Jamdabt 16, 1008. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



9 



New Rose House^ 50x250, of A. Rasmussetit New Albany, Ind. 



Reduce the water supply, but keep the 

 syringe going. As the plants begin to 

 show a new crop of leaves, raise the tem- 

 perature gradually and resume watering. 

 Do not attempt any kind of feeding un- 

 til the plants have entirely recovered. 



BiBES. 



RASMUSSEN^ NEW HOUSE. 



The accompanying illustrations show 

 the new rose house of Anders Basmussen, 

 New Albany, Ind., and will be of special 

 interest as an example of a home-made 

 structure, the house having been built 

 entirely by the men regularly employed 

 on the place. 



The house is 50x250 feet and the 

 framework is entirely of iron with the 

 exception of the sashbars and eaveplates, 

 which were purchased, cut to length, of 

 the John C. Moninger Co., Chicago. The 

 interior illustration shows clearly the ar- 

 rangement of the pipe supports, of which 

 there are six lines in the house. The two 

 lines in the center are 1%-inch pipes, the 

 line next outside on each side ly^-inch 

 pipe, and the outside lines 1-inch pipe. 

 The purlins also are 1-inch pipe and the 

 tie rod at the top of the two center lines 

 is %-inch round iron. All the pipes are 

 set in concrete and are galvanized one 

 foot above the ground. The pipes are 

 eight feet three inches apart. 



The posts for the side walls are 2x4 

 red cedar set in concrete and the eave- 

 plates are light, measuring only 1^x3 

 inches. The ventilation is on both sides 

 of the ridge, the ventilators alternating, 

 and of course Mr. Basmussen used his 

 patent self-balancing ventilator sash, 

 which he thinks has many merits and no 

 faults. There also is ventilation on both 

 sides of the house, the self -balancing sash 

 being used here, set alternating, one run 

 of glass solid, the next run hinged, etc. 

 The glass is 16x24 and is laid the 24-inch 

 ■^vay, so that the house is not only ex- 

 tremely light, but is thproughly venti- 

 lated and comparatively cool • in the 

 summer. 



The house is heated by a main passing 

 across the center and feeding five lines 

 of flow pipes overhead on brackets at- 

 tached to the roof supports, the returns 

 lieing underneath the benches. The house 

 is used for roses and the benches are 

 made of pecky cypress, which has now 

 <'ome into general use for this purpose, 

 because of its lasting qualities. 



Garbettsville, O. — C. E. Tinker says 

 that 1907 was the banner year for flo- 

 rists in this locality, but he looks for 

 1908 to be still better. 



IPOMOEAS AND PRIMULAS. 



Will you kindly inform me when is the 

 right time to sow ipomoeas for spring 

 sales; also Chinese primroses for Christ- 

 mas blooming? C. 



Ipomoea grandiflora alba, better known 

 as the moonflower, requires to be sown 

 somewhat earlier than the other ipomoeas, 

 which are commonly termed morning- 

 glories. The moonflowers may be sown 

 during February, if strong plants are 

 wanted for late spring sales. The 

 Ipomoea imperialis and I. purpurea 

 germinate very quickly, and if you sow 

 them early in April you will be suffi- 

 ciently early. 



Chinese primroses for Christmas sales 

 can be sown in February or the early 

 part of March. Plants from such sow- 

 ings will make nice specimens in 5-inch 

 and 6-inch pots. C. W. 



SEASONABLE ADVICE. 



Learning from Experience. 



Probably every grower has now 

 straightened up after his Christmas rush, 

 and will now make it his first business 

 to go over all his stock in a most thor- 

 ough way, doing things which have 

 needed doing for several days, but which 

 have been necessarily neglected for the 

 last week or so, owing to the extra work 

 that naturally arises at this holiday sea- 

 son. This done, I think that before lay- 

 ing your plans for next season it is the 

 best way to compare this one, up to date, 

 with the corresponding time last season, 

 and so note where you have gained or 

 lost ground, and why. You would note, 

 also, what the demands of your custom- 

 ers are, with their tendencies, which are 

 constantly changing and which the alert 

 grower is ever on the watch for, in order 

 to be able to meet their wishes, and at 

 times to mold these wishes for their im- 

 provement and your own good. 



How were those potted violets! Were 



they up to the standard that you aimed 

 for early in the fallf Did you pick the 

 flowers from them longer than you 

 should, so that there was not the quantity 

 of bloom on them that you wished? 

 Again, have you kept a record of the 

 time you potted them, and all the items 

 of treatment, ap that you may not make 

 one or two errors next year that you 

 made thisf No, it seems to you now that 

 you can remember all those things, but 

 the most of us find, when the year rolls 

 around, that we are not quite sure about 

 these things, and that the only safe way 

 is to put them down in black and white 

 and have them ready for handy and in- 

 disputable reference. 



Plants for Propagating. 



And now, how about those better 

 plants that you wish to use to propagate * 

 from? It is to be presumed that you 

 have them all marked by this time. Surely 

 you want to hustle if you have not; oth- 

 erwise you will find yourself, a little 

 later, propagating from plants that were 

 not satisfactory in the height of the sea- 

 son, when you most want bloom, and as a 

 result you have more stock to discard 

 next season, and less to propagate from. 

 Some of you may have heard me say 

 something like this before, but then, we 

 sometimes forget if our attention is not 

 called to the matter. 



Watering. 



Watering your plants is one of the 

 things that need the best of judgment 

 and care, but is one of the tasks that 

 will become easier soon, with the length- 

 ening days. However, it is hard to tell, 

 at times, what the weather is going to 

 be and just how much water to give the 

 plants, and it is a good plan to so ar- 

 range your picking and watering that 

 you water when you have just picked, so 

 as not to throw mud and dirt on the flow- 

 ers, which ruins them. 



Violets are a water-loving plant and 

 yet they do not like to be at all soggy or 

 heavy, with stale water that does not 

 drain away freely. No hard and fast 

 rules can ever be given for watering, as 

 so much depends on weather, soil, tem- 

 perature, wind, etc., so that one has 

 to learn this, like some other things, 

 mostly by experience in his own houses 

 and grounds. But this always holds true, 

 that, given proper drainage, violets like 

 a thorough wetting when you are making 

 a business of watering. Also, when you 

 have the right force on the hose, and a 

 bright, airy day, they seem to enjoy a 

 I good bath right on the crown and it 



