410 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



January 21. 1904. 



ness. We have been conservative in the 

 recommendation of this gas except under 

 conditions and for crops vvliere we feel 

 that its useiulness has been amply dem- 

 onstrated, and -wliere used according to 

 directions there is no danger of serious 

 injury to the crop. 



TROUBLE WITH VALLEY. 



When you told how to handle valley 

 jiips as they are imported, you said that 

 if they were dry to dip them in water 

 and then pack in sand or moss. Xow I 

 had 12,000 valley pips that I packed with- 

 out dipping and they are all right. But 

 I had 5.000 come two weeks later and, 

 as I thought they were a little dry, [ 

 dipped them and every one of them rot 

 when they are brought in. Can you tell 

 me the cause? Would they be any bet- 

 ter to let thtm go till spring and then 

 use them? J. -T. L. 



There must be some other cause than 

 the dipping to account for all these pii>s 

 rotting. As it was this pen that recouV- 

 mended the dipping, I did not intend to 

 imply a soaking: just dipped a moment 

 to wet the roots before packing away 

 in soil if they were dry, and if that is 

 all that was "done it is impossible that 

 it could in the least injure the pips. Tf 

 not protected from rains and a wet, 

 rainy time occurs, the pips are often in- 

 jured. The lily of the valley is one of 

 the hardiest of all the beautiful flow- 

 ers we force, yet if exposed to a sudden 

 severe freeze ' and then a quick thaw, 

 they will be greatly injured, as many 

 hardy plants will be. 



If" they are soft and rot when brought 

 in, it is not likely they will improve 

 with age, but as they are not taking up 

 -valuable space leave them for April 

 forcing. 



We have been receiving weekly.:, all 

 summer a few hundred valley pips from 

 an eastern firm. Scarcely one per cent 

 failed to give us a fine spike. It was a 

 most satisfactory arrangement. About 

 December 1 we received 1.000 for our 

 Christmas batch and on unpacking them 

 we found the pips about of the con- 

 sistency that a Teutonic epicure likes 

 his Liiiiburger cheese. The cause we do 

 not know. The stock was not hurt in 

 transit. Perhaps the cold storage house 

 was let down suddenly to a very low 

 temperature, but more likely the acci- 

 dent occurred during the time after they 

 left the cold room and before they were 

 packed. W. S. 



THE READERS' CORNER. 



Art in Floral Designing. 



Editor Eeview: In the columns of 

 your really inspiring paper I have read 

 with pleasure the masterly articles of 

 Miss Gertrude Blair. Without donbt we 

 who "make up" flowers for a living, 

 dull the keen edge of our artistic per- 

 ception in studying the individual de- 

 sires of our patrons, but is this not one 

 of the most essential features of "floral 

 designing"? For if we are not success- 

 ful in this, will we be successful in any 

 way long? Most of us, in all probability 

 after dinner, or in the cafe chantaiit. like 

 to allow our imagination to fashion misty 

 sprays and garlands as the smoke floats 

 upward, but behind our counters in the 

 morning when our pipe is out we will 

 find ourselves at the same metaphysical 

 study of what our patron imagines she 



wants, and how much we can safely 

 make her pay for it; and if she is Ger- 

 man and an old flower buyer we will 

 probably not forget to put on lots of 

 tin foil and make it about as we did 

 ten years ago. Alfred Donaghue, Jr. 



Greenhouse Heating. 



In your issue of DeciMiilier l!4 appears 

 au article by William Scott ou hot wa- 

 ter heating and in it Mr. Scott raises 

 several points that are at variance with 

 the ideas held by your humble servant, 

 and I should feel much obliged if Mr. 

 Scott would go further into the matter 

 with me. 



In the first i)lace he seems to main- 

 tain that the only power which induces 

 circulation in the system is that of 

 gravitation in the returns. How about 

 the water becoming lighter under the 

 influence of heat and thus rising to the 

 hiirhest point? Surely this is as import- 

 ant a factor as the gravitation back to 

 the boiler. And yet he seems to take 

 some account of this force, for, iu speak- 

 ing of the uphill system, he mentions 

 that the water being cooler at ninety 

 feet from the boiler, presses back on 

 the lighter water, thus impeding circu- 

 lation. 



And now to the point that causes nie 

 to rush madly in where angels fear to 

 tread. This perpendicular drop. A col- 

 umn of w-ater thirty feet high and one 

 inch square weighs about fourteen 

 pounds. If the column be perpendicular 

 the pressure indicated is as given. The 

 same pressure will be shown if the col- 

 umn be placed at any angle so long ::s 

 the thirty feet head is maintained, al- 

 though the volume of water may be in- 

 creased manifold. For purposes of ar- 

 gument we will eliminate friction. This 

 primary law of hydrostatics is illus- 

 trated in hydraulic mining. Water is 

 brought miles in pipes usually at a very 

 small grade, but the pressure is there 

 just the same. This being so, how can 

 a perpendicular drop in the return close 

 to the boiler be any better than a grad- 

 ual fall from the highest point? And 

 how can the back pressure that Mr. 

