 man can open and close the sishes on 

 a house almost as fast as he caii walk. 



D. 



No. 12. There is generally a little 

 thinning out to do among chrysanthe- 

 mums. Surplus shoots may bo rooted 

 now and then stuck very close to- 

 gether into pots of rich soil and they 

 will make dwarf, bushy plants. Put 

 them almost touching one another in 

 the pots. E. 



No. 13. If palms are badly covered 

 with scale it is very expensive to clean 

 them by hand. Lay them on a hard 

 flat surface, keeping the leaves out 

 straight, and give them the full pres- 

 sure of water through a nozzle on the 

 end of the hose. Operator must wear 

 rubber boots and not be afraid of a 

 little water. Turn the plants and give 

 them a good dose all around. A wad 

 of newspaper on top of pot will keep 

 the soil from falling or being washed 

 out as the pot is rolled around. One 

 man can clean more palms this way 

 than five can by hand. E. 



No. 14. We have found that a few 

 rows of corn planted very thinly 

 among the violets outdoors gives a 

 useful shade in summer. For plant- 

 ing inside use lots of leaf mould. 

 Water in winter with liquid sheep ma- 

 nure. Some of the grandest violets 

 ever grown were watered with ice 

 cold water. E. 



No. 15. Before you use new pots, 

 always play the hose on them several 

 times. Plants do not like the extreme 

 dryness of a new pot. E. 



E. 



No. 17. I don't know whether this is 

 in use anywhere or not, but I think a 

 large box with four grooved wheels 

 to run along the edge boards of two 

 benches of even height would be a 

 good thing to use in filling or empty- 

 ing houses. E. 



No. 18. I have been experimenting 

 with substitutes for glass for florists' 

 use. I find oiled paper better tl?an 

 anything else I have tried. Light and 

 heat pass through the oiled paper, 

 when new and clean, good enough for 

 any plants. 



The way to secure the paper is my 

 invention and is not patented. I want 

 all my florist friends to have the bene- 

 fit as well as myself. To use the paper 

 erect any frame you want and then 

 put on an even tight covering of poul- 

 try wire netting (2-inch mesh. No. 20 

 wire is good.) Put the paper on top 

 of the wire and then cuver with an- 

 other netting. Nail a lath on top of 

 each rafter. The paper between thp 

 netting cannot get away or break and 

 it makes the best summer roof I have 

 tried. I use strong paper 30 inches 

 wide and lap over about 2 inches. 1 

 place a roll of paper on a long table 

 and rub in raw linseed oil with a rag 

 (a brush is no good) and roll up on an- 

 other roller as I oil it until I have 

 enough oiled and then take the first 

 calm day to put it on the building. 



This is very cheap, and useful for 

 many purposes. The cost of material 

 is only about one dollar per hundred 

 feet and the labor is not much. The 

 paper is easily renewed when dirty. I 

 renew my paper twice a year. Don't 

 laugh at this, but try it as I have. I 

 find begonias and ferns do finely un- 

 der the paper and if the building is 

 made tight it will keep out about six 

 degrees of frost here. Try it for late 

 chrysanthemums. F. 



California. 



No. 19. This is an instrument that 

 has proven of great value to me, es- 

 pecially in the hands of inexperienced 

 help in the rose houses. Attached to 

 the handle is a strip of flexible steel 



about 22 inches long and 1% inches 

 wide. The edge intended for the blade 

 should be drawn in to an angle of 

 about twenty degrees so that when ne- 

 cessary the soil can be easily loosened. 

 The strip being bent into the form of 

 a triangle is attached to the handle 

 by rivets. 



The steel being flexible the danger 

 of breaking young plants or barking 

 old ones is diminished. Its advantage 



