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22 



The Florists^ Review 



Septbubib 28, 1920 



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FIR E THE FIREMA N 



NEW AUTOMATIC STOKER. 



To Save the Weary Night Worker. 



Of late years no invention has been 

 put on the market which may have 

 such great importance to all who are 

 burning coal, especially greenhouse 

 establishments, as the device invented 

 by Ivan Bisdon, of Seattle, Wash. This 

 invention will relieve us of the mean- 

 est and most exacting duty the aver- 

 age greenhouse owner has to contend 

 with — the firing problem. Not only is 

 this problem growing in importance 

 year after year because it eats into our 

 pocketbooks a little deeper each year, 

 but with the labor problem in addition 

 forms our greatest concern as to how 

 we can solve it best and still make life 

 worth while. That to many a hard- 

 working florist becomes at times rather 

 a negative question, especially when 

 things all go wrong, the fireman quits, 

 cold spells require night sessions with 

 the boilers, while the daylight hours 

 have to be used to the limit to keep 

 things going right. Frequently a beau- 

 tiful, promising crop that has cost 

 months of careful labor and attention 

 is suddenly brought to the point where 

 its value is almost ruined in one chilly 

 night, simply for the fact that a weary 

 worker fails to wake up just at the 

 right time to look after the fire. 



Combined with Thermostat. 



I shall try to the best of my ability 

 to explain what is meant by good man- 

 agement in firing with the Bisdon 

 stoker. The stoker automatically 

 feeds coal over a fine grate through 

 which flows a stream of air fed by an 

 electrically driven fan; this is exactly 

 as you all have seen it in blacksmith 

 forges, A certain thickness of fuel bed 

 IS needed in order that all the incom- 

 ing air may be used in the process of 

 combustion. If the fuel bed is too 

 light, not all the air rushing in is used 

 in the consumption of the fuel and the 

 heat generated is needlessly cooled by 

 this excess of air. When insufficient 

 air reaches the fuel bed it will cause a 

 waste of coal, as the feeding apparatus 

 keeps on supplying fuel regardless of 

 whether it is being burned or not; this 

 surplus coal passes over the grate to 

 fall beyond into the ash pit. The ap- 

 paratus is provided with facilities to 

 regulate the flow of air and also the 

 speed of the coal feed. When experi- 

 ment has ascertained what is the 

 proper adjustment for a given grade of 

 coal, the stoker may be left alone as 

 long as the same grade of fuel is being 

 used, regardless of weather conditions. 

 It may strike you as an odd statement 

 that the fire should not be changed in 

 mild weather after severe weather, or 

 vice versa. While odd, it is neverthe- 

 less one of the unique features in firing 

 with the Bisdon stoker. 



The stoker, being driven electrically, 

 IS also regulated electrically by means 

 of a switch. A thermostat is the de- 



rrom a paper read by J. O. Bacher, of the 

 Swias Floral Co., Portland. Ore., at a recent 

 meeting of the Portland Florists' Club. 



vice that regulates the stoker so as to 

 maintain a desired temperature. This 

 thermostat is the means of adjusting 

 your fuel consumption so that you get 

 the desired heat and no more. I have 

 set our instrument to the point where 

 it will run the boiler heat from 110 to 

 140 degrees; once the high mark is 

 reached, it throws the switch out auto- 

 matically, the electric motor stops at 

 once and the fire stops burning for lack 

 of air. When the water cools ofE and 

 gets down to 110 degrees the switch 

 is again thrown in and in a short time 

 the fire goes full blast until the tem- 

 perature rises to the point where it 

 shuts off the electric current. A half 

 hour to an hour may be needed to gen- 

 erate the highest temperature needed 

 in the boiler and then the fire may re- 

 main dormant for one to two hours, de- 

 pending on the outside temperature. 

 No fuel is consumed when the fire is 

 dormant, but while the fire is active, 

 fuel is burned much faster than by the 

 ordinary method of firing, on account 

 of the forced draft. 



No Smoke and No Soot. 



