THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



131 



tern, would be just as well if you kept 

 it full. 



This plan can be extended to any 

 dimensions, providing you do not vio- 

 late any of the principles. Always re- 

 member that hot water when circulat- 

 ing will never go down hill if there 

 is any chance for it to go up. So let 

 all tees and manifolds be laid hori- 

 zontally, so that where the water has 

 to be spread out into several pipes 

 there is as much inclination for it to 

 flow into one as another. 



Like the main supply pipes in steam 

 heating if you heat many pipes from 

 one or two outlets only, you must 

 start off with a 6 or 8-inch pipe and 

 reduce by degrees as the main pipe 

 has less water to supply. The 2-inch 

 flows supply the five 1 1-4-inch quot- 

 ed in excellent shape, but for a rose 

 house thjrt would take at least eight 

 1 1-4-inch on each side, a 3-inch flow 

 would be small enough. 



Where it is not convenient to carry 

 the flow pipe up over the doors, but 

 enter the house perhaps level with the 

 floor and then rise up to the plate, or 

 even continue along under the bench, 

 the flow pipe would have a rise of an 

 inch or two to the farther end and a 

 corresponding drop back in the re- 

 turns. At the highest point farthest 

 from the boiler tap in a 1-2 or %-inch 

 pipe and let it run up to the roof any- 

 where out of the way. This is much 

 better than pet cocks, which are so 

 easily forgotten, and the automatic air 

 valves get out of order. The feeding 

 cistern to supply the boiler can be in 

 the shed and should of course be a lit- 

 tle lower than the top of the small 

 pipe, which is called the air pipe, at 

 the farther end. Now, if the boiler is 

 low enough this system will work ad- 

 mirably and would be perhaps more 

 suited for a private greenhouse or 

 show house than the first system de- 

 scribed. 



I have never had much experience 

 with water under pressure, unless the 

 pressure of our city mains constitutes 

 that system. Our city water has a 

 pressure of about 35 Ibs. to the square 

 inch, and my experience with it is a 

 very cheap heating system for a store 

 or office. Wishing to heat a flower 

 store in this city, which is some 19 ft. 

 by 80, I put a small heater in the cel- 

 lar. It is simply .three lengths of 3- 

 inch pipe, each about three feet long, 

 and run into a manifold at both ends. 

 The coil is resting on two 4-inch brick 

 walls about two feet from the floor 

 and is bricked over top, sides and ends. 

 One end of this coil is raised about 

 three inches and from it rising to the 

 ceiling is the 1 1-4-inch flow, which 

 leads off, and by the help of some tees 

 connects with three radiators on floor 

 of store, and from the other end of the 

 radiators the returns drop to the lower 

 end of the coil. There are two natural 

 gas burners under this very simple 

 heater, which in the coldest weather 

 has never been turned on more than 

 one-third its force. 



A 1-inch pipe from the city water is 

 connected with the lowest part of the 

 coil and the valve is never closed, so 



there is always a pressure of 35 Ibs. 

 on the pipe and radiators. The high- 

 est part of the system is the top of the 

 radiators, and in them is a pet cock 

 which should be opened every day to 

 let out air, but often is not for weeks, 

 and in a radiator it is not of so much 

 consequence. 



There is nothing more about it, only 

 the radiators can be made red hot; a 

 great success. If a strong fire should 

 expand the water in the heater it has 

 to find room by driving the water 

 back into the mains. The whole thing 

 cost less than $50, and $5 worth of 

 gas was consumed in the coldest 

 month. Now this system could be used 

 with great success wherever you have 

 a boiler that would stand the pressure. 

 You could use it on either the uphill 

 or downhill systems, but you could not 

 have any open air vents, and unless 

 you trusted to the automatic air valves 

 you would have to daily open the pet 

 cocks at the highest point. 



I have seen pipes arranged in many 

 ways, including the old 4-inch pipe 

 system, put up by the experts of New 

 York, and well they do their work, but 

 of the various systems the one first de- 

 scribed is the most satisfactory in ev- 

 ery way. 



Where a considerable range is heat- 

 ed with one boiler, although some of 

 the cast iron boilers are excellent 

 there is nothing better than a tubular 

 boiler, such as you would use for mak- 

 ing steam, only that you do not want 

 the large space left that is occupied 

 with steam. You want it all tubes to 

 the top or it would hold too much 

 water. 



