May 3, 190G. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



1709 



Establishment of J. J. Nussbaumer, San Angelo, Tex. 



put in these beds, whicli we now use 

 exclusively. Many large growers have 

 adopted them in the last few years and 

 each season adds new converts to this 

 style of bed. 



It has been argued that these beds will 

 not give as heavy cuts as the raised 

 bench during winter, but we do not find 

 it so. We find that, as with the raised 

 bench, the midwinter cut depends largely 

 on the way the plants get away after 

 planting in the fall. After the plants 

 become established their natural tendency 

 is to shoot up and bloom and it will take 

 no longer for them to throw the bud on 

 these beds than on the bench. The old 

 idea that the plants are benefited by 

 having air under the roots is disproven, 

 in my estimation. The harm done the 

 plants during warm weather outweighs 

 all the good that could possibly result 

 from it. The only good feature you can 

 find in the raised bench is in the fact 

 that being shallow facilitates drying out 

 during dark, damp weathei'. That is 

 what primarily led up to the adoption of 

 that kind of bench. Certainly it is a 

 great improvement over the still older 

 method of solid bed without drainage, 

 for certain crops at least. 



Right here let me remind you that I know 

 of no class who are greater imitators than 

 the growers of flowers and plants. You 

 go to a successful grower 's place and see 

 a fine lot of stock and straightway you 

 conclude that his method of culture is 

 the only correct one, and when you get 

 home you do your very best to imitate 

 him and to duplicate Ms success. If he 

 plants on solid beds you will tear out 

 your benches and plant on solid beds. If 

 his houses are built with the short span 

 to the south, your next houses will be 

 built the same way. If he taboos com- 

 mercial fertilizers you will cut them out 

 too. 



A wise grower many years ago found 

 that the frequent syringing that was 

 necessary to keep his roses free from 

 spider had a tendency to keep his roses 

 too wet and he conceived the idea that a 

 raised bench which would allow evapora- 

 tion at top and bottom would facilitate 

 drying out the soil. It worked wonders, 

 as we all know, and so because it worked 

 well on the roses, he adopted it alto- 

 gether. Other growers seeing his suc- 

 cess, of course followed suit. That was 

 going from one extreme to the other, 

 which is so often done in trying to im- 

 prove upon methods of growing. While 

 it did improve the roses most wonder- 

 fully, I do not know how much it may 

 have helped to improve carnations. But 

 as they syringed carnations more fre- 



quently those days than we do now, it 

 may have helped them some also. How- 

 ever, in cases where little or no water 

 reaches the soil except what is intended, 

 there can be no benefit from this more 

 rapid evaporation. Every plant of this 

 character likes good drainage that will 

 allow all excessive moisture to drain off 

 and when you provide that, you have 

 produced the ideal condition. 



It is not necessary that the soil become 

 dry and require water every so often, so 

 long as it does not become excessively 

 raoist. When you water, you water that 

 which needs it to keep the soil in such 

 condition as you know is ideal, not be- 

 cause it is so many days or hours since 

 you watered last. Whether a day or a 

 week or two weeks pass between water- 

 ing matters not, so long as there has 

 been no excessive dryness. In fact you 

 will find that the less frequently you 

 find it necessary to water, the more 

 evenly the soil will keep, and the better 

 the plants will like it. During the past 

 winter we have had a good example. 



Last summer we built a new house over 

 plants that were set right in the ground, 

 which was laid out in beds five feet wdde. 

 These plants .were not moved at all and 

 without any extra drainage except a well 

 drained sandy loam, they have bloomed 

 freely all winter, and there was no let-up 

 during the winter months. Our very 

 finest blooms were cut from these plants. 

 To facilitate the work, however, we will 

 put in beds this summer, as we have in 

 the other houses. 



The cost of construction is very much 

 lower on this style of beds than on the 

 raised beds, which is still more noticeable 

 when you consider the greater perma- 

 nency of these beds. This, however, 



should hardly be taken into considera- 

 tion. It is the style of bed that will 

 produce the largest number and the high- 

 est grade of blooms that you want to put 

 in. If we were not convinced that with 

 these beds we secure at least as large 

 cuts and at least as high a grade of 

 blooms, we certainly would not have made 

 the change. It would not take long to 

 lose more than the difference in the cost 

 of construction. 



I do not know whether the differences 

 in the climate in England will have any 

 effect on these beds, but I hardly think 

 it would. It is not many years since car- 

 nations were grown entirely in pots in 

 England, and no doubt you will find the 

 average grower over there prejudiced 

 against this style of beds, just as they 

 Avere here. In constructing these beds 

 you can use your own judgment as to 

 material, etc. If you are sure you will 

 like them and want to build to last, then 

 build your sides of concrete six inches 

 wide at the base and two inches at the 

 top. Make the side next to the walk 

 straight up and down and let the inside 

 of the wall flare. This will last a life- 

 time, but is not so satisfactory in some 

 respects as the way we shall construct our 

 beds this summer. We propose to use 

 uprights made of 1-inch pipe, set four 

 feet apart in concrete, and 1-inch peeky 

 cypress boards for the sides. These up- 

 rights will last as long as the house, or 

 loriger, and the cypress will last many 

 years, and there will be the advantage of 

 being able to nail to the boards anything 

 you find necessary in the way of sup- 

 ports, etc. Wood posts should not be 

 used unless you use cedar or some equal- 

 ly lasting material. If you raise the 

 sides to eighteen inches you will find 

 that about right for working after plant- 

 ing. Leave four inches of space for soil 

 above the cinders. I would also advise 

 you to put the large clinkers at the bot- 

 tom and cover with finer cinders or a 

 layer of sand. You will see the wisdom 

 in this when you change the soil. If the 

 cinders are dry, be sure you wet them 

 thoroughly before putting on the soil. 



Finally, I would say that a 300-foot 

 house is rather a large batch to experi- 

 ment with, and I would be inclined to 

 raise a part of the beds and see which 

 turned out best. Then you would know 

 positively what you were about in the 

 future. It is always well to look before 

 you leap. A. F. J. Baue. 



MODEL FOR TEXANS. 



There is no part of the United States 

 in which the greenhouse business is en- 

 joying a greater boom than in the south- 



Establishment of J. J. NuMt>aumer, San A^gelo, T«z. 



