1874 ] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
34=3 
■be seriously injured during summer. To be 
sure, the labor of taking up the plants and pot¬ 
ting them, and removing the old soil in June, 
and again replacing with the fresh soil in Sep¬ 
tember, is a good deal of labor, but not half 
that of caring for the roses if they are kept 
under glass three months in summer, to say 
nothing of the unquestionable advantage of 
their having fresh soil to root in when again 
planted in September. 
I have said that I consider this plan most 
profitable, particularly where roses are not 
grown as the exclusive stock. One reason for 
this is that the space under the benches can be 
utilized for many purposes. If the main angle 
of the greenhouse faces south, as ours does, we 
find that a bench placed on the south side 
under the main bench (which is 3 feet above 
the path and 7 feet from the glass at its highest 
point), about half way between the bench and 
the ground, can be made as available for many 
purposes as the benches or tables exposed to 
full light. Our lower benches are 18 inches 
wide, with a board behind wide enough to pre¬ 
vent the dry air from the pipes injuring the 
plants. On these underneath benches we have 
grown during the past season Ferns, Lycopodi¬ 
ums, Cape Jessamines, Irises, and all plants 
which naturally grow in the shade, and in 
spring, when these were disposed of, have again 
used this under space to sprout Sweet Potatoes, 
Dahlias, and Tuberoses. The space under the 
benches is usually only used by placing the 
plants on the ground floor, without any protec¬ 
tion from the heat radiated from the pipes, and 
in consequence they soon present a wretched 
appearance; but when regular benches are 
constructed, as above described, the plants of 
the kinds suited to such treatment can be 
grown nearly as well as those exposed to direct 
light. It will be seen that this economy of 
space is of great importance, as it gives just so 
much more bench room, with no more cost in 
the labor of firing, of fuel, or of construction 
of the building. The under bench room used 
by us now is upwards of 10,000 square feet. 
If we used all solid benches on which to grow 
our roses, or other plants, this room would not 
be available. These wooden benches require 
to be replaced every G or 7 years, but their cost 
is nothing when compared to the saving made 
by using the space underneath. 
Preserving Flowers—Winter Bouquets. 
SECOND ARTICLE. 
Last month, in giving an account of the 
method of preserving flowers by the use of 
sulphur fumes, a much older process was 
alluded to—that of preserving them by sand. 
This method has long been in use, although 
those who have practiced it have made a 
secret of it. At the Exhibition at the New 
York Crystal Palace, over 20 years ago, there 
was a case of flowers preserved in the greatest 
perfection, which attracted much attention. The 
writer at once guessed how the flowers were 
dried, and experimented sufficiently to show 
that his conjucture, that they were treated 
with sand, was correct. In drying flowers in 
this manner, they must be carefully surround¬ 
ed by perfectly dry fine sand, in such a manner 
that they will hold tr.dr form, the pressure of 
the sand upon both surfaces being alike. Any 
fine clean sand will answer • it should be sifted 
to remove all course particles, and then washed 
in successive waters, until dust and all earthy 
and clayey matters are washed away, and tne 
last waters when poured off are perfectly clear. 
The sand is then to be dried, and then placed 
over a fire in a proper vessel, until quite hot, 
hotter than the hand can bear, and when cool 
it will be fit to use. After heating it should be 
used at once, before it can absorb moisture 
from the air. The vessel in which the flowers 
are to be dried, is of little importance where 
there are but few. We have had good success 
by taking a clean, thoroughly dry flower pot, 
the hole in the bottom of which was stopped 
by a cork. This was filled a third full of the 
dry sand; the flowers set carefully in the sand, 
and then more sand slowly added, so as to sur¬ 
round and cover the flowers inside and out, 
and set in a warm place. At the end of 24 
hours the cork was removed from the hole 
in the flower-pot, and the sand allowed to 
run out in a small and gentle stream. The 
flowers were left in the pot, perfectly dry. For 
operating upon a large scale, a box should be 
made or fitted for the purpose. A box with a 
sliding cover answers a good purpose, the bot¬ 
tom being taken off, and the sliding cover 
turned down to form the bottom. An inch or 
so from the sliding bottom there is placed a 
frame, upon which is tacked wire gauze of suf¬ 
ficiently large mesh to allow the flower-stems 
to be placed in it. If wire gauze is not at hand, 
a net-work of twine, or whatever else will 
answer the purpose, may be substituted. The 
box is to be filled with sand up to the level of 
this wire-gauze or other partition. Then flow¬ 
ers are to be placed in natural position, but not 
touching one another, and earefulty surrounded 
by sand within and without. We have found 
a paper-funnel with a fine point, which lets the 
sand flow in a small stream, very convenient in 
this part of the work, as upon the care with 
which this is performed, will depend the shape 
of the flowers when dried. Often more than 
one layer of flowers may be placed in the box, 
the object being to have each one surrounded 
by a sufficient quantity of dry sand, to rapidly 
absorb all the moisture the flowers contain. 
