'•7tf»T/-r 



June 7» 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



153 



tion. In response to the circular last 

 week asking the manufacturers to signify 

 their willingness to close on the date 

 named only a few manufacturers who 

 have stocks on hand favored the early 

 suspension. The plan has been aban- 

 doned, and all factories will continue in 

 operation until the close of the fire, 



June 30. Some will endeavor to operate 

 during the summer months, for stocks 

 are lower than usual at this season and 

 many factories will not be able to make 

 full deliveries without working beyond 

 the usual period for a cessation of opera- 

 tions. The demand for greenhouse sizes 

 continues active. 



fATION 



STYLE OF HOUSE. 



What location is best for a carnation 

 house 30x150 feet? Two sites are avail- 

 able, one east and west, the other north 

 and south and much better elevation. 



What system of heating would you 

 consider best for such a house? Follow- 

 ing are the conditions: At present we 

 have 11,000 feet of glass, steam heat 

 supplied by two twenty horse-power 

 boilers. The houses, six in number, are 

 poorly located and in few years will need 

 rebuilding, with complete overhauling of 

 the heating plant, i'he farthest point of 

 the new house would be at least 300 

 feet distant from the present boilers. 

 Would it be wise, therefore, to attach 

 the new house to the present heating 

 plant? We are inclined to favor a hot 

 water system with separate boiler and 

 boiler-house. What is vour opinion of 

 same? ' F. A. S. 



Of course you know that the most 

 popular method of building greenhouses 

 these days is running east and west, and 

 there is no doubt in my mind that, all 

 things being equal, this is best. How- 

 ever, there are conditions that might 

 make houses running north and south 

 preferable, and when such houses are 

 built light, and large glass used, as high 

 a grade of stock can be grown in them 

 as can be grown in the east and west 

 honses. In the east and west houses you 

 can get a greater amount of direct sun- 

 light, which is worth a good deal during 

 midwinter, but the north and south 

 houses are cooler during the summer. So 

 by striking an average for the twelve 

 months 1 doubt whether there is a great 

 deal of difference in the net results. 

 If there is much advantage in the north 

 and south site over the other I should 

 not hesitate to use it. 



In building houses running north and 

 south F woidd be inclined to build them 

 wuler than the average, say about forty 

 to fatty feet wide, and to build them 

 separate, with at least fifteen feet of 

 space between them, and run the glass 

 down the sides to a level with the beds. 

 L'sc as light sashbars as may seem prac- 

 tu-able especially in the way of depth. 

 -V sashbar IV-ixli^,, or even a little 

 ^M«ler would be better than the regula- 

 lon bar, •2%xl-yk. To give the roof 

 the necessary strength you could put in 

 ore or two extra purlins. We usually 

 calculate eight to nine feet between 

 purlins, or between purlins and ridge or 

 K"tter, but with such a light bar this 

 ^ouhl have to be reduced to six or seven 

 *pct m the clear. 



'^ ytyi expect in a few years to tear 



down your old houses and build on your 

 new site, then I would certainly advise 

 you to put in a separate heating plant 

 at once. You will find that you will 

 have jnuch less diflSculty in heating the 

 house properly than you would after 

 taking the steam so far from your 

 boilers. You would find, if you tried to 

 heat from the old boilers, that unless you 

 always carried a good head of steam, at 

 least twenty-fi\ie pounds pressure, your 

 new house would always be slow in heat- 

 ing up and quick in cooling off. Yqu 

 would find this very exasperating at 

 times. Then, again, I hardly think you 

 would be able " to maintain the proper 

 temperature during zero weather with 

 your present boiler capacity. This new 

 glass would give you an additional 5,000 

 feet of glass and being such a distance 

 away from the boilers would require as 

 much work on the part of the boilers as 

 would 8,000 feet added to the old range. 

 A total of 19,000 feet of glass is too 

 much for your two boilers unless every- 

 thing is in fine working order. 



If, however, you expect to build only 

 this one house on this site, then it would 

 perhaps be better to feed it from the 

 old heating plant and if necessary put in 

 a larger boiler. In such case I would 

 feed this main entirely separate from 

 the other system by running it direct 

 from the boiler and having no connection 

 with the other mains. 



