JUNE 15, 1899 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



47 



First Prize Decorated Carriage. 



palms we grow except the beautiful 

 Areca lutescens, which it it does not 

 burn gets very yellow, and it sum- 

 mered out of doors should have the 

 protection of lattice or thin cloth 

 shading. 



As stated above the so-called burn- 

 ing of the kentias and latanias is due 

 to allowing them to become very dry 

 while the sun is pouring down its 

 fierce summer rays. The larger the 

 plant and pot or tub the less likely 

 they are to this accident. But it is 

 not desirable to get your large palm^ 

 into pots or tubs one fraction larger 

 than is absolutely necessary for their 

 welfare, so to obviate the necessity 

 of standing over them with a hose 

 sink the pots to the rims in the 

 ground, or what I like better — put 

 them into a pot a few inches larger 

 than the growing pot and fill in with 

 earth or moss. There is only one 

 treatment for these palms during 

 summer and that is an abundance of 

 water and plenty of hosing over the 

 top. You may not have in appearance 

 a much larger kentia when you take 

 them in at the end of September but 

 you will have a stronger, stouter, 

 healthier palm in every way and the 

 foundation will be laid for a useful 

 plant. 



About watering: If the water 

 passes quickly away, which it should, 

 you can scarcely overdo it. It was 

 very refreshing to hear the practical 

 philosophy from the banks of the 

 Delaware given to the mythical theor- 

 ist of the Chemung valley about wa- 



tering. Some fool said long ago, 

 and he has his disciples, that a drop 

 of water on the leaf while the sun 

 was shining would scald it. When the 

 tissues of the leaf are charged with 

 moisture they will not burn. When 

 the water has evaporated, or exuded 

 through the leaf and there is no more 

 to be pumped up to supply the ex- 

 haustion, they will burn. 



Broadly speaking there are two 

 great facts in practical gardening: 

 The best time to prune is when your 

 knife is sharp. The best time to 

 water is when the plant is dry. Also, 

 the best time to eat is when you are 

 hungry. When thirsty add two quarts 

 of water to two tablespoonfuls of oat 

 meal; it will prevent sun stroke and 

 broken legs. 



Greenhouse Benches. 



The plant men will soon be fixing 

 •their benches for the reception of 

 chrysanthemums, and the carnation 

 men will soon be throwing out their 

 carnations and repairing benches 

 when needed, and the need comes too 

 often. I don't think there is any sub- 

 stitute for wood that is within the 

 reach of the commercial florist. For 

 the supports of the tables you should 

 certainly use the several devices of 

 iron, either the angle-iron or the 

 frames of 1%-inch pipe, which are 

 practically indestructible. 



Parenthetically, just let me say that I 

 have had some startling experience 

 with iron pipe, and perhaps others 

 may have experienced the same thing. 



A number of 1%-inch pipe uprights 

 supporting a roof and which pass 

 down through the bench were painted 

 with white lead and oil from the glass 

 to the bench, but about an inch close 

 to the surface of the bench was not 

 painted. The bench has been covered 

 at intervals with sand, soil, spent 

 hops, and occasionally coal ashes, or, 

 rather, coke ashes. A score of these 

 pipes have rusted clear through, and 

 there is an actual space of two inches 

 where the pipe is clean gone. There is 

 a lesson to be learned from this. All 

 pipes should be painted. It costs but 

 little to paint them all, whether heat- 

 ing pipes, supports, purlins, water 

 pipes or ventilator shafting. A large 

 grower once said to me on seeing a 

 2-inch flow pipe painted: "What's the 

 bloomin' reason ye paint yer pipes, 

 Bill? They don't give out the heat so 

 well, ye know." Contrary to this ami- 

 able friend's opinion, I think they ra- 

 diate the heat better when painted. 

 Another lesson is that coal or coke 

 ashes should be kept clear of all iron 

 pipes, useful as coal ashes are to us. 

 It was that, simply, they ate away my 

 pipes, and when they are replaced I 

 will put a collar of asbestos paper on 

 the pipe a few inches above and be- 

 low the bench. 



To return to our benches. The worst 

 material, probably, is a poor quality of 

 soft white pine, and good pine is al- 

 together too expensive to rot out with 

 earth and water. Hemlock is better 

 and cheaper, and I believe in using it 

 two inches thick, if not for plant 



