28 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



so much the better, but if in the broad 

 sun they will stand it, but must never 

 be allowed to get dry at the root. 

 They should be carefully watered and 

 often syringed. 



Another plan is to take them out of 

 the pots, carefully remove soil that is 

 not occupied with roots and plant 

 them out in a light sandy soil. The 

 surface of the soil should be mulched 

 with spent hops or litter from the sta- 

 ble, and once a week a soaking of 

 water given. There is no doubt about 

 their lifting well and safely. We have 

 proof of that every fall when we im- 

 port. 



"The necessary trimming" alluded 



eighths of an inch thick and rests on 

 iron uprights in the manner shown in 

 the engravings. The sash bars are 

 attached to the gutter by nails driven 

 through holes drilled in the gutter as 

 shown in the cross-section. The lower 

 light of glass rests against a bead cast 

 in the gutter. 



In the house illustrated the uprights 

 under the gutter are second hand 4- 

 inch boiler flues, which are just as ser- 

 viceable as well as cheaper than new 

 pipe. The sections of the gutter are 

 each five feet long and at one end is a 

 flange through which the sections can 

 be bolted together in such a way as to 

 leave the upper surface i'erfectly 



A Cast Iron Gutter. 



to is cutting back the strong shoots. 

 If you will examine a plant you will 

 see that it has received lots of trim- 

 ming with the shears. Few plants will 

 conform to any desired shape better 

 than an azalea. The proper time to do 

 the trimming is when they are making 

 their growth after flowering, but at 

 any time don't be afraid to cut or 

 pinch back the young growths. 



The question about washing pots is 

 not easy to answer. Thirty years ago 

 we not only thought it proper, but nec- 

 essary to wash all pots that had been 

 used before again using. At the pres- 

 ent day, I believe, a very small pro- 

 portion in commercial places are ever 

 washed, and we grow just as good 

 plants. I have heard of some pot 

 washing machines, but have had no 

 experience with them. We always 

 make it a rule to keep the empty pots 

 out of doors and let the sun, wind and 

 rain do something toward scrubbing 

 them. Under a damp bem h is the 

 worst place for them; out of doors 

 they get thoroughly dried out. 



WM. SCOTT. 



IRON GUTTER CONSTRUCTIOlN. 



Mr. Geo. N. Garland, of Garland 

 Bros., Des Plaines, 111., has designed a 

 cast iron gutter that promises to be 

 very useful. We present herewith a 

 cross-section of the gutter and a view 

 in a house in which the gutter is used. 

 The gutter is of cast iron, three- 



smooth and level. Each section is also 

 provided with a collar which fits over 

 the uprights. The uprights are set in 

 the ground several feet, a brick or 

 stone at the bottom and the hole filled 

 with cement, making the construction 

 almost indestructible. The iive-foot 

 sections of the gutter weigh about 1()0 

 lbs. each. As will be noted the gutter 

 is provided with a drip groove. 



In addition to its permanency this 

 gutter has a very great advantage in 

 preventing the accumulation of snow 

 and ice between houses built together. 

 The iron being a good conductor of 

 heat the warmth from the inside pene- 

 trates it readily and melts the snow as 

 rapidly as on the glass roof. The 

 Messrs. Garland have had this gutter 

 in use for five years on one house and 

 its advantages proved so numerous 

 that they are gradually rebuilding all 

 their houses with this construction. So 

 many other growers saw and admired 

 it that they have now applied for a 

 patent and will place it on the market. 

 In fact they have already sold a lot of 

 the gutters to near-by growers. 



They also use the second hand 4-inch 

 boiler flues as heating pipes and find 

 them just as effective and lasting as 

 new pipe and much less expensive. 



It will be noted that in the house il- 

 lustrated there is no dividing wall be- 

 tween it and the next house. They 

 get considerable sun and light from 

 the side, and find that the ah.ide from 



the gutter is very slight. There is no 

 noticeable difference in the plants lo- 

 cated where the shadow of the gutter 

 falls. In the winter time, when the 

 sun is low, the shadow falls in the 

 walk at that side. Though their soil 

 seems rather a heavy clay they grow 

 all their roses in solid beds without 

 any under drainage. They formerly 

 used raised benches but have discarded 

 them in favor of the solid beds. The 

 house illustrated is 24x15ft and con- 

 tains 2,000 plants of Bride and Brides- 

 maid. From this house they cut 55,- 

 IXK) good marketable buds during the 

 season. They are curious to know 

 wliether this is above the i.verage of 

 results from a space of this size. The 

 intention is to allow the plants to re- 

 main in their present quarters for sev- 

 eral years. , 



In constructing their solid beds they 

 use stakes made of second hand 1-inch 

 pipe cut into lengths of two rnd one- 

 half feet. These are driven into the 

 ground (there is a stiff clay sub-soil) 

 and the side planks are .■nttached by 

 driving in a spike side of the pipe 

 which is then clinched around the pipe 

 at the back. The side of the plank to- 

 ward the soil has first had a coating of 

 gas tar which has been allowed to dry 

 well into the wood before .ising. They 

 find this style of bed lasts well. 



HERBACEOUS PLANT NOTES. 



One of the prettiest objects in the 

 border at present is the very dwarf 

 and dense growing Alyssum Alpestre. 

 It begins to open the first flowers 

 about May 2oth with us and usually 

 lasts well into July, forming a smooth 

 and very even sheet of gold, laying 

 close to the ground; every branch, 

 however small and weak it may be, 

 terminates in a flowerhead, and as the 

 habit of the plant is so very compact 

 and branchy, the flowers completely 

 hide the small oblong leavas until all 

 are faded. But even when not in 

 bloom, the neat, clean growth with its 

 many little leaves is a decided attrac- 

 tion throughout the year, for it retains 

 the silvery grey color summer and 

 winter and I have never seen any ill 

 effects by severest frost, even on very 

 old plants, which had a spread of sev- 

 eral feet; the centers do not get bare 

 or die out as is often the case with 

 many other choice dwarf things. 



A. argenteum has larger flower- 

 heads, grows taller and more robust, 

 the wood is stouter and the roundish 

 oblong foliage is also much larger. It 

 attains a height of about 6 to S inches 

 and is really equally desirable, though 

 the looser growth, rambling habit and 

 larger flowerheads create an entirely 

 different effect in a border. Both of 

 them are easily raised from cuttings 

 at most any time in the year, or the 

 plants may be divided after flowering, 

 which is a better time than fall or 

 spring, because we thereby induce the 

 plants to perfect a fairly good growth 

 before winter sets in. The new growth 

 will be strong enough to bloom freely 

 when their regular flowering time ar- 