All bell-shaped, funnel-shaped, and double flow¬ 
ers should be placed upright, and the sand so 
filled in, that they will not be crushed by 
pressure from without, or distorted by the sand 
within them. Flat or wheel-shaped flowers, 
like those of the Phlox, for instance, should be 
placed face downward. A little practice will 
enable one to find the proper positibn, it being 
borne in mind, that the object is co have the 
parts of the flower completely surrounded by 
sand, and still retain their proper form. It 
should be remembered that the flowers must 
be perfectly dry when gathered, as any dew or 
other moisture will cause them to become spot¬ 
ted and spoil. The flowers having been placed 
in the sand, and a layer of sand put on top, the 
box or other vessel is then to be set in a 
warm and dry place, such as back of or under a 
stove, or wherever there is a gentle heat. Those 
who have a greenhouse, will find the upper 
shelf, just below the glass, a suitable place. After 
the flowers have been in the sand for 18 or 24 
hours, they may be taken out. The sliding 
bottom of the box is opened to let the sand run 
off gradually, and the flowers will be found 
dry and in their natural shapes and colors upon 
the partition of wire or other material. The 
flowers are now exceedingly fragile, and need 
the most careful handling. They must be 
taken up carefully, one by one, and if any sand 
remains, which does not fall off by gentle shak¬ 
ing, it is to be removed by brushing with a soft 
camel’s-hair pencil; they are then put away in 
a box or drawer, where they will be free from 
dust and dampness. Some prepare the sand 
after it has been washed and dried, by melting 
stearine with it. To three quarts of sand is 
added half an ounce of stearine (such as the 
hard or “ star” candles are made of); the sand 
is placed on a stove in a glazed earthenware 
vessel, and when hot enough to melt it the stea 
rine is added in small pieces, and the sand thor¬ 
oughly stirred, the object being to coat each 
grain with a minute film of stearine. The use 
of stearine is to prevent the sand from adhering 
to the flowers, but if it has been proper¬ 
ly washed, sifted, and dried, there is but little 
trouble. Almost all flowers may be dried in 
sand, but white ones have a yellowish tinge. 
Florida Air-Plants—Epidendnuns. 
One who for the first time visits a fine col¬ 
lection of stove, or hot-house plants, is struck 
by the Epiphytal orchids, which appear to one 
who sees them for the first time in his life, as 
something quite wonderful in plant life. These 
Epiphytes, which in the moist woods of their 
native tropics, cling to the branches of trees, 
have in cultivation their natural habit imitated, 
and in the collections are grown upon billets 
of wood, pieces of cork, and the like, to which 
their roots affectionately cling. It is indeed 
strange to see plants not only growing with¬ 
out any connection with the ground, but flower¬ 
ing and producing a profusion of always 
curiously shaped, and often beautifully colored 
flowers. All orchids are not Epiphytes, i. e., 
do not grow upon trees, but those which do 
are popularly called “air plants,” as their nour¬ 
ishment must come from the air and the rains. 
These beautiful plants of the finer collections, 
are generally from tropical countries, and from 
the difficulty of obtaining them, and their slow 
growth, they are among the most expensive 
of all plants. All Epiphytes or air plants, are 
not orchids, as there are ferns and other plants, 
which grow in the same manner, one illustra¬ 
tion of which was given in the “ Long Moss,” 
described and figured in July last. The vege¬ 
tation of Southern Florida approaches a tropi¬ 
cal character, and there are found there a 
number of air plants, including two orchids. 
These orchids both belong to the genus Epiden- 
drum , (meaning—upon a tree), and form large 
clumps, which are attached to the tree by 
means of their clinging roots. Through the 
kindness of our friend Dr. Lungren, we received 
living specimens of both these species this 
spring; the small leaved one (E. conopseum), 
has not bloomed with us yet, but the long 
leaved one, {E. venosum) has flowered abun¬ 
dantly. The clump was fastened by means of 
fine wire to a block of wood, first putting a 
little moss around the roots, and suspended 
from a rafter of the greenhouse. It has had a 
daily sprinkling, and has flourished as well as 
if it had been at home. The engraving, 
reduced in size, gives an idea of the manner of 
growth. The stem is swollen at the base to 
form a kind of bulb, above which are two 
leaves, 4 or 5 inches long; the flower stem, 12 
to 18 inches long, appears from between the 
leaves. After flowering, one to several off¬ 
shoots are formed at the base of the old bulb, 
each of which develop two leaves, and during 
the season the stem below them forms a bulb, 
in which is stored sufficient nutriment to pro¬ 
duce a flower-stem another year. Numerous 
flowers are distributed along the flower-stem, 
which, though not very brilliant, are exceeding¬ 
ly neat and interesting. The flower, the shaoe 