I have said very little about ar- 

 rangement of the pipes. Where the 

 benches are away from the walls there 

 is no place so good for the pipes as 

 to be hung on the wall. The heat 

 strikes the glass quickly just where it 

 is needed. There is no strong heat 

 near the plants, and there is a free 

 radiation not hindered by benches. 

 Sometimes this is not possible, then 

 the pipes can be laid under the bench- 

 es, but it will much simplify matters if 

 you can always let the flow be on the 

 wall near the glass. 



I think overhead heating, so called, 

 unless to a very limited extent, a great 

 mistake. I have tried it to my loss 

 and pulled it down. In the most se- 

 vere weather you may get the benefit 

 of the pipes over head, but in ordi- 

 nary winter weather much of your 

 hsat is thrown away, and why have 

 any there? Heat rises quickly enough, 

 and if your pipes are hot the heat will 

 soon reach all parts of the house, es- 

 pecially the top. 



HEDERA (IVY). 



Till the introduction of the galax 

 leaves the ivy was of much importance 

 to us and a large quantity is still 

 used and possibly always will be. H. 

 Helix is the common ivy and it has 

 innumerable varieties and forms. 

 Some of the variegated varieties make 

 most beautiful pot plants, and if they 

 could be produced cheaply enough 



would make the best of basket and 

 vase plants. 



The common ivy is not a success 

 here out of doors. They will do fairly 

 well on a north wall for some years 

 and then we get a winter that kills. 

 In Europe, dead trees, and live ones, 

 too, and on ruined towers and old 

 buildings you see the ivy climbing 

 everywhere. "Creeping where no life 

 is seen, a rare old plant is the ivy 

 green." And Gray says: "Save that 

 from yonder ivy mantled tower, tihe 

 moping owl does to the moon com- 

 plain." So the ivy must 'have crept its 

 way to the top of the lofty tower, for 

 it mantled it. 



The ivy roots easily during spring, 

 and if planted out early in good soil 

 will make fine plants by following Oc- 

 tober, when they should be lifted and 

 potted in 4-inch pots. One advantage 

 of the ivy is they will winter under 

 a bench in a cool house about as well 

 as on the bench. We use them largely 

 in vases and veranda boxes and they 

 suffer neither from heat, drought nor 

 wind. 



To produce leaves for designs I have 

 not found them a great success be- 

 neath a bench. Although I planted a 

 lot beneath a carnation bench in good 

 soil, I prefer a wall where they will 

 get the daylight, and such is generally 

 to be found, somewhere on the place. 



HEDGE PLANTS. 



If you supply shrubs you will be sure 

 to be asked to plant hedges. Some of 

 our American cities have distinctly 

 beautiful residence streets and the un- 

 common feature always noticeable to 

 Rudyard Kipling and less illustrious 

 "Outlanders" is the absence of fences 

 or hedges. There is nothing but the 

 well kept lawn, the group of shrubs 

 and trees, or perhaps a flower bed, be- 

 tween the sidewalk and the residence. 

 There is no finer specimen of this 

 beautiful style of street in America 

 than our own Delaware avenue, Buf- 

 falo, N. Y. We would never be guilty 

 of advocating any other style, but 

 whether we would or not there is a fast 

 growing tendency to put up iron 

 fences, or plant hedges, and when they 

 are asked for we must be ready. 



We will say in defense of a hedge 

 that where an iron fence is used we 

 think a well kept hedge behind it is 

 an improvement. Or where there is a 

 retaining wall a small hedge on the 

 bank is a finish to it. Or where the 

 lot finishes on the street with a ter- 

 race we think a hedge is in place. And 

 a well kept hedge can hardly be out of 

 place anywhere near the street. But 

 it is all in the quality of the hedge. 

 We trust for the credit of our city and 

 its pride, the residence streets, that 

 stone walls or Norway spruce hedges 

 will never be built to prevent the 

 passer-by from admiring the trees and 

 well kept lawns and flower gardens 

 of our wealthy citizens. A good and 

 happy life on the avenue is not fos- 

 tered by admiring your own lot alone. 

 You see in a month more of your 

 neighbor's than you do of your own, 



