98 



riORTI CULTU RE 



January 27, 190G 



horticulture: 



AN ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL 

 DEVOTED TO THE 



FLORIST, PLANTSMAN, LANDSCAPE 



GARDENER AND KINDRED 



INTERESTS 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING CO. 



II HAMILTON PLACE, BOSTON, MASS. 



Telephone, Oxford 292 



WM. J. STEWART, Editor and Manager. 



Our readers are cordially invited to 

 Address s ,. n ,] questions upon which informa- 

 inquiries t i <>n is sought and we shall be glad to 

 to our office refer such to competent correspondents 

 for investigation and answer. Our 

 corps of correspondents is large and among them are 

 those well able to reply to inquiries on any subject con- 

 cerning the regular practice of horticulture. Several 

 writers for Horticulture have complained of the num- 

 ber of direct inquiries • thai are sent to them by our 

 readers ami that the demand made upon their time in 

 replying courteously to these letters is a serious bur- 

 den. We would respectfully ask our readers to do us 

 the Eavor to forward such inquiries to the office of the 

 paper in all cases. They will have prompt attention 

 and all our readers will get the benefit of the informa- 

 tion elicited, as they should. 



It is a grievous thin"' to purchase a 



Hasty novelty in g I faith and after having 



conclusions grown it to find it worthless. To 

 and cold facts this extent we agree with Mr. Fisher 

 in his remarks before the Gardeners' 

 and Florists' Club of Boston. We dislike to believe, 

 bowever, that wilful deceptions arc so frequent as he 

 seems to think. We are all human and it is a natural 

 trait to see in our own product, whether plants or chil- 

 dren, a superiority to which all others are blind. Hence 

 exaggerations which in the cold light of later tests 

 prove to have been practical misrepresentations which 

 their author may deeply regret while his conscience ma\ 

 yei hold him blameless. Unquestionably 



"Facts are chiels. that wanna ding. 

 An" downa be disputed." 

 but the apparent facts of today are sometimes the falla- 

 of tomorrow and thus it will always be so long as 

 men are human. On the other hand, how apt we are. 

 almost unconsciously at times, to color our conception of 

 a novelty with our estimate of its owner, as though our 

 like or dislike of the man could affect the desirability 

 of his goods. It becomes eas\ to suspect faults in these 

 against whom we fee] the prejudice of race, environ- 



ment or business rivalry and equally easy to find 

 superior excellence where the interests of a friend are 

 concerned; 



The prize schedule of t he Massa- 



The new chusetts Horticultural Society, 



schedule of the just received, shows a refreshing 



Mass. Horticultural departure from the somewhat 



Society antiquated methods and obsolete 



lists which have so long inter- 

 fered with the management of the exhibitions of this 

 greal society on modern lines. The changes are not 

 ton radical and, it is to be presumed, are hut the pre- 

 cursors of further movement in the same direction as 

 fast as their efficacy is demonstrated. To so conduct 

 horticultural exhibitions that rivalries on technical 

 points shall he encouraged and competing experts put 

 on their mettle and at the same time bring out the 

 desired artistic expression and spectacular effect which 

 will ensure public support and remunerative results is 

 a problem the magnitude of which i.- fully appreciated 

 only by those on whom the responsibility of its solution 

 has been placed. Because' the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society is wealthy and is not obliged to depend 

 on the exhibition receipts for the wherewithal needed to 

 pay the prizes is no reason why "safe and sane" busi- 

 ness methods should not prevail in the management of 

 these affairs. There are abundant ways in which the 

 objects of the society as set forth in its articles of incor- 

 poration — "for the purpose of encouraging and improv- 

 ing the science and practice of horticulture, and pro- 

 moting the amelioration of various species of trees, 

 fruits, plants, and vegetables, and the introduction of 

 new species and varieties" — may be better promoted, 

 than by the distribution of hundreds of dollars annu- 

 ally in prizes which neither demonstrate or advance the 

 science of horticulture nor bring out anything that the 

 public care to spend a penny to see. The society i- to 

 he congratulated on the onward step now made. 



Our Colored Supplements 



The beautiful colored supplements sent out with our 



issues of December Id and January 20 have 1 n so well 



received by our subscribers that we have made arrange- 

 ment.- for a regular series of these plates to he issued 

 about twice a month. Although this involves a very 

 material addition l<> the cost of publication it is not our 

 purpose to make an\ advance in subscription <>r adver- 

 tising rates. We would, however, call upon our readers 

 to recognize our enterprise by promptly sending in their 

 dollar for the coming year's subscription, to ask their 

 friends to do the same, to make use of our columns 



when they have anything to sell and to patronizi c 



advertisers at all times when they need anything offered 

 in our advertising columns. With this sort of encour- 

 agement forthcoming we shall not hesitate to add other 

 new feature- as fast as the support given us warrants it. 

 The next colored plate will he a croup of new varieties 

 of tuberous begonia. As the edition will he limited. 

 non-subscribers should -end in their names at once with 

 $l.oi) I'm' the year's subscription. 



