November 10, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



497 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



O I" . t^ 



Questions by oar readers In line with any of the topics prjsented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 



by Mr. Ruzkka. Such communications should Invariably be addressed to the otUce ot UOKTICULTUUE. i||| 



Keep the Glass Clean 



Growers using pond, brook or river water will have 

 to clean their glass on the inside every so often as a 

 green scum will form, more so during dark rainy 

 weatlier. There is a very handy tool for the work, a 

 squeegee or a scraper with hard rubber edge, which w;ll 

 take all the scum oif to perfection. Select a cloudy day 

 for the work as the scum will be soft then from the 

 condensation on the glass, and run these scrapers up 

 and down. What little scum remains on the glass will 

 be loose and will wash off very easily with the hose on 

 the first clear day. Do not neglect this work as the 

 plants need every ray of light they can get this dark 

 weather and, moreover, it will help keep the air pure 

 and sweet. 



Lime 



Use plenty of lime this dark rainy weather, blowing 

 it under the plants each night, and dusting it freely 

 under the benches, using plenty of it in both cases, es- 

 pecially in the latter. All houses that have not been 

 kept as clean as they should will welcome a good dose 

 under the benches as it will sweeten the air and kill 

 germs and insects that revel in dirt and moisture. It 

 is not a pleasant task to apply the lime, but by being 

 a little careful much of the dust can be avoided. Use 

 good fresh air-slacked lime. Under the benches it can 

 be partly slacked or wholly unslacked as it will do good 

 if it is allowed to slack while under the benches. 



Paper in the Boxes 



It will now be well for growers shipping long dis- 

 tances to see that all boxes are properly lined and 

 wrapped before leaving for the market. Frozen roses 

 are a loss and it is very annoying to receive a worthless 

 shipment when customers are waiting for fresh flowers 

 and have to be disappointed. The weather cannot be 

 trusted from now on so take no chances even if paper 

 is high and time for packing very limited. Pack care- 

 fully always as roses bruise very easily, and will soon 

 show it, too. 



Stop All Leaks 



The bit of winter we have had will serve as a warn- 

 ing to growers who still have a lot of broken glass. Coal 

 will cost more and more and will be hard to get. You 

 must have tight houses to save coal, so get the glass in 

 shajie quickly. Even if done by the help on the place 

 it will take about three times as long later on as it 

 would during nice mild weather. Now for the houses, 

 if they arc of the old three-quarter-span type. Arc the 

 backs good? A layer of heavy tar paper will make a 

 big difference in the temperature when the wind is 

 blowing strong and cold. Paper can be applied so that 

 it does not look so bad, but be sure to put plenty of 

 1 X 2 up and down rather than lengthwise as if they 

 are nailed on the horizontal way the drip from the 



eaves will make a lot of ice on them thus ripping them 

 off in many places, especially where the boards imder- 

 neath are not any too sound to hold the nails. Allow 

 plenty of lap at the joints and be sure to get the paper 

 smooth so it will not rip off during the first windstorm. 

 If there are any open spaces these should be covered 

 over with the paper first, then several thicknesses of 

 newspaper and then the final tar paper. Another leak 

 to stop is steam. Do you have to fill the boilers often ? 

 This should not be if the water comes back to the boiler, 

 and if it occurs it means leaks and leaks somewhere. 

 Keep the valves all packed, and see that all breaks in 

 the pipes are repaired as soon as they appear. It is sur- 

 prising how much steam will escape through a single 

 poorly packed valve and then there are so many on the 

 place. Get some asbestos rope for packing these as 

 they will stay packed then. Flange unions and such 

 can be packed with tar paper. We used this once in an 

 emergency in place of rubber and now we would not 

 use rubber again as the paper is not only 90 per cent 

 cheaper but much better. The only thing is that the 

 paper will get soft when steam hits it and the tar will 

 ooze out, and unless the union or whatever it may be is 

 tightened, the paper is apt to blow out. Use two thick- 

 nesses of one-ply paper or one thickness of two or 

 three-ply, and tighten flanges more after steam hits 

 them then some more for two or three days afterward. 

 After that you can forget about them as they will be 

 Like one piece with no leakage whatever. We even use 

 it on steam pumps on both water and steam heads and 

 it works great and is very cheap. • 



Covering Pipes on Boilers 



It is far more important than one would think to 

 have all pipes, such as mains, returns — in fact all pipes 

 not used for radiation, wrapped up in asbestos. Large 

 pipes have a great many square feet of radiation, which 

 is all wasting steam if not used for heating. Drums on 

 boilers should be especially well covered, as it is here 

 where the steam is hottest and most pressure on the 

 metal. A good coat of asbestos should be applied re- 

 inforced by wire netting so that it will not fall off short- 

 ly after being applied. Mix the asbestos about as thick 

 as mortar and apply with same tools to a warm surface, 

 slapping on the first few patches by hand with consid- 

 erable force. These patches should be thrown on before 

 the wire is put around, so they can come in contact with 

 full force, and then stick there for keeps. Do not try 

 to skimp with the covering as the more you get on the 

 better. Every degree of heat that escapes before it 

 roaches the houses is waste and this waste runs into a 

 pile of money in course of a year. If hard times are 

 ahead it will be the fittest that will sun'ive to see the 

 good times again so get busy stopping leaks right 

 now and do not pause to rest until there are no leaks 

 anywhere, especially in the roofs which should all be 

 tight for the sake ot the buildings and what they house. 



