June 2S, 1913 



HORTICULTUEB 



953 



DISEASED PRIMULAS. 



Horticulture Fublishing Co., Boston, Mass. 



Gentlemen : Will you kindly have Mr. 

 Farrell or some other practical grower of 

 Chinese primroses give instructions for the 

 care of same while growing during the 

 summer in frames, covered during the 

 hea; of the day with slats? I especially 

 desiro information regarding watering, — 

 how, when and how often should the 

 plants be watered? My pots are plunged 

 to the rims in sand and I have been 

 watering them morning, noon and even- 

 ing (on bright days) with a sprinkling 

 can. 1 cover them with slatted sash from 

 \) a. m. to 4 p. m. Lately I noticed that 

 on u few of tlie leaves a whitish mildew 

 is forming on edges of leaves. Can this 

 be caused by wetting the leaves in heat 

 of the day and what is the remedy? It 

 would be quite a task to water each plant 

 separi:tely without wetting the leaves: be- 

 sides the sand in which pots are plunge* 

 would dry out and absorb the moisture 

 from the pots. Please tell me how prac- 

 tical growers manage these things and 

 greatly oblige. 



Yours truly, 



Ohio. F. S. 



In reply to the above I would say 

 that he has done right to cover the 

 plants with a slat shading as the sun 

 is bound to stunt and cripple them, 

 and this is the only way to spare 

 them this exhausting ordeal. As to 

 watering there is no hard or fast rules 

 to go by; when a plant has nearly ex- 

 hausted its supply of moisture from 

 the soil that is the time when it will 

 require one, two or three waterings a 

 day, and here is where the grower 

 will have to use his best knowledge. 

 You say that your plants are plunged, 

 which is all right, as it helps to Ijeep 

 the roots cool and moist. As to the 

 whitish mildew forming on the edge 

 of the leaves, it may be that you are 

 keeping a too humid atmosphere sur- 

 rounding the plants. When plants are 

 kept too dark and given lots of moist- 

 ure the tissue of the leaves simply be- 

 comes overcharged with water, espe- 

 cially where evaporation is slow. 

 When plants are kept in vigorous 

 health there will be no signs of fun- 

 gus. It is only when they lack vital- 

 ity that they become a prey for fun- 

 gus growth. As a remedy I would ad- 

 vise to keep the foliage dry for a while 

 and then when you spray to do it in 

 the morning so they will become dry 

 at night. The plants may be infested 

 with green or black fly. Where such 

 is the case, give them weekly fumi- 

 gation until you have them in a clean 

 state, after which every two weeks 

 should keep them in check. Give 

 plenty of room between them so the 

 air and light can give the foliage a 

 better texture, which will not be so 

 susceptible to the attacks of mildew 

 or insects. Johx J. M. Farkell. 



GARDENERS AND POLITICS. 



In last week's issue of Horticulture 

 I am reported, in the account of a lo- 

 cal horticultural society's meeting, as 

 advising the gardeners to take no po- 

 sitions on a commission to which there 

 may be no pay attached. This report 

 unless corrected may lead to a wrong 

 inference, and one contrary to my 

 views, as I believe that the gardener 

 can do nothing better in behalf of his 

 profession than to accept positions on 

 the public boards of his community 

 which serve for the public welfare, 

 when asked to do so. 



The agitation on which I was asked 

 to speak, however, is one to compel 

 the park and shade tree commissions 



of a certain city to appoint profes- 

 sional gardeners on such commis- 

 sions. In this particular instance the 

 commission serves without compen- 

 sation and I stated that the gardener 

 should not envy those appointed to 

 that commission, for all that is at- 

 tached to it is much work; and the 

 man in public office who conscien- 

 tiously performs his duties will, every 

 time he pleases one, displease another, 

 so the only remuneration that he can 

 look for in well-doing is a bitter feel- 

 ing engendered against himself be- 

 cause he cannot please all. There 

 are, however, many public spirited 

 citizens willing to serve their commu- 

 nities even in the face of adverse 

 criticism which they know is bound 

 to result; and these men are to be 

 praised, but not to be envied. 



