348 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[ November, 



out that in regard to the American Commission, 

 we had no disrespect to the French people, but 

 the hist Congress had quite enough to do to settle 

 our own presidential question ; that in any case 

 our Government was not a paternal hut a filial 

 one ; that we did not propose to send our trees 

 over at the exi)ense of the Government, in a 

 Governnientship, but at our own sole, individual 

 expense and risk. Give us 15,000 square feet of 

 ground, and we would plant our trees without 

 thanks t • anybody, sending them over this 

 coming Fall, and having everything in readiness 

 when the Exhibition opened. But the only ans- 

 wer was : — "You must ask through the American 

 Commission." We returned to America satisfied 

 that we could make no exhibit there. 



However, in correspondence with a distin- 

 guished French nobleman, we gave a statement 

 of our difficulties, who kindly replied, " I am 

 sorry to see that though you could not exhibit in 

 a national capacity, you could not either arrange 

 for a private exhibition of your hardy trees at 

 the great exliibition of Paris next year. As the 

 Due d'AudiftVet Pasquier, President of the Com- 

 mission liappens to be staying with me, I gave 

 him an extract from your letter, and he will see 

 whether it is still possible to arrange the matter 

 to your mind." 



The Duke kindly interested himself as prom- 

 ised, and the following letter is the result : 



Paris, le 28, Aoui, 1877. 

 Monsieur le President et Cher Collegue : 



Le Gouvernement des Etats-Unis n'a pas encore 

 accept^ nfficiellement I'invitation de participeo A 

 I'Exposition de 1878. II n'a point non plus nom- 

 m6 on design^ officieusement les Commissaires 

 chargfes de de*igne representer les interets de 

 ses nationaux. Nous n'avons pu, par conse- 

 quent, prendre aucun engagement vis-a-vis des 

 exposants Amercains qui se sont addresses a 

 nous ; le Reglement general nous interdisant 

 tons rapports avec les exposants etrangers. 



Meanmoins, d'apres les assurances donii6es an 

 Gouvernement. je suis fond6 a conserver I'espoir 

 de voir les Etats-Unis representes a Paris en 

 1878. Un espace est tenu en reserve pour 

 la Section Americaine, mais seule la Commission 

 quand elle sera nonimec aura qualite pour re- 

 pariir cet espace entre ses nationaux. C'est a 

 elle, on a sou defaut an Gouvernement Federal 

 lui-m&me que M. Meehan doit faire parvenir sa 

 demande et ses reclamations. 



Ogreez, Monsieur le President et chev Collegue 

 I'assurance de ma haute et respectueuse consid- 

 ation. 



B. Krantz, 

 Le Senateur, Commissionaire General. 



Monsieur le Due D'AuDIFFR^r^ Pasquier, Presi- 

 dent du Senat et de la Commission Superieure 

 de I'Exposition Universelle (i Sany par Morhie. 



The plain English of this is that we must apply 

 to a Commission that does not exist, and which 

 if it did exist, would still be too late to come 

 within the "year-planted " rule. "How Not to 

 Do It," was never better illustrated than now. 

 We are quite sure that such a case never could 

 occur in our country. 



We refer to the subject here because there is 

 a general impression that the nursery trade of 

 America is far behind tliat of Europe; that we 

 must send to Europe if we want to get com- 

 plete collections. It is a misapprehension of our 

 own people, for we have found Europeans always 

 ready to do us justice when the facts were fairly 

 before them. In the present case, it was our de- 

 sire to carrj^ the facts there in so far as one firm 

 could do it ; and it is as well to show that the 

 failure arises from our French friends not being 

 able to find any way but the one way, and a 

 way wliich, by their own regulations they insist 

 on effectually blocking up. > 



The Gardener's Moxtiily for 1878. — The 

 recent meeting of the American Pomological 

 Society reminds us that nearly twenty years ago 

 the Editor was asked to write a "specimen num- 

 ber" of a cheap horticultural paper, for distribu- 

 tion at the pomological meeting then being held, 

 so as to see whether such a paper would be sus- 

 tained. It was a large newspaper sheet, the idea 

 being to decide after people had seen and ap- 

 proved tlie matter and style, what ultimate form 

 it should take with the beginning of the year. 



It owed its origin to the horticultural enthu- 

 siasm of D. Rodney King, one of Philadelphia's 

 most enthusiastic merchants, who fathered all 

 the expenses of the venture. 



The little venture w'as approved, and it is with 

 pleasure that the writer of this remembers the 

 kind letters he received expressing this friendly 

 approval. He remembers especially, a pleasant 

 one from Mr. Barry, in which he thought this new 

 pomological product might be " placed on the list 

 promising well." 



Now entering on the twentieth volume, the 

 Editor cannot but pause at the prospect before 

 him, and look back as well. Many of his early 

 friends have gone, but he is yet spared for the 

 work. He has been through sad times for Horti- 

 culture, but he has been able to carry the work 



