SlABCH 11, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



13 



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Emperor Dafiodils in Tidewater Virginia. 



CARE OF THE HOSE. 



Neglect is a Waste. 



There are comparatively few green- 

 house men who take any care of the hose 

 they are using. Mechanical watering, 

 while becoming common with vegetable 

 growers, is not yet employed to any 

 great extent by florists, and a few point- 

 •ers on handling the hose will not be out 

 of place or season now. 



In the tirst place, hose is an expensive 

 •necessity and should be given better care. 

 Iron pipe and brass faucets are cheaper 

 than hose and faucets should be placed 

 at frequent intervals, so that short pieces 

 of hose (not over fifty feet) will reach 

 half way from one to the next, and from 

 the end faucet clear to the end of the 

 Jiouse without stretching or pulling on 

 the hose to reach the last plant. 



Best Hose the Cheapest. 



Cheap hose is expensive, because it 

 <loes not last and takes much of the 

 grower's time repairing it. Time is 

 money in a greenhouse, as elsewhere. 

 The best grades of hose are the cheapest, 

 by far, in the end. 



Dragging the hose on rough ash or 

 other walks is what wears out the hose, 

 more than the water pressure. The hose 

 should be gathered up in three or four 

 places when moving from one aisle to 

 another. There is no sense in trying to 

 pull long lengths around a bench corner, 

 ruining the hose, and the man's temper, 

 as well. In changing the connection from 

 one faucet to another in the same aisle, 

 all that is necessary is to hold the two 

 •ends and drag the hose, unless the walk 

 is too rough. Immediately upon remov- 

 ing it from the faucet, the thumb should 

 be held over the end until fastened to the 

 other faucet, to keep the washer from 

 losing out. The hose can be gathered or 

 dragged with the left hand. Losing 

 washers or gaskets out causes more de- 

 lays in doing up the morning's watering 

 than any other cause for the killing of 

 time. 



Avoid the Kinks. 



The water should never be turned on 

 until the hose is untangled and straight- 

 ened out. The hose slionld ncvor be per- 

 mitted to be crossed, or looped, because 



when pulled out to its full length to 

 reach the end of the bench, it is al- 

 most certain to kink close to the faucet 

 and require a jerk to straighten it so 

 that the water will run again. A few 

 such kinks and jerks, with a little swear- 

 ing to help, will make a weak spot in the 

 hose at that point. TTien soon a leak, 

 more swearing, and much time lost to 

 repair the hose. 



The hose should always be run down 

 the side of the walk the faucet is on, 

 then across and back on the other side, 

 "U" shaped. When straightened out 

 this way. it can be drawn taut without 

 being crossed or kinked, and when out 

 at full length it can be thrown over 

 along the same side of the path the 

 faucet is on again, and start back to- 

 ward the other end, letting the hose fall 



across the walk and back to you as at 

 first. Then the hose can be pulled to 

 the next faucet without a kink, without 

 losing temper and in less time than is 

 taken by the careless man who is always 

 getting tangled up and breaking hose. 



Forefinger the Best Nozzle. 



When watering, hold the hose with the 

 left hand about two feet from the end. 

 Let the end lie in your right hand and 

 use the first finger, not the thumb, to 

 spread the water. 



Let the water out easily for ordinary 

 watering, having the finger just away 

 from the end of the hose, so that it 

 strikes it and scatters, glancing slightly 

 upward, falling gently. For spraying 

 hard, draw the finger up tight, throwing 

 the water upward with force that strikes 

 the under side of each leaf, cleaning in- 

 sects off. 



Never try to water on both sides of an 

 aisle. Water only one bench at a time, 

 as you go down the aisle, and come back, 

 watering the bench on the other side. 

 Always turn and walk backward, with 

 the right hand over the bench on that 

 side. Never try to water the bench on 

 the left side of you with water from the 

 right hand. 



No nozzle ever invented can beat the 

 forefinger of a good grower. Nozzles 

 are for bo-ys and beginners to amuse 

 themselves with. Hose laid against heat- 

 ing pipes will be easily burned in places 

 and exposure to the sun in the hottest 

 weather rots it out more quickly. Not 

 long ago I saw a florist putting all his 

 faucets on the south side of the aisle, 

 so that the hose lying along that side 

 would be shaded by the bench south of 

 the walk. Of course it could be thrown 

 over to that side when through watering, 

 but it is more liable to be left on the 

 side where attached to the faucet. 



H. G. 



The Review can supply any horticul- 

 tural books at publishers' prices. 



Virginian Daffodils as Shipped to the Wholesale Markets. 



