MAT 11, 1S39. 



The Weekly Rorists^ Review* 



591 



House of New Crimson Hybrid Tea Rose Liberty at the establishment of Mr. Ernst Asmus, West Hoboken, N.J. 



the four months ending January 1 last. 

 At Christmas the best blooms sold at 

 $50 a hundred and the secouds at $25. 

 So he has already made a good deal on 

 Liberty from the flowers alone. 



The picture is also useful in illus- 

 trating the iron - frame construction 

 seen in all the more recently built 

 houses at Mr. Asmus' place. The whole 

 weight of the roof is carried by the 

 iron rafters, the sash bars being sup- 

 ported by angle-iron purlins that ex- 

 tend from one rafter to another. There 

 is no plate, its place being taken by 

 an angle-iron that holds the rafters 

 firmly in position. The glass of the 

 roof and that of the sides meet, the 

 former extending half an inch over 

 the latter. But it should be noted that 

 in this house the rafters bow out at 

 the sides so as to allow drip to fall 

 clear; otherwise more of a lap at the 

 eaves would be necessary. This style 

 of construction is, of course, expensive, 

 but it makes a wonderfully light house 



and one that will last for very many 

 years in good condition. 



PALMS. 



Please give us something on the 

 general culture of palms. Soil need- 

 ed, and how often repotted, elc. 



J. L. L. 



The culture of various palms has 

 been touched upon on many occasions 

 in the columns of the Florists' Re- 

 view, but we understand by this query 

 that our correspondent requires some 

 brief cultural directions that may be 

 applied in a general way to the com- 

 mon species of palms that are most in 

 evidence among the trade, and such 

 directions would be about as follows: 



As to soil, the first requisite is good 

 loam as a basis for the compost, pre- 

 ferably in the form of sod from an old 

 pasture lot, and the easiest method of 

 removing this is by means of a plow 



that is set to turn a furrow about four 

 inches deep. 



The sod should then be stacked up 

 in the compost heap with layers of 

 good manure, using about one-sixth 

 of manure to five-sixths of sod, and 

 after having been stacked long enough 

 to rot the sod, the soil will be ready 

 for use. In case the soil is very heavy, 

 a small proportion of coarse sand may 

 be added, but if taken from light land 

 this will not be needed. 



A small quantity of bone dust may 

 be used to advantage when mixing up 

 the soil for potting, but this should 

 not be overdone, and an 8-inch pot 

 full of the bone is usually enough for 

 four wheelbarrow loads of soil. 



For latanias, kentias, arecas, sea- 

 forthias and phoenix this soil usually 

 gives good results, but for Cocos Wed- 

 deliana I prefer a lighter and more 

 open soil, in which about one-third of 

 peat is included. 



The repotting of palms depends en- 



