598 



rtORTICULTURE 



April 24, 1909 



THE ROSE GROWER'S PROBLEMS. 



A Pnpcr Head Before tlie Now York 



Floiisls' Club by William 11. Klllott. 



In Memoriam. 



I do not think tiiere was ever a 

 time when I felt so hopelessly unable 

 to rise to the demands of the occasion 

 as at the present. To interest in any 

 way the members of this club, or the 

 rose groweis of this, the great floral 

 center in the world would seem enough 

 to undertake under ordinary condi- 

 tions; but it seems hard, indeed, com- 

 ing as I do now, with a sorrowful and 

 heavy heart caused by the going out 

 of that brilliantly beautiful personality 

 that it has been our great privilege 

 to know, to honor and to love. No 

 matter how bright the light of his 

 genial, kindly countenance shines in 

 our hearts and memory, or how thank- 

 ful we feel to have known hiui, it will 

 be impossible to go on with our or- 

 dinary, everyday affairs without some- 

 thing of that serious and thoughtful 

 life entering into our thoughts and 

 meditations. 



Under these conditions I know you 

 will expect the few words I have to 

 say to you tonight will be a deeper, 

 more serious view of the rose grower's 

 problems. 



The Price of Success. 



You who are rose groweis know, 

 and those thinking of entering upon 

 that career should know, that it is 

 necessary to consecrate your lives to 

 this work. It must not be taken up 

 without very serious consideration. 

 The only way to succeed is to pay the 

 price, and that is an overwhelming 

 and everlasting determination to put 

 forth every ounce of energy you have. 

 You must make it your religion and 

 your lite — and why not? You must 

 enter into partnership with the power 

 that moves the universe. What grand- 

 er work than developing the beauties 

 of nature that thousands may have 

 pleasure? 



Planning the Establishment. 



To those starting new, and to many 

 who are not well located, a proper 

 site for a rose growing plant is of 

 the greatest importance. First, a good 

 soil, an abundant water supply, a large 

 level tract of land near the railroad 

 station (it is better to go twenty-five 

 miles farther out into the country, 

 it you can get two miles nearer the 

 railroad station, as the extra cost of 

 teaming coal over that two miles will 

 a great deal more than make up for 

 the extra expense in express). A 

 large farm in a small town will us- 

 ually solve this problem best, as in 

 larger towns, farms are too great a 

 distance from the station. A full and 

 complete plan of an up-to-date rose 

 growing plant will require a great 

 deal of care, time, serious thought. All 

 of us should plan ahead carefully what 

 we intend to do, changing and re- 

 changing for years, that we may de- 

 velop along the best lines. My recom- 

 mendation is the large house. My 

 latest house, 60 x 1340, I find none too 



Advantages of Large Houses, 

 large. The advantages over smaller 

 houses are many and are summed up 

 in the fact that they produce bettei- 

 stuff and more of it. We do not find 

 that those that have built the laige 

 houses have given them up and gone 

 back to the smaller ones. Those who 

 have built large houses liuild still 



larger when they build again. The 

 report from North Wales, Pa., is that 

 their house built two years ago is too 

 small, although 150 feet wide. They 

 have now planned, and I believe are 

 under way, in the construction of a 

 house that is 172 feet wide and 700 feet 

 long; over 110,000 feet under one roof, 

 with proper construction ; and sjood 

 construction, is absolutely necessary 

 in these large, high houses. I believe 

 that such a house will be a success, 

 although 1 might hesitate to recom- 

 mend the building of such a house. 



An investment is necessary to carry 

 out a properly planned rose growing 

 business. First of all, you will have 

 to Invest your heart and soul, all your 

 courage, and be ready to put in at all 

 times, good large amounts of patience, 

 untiring hard work. Also a love for 

 your business and the rose, like the 

 love of a mother for her offspring. 

 You will also need some money, but 

 that is a secondary matter to the 

 stock of courage that you should have. 

 Cultural Advice. 



The best roses are not grown by 

 any secret process, but by the mo;t 

 careful attention to every detail. Eter- 

 nal vigilance is the price of good roses. 

 You will find it true every time that 

 the man who produces superior stock 

 does so by a more careful and pains- 

 taking method. If anything has been 

 accomplished by the use of chemicals, 

 I should like to know it. I have not 

 been able to obtain good results from 

 their use. I find plenty of care and 

 cow manure produce much better and 

 surer results. Eo not deceive your 

 self in regard to reasons for success. 

