Sbptembbr 22, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



u 



quite inadequate. If you want the best 

 results and are willing to go to the 

 necessary expense, you should lay lines 

 of tiles every twenty feet lengthwise 

 or crosswise of the garden, according 

 to how the slope is. These tiles should 

 not be less than three feet below the 

 surface and should have the necessary 

 slope. A depth of four feet would be 

 even better, for the deeper your drains, 

 the greater the depth of warmed, well- 

 aired and sweetened soil you will have 

 for the roots of your plants. If you 

 reduce the depth, it will be impossible 

 for your plants to do so well, especially 

 in dry weather. 



Two-inch tiles will answer, and it is 

 better to connect these all in one main. 

 If 4-inch tiles are used for the main, 

 one of this size will carry five times as 

 much water as the 2-inch; a 5-ineh 

 main will carry seven and one-half 

 times as much. Avoid all sharp curves. 

 While a fall of three to six inches in 

 100 feet will answer if the tiles are 

 carefully laid, twelve inches will be 

 better. One main outlet is better than 

 a large number, as it is easily marked 

 and kept free of obstructions. 



A good plan would be to lay seven 

 lines of 6-edged or 8-edged 2-inch tiles 

 lengthwise and let them enter a 4-inch 

 main. This would drain your garden 

 thoroughly; but do not lay the tiles 

 nearer the surface than three feet, and 

 a foot deeper will be still better. This 

 may seem like a big job at the outset, 

 but it will pay you in the long run. 

 A popular misconception is that water 

 runs down from above into drains. The 

 exact opposite is the case, as it is 

 forced up from below. 



The joints should be laid as closely 

 as possible, in order to keep out dirt. 

 If the tiles are below the reach of frost, 

 damage is unlikely. Use tiles which 

 have been hard-burned. Bound ones 

 will answer just as well as 6-sided or 

 S-sided ones, if carefully laid. C. W. 



A NOVEL VIEW. 



Standing at the center of the houses 

 of Plant B of the Poehlmann Bros. Co., 

 Morton Grove, 111., one gets the view 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. 

 It probably is without parallel in the 

 greenhouse establishments of this coun- 

 try, for here the view is looking firough 

 fifty-three houses, each twenty-seven 

 feet wide, making a distance of 1,431 

 feet in a straight line, in addition to 

 which the walk goes on through boiler 

 sheds and alleyways another 197 feet, 

 considerably more than a quarter of a 

 mile. The car track is as straight as 

 though laid by railroad engineers and 

 is a great labor-saver. Materials go in 

 that way, and cut blooms come out, 

 reducing the number of steps to the 

 minimum and effecting an important 

 economy of time. One of the things 

 the Poehlmanns learned years ago is 

 that equipment is cheaper than labor, 

 that it costs money to have men walk 

 half a mile or so out of the houses and 

 in again, and that a reduction of the 

 number of trips necessary and an in- 

 crease in the size of the loads carried 

 effected an important increase in the 

 time actually spent on the stock. The 

 larger the block of houses is, the larger 

 the proportion of time consumed going 

 in and out. The concrete walks and the 

 tracks and the cars have paid for them- 

 selves many times over. 



There is an interesting perspective 

 in this picture. The distance is so great 



Novel View Down the Center W<dk of 'a Greesthoase Range. 



that the appearance is almost that of a 

 solid wall of asbestos covered pipes. 

 The big steam main overhead is 10-inch 

 pipe. Note the return by its side. In 

 each house there are four benches apd 

 a 2-inch flow is taken off the main 

 for each biencli, making a total in the 

 picture of 424 pipes, 212 on a side, run- 

 ning from the overhead main to the 

 header beneath a bench. In addition 

 there are 848 pipe supports for tie 

 wires. There are three li/^-inch pipes 

 under each bench, or 1,272 in the fifty- 

 three houses in this block. What a 

 showing it makes of business for the 

 pipe man! 



The asbestos covering of all the flow 

 pipes serves a double purpose: it con- 

 serves heat, which is a saving, and it 

 keeps the center of the liouses from be- 

 ing too warm, which in the aggregate 

 adds considerably to the production of 

 first quality stock. 



PRIMUI.A OBCONICA. 



Would Primula obconica from 2i/£.- 

 inch pots be in bloom for Christmas? 



.T. M. J. 



Primula obconica now in 2 V^ -inch 

 pots would be rather small for Christ- 

 mas, but should flower moderately by 

 that date. Move them into a greenhouse 

 kept at 48 to 50 degrees at night about 

 the end of September. Probably they 

 will need a larger sized pot to flower in, 

 or they make up nicely in 5-inch and 

 6-inch pans, if the same colors are 

 selected for each pan. C. W. 



NAME OF PLANT. 



What is the name of the plant sent 

 under separate cover and what is it 



used for? We had a sample sent with 

 our other seeds. • . A..W. 



This is the common sweet basil, 

 Ocimum Basilicum, a favorite herb, the 

 foliag'e of which is considerably used 

 for flavoring purposes. The shoots 

 should be cut while in flower, tied in 

 bunches and dried for winter .use. The 

 seed can be sown any' time after May 

 1. The plant is quite a rapid grower, 

 aS you will have noticed, C. W, 



FOBMTJLA FOR THEIPS. 



C. L. Washburn, of Bassett & Wash- 

 burn, Hinsdale, recently stated that he 

 had obtained from Wendland & Keirael, 

 Elmhurst, 111., a formula for the iiae 

 of brown sugar and Paris green that 

 was wonderfully effective against 

 thrips. The Review asked Mr. Keimel 

 to give the whole trade the benefit, and 

 he has complied as follows: 



"Our formula is: Take five pounds 

 of brown sugar to one pound of Paris 

 green; mix dry; run through a fine 

 screen to take out lumps. 



' ' To apply, take two ounces of the 

 mixture to two gallons of water, in 

 sprayer for 200 feet of bench; apply 

 this in the afternoon late, or after 

 syringing, while the plants are , still 

 wet, and if clear the next day syringe 

 off to prevent the leaves burning. 



' ' If used about once a week this will 

 keep the plants clean, except possibly 

 in April and May, while lilacs and 

 snowballs are in bloom. During thiat 

 time it could be used oftener, but never; 

 apply a second time without syringing 

 the first application off, or it will burn 

 the plants. Do not mix lime or any- 

 other alkali with this, as it keeps' the 

 thrips from eating the sugar and kills 

 the effect of the poison," 



