icx) Bulletin 128. 



much whether the plants are dahlias, sweet peas or bull-thistles. 



I am convinced that the farmers need education in flowers and 

 other incidental things quite as much as they do in wheat or pota- 

 toes, for it is the lack of cheer and color and interest about the 

 home which is largely responsible for the dissatisfaction of the 

 young people with the country. The moment that a farmer 

 begins to take a living interest in some restful occupation for his 

 leisure hours will his interest in farm life begin to grow. Now 

 and then, therefore, we like to drop a bulletin upon his table which 

 will come as a solace and stimulant to his leisure hours, awaken- 

 ing memories and opening strange lines of thought. We cannot 

 tell him directly how to get the most comfort from the gentler 

 things of the farm, but we can take a familiar object for a narra 

 tive and a lesson ; and if the dahlia has such an established place 

 at the farmstead, it will be a good text for our purpose. 



Aside from our desire to extend flower-loving and nature-study 

 «o the country, we are under obligations to the flower-trade, 

 which is a most valued constituent and supporter of the experi- 

 ment stations. I may say that members of the trade may obtain 

 a sketch of the varieties we grew last year by writing us for it. 



A curious incident of our dahlia studies occurred in connection 

 with the American Institute Fair in New York, at which we 

 made an exhibit of over 200 varieties. A florists' paper said that 

 " the only commendable feature of this stand was the great num- 

 ber of kinds staged." Another horticultural journal said that it 

 was ' ' a very extensive collection of dahlias, but the blooms were 

 not of exhibition quality. " We had not supposed that such mis- 

 conception of the ofl&ce of an experiment station exists amongst 

 the makers of public opinion. Surely it is no part of the business 

 of a station to grow plants for mere exhibition. The growers 

 themselves can do that, and they can usually do it much better 

 than the experiment station can. The station's mission is to 

 simply lay the truth before the people. It can have no favorites 

 in varieties. If it exhibits at all, it is bound to show the poor 

 and indifferent kinds along with the good ones. It is just as 

 useful to point out defects as it is to point out merits. In 

 studies of varieties, the experiment station is a realist. In 

 our dahlia patch, all the varieties were given good soil and 



