THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE 



201 



Vol 



Lime 



V 



NOVEMBER, 1912 



umber 



The Greatest Plant Value from the 

 Least Land. 



I have been informed that a pound 

 of iron made into watch-hair springs 

 becomes, in proportion to the weight. 



THE GINSENG LEAVES AND FRUITING. 



more valuable than any other thing in 

 the world. This suggested the inquiry 

 as to what plant is the most valuable 

 in proportion to the space that it oc- 

 cupies. Perhaps the first premium 



Elgin, 111., Sept. 30, 1912. 

 Dear Sir: 



The number of hairsprings required to 

 weigh a pound varies according to the size 

 of the watch for which they are intended, 

 from 9882 to 125500, the latter figure being 

 the number in a pound of the hairsprings we 

 use in our 10/0-size movement, the diameter 

 of which movement is tne same as that of a 

 nickel 5-cent piece. 



The value of a pound of these hairsprings 

 Is $50,200.00.— Elgin National Watch Com- 

 pany, Geo. E. Hunter, Superintendent. 



would be given to orchids if we are to 

 allow greenhouses to compete. Prob- 

 ably no other plant was ever sold for 

 so high a price as the white Cattleya, 

 an orchid, grown by Lager and Hurrell 

 of Summit, New Jersey, and described 

 in the June number of this magazine, 

 and for which the florists received 

 $io,ooo. If one takes into considera- 

 tion the fabulous prices that have been 

 paid for various tulips these bulbs 

 would come well toward the front. But 

 leaving out things that we imoort and 

 grow in greenhouses, undoubtedly the 

 first premium must be given to ginseng. 

 T>ut whether this value depends upon 



A NEARER VIEW OF THE FRUITING. 



the plant's benefit to mankind, or 

 whether it is an outcome of supersti- 

 tion, has not yet been demonstrated. 

 Probably the truth as with many other 

 questions, lies in the middle ground. 



Copyright 1912 by The Agassis Association, Arcadia: Sound Beach, Conn. 



