1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



107 



glass," without success. Moreover, he has seen 

 leaves of camellias and callas badly burned in 

 some seasons, pass through without the slightest 

 injury in others, though placed in the identical 

 places — which could hardly be, if the same burning 

 blisters in the glass were there. There may be 

 variation in the quantity or condition of water 

 between the laps, while the glass itself will remain 

 the same. — Ed. G. M.] 



STEAM-HEATING. 



BY JAMES SHORE, GERMANTOWN, PA. 



In your February number, Mr. E. HoUey, of 

 New York, asks some questions regarding steam 

 heating. I would say that I would not advise the 

 putting in of smaller pipe than 1% or 2-inch size. 

 His house being, as he says, 100x20 feet, and 5 

 feet in height, it gives say 12,000 ft. of air surface. 

 To be heated to a temperature of 65^ it would take 

 three rows of i^-inch pipes, or two of 2-inch, on 

 each side of the house, allowing sufficient heating 

 surface for extreme cold weather. Allowing i )4. 

 pounds steam in low pressure boilers, the greater 

 the pressure the higher the temperature. Low 

 pressure, with automatic dampers and valves, is a 

 more economical system than that of hot water. 

 The latter calls for the heating of ten times the 

 amount of water that steam requires. All pipes 

 should have a gradual fall from boiler of i }4 to 2 

 inches in every 10 feet of length, then it requires 

 no pressure to force the water through the pipes. 

 See that the pipes furthest from the boiler are not 

 less than 14 inches above the water line of it; — 

 more will be better. The return pipes must 

 descend to boiler, connecting with the bottom of 

 it. Such a house will take a boiler containing a 

 heating surface of 130 feet, or of about six horse 

 power. One of twenty horse power would heat 

 four such houses. All things being equal an ordi- 

 nary boiler will answer the purpose. It is better 

 to have a boiler with automatic arrangement so 

 that the pressure and temperature will be uniform. 

 Leaving a good fire at 10 p. M., it would need no 

 attention until 7 A. M. the next morning. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Flowers in Chicago. — During the week be- 

 fore and after Christmas, Mr. Edgar Sanders esti- 

 mated the following "cuttings" of flowers grown 

 for market by the florists of Chicago : 



"Roses, 77,000; Carnations, 82,000; Hyacinths, 

 32,000 ; Lily of the Valley, 10,000 ; Violets, 1 5,000 ; 



and Smilax, 12,000. strings ; with eighty of the 

 smaller fry to hear from." 



One florist, J. C. Vaughn, reported as his October 

 sales, 61,000 carnations, 10,000 roses, 6,000 tube, 

 roses, and 1,100 strings of smilax. 



Insects on Flowers. — Says a correspondent 

 of the Garden: "The best insecticide, and the 

 safest I have ever met with, is nicotine soap, 

 which, from containing the active properties of 

 tobacco with other ingredients, is fatal to insects, 

 and has a marvellously cleansing effect on the 

 bark of trees, which it frees from all parasites in 

 very quick time. For using on the stems of vines 

 and peach trees it is quite unrivalled, as with a 

 brush and a slight scrub, followed directly after by 

 a dash of water from the syringe, it leaves them 

 bright and polished, free from all slimy deposits 

 and other confervse. At one time peaches and 

 vines used to be daubed with a coat of liquid 

 clay a^d other mixtures to smother scale, but with 

 nicotine soap there is no need of this, and anyone 

 who is troubled with that insect, or red spider, or 

 thrip, has only to apply the wash to be rid of the 

 pest. If on the young shoots of peaches, the best 

 way is to syringe it on at a strength of four ounces 

 to the gallon of water, used at a temperature of 

 90° or ioqO, and immediately afterwards the stems 

 of the trees should be scrubbed and the whole 

 rinsed off at once. 



Heating Greenhouses. — Some years ago we 

 suggested that a hot pipe be carried up near where 

 the great enemy frost was to be attacked, and not 

 solely along the floor of hot-houses. Many of 

 our florists now have small hot water pipes run- 

 ning along at the foot of the rafters. The idea 

 has crossed the water, although English climate 

 is not so severe on greenhouses as ours. Leading 

 nurserymen have the plan in practice. 



New Inventions. — It is remarkable how long 

 the world will be near a first-class invention with- 

 out actually stumbling over it. The writer re- 

 members, when examining the first sewing 

 machine which came before him, how put out he 

 was to find it but a simple adaptation to machinery 

 of the common chain stitch so familiar to boys of 

 the last generation, who had to make their own 

 toys. Why could not some of these bright boys 

 have invented this machine long before ? It now 

 appears from some of the mummy garlands 

 unearthed in Egypt, that the florists of three or 

 four thousand years ago, used the chain stitch in 

 fastening the flowers to the wreaths. A long time 

 to be so near a great discovery. 



