Mat 9, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



17 



SecHooal Concrete Bench Built by Pochlmann Bros. G>., Mcrton Grcve» lU. 



Other Uses of Concrete. 



Other uses of concrete in the Poehl- 

 mann plant are numerous. All drains 

 and sewers are of cement drain tile. 

 The 10x36-inch size are made at an 

 average rate of fifteen per day by one 

 man and a machine. Sidewalks and 

 tracks are extensive, the concrete being 

 carried up flush with the rails for the 

 latter. The manure pits are of concrete 

 and those in use for years show no 

 deterioration, though constantly sub- 

 jected to live steam and organic acids. 



Concrete has proved extremely satis- 

 factory and economical in this work 

 and has required no special engineering 

 supervision, the owners having not only 

 developed the system but also person- 

 ally supervised the construction. 



The Wittbold Bench, 



The concrete bench in the green- 

 houses of the Geo. Wittbold Co., Chi- 

 cago, were built by the use of patented 

 forms and clamps invented and per- 

 fected by Louis Wittbold. This style 

 of bench is the result of many years of 

 px])erimenting. A typical bench at this 

 establishment is fiVe feet wide and 

 100 feet long. The bottom and side 

 walls are only one inch in thickness. 

 It is supported by two rows of con- 

 crete posts, forty-four inches on cen- 

 ters, each way. The posts, which are 

 five inches in diameter, are built by the 

 use of patented molds and poured at 



the same time as the bench proper. No 

 reinforcement is used in the posts, 

 while the bench is reinforced by a 

 single thickness of standard 2-inch 

 mesh poultry netting. A strip of this 

 a foot wider than the finished bench 

 is laid in the forms before pouring. 

 The edges are bent up so as to rein- 

 force the side walls and it is supported 

 at the proper height from the bottom 

 form by small tapering blocks placed 

 at intervals, according to soil condi- 

 tions. These blocks are left in place 

 when the concrete is poured and are 

 withdrawn when the forms are re- 

 moved, thus providing openings for 

 proper drainage. 



The mixture used for this work con- 

 sists of one part of tement to three 

 parts of washed torpedo sand. No 

 coarse aggregate was used. The mate- 

 rials were mixed with sufficient water 

 to form a slush concrete and the entire 

 bench, including posts, bottom and side 

 walls, was poured at one operation. 

 The forms were left on the work for 

 two days. 



The speaker here showed a series of 

 views of various styles of concrete 

 benches, including among others one 

 used by Walter S. Hall, Osage, la., in 

 which the blocks are one foot wide and 

 as long as necessary for the width of 

 the bench; one in the Schiller estab- 

 lishment, Chicago, where the Wittbold 

 style is used, and an interior view of 

 Robert Wilson 's retail establishment at 



Brooklyn, N. Y., which afforded a good 

 idea of the well known Wilson bench, 

 used so much in the east. Then followed 

 three views taken in the Garfield Park 

 conservatories, Chicago, where concrete 

 has contributed its share toward the 

 perfection of one of the most superb 

 conservatories in this country. 



You will notice, said the lecturer, 

 that no system of bench construction 

 has come into general use. In most 

 instances tho individual grower has 

 endeavored independently to solve his 

 own problems, but a * ' Universal ' ' de- 

 sire for permanent construction in 

 greenhouses tends toward the use of 

 concrete. 



Concrete in Tree Dentistry. 



Concrete plays a part in the con- 

 servation of shade and fruit trees. 

 Tree dentistry is somewhat of a new 

 art, but it is gradually coming into 

 general use. After the decay is re- 

 move<l from the interior of the rotting 

 trunk, there remains a shell of living 

 sapwood and bark. The cement mortar 

 is packed tightly into the cavity and 

 then built out into the original outline 

 of the tree. The bark will eventually 

 cover the filled-in wound at the rate of 

 one inch i)er year. The tree thus in 

 , time regains its normal appearance. 



There are so many more uses to 

 which concrete is placed in greenhouses 

 that T cannot mention them all, but here 

 are a few illustrations which have pre- 



