JUNK 16. 1904. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



151 



Benches for Cut Flowers. 



I had something to say two weeks ago 

 about material for benches in our houses 

 lor pot plants. It may be a little late to 

 discourse on benches and beds for our 

 important cut flower plants, still many 

 will yet be built, repaired or altered. lu 

 detached three-quarter-span houses with 

 ]io glass in either front or back wall, it 

 would be useless to adopt anything but 

 the raised bench. Some old-fashioned 

 ranges are often seen with the houses run- 

 ning east and west and a five- foot wooden 

 partition dividing each house from its 

 neighbor. These also would be unfit for 

 anything but raised benches. So it is 

 with the more modern house, either those 

 fifty or thirty feet wide, with glass almost 

 to the ground, or the large blocks of 

 houses covering acres, with high gutters 

 and no partitions, that the low beds of 

 various designs are used. 



Before we go into the subject of these 

 ground beds, as they may be called, let 

 me say that we built last year a raised 

 carnation bench that we like well and, 

 although it was only old Joost we planted 

 on it, nothing could possibly have done 

 better. The floor of the bench is hollow 

 brick, 15x10 inches and about two and 

 a half inches thick, resting on 2x4 scant- 

 lings fifteen inches apart and running the 

 length of the bench and these in turn 

 resting on 2x6 crosspieces every five feet. 

 The tops of the 2x48, where the tiles rest, 

 were most thoroughly plastered with wa- 

 ter lime (hydraulic cement) and I believe 

 it will outlast a board bench, except cy- 

 jiress, at least three times and. of course, 

 has the most perfect system of drainage. 

 It is as easy and comfortable to remove 

 and renew soil as on a board or plank 

 bench, which is not the case with round 

 .3-inch drain tile, often used for the pur- 

 pose. 



While the cost of this bench is not 

 as great as of the one described two weeks 

 ago, nor yet is it as lasting, but it is 

 about twenty-five per cent more than one 

 of 2-inch plank. ^ 



Few Really Solid Beds. 



Before we discuss the different kinds 

 of these low beds I want to say that 

 where there are tile, ashes or rubble stone 

 between the soil of the beds and mother 

 f^arth they cannot be called "solid" beds 

 and there are comparatively few who use 

 the actual solid beds for either roses, car- 

 nations or chrysanthemums. Yet there 

 are a few, and some of the most success- 

 fid. It is worth mentioning that one of 

 the few who are notably successful is in 

 " iitral Xow York. The soil on which the 

 Ik'Uvos are built is naturally good and 

 tnado hotter by deep plowing and workin;j 

 111 l>lcnty of 'animal manure. Then the 

 I'onsos are built with high gutters and 

 iir' ]>artitions. Then the beds are laid 

 ''"It with a 6-inch board for the edge and 

 livo or six inches of soil goes on top of 

 '"••already enriched surface soil. 



These roses last for five or six vears, 

 pi^niaps more. These are truly solid beds 

 •i'i'1. as their product has brought the 

 Inshost price in New York Citv, von can 



only say that ' ' nothing succeeds like 

 success." The steam pipes are on the 

 posts that support the gutters, two or 

 three feet above the level of the bed«. 

 Vigor of growth, size of foliage and 

 length of stem is wonderful, as the writer 

 has often witnessed. With all this suc- 

 there are few who can follow the 



cess, 



plan and there are some peculiarities of 

 culture that are unique that I could not 

 attempt to explain or advise. 



When the pipes are on the posts only 

 and all of them at least two feet above 

 the surface of the beds, no matter 

 whether they are solid beds or have tile 

 beneath, the radiation of heat from the 

 pipes is so directly vertical, or upward 

 to the roof, that there is a suspicion that 

 the atmosphere may be stagnant, without 

 that free circulation of air so beneficial 

 to plant growth. For instance, plants of 

 almost all kinds if put up on a shelf near 

 the glass, if not neglected for water, will 

 outstrip in robustness of growth those on 

 benches near the ground. It is not the 

 increased light or nearness to the glass 

 that has benefited these plants, but a 

 freer and purer circulation of air on all 

 sides of them. 



With all this evidence that light an"d 

 the better and purer circulation of air is 



I)er cent of all roses are planted annually, 

 and all carnations, then this great depth 

 of soil is time and material wasted, as 

 it has been proven beyond all question 

 that four or five inches of soil will grow 

 roses, carnations or chrysanthemums equal 

 to the greatest skill or methods yet 

 known. 



Low Beds or Benches. 



And now we come to the low beds, or 

 benches, with drainage of some kind be- 

 neath the plants and only four or five in- 

 ches of soil for the plants, which are by 

 no means solid beds. And where houses 

 are constructed so that they get the direct 

 sun on these low beds it must be a great 

 advantage to adopt them. I can't believe 

 there will be much difference in the prod- 

 uct of these beds and would advise the 

 use of whatever material is cheapest and 

 most available in your locality. It must 

 be admitted the rotting out of wooden 

 benches is not only costly in material 

 used, but the time and labor to rebuild 

 them. At the same time, too costly a 

 bed or bench, with the view to perma- 

 nency, in many cases is not advisable, 

 for the evolution of greenhouse architec- 

 ture and methods, has been so rapid of 

 late that you don't know how soon you 

 may want to adopt some other plan. OM 

 brick and tile can be used again. OM 

 boards and planks are utterly useless. 



The Ideal Bed. 



The ideal bed for roses or carnations, 

 in my humble opinion, is that so largely 

 used at the Dale Estate, Brampton, Ont. 

 First, two or three tiers of common brick 

 are laid along for the sides of the bed. 

 The space to the top of the bricks is filled ' 

 in solid with any old soil you happen to 



Rose House at the Establishment of John Breitmeyer's Sons, Mt. Clemens, Mich. 



(Sliowlnff bench construction, brick walls with tile bottoms.) 



near the glass, the roses in the solid beds, 

 quoted above and whose luxuriance of 

 flower and foliage could not be excelled, 

 disproves the theory that your rose or 

 carnation beds must be raised two or 

 three feet above the surface of the house. 

 I am going to dismiss these solid beds 

 by saying that for the general grower 

 they are not to be recommended, for very 

 few have suitable conditions and as ninetv 



have. On this soil, and projecting to the 

 outer edge of the brick wall 3-inch round 

 drain tiles are laid touching each other, 

 and for an edge is five inches of cement, 

 two inches wide on the tiles, tapering to 

 one inch at the top. This would bring 

 the surface of the bed, if three bricks 

 were used, about eighteen inches above 

 the paths, a most convenient height for 

 roses or carnations. 



