1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



137 



The leading principles adopted by Mr. Ciooding 

 in the cultivation of roses for winter blooming ap- 

 pears to be the securing of young, healthy plants, 

 using a moderately free, rich soil in which to grow 

 them, and giving all the light possible, together 

 with a liberal allowance of heat and moisture. 

 Whether he possesses any special secret other than 

 the means just mentioned, whereby to command 

 success, I am unable to say, but certain it is the 

 results of his practice are eminently satisfactory. 



The houses are heated by steam, the apparatus 

 having been put up by the Exeter Steam Company. 

 Mr. Gooding is very well pleased with the way in 

 which it does its work, and with the editor's per- 

 mission I propose having something to say on this 

 system of heating in a future number. 



A FEW REMARKS ON STEAM HEATING. 



BY CHAS. M. SI.MPSON, VINCENNES, IND. 



In reply to Mr. E. Holley's inquiry as to steam 

 heating I will give my experience with steam heat- 

 ing for greenhouse purposes. In rebuilding our 

 greenhouses last summer, that had been before 

 heated with brick flues, we put in one of the Exe- 

 ter heating apparatus, which 1 must say is one 

 of the best machines for the purpose I have ever 

 seen. And as to cost, we have one house 65x20 

 feet, two houses 11x45 ^^^^> *^rie house 45x20 feet. 

 We had this heater put in complete, except brick 

 work and excavating, for $650. The lowest bid 

 on hot water was ^igoo, and we do the work, which 

 would cost over $1,000, to say nothing of the cost 

 of fuel, in favor of the steam over hot water. 



We do not burn any more fuel to heat our 

 whole range of houses than we did to run one fur- 

 nace with brick flue, which could only heat one 

 il-foothouse and half of another. Besides heat- 

 ing these houses we have a one hundred barrel 

 tank elevated for watering our houses and have 

 steam pipe run in it to keep from freezing in severe 

 weather. As to the number of pipes to heat the 

 said houses we use one-inch pipes, five run on a side, 

 in our largest house. The return pipe should be an 

 inch and a half, as it takes the condensation back 

 to the boiler much faster, and that is what we want 

 to get a quick circulation. I think that two-inch 

 pipes would radiate heat faster than two one-inch, 

 and not cool off as soon. Our boiler is twelve 

 section, No. 2, equal to twelve-horse power, and 

 have found it necessary to get up over ten pounds 

 of steam pressure in the coldest weather we have 

 had this winter, which has been lo*^ below zero, 

 and did not experience any more trouble in keep- 



ing our temperature from 60 to 65- than if it had 

 been ordinary freezing weather only. We build 

 our fires accordingly. 



As to steam ascending we have found no incon- 

 venience, yet we turn our steam in our tank fifty 

 feet from the boiler, and it ascends forty feet di- 

 rectly upwards and then returns. It takes about 

 ten pounds of steam- to get up circulation, and five 

 pounds keep it up. As to leaving your boiler, all 

 you have to do is to put in your fire and it will 

 take care of itself. Having a damper regulator 

 you can set it for any amount of steam you want. 

 We find it necessary to get up of very cold nights, 

 using, as we do, wood and soft coal, but will use 

 hard coal next winter. Where you have hard 

 coal you can leave your fire all night without any 

 trouble. 



Some persons that have had experience with 

 steam say that steam cools down too soon. That 

 is true, but it takes but a few minutes to get it 

 up again, and it is not necessary to keep up 

 fire all day when it is not needed for fear it will 

 turn suddenly cold on you, as some florists I 

 know of have to do, therefore wasting as much 

 fuel as they burn. 



In our boiler we do not keep up any fire when 

 we do not need it. Have often gone to the furnace 

 of a night when only a few coals were left, and in 

 twenty minutes would have ten pounds of steam, 

 and in less than five minutes from starting fire 

 would raise the temperature from ten to fifteen 

 degrees. And I would advise any one that wants 

 cheap heat for greenhouses to use steam, and I do 

 not think the Exeter can be beat when it comes to 

 economy of fuel and first cost of putting, etc., and 

 when you want to enlarge all you have to do is to 

 add on a few more sections. That is one of the 

 good points about it. 



I hope that other florists who have this boiler in 

 use will speak out and let us hear from experience 

 with it, and if you have anything better I want to 

 know it, as experience in such things is our best 



teacher. 



«-«-» 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



E.A.RLY Blooming of Seeulinc; Azale.\s. — 

 Many persons hesitate to try improvements on 

 azaleas, camellias and other plants because of an 

 impression that it takes a number of years for the 

 seedlings to flower. Col. Wilder has always main- 

 tained that it takes less time than people imagine, 

 if they will only grow the plants well, and he 

 undertook to raise and flower greenhouse azaleas 