 We sometimes know why we fail, but 

 why we succeed is harder to answer. 



When they grow well, there are 

 4000 reasons why they do so. We 

 may know what a dozen of them are, 

 and if, by chance, we learn one or 

 two more, we think we have solved 

 the whole problem. 



Are we getting from the experi- 

 ment stations all we should? How 

 many of us make an effort to get the 

 knowledge, or to assist them in any 

 way with the work that they are do- 

 ing? I don't think we have used the 

 experiment stations fairly. They are 

 doing a great work, and should be 

 called on to help us in the solving of 

 many of our problems. 

 Timing the Crops and Selecting the 

 Varieties. 



Aim to cut your roses when the de- 

 mand is good. The grower that pro- 

 duces a large supply on an overstock- 

 ed market and a small supply when 

 the market is short, iuust not ex- 

 pect to get a very large return. In 

 Boston we have a good demand in 

 August; in October the rose market 

 seems always to be overstocked. From 

 the middle of January to the middle 

 of February is a time of very short 



A Profitable Side Crop 



Asparagus plumosus is a main crop with 

 many growers having extensive modern 

 plants but those with less up-to-date es- 

 tablishments, or parts of same defective in 

 Ijghling or otherwise unsuitable for high 

 g rade crops, — will find this subject one of 

 the very best. We have prepared a cul- 

 tural circular giving concise directions 

 how to make money out of this crop. 

 Send for it. No charge. An important 

 feature in asparagus culture is good seed. 

 The P. M. quality of greenhouse grown 

 seed has earned a high reputation for 

 freshness and purity. It is the true nanus 

 and greenhouse grown. Send for trial 

 plcg., too seeds fiity cents, if you wish to 

 experiment only. In quantity $3.75 per 

 1000 seeds, $32.50 per 10,000 seeds. As- 

 paragus Sprengeri 75c. per looo,$5.oo per 

 10,000 seeds. 



S. S. PENNOCK-MEEHAN CO. 



1608 to 1620 Ludlow St., PbiUdelphia. P>. 

 1212 N. Y. Av«., Washington, D. C. 



DJIIICV Dl AlkTC i^>°° P>>°'s ■'<^ady <» 



rnnOI rLAnldbloom, ot my well 



. $2.50 per lot; large plants in bud 1 



bloom, $i.co per loc, $8.co per icoo. 



QERANIl nS, best kinds, double PETUNIAS 

 (Drecr's), VINCA var., PARLOR IVY, SIOCKS, 

 tine plants, a>4 in., $2.00 per 100; 300 for $5.00. 



CABBAQE PLANTS, E. J. Waltefield, ready to 

 plant out, $1.25 per 1000; jooo for $5.00. 



j.^C. SCHMIDT, Bristol, Pa. 



supply. This Is the time that takes 

 our best efforts to cover. 



How do you decide which old kind to 

 give up to make room for the new? 

 What are you going to take out to make 

 room for the White Killarney? Will 

 you give up the Bride this year? Do 

 you think the White Killarney will 

 replace the Bride? Have you given 

 up your Maids, and are you growing 

 Killarneys instead? I have given up 

 Maids; next year I expect to give up 

 Brides. What about tne other new 

 kinds? Rhea Reid I shall continue 

 to grow but not very extensively. This 

 rose came very near to being one of 

 the best roses ever produced. Mary- 

 land I think very well of, and a good, 

 safe one to grow. William R. Smith 

 is a very promising rose for summer. 

 I intend to grow it, but only to a lim- 

 ited extent. Kaiserine don't give any 

 light-colored summer rose much show. 

 Mrs. Jardine and Queen Beatrice I 

 have discarded. 



In closing, the last word I will say 

 is in regard to the economy and sav- 

 ing that I have found best to prac- 

 tice. For many years, at the first, I 

 thought it most important to save 

 my money, but I now find that the 

 money is not near as important as the 

 saving ot your nerve force. Your 

 courage and brain force, also your 

 health and bodily force, and with what 

 is expected of you in these high-pres- 

 sure limes, you will need them all. 



Headquarters for Asparagus Plumosus Seed 



GREENHOUSE CROWN I LATH HOUSE CROWN 



New 

 Crop 



too seeds, .40 

 1,000 •' $2.75 



6,000 



10,000 



$12.50 

 $23.00 



HENRY F, MIGHELL GO,, 



Write tor Our Wholesale Catmlogue 



1018 Market Street, 



PHILADELPHIA 



