December 14, 1911. 



ThcWcckly Florists' Review. 



37 



Killarneys and Willows in a Gold Basket 



barrels, first lay in some dry sand or 

 sawdust, then a layer of tubers, then 

 more sawdust, and so on until the 

 barrel is full. Packed thus they will 

 keep capitally, and, even if the cellar 

 is not frost-proof, tubers thus packed 

 will take no harm. I prefer sawdust 

 to sand, as it is lighter to handle, but 

 sand answers equally well. I have had 

 excellent results from laying sawdust 

 on the shelves, when they were made 

 of matched boards, before placing the 

 tubers on them. Look over the tubers 

 at least once in ten days all winter and 

 remove any moldy tubers, and the 

 milder the weather, the more ventila- 

 tion should be given. C. W. 



ANOTHER CONCRETE BENCH. 



I have been reading the article on 

 ' ' That Thin Concrete Bench, ' ' by Loyd 

 C. Bunch, in The Keview of November 

 9, and should like to give my experi- 

 ence with benches of concrete construc- 

 tion. I have found that concrete 

 benches are not only more durable than 

 wooden benches, but they are also a 

 better protection against fungi. 



Last season I built new benches in 

 my rose house. The middle benches 

 are low, with concrete walls, three 

 inches thick, but it was necessary to 

 have raised side benches, on account 

 of the heating system. These raised 

 benches are connected on one side to 

 the concrete wall, while the front side 

 rests on posts made from 2-inch pipe, 

 three feet high and standing on brick, 

 to prevent them from sinking into the 

 ground. The posts are set eight feet 

 apart. On top of these I fastened, with 

 clamps made of %-inch iron rod, a 

 2-inch pipe, running lengthways. Every 

 four feet I laid %-inch iron bars cross- 

 ways, setting the inside end two inches 

 in to the concrete wall and flattening 



the other end so it would rest better on 

 the pipe running lengthways. Over this 

 was laid a wire netting which had been 

 used previously for a hog fence. 



To hold the concrete in its place, I 

 made a temporary bench of common 

 pine lumber, 1x12 inches. The bottom 



of this bench v/as wedged into its place 

 by pieces of wood laid on the heating 

 pipes. The front wall was held in place 

 by temporary posts. The bottom is 

 made two inches thick, with holes 

 eighteen inches apart each_ way for 

 drainage. The side is two inches thick 

 at the top and' two and one-half inches 

 at the bottom. 



The concrete was in the proportions 

 of one to five; that is, it consisted of 

 two parts sifted coal ashes, two parts 

 used propagating sand and one part 

 cement. The work was done by two 

 men in one day. The bench is 100 feet 

 long and forty-one inches wide. Six 

 days after finishing it I put in the soil, 

 leaving the temporary bench under it 

 three weeks longer. The bench has 

 been standing four months and is 

 planted with Bhea Reid roses, which 

 are doing splendidly. 



For a bench that is to stand free 

 from the wall, I would suggest the use 

 of concrete posts, four inches thick at 

 the top and six inches at the bottom, 

 which would give plenty of stability. 

 I have free-standing benches that rest 

 on pipe and are of the same construc- 

 tion as the side bench I have described, 

 and it stands the wheeling in of soil on 

 a wheelbarrow when a plank is laid 

 lengthwise to protect the bottom. I 

 have several more wooden benches 

 which I will replace with concrete ones. 

 In the long run the latter are cheaper 

 and it is easier to keep out sowbugs, 

 white ants and fungi. 



Carl Buehl. 



Kendallville, Ind. — The Johnson 

 Floral Co., which this season inaugur- 

 ated a mum-growing contest among the 

 school children, recently awarded the 

 prizes to the five winners. The contest 

 began early in the summer, when the 

 firm gave out 571 small plants to the 

 pupils. 



Red Carnations in Tin-Lined Japanese Basket. 



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