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HORTICULTURE IS A GREAT GREEN 

 CARPET THAT COVERS THE EARTH 



H. B. Tukey 



From the air the earth looks green — a great green mantle stretched out pro- 

 tectingly and warmly over the good earth. This is a proper concept, because 

 without the chlorophyll that gives this green color, the good earth would not 

 be so good. There would be no life, no coal or wood or oil for fuel, no food- 

 stuffs or fiber, and remarkably little shelter. The green mantle has that won- 

 derful property of being able to capture the energy of the sun and tie it up 

 in what we call the products of photosynthesis — the sugars and the starches 

 and other organic compounds made from the carbon dioxide of the air. No, 

 there would be no plant life and there would be no animal life. The good earth 

 might perhaps more properly be called the green earth. This is the sort of 

 thing with which Horticulture deals — a great green mantle or carpet covering 

 the earth. 



Originally, Horticulture meant the cultivation of a garden. Those plants 

 which were cultivated in gardens or in more intensive types of plant growing 

 acquired the name of "horticultural plants" in contrast to field crops. This 

 has meant flowers, fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and sometimes herbs and 

 medicinal plants. It represents a certain refinement of agriculture, some of 

 which comes with leisure and which is associated with home. 



On this green carpet of Horticulture are gathered all kinds and conditions 

 of men. There are (1) those interested in the science, or biological, side of 

 Horticulture — botanists, chemists, physicists, geneticists, plant breeders, soil 

 experts, and the like; (2) those interested in the business, or affairs, side 

 of Horticulture — seedsmen, nurserymen, florists, fruit growers, vegetable 

 growers, produce merchants, canners, freezers, and the like; and (3) those 

 interested in the home and art side of Horticulture — the amateur gardener, 

 the housewife, and all those who enjoy plants for the satisfaction they de- 

 rive from them. 



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