

Fbbruary 9, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



649 



convention, Mr. "Baur, of Indianapolis, 

 rpt>ried to the splendid entertainment 

 and banquet given by the Detroit men. 

 Hie said some men could tell a most hu- 

 morous story and then change vi^ith true 

 eloquence to the beauties and influence 

 of our moral calling. Of course he had 

 in mind E. G. Hill. Continuing, he said 

 other men could only stand up and string 

 together a lot of alleged jokes and sto- 

 ries. That shot was undoubtedly meant 

 for W. S.. so I was going to surprise 

 Mr, Baur by being serious. I was going 

 to review the improvement in the car- 

 nation since the time we grew a few hun- 

 dred each of La Purite, Edwardsii and 

 President De Graw, which was the win- 

 ter of 1872 and 1873, and I say that in 

 the opinion of the writer you could 

 count on the fingers of one hand all the 

 varieties that have marked an epoch in 

 carnation culture. 



From the date quoted there were long, 

 dreary years with little attempt to im- 

 prove. True, there were many varieties 

 a slight improvement on preceding kinds, 

 but not enough to be startling or that 

 could be grown successfully by the great 

 majority of gardeners. I shall skip over 

 many varieties that were widely grown. 

 If I have not grown most aspirants to 

 favor I know the career and reputation 

 of the very great majority. From that 

 day to this hundreds of varieties have 

 arisen like the morning sun, passed 

 quickly over the zenith of their fame and 

 dropped into darkness. Numbers of 

 others ended their career almost at their 

 birth. 



The first really great carnation to 

 break the dark ages was Daybreak, 

 which was sold by the raisers for the 

 exorbitant price of $300. The next 

 really great carnation was my name- 

 sake, a compliment by Messrs. Dorner 

 that I shall always remember. Another 

 six or seven years elapsed and then the 

 greatest advance of all was sent out by 

 Peter PMsher — the immortal Mrs. Law- 

 son. Again in three years it fell to the 

 skill of Mr. Fisher to give us the last 

 carnation that I can say marked an 

 epoch — the easily grown, grand En- 

 thantress. 



I think among the chosen few should 

 be included the gorgeous Prosperity. Al- 

 though not grown profitably by all, it 

 has size and beautiful markings decid- 

 edly its own. 



I am not unmindful that there have 

 been several notable breaks in color: 

 The well known Buttercup, but few 

 could grow it. C. W. Ward's fine crim- 

 sons and Mr. Hartshorne's splendid and 

 easily grown Harlowarden, but if I in- 

 cluded those as milestones, then dozens 

 of others would have to come in. 



As for those not yet disseminated, 

 proof of their being classed among the 

 immortals is not yet given. 



In conclusion, I sincerely hope that 

 Fiancee, Robert Craig, Cardinal, Fred 

 Burki and others may prove all that 

 they am)ear at present, for there is in 

 their respective colors great demand and 

 need of them. 



Hoping that the convention will be an 

 unqualified success in every respect, and 

 that the Chicago boys will not bankrupt 

 themselves in their royal hospitality, I 



remain. 



"Very truly yours, 



WiLUAM Scott. 



Rutherford. N. J, — The business of 

 Julius Roehrs has been put into a stock 

 company to be known as the Julius 

 Roehrs Company. 



/ 



4- 



6 4 



Showing the Several Methods of Firing a Boiler. 



ECONOMY IN THE USE OF FUEL. 



Practical florists and experimenters 

 have given much attention to the con- 

 struction of greenhouses. They have 

 increased the size of the glass, thus ma- 

 terially lessening the number of sash 

 bars necessary for a given area of roof. 

 The old, cumbersome wooden frame has 

 been replaced by pipe and steel Bup- 

 porta All this has contributed to im- 

 prove the conditions of light for the 

 plants. The relation of radiating surface 

 to glass area to maintain certain tem- 

 peratures is now being appreciated and 

 carefully considered by commercial grow- 

 ers. The one problem which has been 

 neglected, except during periods of ex- 

 treme prices, such as during coal fam- 

 ines, is that of the economical us3 of fuel. 

 This is one of the factors which must 

 always be reckoned with and it is the 

 one in which, through improperly con- 

 structed or poorly set boilers or by im- 

 proper firing, more loss will occur than 

 through any other single factor. The 

 kind of fuel to bs used in any case will 

 be determined by the type of the boiler 

 and the method of firing to be practiced. 



In small plants, where hot water is 

 used and where a special night fireman 

 is not employed, it is almost an absolute 

 necessity to use some grade of anthra- 

 cite (hard) coal. Anthracite coal is the 

 only grade that can be used in magazine 

 heaters or in small fire box, cast-iron heat- 

 ers to advantage. As a rule, however, 

 it is not the most economical form of 

 fuel. The price per ton is usually much 

 higher for the larger sizes of anthracite 

 than for bituminous or even for small 

 sizes of anthracite. In steam generating 

 plants where constant pressure is re- 

 quired and where a fireman is continually 

 in attendance soft coal or No. 1 or No. 2 

 buckwheat anthracite is most used. Boil- 

 ers which will properly use the buckwheat 

 anthracite will also burn soft coal. 



The comparative value of these coals is 

 somewhat as follows in a steam gener- 

 ating plant: Semi-bituminous (soft 

 coal) at 100 is equivalent to No. 1 buck- 

 wheat at 80 and No. 2 buckwheat at 68. 



The larger sizes of anthracite are not 

 generally used to generate steam and 

 relative values for comparison are not 

 at hand. It is safe to say, however, that 

 in generating plants its value would not 

 be much in excess of the soft coal, ton 

 per ton. It is evident, therefore, that 

 everyone contemplating the installation 

 of a heating plant should give close at- 

 tention to the kind and cost of fuel used. 



The next important point i." the type 

 and setting of the boiler. All things 

 considered, the return tubular steel boiler 

 is the most economical type for either 

 steam or hot water heating in connection 

 with greenhouse work. The economy of a 

 boiler is measured by the transmitting 

 power of the heating surface and the area 

 of the heating surface. The more easily 

 and quickly the heat reaches the water 

 and the greater the area brought in con- 

 tact with the heated gases, the greater 

 the eflSciency derived from the fuel used. 



Following this is the proper construc- 

 tion of the walls used in setting the 

 boiler and in the proper covering of the 

 flow pipes not directly concerned in heat- 

 ing. About twenty-two per cent of the 

 heat in coal escapes by the chimney in 

 the best boilers, one per cent is lost 

 through the grates in unburned coal with 

 the best of firing and with careless firing 

 the waste may be increased many times. 

 About five per cent is lost as direct ra- 

 diation from the boiler itself and two to 

 three per cent more in the flow and re- 

 turns not used in heating the plant, mak- 

 ing in all about thirty per cent of the 

 total value of the coal. The best of 

 boilers working under good conditions are 

 capable of delivering for heating pur- 

 poses only about seventy per cent of the 

 heat in the coal. The greatest care and 

 economy should therefore characterize 

 the choice and management of a heating 

 plant. 



Even different methods of maintaining 

 a fire determine to large degree the effi- 

 ciency derived from the coal burned. The 

 accompanying sketches show the dif- 

 ferent forms which coal in a furnace 

 may assume. 



Figs. 1 and 2 show cross sections in 



