THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[April, 



and Europe, and I have tried to imitate as far as 

 possible the natural conditions and habitat of the 

 plant, biit without success. Can you put me on 

 the track of some specific information as to the 

 proper method of planting and managing such 

 seeds ? Is the subject one of sufficient general 

 interest to justify a few brief hints in the Garden- 

 ers' Monthly ? I am anxious to raise these 

 plants, as it is difficult to find medicinal portions of' 

 them in market that are satisfactory." i 



[The failure could scarcely be from bad seed, 

 for most of those named keep good for several 

 years. Most likely the failure comes from deep 

 sowing. Plant as early in spring as possible, make 

 the merest scratch in the ground, cover the seed 

 slightly ; then press the earth very firmly, and par- 

 tially shade. There will be little failure under 

 this plan. Occasionally seeds of these plants lie 

 over in the ground till the second season. — Ed. 

 G. M.] 



Greenhouse and House Gardening, 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



STEAM HEATING. 

 BY C. F. EVANS, ROWLANDVILLE, PHILA. 



In accepting the task imposed upon me of giving 

 my experience in steam heating, I have done so 

 fully aware of the fact that I am standing before 

 those far beyond me in business experience. I 

 therefore claim 

 your i nd ul- 

 gence. So im- 

 pressed am I, 

 however, with 

 the importance 

 o f steam-heat- 

 ing in connec- 

 tion with our 

 business, and 

 so tuUy am I 

 convinced of 

 its superiority 

 over all other 

 modes of heat- 

 ing that I gladly 

 avail myself of 

 this opportunity 



to add my testimonial to the many that steam 

 has already secured. Last winter, the first sea- 

 son in my career as a florist, we had five green- 

 houses, two heated by Hitchings' boiler, the re- 

 maining three by means of flues. I soon became 

 convinced that both ways were far from perfect, 

 and in the anticipation of building more houses I 

 immediately commenced looking for some more 



Fig. 1 shows how the steam enters over the door, and is then run over to 

 the coils situated on the sides of the house. The black dots represent the 

 valves controlling the coils. 



improved method. I became impressed with the 

 idea that steam would be the most effectual and 

 desirable means, and of course read all the articles 

 in our various journals for and against it with deep 

 interest. I corresponded also with all the florists 

 in the United States who were using steam wherever 

 I could find them. Besides this, I sought the advice 

 of some of my much esteemed brother florists in 



Philadelphia, 

 many of whom 

 have been so 

 kind and gener- 

 ous in their as- 

 sociations with 

 me. I found 

 much to encour- 

 age me in my 

 pet theory, and 

 yet much to de- 

 ter. Instances 

 were quoted me 

 of men who had 

 been ruined 

 through its use, 

 and indeed I 

 must acknowl- 

 edge that many times I would decide at night 

 that it would not be safe to try the dangerous 

 experiment ; that I must sdck to the hot water 

 system ; yet invariably a night's sleep would 

 dispel the misty doubts, and the next morning 

 would find me possessed with a greater long- 

 ing for steam than ever. Late in the winter, 

 having heard of some greenhouses in Flatbush 



