October 19, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



529 



THE ADVANTAGES OF BOILER 

 INSURANCE. 



The recent boiler explosion in tUe 

 greenhouses of George M. Kellogg 1 

 am sure has set many of our florists 

 to do some quiet thinking. If, as has 

 been reported, the gauge was shut and 

 (he main valve closed, it comes under 

 the head of criminal carelessness. 1 

 have always said it is the duty of the 

 propriptor to learn something about 

 this branch of the business, and see 

 to it himself that even'thing is in 

 working order when the firing season 

 opens. It is a duty he owes to his 

 employes and also to his own inter- 

 ests and those dependent upon him. 



And 1 think the safest cause is in- 

 spection under a reliable insurance 

 company, one that does that class of 

 business and nothing else. The Hart- 

 ford is the oldest, having all the up- 

 to-date equipment necessary to insure 

 good work at reasonable prices, and 

 my boilers have been insured in that 

 company for fourteen years. I have 

 always found the inspectors men on 

 ■whose judgment I could rely, and (he 

 officers of the company always ready 

 to give any information within their 

 Ijower free of charge. Many florists 

 have an aversion to this class of in- 

 spection because they claim that they 

 would be subjected to unnecessary re- 

 pairs. In answer to that 1 will say 

 that during that time all the repairs 

 I have had to make was the replacing 

 of four tubes and the toilers "hori- 

 zontal tubular" were second-hand to 

 begin with. To those insured the in- 

 spectors will fuinish plans for boiler 

 settinss. plans for chimneys and give 

 their expert advice on all things per- 

 taining to steam for power or heating. 

 They have a record of almost everj 

 boiler that is built and can give you 

 that information in a few minutes. 

 This year, as an example, they in- 

 spected and gave me records of boilers 

 that, had I gone and had them in- 

 spected by the stale inspector, the bill 

 would have beeu almost as much as 

 what my 3-year policy on two boilers 

 cost. 1 finally bought a boiler from 

 a large heating concern. This boiler 

 being out of the Boston district the 

 home otfice in Hartford, Conn., was 

 notified. They sent an inspector and 

 at the same time one was dispatched 

 from the Boston office. They exam- 

 ined the boiler and sent in a report 

 which was satisfactory and the boiler 

 was purchased. This is a case where 

 we are getting something for nothing 

 and p-otection as a valuable asset. 

 Besides, I have in mind a boiler bought 

 by a certain florist in which, after 

 being set up, the tubes leaked so badly 

 that they had to be taken out and 

 new ones put in before a fire could 

 be put under it. 



Some people will rave about hydro- 

 static pi cssure. 1 say that class of pres- 

 sure is all right when a boiler is leav- 

 ins the shops new, but a thorough 

 inspection is far bettor than all the 

 pressure that can be put in it. There 

 are many boilers pitted and scaled 

 over; in such boilers the water pres- 

 sure wouldn't show any defect. Take 

 that same boiler, put It In a different 

 locBllty, with a change of water, and 



the scale will drop off, then your 

 trouble will begin. Cracks in the 

 sheets are also hidden things which 

 a lay man knows nothing about and 

 less where they are liable to be found. 

 A boiler was offered me this summer, 

 a good, clean looking boiler, shell, and 

 all surfaces praoti<"ally new; when 

 the inspector examined it three cracks 

 were found in the rear sheet. Had I 

 bought this boiler, probably under 

 low pressure those cracks might have 

 rusted and closed up with the heat 

 and some day something would have 

 happened. There are conditions to- 

 day in boiler rooms that make us shut 

 our eyes and wonder why explosions 

 don't happen. A gentleman last win- 

 ter wrote me like this: "The state in- 

 spector will only trouble us every two 

 or three years and it is cheaper than 

 insurance." This from one of our lead- 

 ing Boston florists! I wonder if he 

 would let his life insurance lapse with 

 the idea of taking it up every two or 

 three years. Those having policies with 

 the above named company get four 

 inspections of their boilers every year, 

 one internal and three external or 

 oftener if wanted. 



A good way to apply hydrostatic 

 pressiiie for those who wish to do so 

 is to fill the boiler with water, set 

 the safety valve to a point beyond 

 the normal pressure and start a wooil 

 fire. The expansion of the water will 

 do all that is necessary but, as I have 

 said, this is only guess work and 

 boiler inspection is the only real way 

 and that with an insurance company 

 who have everything to lose, and then 

 should any accidents happen >ou will 

 have the amount on the face of the 

 policy to pay any damages that may 

 have occurred to life or property. 



The new express charges on flowers 

 over the B. & A. R. R. to Boston are 

 causing rousiderable kicking on the 

 part of those who are called upon to 

 pay the extra f(-e imposed but that is 

 as yet all that it has amounted to. 

