22 



The Florists^ Review 



Dbcbmbee 16. 1920 



coal consumed, from one-third to one- 

 half of the heat it contains is stolen by 

 the products of combustion and dissi- 

 pated into the atmosphere. 



The other loss up the chimney, namely 

 that due to unconsumed fuel in the 

 products of combustion, is usually not 

 so serious. The old idea that a smoky 

 stack is a sign of tremendous waste is 

 not always true; in fact, whether the 

 gases leaving a chimney are smoky or 

 smokeless is no indication at all as to 

 the efficiency with which the fuel is 

 consumed. . Steam boilers, for example, 

 connected with a stack that does not 

 show the slightest trace of smoke may 

 burn twice as much coal pfer pound of 

 water evaporated as when smoke is in 

 great prominence. Black smoke is, of 

 course, unburned carbon, but the amount 

 of carbon in this light and finely divided 

 form that is necessary to give the 

 products of combustion a dark or even 

 a black appearance is generally only a 

 small fraction of one per cent of the 

 actual fuel burned. The additional un- 

 consumed fuel that is apt to be present 

 in the products of combustion is carbon 

 monoxide and hydrocarbons, both of 

 which are caused by an insufficient air 

 supply or the improper mixture of the 

 air with the fuel before it is ignited. 

 Although it is possible for the loss due 



this way be determined at once, and the 

 best efficiency under the working con- 

 ditions of any plant can generally be 

 obtained and maintained without the 

 necessity of lengthy and elaborate tests. 



/ 



Ideal Combustion. 



With ideal combustion the rate of 

 burning and consequently the amount of 

 heat energy developed in a unit of time 

 would- be in proportion to the amount 

 of air supplied. Unfortunately, how- 

 ever, conditions under which fuel is 

 burned are far from ideal. In everyday 

 practice air is supplied to the fuel in 

 such excessive quantities that only from 

 one-third to one-half of it combines 

 with the combustible to liberate the 

 heat which it contains. In ninety-nine 

 cases out of a hundred, this condition 

 is simply due to a lack of facilities for 

 knowing whether the proper amount of 

 air is supplied per pound of fuel con- 

 sumed. When carbon, the principal 

 constituent of any fuel, is completely 

 burned the result is COj. Complete 

 combustion occurs when air is supplied 

 in excess of what is needed. When, 

 however, the air supply is reduced or 

 regulated to approach that which is 

 theoretically required there is also a 

 possibility of incomplete combustion, 

 due to an insufficient amount of air 



lo^t^a Florists Gain Bigger Share in Mid-West Horticultural Exposition. 



to this cause to bo serious, it is a fact 

 that the avorajie loss from this source 

 can safely be estimated as less than 

 two per cent. 



Reducing Losses. 



To reduce chinmev losses to a mini- 

 mum, no matter what means is used, 

 we must know whether or not the 

 proper amount of air is being supplied, 

 whether or not air has been jiroperly 

 mixed with the fuel before it was 

 ignited and whether or not too much 

 heat is left in the products of combus- 

 tion as they pass up the chimney. Un- 

 der all conditions these important facts 

 can be determined with the consistent 

 use of fuel gas analyses and tempera- 

 ture measurements. The effect of any 

 change in fuel or method of firing, the 

 results of any additions or changes, or 

 the value of any new appliance, can in 



reaching part of the combustible. When 

 this is the case some of the carbon in 

 the fuel will burn to CO instead of CO^. 

 It must be remembered, however, that 

 the big loss in practice is due to excess 

 air and not to an insufficient supply. 



FLOWERS TO THE FORE. 



That Iowa florists are awake to trade 

 possibilities is evidenced by the rapid 

 strides with which they pushed flowers 

 into prominence at the annual Mid-West 

 Horticultural Exposition, held at Coun- 

 cil Bluffs, la., November 15 to 20. Up 

 to this year the exposition was almost 

 exclusively agricultural. A careful 

 study of the illustration on this page 

 will reveal the fact that it is no longer 

 exclusively agricultural; on the other 

 hand, it would appear that, before 

 long, flowers might be one of the pre- 

 dominant features of the exhibition. 



Blaine C. Wilcox, of J. I". Wilcox & 

 Sons, Council Bluffs, la., recently 

 elected president of the Society of Iowa 

 Florists, was in charge of the floricu> 

 ture department of the exposition, and 

 it was largely due to his activity that ^ 

 such excellent results were obtained. 

 Among the exhibitors of flowers at the 

 exposition were: Pinehurst Floral Co., 

 Pleasant Hill, Mo.; Kirkwood Floral 

 Co., Des Moines, la.; Iowa State College, 

 Ames, la.; F. L. Lainson, Council 

 Bluffs, la.; J. S. Wilson, Des Moines; 

 Oscar H. Herman, Council Bluffs, and 

 L. Stapp Co., Bock Island, 111. Many of 

 the extensive floral decorations on the 

 walls and ends of the exposition hall 

 were arranged by Vern Wilcox, of J. 

 F. Wilcox & Sons. These were not in 

 competition. 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS. 



"My sentiments exactly," observed 

 Samuel R. Hansen, of North Troy, N. Y., 

 following a perusal of the program is- 

 sued by the Chicago Florists' Club for 

 its meeting December 9. "It's the best 

 thing of its kind yet issued, unique in 

 its arrangements, up-to-the-minute and 

 worthy of its composers. It will be my 

 endeavor to carry out something similar 

 during my term as president of the Al- 

 bany Florists ' Club, realizing the amount 

 of latent talent we possess, which only 

 needs uncovering to discover its wealth. 

 It has taken our western confrere to ex- 

 press what is in the minds of all who 

 have graduated in our profession and, 

 as we are becoming more and more 

 practical and the sentimental becomes 

 merged in the commercial, the impor- 

 'tance of having one's attention called 

 to the value of our profession as a 

 science cannot be overestimated. An- 

 other point to make," continued Mr. 

 Hansen, "is the ever burning question 

 of what constitutes a living price for 

 our product. As the matter now stands, 

 we are far removed from practicing the 

 Golden Rule, and not until we do this, 

 mark me, will the business be conducted 

 along satisfactory lines. The subject 

 of supply and demand overrules all and, 

 as the bulk of the stock handled is 

 perishable, absolutely no set rules or 

 laws touching prices can be satisfactor- 

 ily followed. Granted that a schedule 

 of prices makes interesting reading, 

 one's business is governed by its en- 

 vironment and, while we may do much 

 toward educating public taste for our 

 product, it remains for the individual 

 to carry out in his limited sphere what 

 the big brothers are trying to accom- 

 plish as a body." 



It was incidentally mentioned at the 

 time of this interview, just after 

 Thanksgiving, that prices at wholesale 

 had not receded. The outlook for 

 Christmas business was propitious for 

 plant sales. W. M. 



Sedalia, Mo. — L. n. Archias, presi- 

 dent of the Archias Floral Co., has been 

 appointed a delegate to the Interna- 

 tional Farm Congress, which will be 

 held at Kansas City, Mo., December 9 

 to 11. The appointment was made by 

 Governor F. D. Gardner. 



Lincoln, Neb.— C. H. Frey makes the 

 interesting report that practically all 

 his Christmas plants for wholesaling 

 were ordered up a fortnight before the 

 holiday. Orders were not so large as 

 last year, but were much more numer- 

 ous. Weather for shipping never was so 

 good. 



