Fbbbdabt 11, 1800. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



7 



GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 



I have a lean-to greenhouse sixteen 

 feet wide, sixteen feet high at back, but 

 only four feet high in front. I want 

 a walk in front against the side, which 

 will necessitate an excavated walk. The 

 posts are down three feet in the ground. 

 How should I support the house? Will 

 there be danger of its sagging over, there 

 being no supports in the middle of the 

 house f I have another house I would 

 like to alter in the same way, a twin 

 house seventy-eight feet wide and sides 

 four feet high, but the posts are only 

 two feet deep. This house is supported 

 at the ridges, but I fear to dig beside 

 the posts. J. M. 



I would advise putting a line of 

 supports down the center of each house. 

 This can be done easily by using ordinary 

 gas pipe. It will be necessary to dig 

 out a little under each foot piece and lay 

 some bricks or flat stones to rest them 

 on. In the case of the wider house, 

 where the posts will be entirely uncov- 

 ered, you will require to jack up the roof 

 a trifle and dig out under each post 

 so that it rests on a solid foundation of 

 brick or stone and cement. W. 



PRESERVING GREENHOUSE WOOD 



I read with interest the article on 

 "Preserving Greenhouse Wood" in the 

 Eevjew of January 14. Can you inform 

 me as to the merits of Carbolineum for 

 preserving wood, especially benches in 

 greenhouses! Has the U. S. Forest Serv- 

 ice experimented with itf 



This material is sold by Bruno Grosche 

 & Co., 5 Jones Lane, New York. They 

 ask, in a circular sent me last August, 

 $9 for a 10-gallon can of S. P. F. Car- 

 bolineum. I would like to know whether 

 the material is worth this, as a preserva- 

 tive for greenhouse benches. Among 

 other testimonials they state: "The 

 New Jersey Agricultural Experiment 

 Station at New Brunswick, N. J., says 

 on page 252 of its report on preservation 

 of greenhouse benches: 'Sixteen beds 

 were treated with tar, creosote, white- 

 wash,, cement, copper sulphate, etc. When 

 the soil was removed the untreated 

 benches were decayed from one-fourth 

 to one-half the way through the boards. 

 The boards treated with cement, white- 

 wash, tar and creosote showed consider- 

 able decay, while those treated with S. 

 P. F. Carbolineum were in decidedly the 

 best shape.' " 



About thirty years ago and more, my 

 father did a good deal of "Kyanizing" 

 with greenhouse timbers. I cannot state 

 at this time how much it prolonged the 

 life of the wood of those old greenhouses. 

 I do know, however, that an outdoor 

 arbor supported by 3x4 hemlock posts, 

 planted in the ground about thirty years 

 ago, is still standing on the original 

 posts. These posts were soaked in a 

 solution of mercuric chlorid, but I can- 

 not tell you now, for how many days. The 

 solution was considered strong enough 

 when it would blacken a silver spoon. 



About thirteen . years ago I built a 

 cheap greenhouse, supported by 3x4 hem- 

 lock posts. The butts of these, or por- 

 tions in and to a distance above the 

 ground, were soaked in a solution of 

 mercuric chlorid for about a we«k, I 

 think. The past summer we had to 

 splice most of these posts. Whether 

 being inside a greenhouse or different 

 treatment made these rot quicker than 

 the arbor posts is a question. 



For the last three years I have been 



An Elk's Desiga. 



painting or brushing crude petroleum 

 oil on heart cypress benches. Last sum- 

 mer the first treated did not show any 

 signs of rot, but of course we would not 

 expect heart cypress to rot in three 

 years anyhow, as the whitewashed boards 

 are also good. 



Has the Forest Service experimented 

 with crude petroleum as a preservative, 

 either by soaking boards in it or brush- 

 ing one and two coats over the surface! 

 How does it compare in eflSciency with 

 Carbolineum? Of course the former is 

 much cheaper, about the price of kero- 

 sene. 



I may state that my father found out 

 that Kyanizing wood made it more brit- 

 tle. It would snap off easier than un- 

 treated wood. A, J. Pennock. 



ROOF AND BENCHES. 



Will you kindly tell me which would 

 be the best kind of roof for a greenhouse 

 thirty-five feet wide! Also the best ar- 

 rangement of benches for the above size 

 of house! J. W. S. 



The roof which will give you the maxi- 

 mum of light is an even span. You would 

 get a smaller air space by having a 

 double roof of the ridge and furrow 

 style. This would, ■ however, give you 

 more shade and you would not save 

 much in the way of fuel, as the houses 

 with the bigger area heat the easiest, 

 the temperature also keeping more uni- 

 form. A ridge and furrow structure will 

 grow good plants, but an even span 

 one you will find will beat it. Some 

 large growers are giving their houses 

 a longer slope to the north than the 



south, claiming that it gives better winter 

 results. 



For a house thirty-five feet wide the 

 best arrangement will be to have a path 

 two feet wide along the sides of the 

 house and have five benches, each five 

 feet wide, with a path one and one-half 

 feet wide between them. Do not make 

 any benches along the sides of the house. 

 You can care for the plants much better 

 when you can walk along each side of 

 the benches, besides giving them the 

 needed headroom. W. 



SECOND CROP ON STEVIA. 



Could you tell me how to get the sec- 

 ond growth of flowers on stevia! We 

 have a few hundred large plants, from 

 which we have cut the flowers. We had 

 occasion to buy some late last year and 

 got some from our wholesale house, which 

 looked much like second growth of stevia. 

 F. & F. 



It will not pay you to attempt to 

 get any second crop from stevia. What 

 flowers you might, perchance, get would 

 amount to little. The stevia you got wag 

 probably held back in a cold north house. 

 In such a place it can be kept back until 

 even the middle of February. All it 

 needs after housing is to be kept just 

 clear of freezing. C. W. 



Northampton, Mass. — F. D, Keyes 

 has removed to a store in Parsons' 

 block. The store is nicely furnished in 

 mission style, and Miss Lena Keyes is in 

 attendance. Mr. Keyes' business haft 

 grown rapidly during the last five years, 

 and several additions to his n'eenhonses 

 and equipment have been necessary. 