The fuel element is so completely 

 consumed that no smoke is noticeable 

 after the fire has been going a few 

 minutes and soot-clogged flues do not 

 hinder the heat from being absorbed 

 by the water circulating through the 

 boiler. This freedom from soot in 

 boiler flues is one of the important 

 features of economy. Soot is well 



known to be an insulator. In properly 

 working boilers the gases escaping into 

 the chimney should be of a lower tem- 

 perature than that of the boiler they 

 are passing through, a fact which is 

 not often observed in the average heat- 

 ing plant. A certain amount of ash 

 dust will be deposited, however, in the 

 flues, requiring an occasional cleaning 

 to insure the best efficiency of the 

 boiler. A little observation will soon 

 demonstrate how frequently this flue 

 cleaning task has to be taken care of. 



It is hoped that the manufacturers 

 of this stoker will in time find it pos- 

 sible to give detailed instructions as to 

 how to install the stoker under various 

 conditions and boilers, so that Mr. 

 Average Florist may do this task him- 

 self where he has difficulty in finding 

 mechanics who know how. My experi- 

 ence of last winter shows me an actual 

 cash saving of $135 out of a normal 

 average expenditure of $500. However, 

 the comparison could not be based on 

 exact figures, as weather conditions and 

 fuel prices have been different. Be- 

 sides that, it must be said in favor of 

 the stoker that our greenhouse tem- 

 peratures were absolutely constant all 

 the time, something that even the best 

 fireman cannot accomplish all the time, 

 as occasional neglects are unavoidable 

 by hand firing. 



The labor-saving value estimated as 

 effected with this apparatus is practi- 

 cally the total cost of the whole system 

 in one season alone. Of course we do 

 not all consider that the time put into 

 the firing task is cash out of our pock- 

 ets, but, while life is short and plenty 

 of tasks are always waiting for a 

 greenhouse man, why consider firing 

 time of no value when it would pay 

 richly if devoted to other neglected 

 duties? 



MOTT-LY 



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The Alpha Floral Co., Kansas City, 

 Mo., recently executed an order for the 

 funeral of a Shriner, which embodied 

 all the various characters carried out 

 in colors. It was admitted by capable 

 judges as perfect in detail and was the 

 most elaborate work seen in quite a 



long time. 



• • • • 



B. S. Brown & Son, Kansas City, 

 Mo., have cleared part of their land in 

 town, keeping the original range for 

 retail trade. The veteran head, now 

 in the nineties, can be found daily at 

 some task around the place. Our old 

 friend remarked that he still ran across 

 an idea that was even new to him after 

 spending a lifetime in the business. 



• • • • 



The vast store of the W. L. Bock 

 Flower Co., Kansas City, Mo., is put- 

 ting on its autumn garb in the form of 

 the usual elaborate decoration only pos- 

 sible in a place of such size. "Never 

 were we better equipped for the sea- 

 son's business," observed Mr. Bock, 

 "and we believe our anticipations for 

 a profitable one will be realized." 

 Speaking of the nursery being estab- 

 lished at Independence, Mo., Mr. Bock 

 stated that forty acres have been 



added to the first plot. Hardy stock is 

 grown for the wholesale trade. So far 

 results are quite satisfactory. 



• • • • 



"Dignity with simplicity," quoting 

 Samuel Murray, Kansas City, Mo., is 

 seen in the window decoration. Cro- 

 tons, variegated pineapple, Cibotium 

 Schiedei, Tritoma Pfitzeri, with adian- 

 tum and autumn foliage, give a rich 

 and glowing effect. Telegraph orders 

 for the last twelve months have aver- 

 aged more than $1,000 per month. 

 * * Our business in this particular branch 

 is steadily increasing," observed Mr. 

 Murray, "and this condition should 

 generally prevail." At the Murray 

 greenhouses Boland Sharp has a fine 

 batch of Begonia Melior that, in his 

 own phraseology, "are as erect as a 

 regiment of soldiers." Solanum Cleve- 

 land is also promising for Christmas. 

 The idea this season will be to pro- 

 duce all blooming plants in medium, 

 rather than extremely large sizes. 

 • • • • 



W. J. Barnes, vice-president of the 

 newly formed Kansas City Florists' 

 Club, is a live wire and intends bring- 

 ing the trade into closer touch with the 

 commission men, who are felt by many 

 to be a real help to the trade. W. M. 