 Scott mentions as existing in the up- 

 hill system, when a rise of two feet to 

 the 100 is maintained, be less than 

 when a rise is straight up from the 

 boiler and then only two inches to the 

 lOO feet used in the pipe run? The 

 same elevation is attained in both cases 

 and therefore the same pressure exists. 

 Tlie route that Mr. Scott recommends 

 in the longer course for the water to 

 travel and consequently it will be 

 cooler. It must be distinctly under- 

 stood that these remarks of mine ap- 

 jily solely to circulation and must not 

 1)6 confounded with arrangement of 

 pipes for economic heating. 



The over-head flow that Mr. Scott so 

 summarily dismisses is iu my opinion 

 not always to be foregone. Of course 

 a great portion of the heat radiated 

 from it is wasted, but if you happen to 

 have a system in which the circulation 

 is poor you can often remedy the evil 

 bv arranging an overhead flow. Low- 

 ering the boiler would be better, but 

 the expense would be greatly in favor 

 of the overhead flow. 



Twenty-five years ago my first boss 

 advised me to study heating. "My 

 boy," said he, "fortunes are made and 

 lo.st in the stoke-hole. ' ' Since then I 

 have had to do with many systems, 

 some good, some bad. some fearfully 

 and wonderfully constructed. I once 



handled a boiler which from a 2-inc)i 

 delivery fed four 4-inch flows, and the 

 water in the same number of returns 

 came back to the boiler through a 2-foot 

 length of 2-inch pipe. The result can be 

 imagined. In my experience, provided 

 you have a good rise, a sufficient capac- 

 ity in the main flow and return and u 

 boiler of ample power, it matters little 

 which method you adopt, uphill, down- 

 hill or level. 'Edw. Alex. Wallace. 



ORANGE, N. J. 



At Orange on Friday evening the year- 

 ly banquet brought together a large num- 

 ber of the members of the New .Jer- 

 sey Floricultural Society. Visitors were 

 not numerous, apart from Messrs. Mc- 

 Millan, Totty and Redstone, of Madison, 

 and the writer. Letters of regret were 

 read from Messrs. O'Mara, Hcrrington 

 and Leonard Barron. A fine floral exhibit 

 graced the banquet table. Vases of mag- 

 nificent carnations were contributed by 

 President George Smith, John Hays, Mal- 

 colm Macrorie, Peter Duif and Mr. 

 Kindsgrab, also a fine dendrobium by 

 W. A. Manda and a vase of euphorbia. 



At the regular meeting the certificates 

 were distributed to the successful com- 

 petitors of the year, and further com- 

 petitions for cups and medals were an- 

 nounced open during 1904 to members 

 of any horticultural society. Jos. Da- 

 vis was entrusted with the installation 

 of the new oflicers and did the work 

 gracefully. The popular George Smith 

 was re-elected president, a well won 

 honor ; Mr. Kindsgrab, vice-president : 

 ilr. Bennett, secretary, and Malcolm 

 Macrorie, as usual, treasurer. The so- 

 ciety is nearing the 100 mark in mem- 

 bership, and ought to reach it in 1904. 

 The four generous associate members of 

 the society will present silver cups, as in 

 1903, for general competition. 



After the banquet speeches and songs 

 continued until the wee sma' hours. 

 When I left. Peter Duflf had just fin- 

 ished a melody and John Hays' silver 

 tongue was warbling something about the 

 memories of other days. The opening 

 address by President Smith was a revela- 

 tion, fullof eloquence, poetry and pater- 

 nal advice, in which he characterized 

 gardening as "the middle ground be- 

 tween God and man, the playground of 

 the soul, the nearest profession to the 

 divine. ' ' 



Dr. Kitchen was in a story-telling mood 

 and kept the company in a roar through- 

 out his" interesting response, as he toasted 

 the press, the pulpit and the petticoats. 



Mr. McMillan responded to the toast 

 of the Jlorris I/'ounty Society, of which 

 he is president, and was ably seconded 

 by Mr. Totty and Mr. Redstone, of the 

 same society. Mr. Totty discoursed elo- 

 epiently on the value of co-operation. 



W^. A. Manda gave one of his prac- 

 tical and advisory addresses and Mr. 

 Davis spoke very entertainingly. Mr. 

 Campbell and Robert McCarty, ex-presi- 

 dent, spoke briefly, and the songs of 

 Messrs. Duflf and Hays were still ringing 

 in my ears as the whistle of ' ' the last 

 train" sounded the close of a very pleas- 

 ant evening to the lone New York press 

 representative. J. Austin Shaw.. 



Syracuse, N. Y. — A petition in invol- 

 untary bankruptcy has been filed against 

 Henry Morris, and Charles A. King 

 named as receiver. No schedule of assets 

 and liabilities has been given out. 



