312 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Decembgb 21, 1905. 



the house and disoliarge into a chim- 

 ney built on top of or by the side of 

 the furnace. The throat of tlie flue 

 should be four inches wide and about 

 ten inches deep at the end near the 

 furnace and will be most convenient if 

 taken off at the side of the furnace, 

 as shown in Fig. I. For the first 

 thirty feet the flue should be made of 

 brick four inches and lined with fire 

 brick set on edge, thus making a 6-inch 

 side wall, which should be capped with 

 a layer of fire brick and jacketed with 

 common brick. From thirty feet on, 

 the flue may be made of ordinary 8-inch 

 terra cotta pipe, using elbows at the 

 corners and packing the joints thor- 

 oughly with the best cement. The 

 earth or supports for the flue should 

 make a uniform grade around the house 

 and have a rise of at least two feet in 

 the distance, which will be about 110 

 feet. A "T" joint of terra cotta 

 pipe can be placed on top of the fur- 

 nace at the proper height to receive 

 the end of the flue, and by extending 

 the perpendicular portion of the terra 

 cotta pipe the chimney can be made. 

 L. C. C. 



CATTLEYA LABIATA. 



Our illustration shows a fine specimen 

 plant of the popular fall and early win- 

 ter blooming Cattleya labiata carrying 

 ten sheaths and forty-four flowers, 

 grown by J. T. Butterworth, South 

 Framingham, Mass., who of late years 

 has gathered together quite a large se- 

 lection of commercial orchids. In the 

 culture of cattleyas he has achieved strik- 

 ing success. Many of his sheaths of C. 



RAFFIA. 



A neat booklet published by the K. H. 

 Comey Co. contains some very interest- 

 ing matter, of which the following is 

 part: 



A man never knows the possible extent 

 of the sale of any goods until he has 

 made a trial of them, and this is espe- 

 cially true of H novelty like raffia. Un- 

 less a dealer has carried raffia in stock, 

 he is unable to knoAV how many women 

 and children there are who are enthu- 

 siastic users of the enticing fibre. 



Baffia, which is the outer skin of a 

 long-leaved palm found on the Island of 

 Madagascar, is strong and pliable, and 

 can be woven, crocheted, plaited, braided 

 or twisted into almost every conceivable 

 object. Artistic, useful, beautiful, this 

 fascinating work has received the stamp 

 of fashionable approval. Many novel, 

 beautiful and useful articles can be 

 made. 



Indian basketry is in high favor at 

 the present time. In the past the art 

 of making baskets has been confined to 

 the Indians, and the very name "In- 

 dian ' ' baskets has been connected with 

 mystery, cunning art and high prices. 

 But now, since the introduction of raffia, 

 basket making has become very popular, 

 and anyone can, with a little practice, do 

 work which closely imitates the best In- 

 dian art. Amateur basket makers may 

 be counted by hundreds of thousands. 

 Books have been published recently on 

 weaving baskets, and all the * ' ladies ' 

 magazines" have articles or depart- 

 ments on the subject. There are also 

 raftia basket-weaving classes in nearly 



J. T. Butterworth's Cattleya Labiata with 44 Flowers. 



labiata carried six and in one or two 

 cases seven flowers each. The plants 

 are grown in pans and baskets in a 

 span-roofed house, being kept well to 

 the light. Fern fibre is used for compost. 

 Other varieties of cattleyas are equally 

 well grown. W. N. Craig. 



I LIKE the Review very much and 

 probably shall take it as long as I am 

 in the business, for I should miss its 

 weekly visits were I to try to get along 

 without it. — Samuel Wheeler, Berlin, 

 Mass. 



all the schools of applied design, and 

 many women in towns also teach the use 

 of raffia. 



If you would talk with a dealer in 

 school supplies, you would be surprised 

 to find out the immense quantity of 

 raffia grass which is sold to public 

 schools. The total is enormous, run- 

 ning up in the tons. Baffia is used in 

 the manual training classes, and noth- 

 ing the children use gives them better 

 results or greater pleasure. 



Raffia, on account of its wonderful 

 strength, is especially adapted for up- 



holstery work, being used extensively in 

 the manufacture of hangings, embroidery 

 of designs on pillow tops and burlap. 

 It is also coming into use in furniture 

 industries, being interwoven with rattan 

 in the manufacture of light tables, chairs 

 and all styles of fancy and picturesque 

 light house furnishings. 



The farmers realize that an article of 

 good appearance is already half sold. 

 The progressive farmer has, therefore, 

 done away with the common jute twine 

 with which he used to bunch his aspara- 

 gus, celery and other like products, and 

 has adopted instead raffia grass, which 

 does not cut into the bunch. 



A skein of raffia is an every-day neces- 

 sity wherever floriculture or horticulture 

 are carried on. Raffia is the favorite 

 tying material with the plantsmen, for 

 several reasons. Not the least of these 

 is its comparative inexpensiveness, but 

 the greatest of all is the fact that it 

 neither stretches nor shrinks under the 

 influence of heat or moisture. Once 

 properly adjusted a tie of raffia does not 

 loosen, releasing that which it was in- 

 tended to hold; neither does it shrink 

 and cut the plant, perhaps to ruin it. It 

 is soft and pliable, and does not break 

 or ravel when folded or knotted. These 

 qualities bring raffia into general use for 

 many purposes in nurseries and green- 

 houses, where heat and moisture are al- 

 ways found. 



Probably the greatest value of raffia, 

 and its principal use in horticulture, is 

 in grafting. For this work it is recom- 

 mended by leading men as the best ma- 

 terial, and has come to be almost uni- 

 versally employed. Robert Craig told the 

 Society of American Florists, in conven- 

 tion at Omaha, in 1896, that "raffia is 

 preferable, as string is apt to shrink and 

 cut into and injure the graft." In de- 

 scribing the process of rose grafting in 

 a recent article in the Florists' Review, 

 Alex. Montgomery, Jr., of Waban, said: 

 "Having stock and scion joined, grasp a 

 piece of raffia which has previously been 

 cut to the proper length; insert one end 

 between the forefinger and second finger. 

 Wind carefully and firmly, beginning al- 

 ways at the top, and not winding too 

 closely together, as close winding gives a 

 chance for moisture to collect beneath 

 the raffia and causes rotting of the 

 scion." Of the scion, mind you; the 

 raffia does not rot, shrink or slip. ' ' The 

 neatest way to make the tie is to pass 

 the free end through beneath the last 

 twist of the raffia and draw tight," 



A great many florists sell raffia to 

 their customers, and in seed stores it is 

 a regular item of stock. The manufac- 

 turers of florists ' requisites (baskets, pot 

 covers, hampers and the thousand and 

 one articles the florist employs to fur- 

 nish attractive settings for his plants 

 and flowers) use raffia in an infinitude 

 of wavs. 



FERNS FOR MARKET. 



In speaking of the London market a 

 writer in the Horticultural Advertiser 

 says: 



"We get very little that is new in 

 ferns. Pteris cretica major remains one 

 of the most popular, but the variegated 

 P. Alexander is appreciated. Of crested 

 varieties, Wimsetti still remains the favor- 

 ite; in fact, it is almost the only crested 

 sort now seen. Tremula remains a favor- 

 ite, but I think the system of growing 

 several plants together does not add to 

 its beauty. Years ago, when they were 

 well grown from single plants they were 



