18 



The Florists' Review 



Decbmber 24, 1914. 



EVEBLASTINQ BENCHES. 



I should be greatly pleased to re- 

 ceive some information through the 

 columns of The Review concerning con- 

 crete benches. Perhaps two years ago 

 there was quite a stir about concrete 

 benches, and everyone who could afford 

 it seemed to be building benches of 

 this material. I have heard lately that 

 these concrete benches were no good 

 for roses, carnations, etc., on account 

 of holding the moisture too much on 

 dark, dull days; also that they could 

 not be built strongly enough to stand 

 wear and tear. I have been told that 

 those who have been using concrete for 

 a couple of years are going back to the 

 old stand-by, the pecky cypress bench. 

 I must do some rebuilding at the close 

 of this season and if concrete benches 

 are a success I may put up some of 

 them. On the other hand, if they are 

 no good I want to be saved from mis- 

 take. I have no doubt a lot of others 

 could use some information on the sub- 

 ject and it would be a good thing to 

 start the ball rolling. M. B. S. 



Probably nowhere else in this coun- 

 try have concrete benches been given 

 so extensive a trial as at the Morton 

 Grove establishment of Poehlmann 

 Bros. Co., and Poehlmann 's built of 

 pecky cypress last spring and will do 

 so again in 1915. 



"But it is not that we had any 

 fault to find with concrete," said Aug- 

 ust F. Poehlmann when questioned 

 about it. "We have grown good roses 

 on concrete benches for years, just as 

 good roses as we have grown on wood 

 benches. We believe concrete is as 

 good as wood for growing purposes, 

 supposing, of course, that the construc- 

 tion is right with both materials. One 

 can have as much or as little drainage 

 as he wants with concrete, the same as 

 with wood. Our concrete benches are 

 sectional and they give all the drainage 

 we need and at the same time they 

 stand wear." 



An inspection of some of the benches, 

 now 3 years old, showed that here and 

 there a few feet were a little out of 

 line and that an occasional side mem- 

 ber had a piece cracked out along the 

 upper edge. "The reason for the 

 breaks in alignment is that the posts 

 were not set solidly enough. We made 

 the parts ourselves, but the erection 

 was done by the contractor who put 

 up the houses. Where a post was set 

 hastily, on a soft foundation, eventu- 

 ally it sinks and lets the bench sag a 

 bit. All it is necessary to do to cor- 

 rect it is to lift the post an inch or so 

 when the bench is empty at replanting 

 time. The top edge of our side mem- 

 ber was made a trifle thin; it was 

 difficult to set the reinforcing material 

 in the center of the slab. Where a 

 piece has broken out it has in every 

 case shown that the reinforcing rods 

 were up against one side of the mold 

 when the concrete was poured. Re- 

 pairs are easy; one has only to fasten a 

 piece of board along the outside edge 



and pour in enough concrete to fill up 

 the broken edge. We have some mono- 

 lithic benches of concrete, but we do 

 not like these so well as the sectional 

 ones." 



"But why didn't you build of con- 

 crete last season; why are you buying 

 pecky cypress for next spring?" Mr. 

 Poehlmann was asked, "Don't actions 

 speak louder than words?" "The rea- 

 son we didn 't build of concrete last 

 spring," he said, "was that we had 

 no time to make the parts. Between 

 the date we decided on building and 

 the date we needed to start the benches 

 we had no opportunity to mold the 

 members; that is work for idle hours. 

 This year we are rebuilding some old 

 benches, nothing more, and we should 

 like to use concrete if conditions were 

 right. We like concrete and our only ob- 

 jection to concrete benches is that even 

 under the most economical manufacture 

 the first cost is rather more than twice 

 the cost of perfectly satisfactory cy- 

 2)ress benches that will last for y^rs. " 



With this it may fairly be aH^> as 

 M. B. S. asks, that "the ball*' is 

 started "rolling." The Review will 

 be glad to receive the experience of 

 other growers who have tried concrete 

 for benches. 



stems near home at $8.50 per ton. 

 Which would be of the greater value 

 to the land — stems or manure? Would 

 a ton of stems per acre be a good cov- 

 ering, or would a greater quantity be 

 required? The land is now in sod. I 

 would apply the stems this fall and 

 plow them down in the spring, for corn 

 and asters. What is the principal ele- 

 ment that the stems contain — potash, 

 nitrogen or ammonia? Would chopped 

 tobacco stems be good to add to the 

 compost pile, along with manure made 

 up in the spring, for carnation bench 

 soil? W. R. D. 



According to Professor Voorhees, of 

 the New Jersey Experiment Station, 

 one ton of tobacco stems of good qual- 

 ity contains nitrogen equivalent to the 

 amount contained in 500 pounds of ni- 

 trate of soda, and potash equivalent to 

 the amount contained in 200 pounds of 

 high-grade sulphate of potash. These 

 two constituents are the chief fertiliz- 

 ing properties contained in tobacco 

 stems. 



The fertilizing value of stable ma- 

 nure varies greatly, but has been esti- 

 mated at about $2.25 per ton by somo 

 authorities. A ton of tobacco stems 

 would not go far on an acre, but it 

 could be used to better advantage if the 

 stems were run through a chopper be- 

 fore .being spread upon the ground. Not 

 having used tobacco stems in the com- 

 post for carnations, I am unable to say 

 what results could be expected from 

 that mixture, but, according to the 

 statement quoted above, one might rea- 

 sonably expect to get some benefit from 

 such a fertilizer. W. H. T. 



TOBACCO STEMS AS FEBTILIZEB. 



Can you give me the analysis of to- 

 bacco stems as a fertilizer and state 

 what is its value as compared witli 

 stable manure? Stable manure is hard 

 to get here unless it is shipped from a 

 distance, while I can procure tobacco 



SNAPDRAGONS FOB MAT 30. 



Will you kindly tell me when to sow 



the seed of snapdragons to have them 



! ^.'rop for Memorial day, and what 



night temperature to give them after 



thev are benched? .1. H. 



Sow the seed in January, transplant 



CoDcrete vs. Wood Benches at the Ettabttshment of Poehlnuon Bros. G>. 



