400 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Dbcembeu 28, 1905. 



t 



NEPHROLEPIS PIERSONI 



Grand stock, in all sizes. Very popular in New York and all the large cities. 



ilNPRECEDENTED SALE OF LARGE SPECIMENS 



Prices from 75c each ; $9.00 per doz.; $50.00 per 100, up to $2.00, 

 $3.00, $5.00 and $7.50 each. Satisfaction Guaranteed. 



F. R. PIERSON CO., TARRYTOWN, N. Y. 



Mention The Review when yon write. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



HOTBEDS, 



With the smaller grower, who finds 

 himself cramped for room as the spring 

 season advances, hotbeds play a very 

 important part in filling the breach be- 

 tween the greenhouse and cold frame. 

 They are especially useful in the starting 

 and bringing forward of vegetable plants 

 intended for subsequent planting out- 

 doors or for maturing such crops as let- 

 tuce, cauliflower, radishes, etc. 



About the middle of February is, gen- 

 erally speaking, the best time to make 

 up the beds, but previous to this the 

 material should be got together, turned 

 over two or three times and thoroughly 

 mixed to insure a uniform heat. Stable 

 litter will constitute the principal part, 

 if not all, of the material, but where 

 it is possible to procure them a very good 

 addition to this is leaves gathered the 

 previous fall. They may constitute about 

 one-third of the material and will be 

 found to be very advantageous, both in 

 preventing too violent heat at first and 

 in helping to retain heat in the material 

 longer than the litter alone would hold 

 it. 



If the manure is well saturated with 

 wash from the stable it is not often 

 necessary, when using this alone, to 

 dampen the material with water, but 

 when leaves are used, these often being 

 quite dry, dampening is generally es- 

 sential to insure proper heating, but 

 judgment must be used in the applica- 

 tion of the water so as not to overdo 

 it. The material, when ready to make 

 up the bed, should be just damp enough 

 so that it will pack well together, but not 

 so moist that it will appear wet and 

 heavy in handling. 



Hotbeds are sometimes made entirely 

 overground, but here a good deal of heat 

 is apt to be lost by the sides of the pile 

 being exposed to the weather, especially 

 during severe cold, so that the better 

 plan is to dig a pit as a receptacle for 

 the material. In deciding the size of 

 the pit, it is best to ascertain the size 

 of the frame to be placed over it and 



allow the pit to be a foot wider than the 

 frame all the way around. This will 

 insure a more uniform heat in the frame 

 than if it were the exact size, as being 

 in contact with the cold soil, around the 

 sides of the frame, it is always colder 

 than the body of the material. A fancy 

 frame need not be used, the home-made 

 article being just as eflB^cient as long as 

 it is substantially built, with crossbars 

 sufficiently strong to support the sash. 



The heating material should be put in 

 in layers, spread evenly, and each layer 

 firmly packed by tramping with the feet. 

 This insures a uniformity of heat and 

 the firmer it is packed the longer the 

 heat will be retained. The depth of ma- 

 terial to be used will depend a good 

 deal on the class of plants to be grown 

 and the length of time it is desired that 

 the heat be retained. As a general rule 

 a depth of four feet is about right. For 

 this depth a pit three feet deep will 

 be needed and the material built one 

 foot over ground, this allows for set- 

 tling, which is sure to take place as 

 the material becomes decomposed. Al- 

 lowing that it should settle one foot 

 this will leave the frame level with the 

 surface of the ground. 



The sash used would better be placed 

 over the frame as soon as the bed is 

 made up to prevent its being soaked 

 should rain occur, but they had better be 

 tilted up so as to allow the steam and 

 superfluous heat to escape, and gradu- 

 ally lowered as the heat recedes. A 

 thermometer placed in the frame will 

 indicate the falling of the temperature 

 and when 65 degrees is reached with the 

 frame closed, plants or seeds can safely 

 be trusted in it, the temperature being 

 regulated by airing according to require- 

 ments. W. S. Croydon. 



TOMATO PLANTS. 



M. Garrahan, writing of growing vege- 

 table plants, says, in the Eural New 

 Yorker: We have something less than 

 10,000 square feet of glass, with a few 

 hundred 3x6 sash. We grew and trans- 

 planted into flats last spring 373,000 

 tomatoes, 290,000 celery, 125,000 cab- 

 bage, besides a lot of pepper, eggplant, 

 etc., that I have no account of. We used 

 three men and four boys practically four 



months, at a total cost for labor of $465 ; 

 manure, $40; coal, $30; interest on plant 

 at $2,000, six per cent, $120; sinking 

 fund at six per cent, $120; cost of 10,- 

 000 flats, and making, $400; total, 

 $1,175. Our plants are grown in flats 

 the size of tomato cases, 13x17 inches 

 inside measure; planted 1%-inch each 

 way; there will be 108 plants to the box. 

 A 3x6 sash will cover about nine of these 

 boxes or flats. Our first sowing of seed 

 is made about February 15; twenty to 

 twenty-five days later we begin to trans- 

 plant. Seed is sown in flats of the same 

 size with a temperature 75 to 80 degrees. 

 We count on 1,500 good seedlings from 

 one flat of this size. A man who can 

 fill his own boxes and transplant 5,000 

 seedlings per day without any help is a 

 first-class hand. As a rule, our plants 

 are never sold for less than $3 per 1,000. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



Vancouver, B. C. — Charles Keeler, 

 Mount Pleasant, was among those in- 

 jured in a trolley collision on West- 

 minster bridge, December 12. He was 

 cut about the head and face. 



Spokane, Wash. — S. Younkin, of 

 Washington, la., has moved with his 

 family to Spokane and has bought a 

 third interest in the business of Hoyt 

 Bros., and it will be incorporated under 

 the name of Hoyt Bros. Co., with a 

 paid-up capital of $30,000. The firm 

 has secured a lease on the property at 

 817 Riverside avenue, occupied by A. 

 Anderson as a cigar and candy store, 

 and has paid him about $5,000 for the 

 fixtures and stock. The candy business 

 will be continued and flowers will be 

 added in place of the cigars. 



SAN FRANCISCO. 



The Market. 



The weather has turned cold again 

 and this has taade itself evident by the 

 decreased supplies of all kinds of stock. 

 Carnations have been plentiful enough 

 for the past few months, but are now 

 showing evidence of being closely cut. 