 To my mind what the florists in 

 Boston and vicinity want is a club 

 patterned after the Market Gardeners' 

 Club of Boston, composed of commer- 

 cial men. with committees of good 

 men who would take such matters up 

 quickly. I have no axe to grind bui 

 I think the time has come when such 

 a society far the benefit of the com- 

 mercial men is sadly needed. 



R. McGORUM. 



MAINE APPLE CROP DAMAGED. 



Apple producers at Limerick, Me., 

 estimate that $lt).000 damage v;a.s done 

 by the wind .qnd rain storm October 

 8 tc farms within 10 miles of that 

 place. A number of farms wer? ruined; 

 the trees being stripped of apples and 

 many of them uprooted. There was a 

 veritable cloudburst, accompanied by 

 wind of cyclonic force. 



The reports regarding Maine's ap- 

 ple crop vary widely. Some say the 

 crop will be up to the average or 

 above, while others say it is so poor 

 and measly that three or more worms 

 have to crowd into one apple. It de- 

 pends much upon whether the one 

 who makes the talk is trying to buy 

 or sell the apples. There is no doubt, 

 however, that in some sections of the 

 State this crop Is very good, while In 

 others It Is much below th© average.— 

 Portland Press, 



LIST OF PATENTS. 



Issued October 1, 1907. 



Sfi6,632 Reversible Disk Plow, Charles 

 E. Dixon, Forest Grove, Ore. 



'66,657 Plow. William S. Jennings, 

 Lyon, Mass. 



866,679 Listing Plow. Oottfrld Pers- 

 son, Elgin. Tex. 



866,722 Weeder. Edgar A. Hess, Ken- 

 dallville, Ind. 



866,800 Cultivator. Wilkie D. MuUi- 

 nax, Gore, Ga. 



866,819 Harrow. Nivolas A. Seipel, 

 Healedburg, Cal. 



866,848 Apparatus for Cleaning and 

 Separating Seeds and the 

 Like. Frederick M. Dossor, 

 Doncaster, England. 



866,903 Cultivator Attachment. Wil- 

 lie C. Allbritton, Cairo, Ga. 



866,917 Sickle Bar. Herschel Climer, 

 Chillicothe, Ohio. 



866,942 Seed Cleaning Mechanism. 

 Robei t A. Little, Buffalo, N. 

 Y. ; assignor of one-fifth to 

 Elmer T. Anson and one- 

 fifth to Charles L. Anson, 

 Lockport. N. Y., and one- 

 fifth t© Emma Taft and one- 

 fifth to Arthur F. Kraft, 

 Buffalo, N. Y. 



867,019 Fertilizer Distributer. Sam- 

 uel K. Dennis and Frank W. 

 Rice, Chicago, 111., assignors 

 to International Harvester 

 Company, a corporation of 

 New Jersey. 



Issued October 8, 1907. 



867,001. Preparing stalks of grain for 

 forming sheaves. Moses 

 Rice. Philadelphia, Pa. 



867,731. Harrow. Joseph H. Johnson, 

 near Elmwood. 111., assignor 

 of one-half to Thomas L. 

 Galpin, Galesburg, 111. 



867.865. Harrow attachment for culti- 

 vators. August A. Yackee. 

 Roberts, 111. 



867,883. Plow. Edmond J. Ingram. 

 Scott, Ark. 



DUTY ON CHRISTMAS TREES. 



From report of General Appraisers'. 



No. 16808. — Christmas Trees — Unenu- 



merated Article.— Protests 247553. 

 etc., of F. W. Myers & Co. against 

 the assessment of duty by the col- 

 lector of customs at the port of 

 Plattsburg. Before Board 3, Sep- 

 tember 19, 1907. Opinion by Hay, 

 G. A. 



On authority of G. A. 4478 (T. D. 

 21372) Christmas trees were held to 

 have been properly classified as un- 

 enumerated unmanufactured articles 

 under section 6. tariff act of 1897, the 

 Board overruling the importers' con- 

 tention that the merchandise should 

 have been classified under paragraph 

 700 as wood unmanufactured. 



The New England Nurseries, Bed- 

 ford, Mass., have taken advantage of 

 the opportunity offered by the Food 

 Fair in Boston, to bring their exten- 

 sive stock into conspicuous notice. 

 The large space secured is filled with 

 attractive specimens of hardy orna- 

 mental trees and shrubs displayed in- 

 vitingly, each one labelled with the 

 botanical and the common name. This 

 firm also furnished the decorations in 

 this line for the Mechanics' Building 

 In which the Pair la being held. 