It will save you much labor to have 

 your entire heating plant in one place, 

 if it is possible, and it will pay you 

 to build with that idea in view. The 

 old-fashioned way was to put up a 

 couple of houses, with boiler house, etc., 

 apparently without any idea of ever add- 

 ing t<» them. By and by, when more 

 glass was needed, very often an entire 

 new plant had to be put in for the new- 

 addition, and so on until in some cases as 

 many as a dozen sections, with as many 

 boiler holes, were scattered over a couple 

 of acres of groun<l. Places with four 

 and five boiler holes were common 

 enough ten years ago. Now when an 

 up-to-date man builds he plans as 

 thougJi he expected to cover every foot 

 of ground he owns, or expects to own. 

 and the one thing he provides for is an 

 adequate heating plant to heat all the 

 glass that he will ever put up, and to 

 heat it all from one central point. The 

 wise man looks far into the future. 



As to the best method of heating, ex- 

 perts differ in opinion. When you meet 

 a grower who has a heating plant that 

 works satisfactorily he will tell you to 

 put in no other system. Hot water and 

 steam each has its advocates, and you 

 will find plenty of places fitted up with 

 each, working first-class in every way. 



Personally we prefer steam to hot water 

 as being quicker to respond in case of 

 emergency, either in getting up extra 

 heat or in cooling off entirely. For thosp 

 who have very small places and do not 

 employ night men, hot water is of course 

 preferable, but on a place the size of 

 yours there should always be a man on 

 duty during firing weather. One thing 

 I want to impress upon your mind, is to 

 set your boilers low enough to give your 

 return pipes plenty of fall. Poor circu- 

 lation in most cases can be traced to that 

 one point. If the water line in your 

 boiler is six feet below the lowest point 

 of the return, it is better than if it were 

 three feet, although three feet is suffi- 

 cient if the piping is perfect. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



CARNATIONS IN ENGLAND. 



For smartness, up-to-date methods and 

 fine results we yet have seen nothing in 

 connection with winter-flowering carna- 

 tions to beat A. F. Button's establish- 

 ment at Iver Heath, close by the little 

 old Buckinghamshire village of Iver, says 

 the Gardeners' Magazine. Firstly, Mr. 

 Button grows carnations for the purpose 

 of producing flowers for market, and 

 secondly, he believes in producing flowers 

 a little better than any one else. Thirdly, 

 he grows carnations, as plants, for both 

 wholesale and retail trade. 



Iver is well out in the country, where 

 pure air and clear light prevail, and 

 where London fogs are unknown. Here 

 Mr. Button has erected two splendid 

 pairs of span-roofed houses. These are 

 of Jiis own designing, and they combine 

 lightness with strength in a remarkable 

 degree. There is no division down the 

 center of each twin house, so that there 

 is an enormous area under the one roof, 

 and when most of the benches are in full 

 cut such a house presents a fine sight. 

 An adaptation of the American plan has 

 been followed by Mr. Button, and h*e 

 has a well-founded belief in bench cul- 

 ture, but not in the rough and ready 

 methods occasionally followed. The 

 raised wooden benches run the whole 

 length of these houses 200 feet long, and 

 each bench is wide enough to hold six 

 plants. 



The rude health of the plants, the blue 

 bloom on the leafage, and the big, sub- 

 stantial flowers all point to one thing — 

 excellence of culture. Very often a mar- 

 ket establishment is not so clean and 

 tidy as to attract the visitor 's attention 

 in that respect, and tu any gentle hint 

 at the absence of cleanliness and tidiness 

 a prompt retort that the place is run to 

 pay and not for show, is forthcoming.. 

 Not so at Iver; cleanliness is regarded 

 as one of the essentials. No weeds are 

 to be found on the benches, no spots on 

 the plants — all is clean, healthy, fra- 

 grant. 



The plants are planted on the benches 

 from pots, and not from the open ground. 

 Mr. Button does not grow a multitude 

 of varieties. New American and home- 

 raised varieties are always being tested, 

 but while many are called, JFew are 

 chosen. Mrs. Law son and Enchantress 

 are more largely grown than any others. 



His list of best sorts is: White, Lady 

 Bountiful, White Lawson, Lillian Pond, 

 Lieut. Peary, Boston Market, The Belle, 

 and Governor Wolcott; pink, Eqchan- 

 tress, Floriana, Ethel Ward, Fiancee, 

 Fair Maid, Melba, and Morning Glory; 

 cerise, Mrs. Lawson, Mrs. T. Roosevelt, 

 and Nelson Fisher; scarlet, LhristmaS' 



