February 2, 1907 



HORTICULTURE. 



129 



ing force, cudows the organization with irresistible 

 strength and vitality. How lamentable it is that the 

 groat majority of those most directly affected by the 

 work the societies are doing are so insensible of the 

 benefits they participate in and the obligations tliey are 

 under to the societies and to tlicir more public-spirited 

 fellows who are contributing and doing what they can 

 for the uplifting of their profession. The convention 

 was a success but it would have been an immeasurably 

 greater success had each beueficiarv of the Carnation 

 Society's activities done his duty. 



An Oppressive Boiler Inspection 

 Law Proposed 



In tlie Boston Journal, .Faunary 17, there appeared an 

 article \inder the head of "'Boilers Inspection Bill Kills 

 Lap-Seam Type." After reading it through I thought 

 it would come pretty hard upon the florists and others 

 using that style of steam boiler. The j)aper says, 

 "First and foremost it aims to put the lap-seam boilers 

 out of existence,"' then again, that "lap seam boilers 

 shall not be installed except that they be vertical inter- 

 nally-fired hoisting boilers." I procured a copy of the 

 bill (Senate Xo. (51) at tlie document room in the 

 State House. 



Market gardeners, farmers and florists have hitherto 

 been exempt from the inspection laws. Section 78, 

 Chapter 102, of the Revised Statutes says: 



"No person shall have charge ot or operate a steam 

 boiler or engine in this Commonwealth except boilers and 

 engines upon locomotives, motor road vehicles, boilers in 

 private residences, boilers in apartment houses of less than 

 five flats, boilers under the jurisdiction ot the United 

 States, boilers used for agricultural purposes exclusively, 

 boilers of less than eight horse power and boilers used for 

 heating purposes exclusively which are provided with a 

 device approved by the chief of the district police limiting 

 the pressure to fifteen pounds to the square inch, unless 

 he holds a license as hereinafter provided. The owner or 

 user of a steam boiler or engine other than boilers or 

 engines excepted shall not operate or cause to be operated 

 a steam boiler or engine tor a period of more than one 

 week unless the person in charge and operating it is duly 

 licensed." 



Section 80, same chapter, the words "have charge" 

 or "in charge," in the two preceding Sections shall des- 

 ignate the person under whose supervision a boiler or 

 engine is operated. "The 'person operating' shall be 

 understood to mean any and all persons who are actually 

 engaged in generating steam in a power boiler." 

 Boilers used to generate steam for pum])s, I think. coTue 

 under tlie head of power boilers. 



The proposed new law cuts out from the exempted 

 list boilers u.sed for agricultural purposes exclusively. 

 It seems very strange that the latter is taken out of the 

 exempted class and boilers in apartment liouses of less 

 than five flats are left in the exempted class. I cannot 

 see how or why boilers in apartment- hou.ses are ex- 

 em])ted and w;' are jjut l)y the pro|iosed law on the open 

 list. The ])rop(j<cil law. as I can interpret it, means 

 that we will have to have a licensed fireman. I wish 

 to call the attention of all who read this and are users 

 (if steam bnik'rs to procure a C(ipy of the proposed law. 



Senate Xo. 61. and also Sections 78 to 86, Chapter 103, 

 iif the Eevised Laws, concerning boiler inspection and 

 read them carefully, make it a ])oint to see the member 

 of the Senate or Hou.se fur his disti-ict and lay the mat- 

 ter before them and try to get us left on Section 78, 

 Chapter 102, as it reads at present. Copies of the above 

 can be had at the document room at the State House, 

 Boston. 



Ex-president Wheeler in the December meeting said, 

 "Stand by the new officers." Yes, that is courtly and 

 pointed advice, which we all ought to observe. Make it 

 possible to have harmony so that the club may keep on 

 its onward waj', and to do this give the officers even' 

 pos.sible support. And right here I would add that it 

 would be a good thing if the club would take action at 

 once on this boiler question. .\ club of such promi- 

 nence would carry much weight with it. Let the execu- 

 tive committee do something tangible at once. 



Calanthes 



A few weeks ago a correspondent in Horticulture 

 wrote enthusiastically of the gorgeous display of 

 calanthes in bloom to lie seen at Wliitinsville, Mass., 

 under cultivation by George McWilliam. The illus- 

 tration given herewith shows a few spikes of those 

 calanthes. In the group are a few Y. luteo-oculata and 

 rubro-oeulata. but the rest are of greatly improved 

 types, such as Veitchii compacta. a unique variety, and 

 Veitehii superba, the result of twenty years' selection 

 by Mr. McWilliam. and the beautiful hybrid Sand- 

 hurstiana. In the front are two spikes of a white seed- 

 ling unnamed as yet. It has not yet reached its full 

 strength, but the flowers have a breadth and thickness 

 of petal unapproached in any of the older sorts and are 

 of a pure glistening white. When it is stated that the 

 flower spikes here shown measured from three to four 

 and a half feet in height the beauty of a house with 

 thousands of spikes in bloom may be faintly imagined. 



