April 14, 19(16 



HORTICULTURE, 



493 



do not need the new? Knowing the 

 state of the market generally, what is 

 the encouragement for growers to 

 make an increase in the area of ground 

 under the glass? Is there any induce- 

 ment or business opening for new men 

 to embark in growing, and if yes. how 

 should the beginning be made, with a 

 small or a large plant? What influ- 

 ence has it had on the market to have 

 erected such large plants as have been 

 built in the West? 



What improvements have been made 

 in growing methods in the past year? 



Which class of roses is best for the 

 general market. Tea, or Hybrid Tea? 



What is the general market and 

 what are its demands? By the gen- 

 eral market I mean the market as 

 made up of all classes of people as 

 buyers, and by demands I mean qual- 

 ity, quantity and variety. It goes 

 without saying that quality is always 

 a first requisite and that a good rose 

 is always more desirable than a poor 

 one, but the word quality as generally 

 understood in this market means that 

 as a rose, no matter how good the 

 bloom itself may be, if stem is not an 

 element it must go in a low class, 

 while many roses, the blooms of which 

 would attract little attention other- 

 wise, if with long stiff steins, seem to 

 rank high. Naturally it must seem 

 that the body of buyers be composed 

 of a few high-priced, a large number 

 of medium-priced and a very large 

 number of low-priced individuals. 

 What proportions do these bear to 

 each other, what do they demand in 

 variety, are they entirely content with 

 what we are now giving them, or do 

 they want others old or new? I am 

 well aware that New York is said to be 

 the best market for the best and the 

 poorest market for the poor; if this be 

 so why is it? This naturally leads to 

 another question, what constitutes a 

 valuable rose and which characteristic 

 is the most valuable? What consti- 

 tutes a good or perfect rose viewed 

 from a retail standpoint and what from 

 the grower's view? 



Does specialization in growing lead 

 to the production of better flowers? 

 Has it been noticed whether, since the 

 tendency has been to confine efforts to 

 separate classes, any appreciable in- 

 crease has been made in the number 

 or quality of such flowers? 



What effect on the market has the 

 introduction of the Hybrid Tea had 

 as against the Tea? 



What influence do rose shows have 

 on the market, stimulant, depressant 

 or neutral? In what condition should 

 roses be shown, specially prepared or 

 in such a condition as a careful grower 

 would have his shipments for the mar- 

 ket? In other words, are the exhibits 

 at the rose shows any true index of 

 the roses grown by the exhibitor and 

 thus any criterion for forming a judg- 

 ment of his general ability, or are 

 they simply a selected few specially 

 prepared with the view of winning 

 prizes, irrespective of the keeping- 

 qualities and availability for market 

 purposes; and as such are thev good 

 educators of the public or is this not 

 the intention and purpose of rose 

 shows? 



I presume no one has been in the 

 business for twenty years and made a 

 moderate success who has not had 

 more or less inquiry from inexperi- 

 enced men and women, asking how he 



[J m HOUSE OF 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS AT MORTON 

 GROTON. CONN. 



F. PLANT'S, 



The accompanying picture shows a 

 house of chrysanthemums Mrs. Wm. 

 Duckham and Merza. It was one of 

 the three houses that took first prize in 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety competition against all New 

 England, this being the second consec- 

 utive time this prize has been won by 

 these houses. Also from this house 



were won the Wells-Pocket gilt medal 

 at the Philadelphia show in 1905, and 

 the Buckber silver cup, also at Phila- 

 delphia, the gold medal, silver medal, 

 and six firsts at New London and 

 six firsts at New York, all in 1905. 

 The picture is good evidence of the 

 worthiness of the exhibits and the cul- 

 tural abilities of the superintendent 

 of this vast estate, Thomas W. Head. 



or she may make a beginning. As ad- 

 vice is usually cheap and moralizing 

 tasy, I usually give the following as a 

 formula, premising it with the remark 

 that the best way is to go to some 

 good grower and work for him until 

 the principle has been mastered, that 

 constant watchfulness, great care, the 

 utmost cleanliness, and steady work. 

 are the "Open Sesame." The minutiae 

 will only come from experience, and 

 he who has pluck to succeed will do so 

 in spite of failures; and, learning from 

 mistakes, eventually make as few as 

 possible, having done which he will 

 have reached as near perfection as any 

 of us will ever come. 



To the grower of roses under glass, 

 problems are always coming. There 

 are no hard and fast rules that, laid 

 down, can be followed. The novice 

 can learn the general principles by an 

 earnest attention to the work as he 

 sees it done under his tutor, and the 

 brain work must keep up with the 

 manual; the reasons for certain lines 

 of treatment must be understood, not 

 blindly accepted as rules invariable, 

 but. to the end that under certain con- 

 ditions a given treatment ought to 

 produce a certain result. The en- 

 deavor to learn the cause of failure 

 may result in greater success, as well 

 as a mere correction of the error. 

 There is probably no branch of agri- 

 culture that will so well repay intelli- 

 gent effort as the production of flowers 

 under glass, but the road is not all 

 smooth, the failures are as many as 

 the successes, and it is only by per- 

 sistent work, undaunted by failures. 



u m -iiiicjuered by mistakes, and a grim 

 determination to succeed even under 

 most adverse circumstances, that the 

 goal of success may be reached and 

 the satisfaction had of having con- 

 quered. 



AMERICAN VINES SHUT OUT. 



Consul Keene, of Geneva, sends the 

 report to the Department of Com- 

 merce and Labor that the Canton au- 

 thorities of Geneva have given notice 

 to all persons interested in the impor- 

 tation of American vines that after 

 April 1, 1906, the importation of rooted 

 American plants, whether grafted or 

 not, will not be authorized in that Can- 

 ton or province. He continues: 



The perennial trouble about the 

 dreaded phylloxera is the cause of this 

 prohibition. It was claimed that this 

 disease was introduced into the Can- 

 ton, some twenty-five or thirty years 

 ago, by American vines which were 

 planted at Pregny. By the. federal law 

 of 1894 the importation of American 

 vines was prohibited. Exceptions 

 were, however, provided for. Acting 

 upon this authority, the local govern- 

 ment has for six years permitted the 

 importation of American vines into 

 ;7 of the communes. The Canton of 

 Geneva, with 4600 acres of vineyards, 

 will now, like the great Canton of 

 Vaud, adjoining it, with 17,000 acres of 

 vineyard, be prohibited ground for 

 American roots. Scions of American 

 plants are not included in the pro- 

 hibition, but will be admitted as here- 

 tofore, after passing the usual expert 

 inspection. 



