420 First European Journey 



his country houses near London. Here we were treated in princely fashion. 

 Wittmack of Berlin was called on to thank Sir Trevor Lawrence for his 

 luncheon and I to thank Mr. de Rothschild on behalf of the foreign dele- 

 gates. It was a tough thing in prospect, but I got through it all right. 

 I knew it was coming for two days but like an idiot, I could not tell what 

 I should say until just before I began to speak! Before and after the 

 luncheon we saw his lawns, gardens, hothouses, lily ponds, fountains, etc. 

 His lily pond is very extensive, perfectly free from weeds, has an excellent 

 setting of shrubs and fine old trees and containing many choice hardy lilies 

 (tender sorts hybridized on the English water lily) . These were in blossom, 

 in clumps with much clear water between. The effect was remarkably good. 

 It is the first lily pond which has appealed to me from [a] landscape point 

 of view. Most are too small, too dirty, and too crowded for good effects. 



Some of the attendants were the Vilmorins (Maurice and Phillip) from 

 Paris, Plate and Wittmack from Berlin. Tschermak from Vienna, Cuboni 

 from Rome, Lotze and others from Holland, Morris and Fawcett from the 

 West Indies, the Director of the Botanic Garden at Buenos Ayres, who 

 knows Fairchild, Francis Darwin, Carruthers, Elwes, Masters, Rich, Salmon, 

 and Bateson who presided etc. I was much interested in an exhibit of pico- 

 tees and other sorts of carnations by one of the leading English hybridizers 

 of carnations. He had many odd colors, but most of his flower stalks 

 branched and have several flowers sprawling out very awkwardly. There 

 was not a single variety which in my judgment an American grower would 

 look at! Afterwards I talked with Mr. Scott of New York about it and 

 he quite agreed with me. The English and American carnation growers 

 must have quite different ideals, and ours is the better With his permission 

 I carried off as many of the sorts as I liked to the ladies at the boarding 

 house (quite a handful), and I had to break off the side flowers to get 

 any sort of decent looking bouquet. 



I am planning to sail from Genoa, Italy, on September 20 by S. S. 

 Princess Irene, North German Lloyd line, if I can get enough money raked 

 together to buy tickets. My wife is still quite ill arid is anxious to return 

 and I shall have had enough of it by that time. Already I am beginning to 

 want to see the Stars and Stripes, but not the customs house officials in New 

 York. ... I have bought altogether less than the permitted amount, but 

 have many little things and all my apparatus (camera, microscope, etc.) 

 clothing and other stuff ... 3 trunks and 7 hand bags ... I will get 

 some resistant rice if any is to be had. I leave here for Italy about the 

 time you will receive this letter. 



Early the next week Smith began work at the Phytopathologisch 

 Laboratorium. A memordandum indicates that he took notes on 

 seven agar stab cultures of Bacterium hyac'mthi. He wrote ^- of 

 his study of lilac blight: 



«^ Journal, August 20, 1906. 



