APBIL 30, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



u 



CEMENT BENCHES. 



A combination of iron, wood and ce- 

 ment, when properly placed, should make 

 a durable bench and also be free from 

 some of the objections to the all cement 

 bench. Galvanized iron pipe cross-pieces 

 and legs, set in cement, make a good 

 foundation. Fittings that will join the 

 parts together and hold the side boards 

 . in position are also needed. Two lines 

 of pipe, carrying the water for the 

 plants' needs, are run on top of the 

 cross-pieces and within a few inches of 

 the side boards, with which they run 

 parallel the length of the beds. A piece 

 of wire netting as a reinforcement is 

 placed on top of the piping after the 

 side boards are fastened in position. A 

 false bottom, built beneath the piping, 

 is removed after the cement is set. If 

 it is desired to have the bottom movable, 

 so that boards or other material may be 

 substituted, the material can be made 

 into slabs and laid across the piping. 



In the photograph reproduced here- 

 with will be seen the two styles. In the 

 foreground is the permanent construc- 

 tion, in which the bottom of cement 

 cannot be removed without being broken 

 to pieces. Corn cobs are thrust into 

 the meshes of the wire; this serves to 

 hold the wire just the right distance 

 from the false bottom when the cement 

 is run on, and also leaves holes for 

 drainage after the cobs are knocked out 

 of the dry work. 



Just back of this are the cement slabs, 

 some standing on end against the side 

 wall and others being laid across the 

 bench. The man is holding one edge- 

 wise to show the thickness. .These are 

 molded very simply, by using ordinary 

 hemlock or cypress boards six inches 

 wide and cut to fit between the side 

 boards. These are laid close together 

 across the bench and a lath placed at 

 every joint. The cement is run on and 

 pieces of fence or ribbon wire are press- 

 ed into each section. When dry the slabs 

 can be moved off the boards and be laid 

 upon the pipe supports, spacing them 

 to afford whatever drainage is needed. 



^ One part of cement to three of sand 



is used, and, where sand can be cheap- 

 ly procured, the first cost will not great- 



■" ly 'exceed cypress lumber, which at the 



best will last but a few years, while the 

 cement is rot-proof. 



The slabs are made more quickly than 

 the permanent bottom. It takes longer 

 to set up the false bottom, and time is 

 also consumed in working around the 

 corn cobs, or whatever is used to make 

 drainage holes. If the laths are uniform 

 in width the slabs will be of uniform 

 thickness, and a plasterer's trowel can 

 be used to smooth the material over 

 rapidly. • Thos. H. White. 



USE OF ANESTHETICS. 



Forcing Plants Artificially. 



Various means are employed to con- 

 trol the dormant period of plants, such 

 as pruning, covering, attention to con- 

 dition of growing wood in case of woody 

 plants at the beginning of the period, 

 f>nd the like. In recent years attention 

 has been turned to the use of anesthetics 

 such as ether, chloroform, etc., for thi^ 

 purpose, especially with certain flower- 

 ing and herbaceous plants. This method 

 of treatment has been successfully prac- 

 ticed to some extent in Europe, butJias 

 iiot assumed commer«ial importance in 

 this country. 



Experiments by the Vermont Experi- 



W, H. White's Combination Bench. 



ment Station with the use of ether in 

 the forcing of rhubarb has been noted 

 in a bulletin. . In a report of later ex- 

 periments along the same line, W. Stuart 

 says: 



'* The use of anesthetics as an aid in 

 the forcing of flowering shrubs, tuberous 

 and bulbous plants, and herbaceous 

 perennials, has not as yet assumed com- 

 mercial importance among growers in this 

 country. In Germany and France, how- 

 ever, they are now used extensively in 

 many of the large commercial estab- 

 lishments. Their use at the present time 

 is nlmost wholly confined to flowering 

 shrubs, such as lilacs, viburnums, deut- 

 zias, spira?as, azaleas, etc., which lend 

 themselves most readily to anesthetic 

 influences. This class of plants come 

 into bloom early in the spring, complete 

 their growth at a comparatively early 

 date, and then pass into a state of rest. 

 Normally plants will not start into 

 growth until they have entered into the 

 latter part of the rest period. The larg- 

 est measure of success, therefore, in the 

 use of anesthetics must necessarily come 

 from plants subjected to the influence ot 

 ether oi* chloroform during the earlier 

 stages of rest. 



' ' The process of treatment is a com- 

 paratively simple one. Plants which are 

 either dormant or are entering into the 

 stage of dormancy are subjected to the 

 vapor of ether or chloroform in an air- 

 tight room or receptacle, for from 

 twenty-four to seventy-two hours, depend- 

 ing upon the earliness or lateness ot 

 the treatment and the temperature, the 

 anesthetic being poured from above into 

 an open vessel within the receptacle. 

 The amount used per cubic foot of air 

 space is largely governed by the temper- 

 ature, moisture, season of year, and kind 

 of plant to be treated. The higher the 

 temperature and the later the season, the 

 more violent is the effect; hence the 

 amount and time of exposure may be 

 said to vary inversely with the tempera- 

 ture and the season when treatment is 

 given. Apparently there is greater lati- 

 tude in the amount that plants will stand 

 than is currently believed. The action 

 of chloroform Ls much more intense than 

 that of ether, and only one-third to one- 

 fourth the amount should be used. 



"The relative increase in earliness of 



blooming period of treated over un- 

 treated plants varies inversely to the 

 earliness or lateness of the forcing pe- 

 riod. It is claimed that growth is 

 hastened about a month by treatment. 

 The amount of bloom is considerably in- 

 creased thereby, but on the average a 

 gain of from ten to fifteen days is about 

 all that may be expected." 



As a result of his own experiments and 

 of those of other investigators, Professor 

 Stuart believes that * ' the anesthetiza- 

 tion of flowering shrubs, such as lilacs, 

 virburnums, azaleas, deutzias, spiraeas, etc., 

 is a feasible and practical commercial en- 

 terprise for the florist." He found in his 

 later experiments, as in the earlier, that 

 etherization of rhubarb plants for win- 

 ter forcing resulted in an increased yield, 

 but that freezing of the rhubarb clumps, 

 at least early in the season, as is gener- 

 ally done in rhubarb forcing, is a neces- 

 sary preliminary process, since etheriza- 

 tion does not seem to perform the same 

 function as freezing. He is of the opin- 

 ion, however, that actual freezing may 

 not be necessary for late forcing. 



The action of ether on asparagus and 

 potato tubers was aL^o studied in the 

 Vermont station experiments. 



' ' There seems to be some evidence of 

 a responsive action on the part of as- 

 paragus to ether, but the results secured 

 thus far are so inconclusive as to pre- 

 clude definite statement. Dormant po- 

 tato tubers were treated similarly as was 

 the rhubarb, but in no case was there 

 evidence of either beneficial or deleterious 

 effect upon vegetation." 



The use of anesthetics would seem to 

 have some promise of practical value in 

 the forcing of plants, especially as an 

 aid in more completely controlling the 

 period of maturing of the desired prod- 

 uct, but the details of the practical appli- 

 cations of the method and the limits of 

 its usefulness remain to be worked out. 



I'rovidence, B. I. — The greenhouse of- 

 fice of Johnston Bros, was burglarized 

 April 23. The thieves secured nothing 

 but four overcoats. 



H1LL.SBORO, III. — F. C. Winklemann 

 says garden work has been backward on 

 account of too much wet weather, but 

 that he has nevertheless had a bigger 

 trade this year than ever. 



