406 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



MARCH : 



, 1899. 



0^^..m!'. 



No. 30. Cart for Carrying Soil in and out of Greenfiouses. 



and effectual, especially for fastening 

 the ventilators. 



The rod Is made of a strip of wood 

 two inches wide and three-eighths of 

 an inch thick when dressed. To one 

 end the slot end of a common hinge 

 hasp is attached by either rivets or 

 screws. The strap end of the hinge 

 is screwed to the ventilator as shown 

 in the cut. Slots are cut in the strip 

 or rod according to the requirements 

 of the ventilator and a staple fastened 

 to or driven into the ventilator frame 

 to fit the slots. A slight groove or 

 channel on the underside of the rod 

 connecting the slots is necessary as a 

 guide or track for the staple to run in 

 when raising or lowering the venti- 

 lator. Curved rods or strips such as 

 may. be made from barrel or hogshead 

 staves usually fit better than straight 

 ones. 



If the ventilators are hard to reach 

 and long rods would be inconvenient, 

 short ones may be easily worked by 

 means of a pole with a socket on the 

 end to receive the pointed end of the 

 rod. These rods can also be made of 

 iron and of much smaller dimensions, 

 being particular to have the groove 

 on the under side connecting the 

 slots. T or strap hinges can also be 

 used instead of the hasp, but of course 

 the slot will have to be made and the 

 staple fitted. 



This simple fastening can be made 

 and put up by any handy man, such 

 as a florist always is. R. 



No. 32. Rose stake tyer. Place a 

 half-inch rubber washer (can be cut 

 from a half-inch hose) behind hori- 

 zontal wire, bend over top and bottom 

 of washer, push stake through the two 

 holes thus made, stick end of stake 

 into soil. If your washers are small 

 enough your stake will be secured 

 with sufficient firmness. If the wash- 

 ersare a little large, oryou need an ex- 

 tra firm tie, push stake nearly way 

 through, give it a half turn and then 



stick into soil and your stake is posi- 

 tively immovable. S. 



No. 33 is a block of wood two inches 

 square and eight inches long whittled 

 into shape shown in drawing. It is to 

 assist in the rapid shifting of small 

 plants, generally known as thumb-pot 

 stuff, to ^V2 and 4-inch pots. We scoop 

 the large sized pot full of soil, brush 

 it level with left hand, pick up peg 

 with right hand, make hole in the 



filled pot. then pick up plant from 

 thumb-pot with left hand, place in the 

 opening made by peg and press down 

 firmly with thumbs and forefingers of 

 both hands. 



In this way a man with ordinary 

 skill and straight eye can keep three 

 boys or helpers going full speed, get- 

 ting pots, soil, filling large pots with 

 soil, supplying plants dumped out of 

 small pots and taking finished work 

 away, thereby gaining at least 40 per 

 cent over the old way of shifting, 

 whereby one man can keep only one 

 helper going. T. 



No. 34. Forcing Tomatoes in winter. 

 I sow seed for early winter crop of to- 

 matoes about 1.5th July. Pot off plants 

 in small pots as soon as they are large 

 enough to handle, and repot when 

 needed until I get them in 4 or 5-inch 

 pots, giving plants full exposure to 

 sun and air in a good light green- 

 house, so as to have them stocky and 

 firm. Early in September I prepare 

 bench with about three inches depth 

 of light, sandy loam and put in plants 

 about 18 inches apart each way. I pre- 

 fer shallow planting, with mulchings 

 of well rotted manure and tobacco 

 stems added as often as I think the 

 plant wants feeding. Too much soil 

 on bench at start gives them too much 

 vine. Water freely at root, but do not 

 wet foliage if it can be avoided. 



Keep plants tied or staked up and 

 keep all side shoots pinched out, but 

 do not pinch out tops as long as they 

 are wanted to keep on fruiting. If 



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No. 31. Ventilator Rod and Fastener. 

 [The slots in the rod at the left should be connected by a shallow channel.] 



