154 THE AMERICAX BOTAXIST 



Botanists should not only know the names of the typical 

 indigenous trees and shrubs but should be informed as to the 

 location of such superior types as occur. A nurseryman or 

 horticulturist naturally becomes more or less a botanist 

 through close inspection of the yarieties which he has under 

 obseryation in his plant collections from year to year and thus 

 numerous desirable yarieties are originated. The Hollanders 

 and other foreign plant growers selecting the stronger strains 

 of plants from their seedlings haye thus turned out many of 

 the fine yarieties that are the basis of our horticulture today. 

 Has it eyer come to your mind that there are many beauti- 

 ful perennial plants growing wild in our country that if put 

 under cultiyation would themseh'es be of yalue and if hybrid- 

 ized might become the parents of other worthy garden yari- 

 eties ? Have you ever reflected that only the most hardy and 

 vigorous plants of a species or variety should be the basis of 

 propagation? Why then, waste hundreds of years of effort 

 by planting the inferior yarieties? Those who can assist in 

 locating the specimen trees, shrubs and other plants from 

 which seed or propagating stock may be had wt)uld be doing 

 a great favor for horticulture by reporting them. It may 

 take several years of comparison in a given locality to deter- 

 mine the value of some varieties which seem to have superior 

 qualifications, but you will be doing a good work for horti- 

 culture and possibly you may find some varieties that have not 

 as yet been named. 