The particular commission which is 

 being assailed is one that is appointed 

 by the political party in power, and I 

 advised that if the gardeners are in- 

 sistent that they be recognized they 

 can only gain their point by becom- 

 ing active in politics. To this excep- 

 tion was taken; but I believe that 

 most gardeners will agree with me 

 that the gardener is no different than 

 any other man with political aspira- 

 tions, and that if he wants political 

 favors he must be politically active. 

 There is nothing to be had in this 

 world today without working for it, 

 and this is as true in politics as it is 

 out of it. M. C. Ebel, 



Sec'y Nat'l Ass'n of Gardeners. 



Madison, N. J. 



OBITUARY. 



A VISIT TO WILLIAM SIM. 



On Friday, June 20, the garden com- 

 mittee of the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society visited the noted estab- 

 lishment of William Sim at Cliftondale, 

 Mass. Naturally the sweet pea houses 

 were a special attraction and much 

 admiration was bestowed on the long 

 rows of beautiful Spencers, the flowers 

 of which are picked from a tall step- 

 ladder. Xext in interest were the to- 

 matoes. House after house were noted 

 in all stages of growth from those al- 

 ready producing ripe fruit to those 

 just commencing to bloom. All the 

 tomatoes are disbudded to a single 

 stem and are set very close together. 

 The stems and foliage are of enor- 

 mous development. We counted 34 

 fruits on one plant. The houses occu- 

 pied by these tomatoes were filled, 

 some with violets throughout the win- 

 ter and others until recently with 

 sweet peas. Five acres outside are 

 planted to early corn, started under 

 glass, and other crops which are kept 

 watered by an irrigating system, the 

 water being pumped direct to the pipes 

 from a well, by an electric engine. 



A very enjoyable and hospitable 

 time at Mr. Sim's home followed the 

 inspection of this interesting and in- 

 structive demonstration of horticul- 

 tural skill. 



Mr. Sim asserts that not only are 

 the Spencer peas more beautiful than 

 the old Grandifloras but they are also 

 far more floriferous. He will grow 

 nothing but Spencers next winter if 

 he can get enough seed. 



The gold medal of the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society was 

 awarded to Mr. Sim by the committee 

 for skillful cultivation of flowers and 

 vegetables. 



Frederick William Brookes. 



With the death of Frederick Wil- 

 liam Brookes, the first of the little 

 group of men who laid the foundation 

 of Chicago's great flower industry, 

 passed away, after outliving nearly 

 all of his old associates. Born in 

 London, Eng., Feb. 5, 1827, Frederick 

 Brookes was a boy of six when he 

 came to Chicago with his parents and 

 their family and servants, numbering 

 in all sixteen. Landing in New York, 

 Samuel Brookes first took his family 

 into Canada but not satisfied with 

 that country he pressed on with 

 horses to Buffalo, N. Y., where they 

 were replaced with oxen and the 

 family finally reached the little town 

 of Chicago, just incorporated and 

 numbering 550 people, Oct. 23, 1833. 

 Little Frederick grew with the city 

 and most interesting were his remi- 

 niscences. His father, Samuel Brookes, 

 was a great lover of flowers and in 

 London had been a member of the 

 Council of the Horticultural Society. 

 He was especially noted for his in- 

 terest in the importation of chrysan- 

 themums into this country and we 

 are indebted to his collectors whose 

 expeditions into China and Japan he 

 financed, for such old varieties as 

 Tasseled White, Quilled Salmon, etc. 

 An old memorandum book shows col- 

 lections made by him as early as 1817 

 while still in London. 



Frederick inherited his father's love 

 of flowers and when o'nly a lad 

 helped erect the first range of green- 

 houses in Chicago in 1844 where the 

 present post office now stands. When 

 crowded for room, another site was 

 chosen at 39th street, between Lake 

 and Ellis avenues in 1853 and again 

 at 45th street and Lake avenue in 

 1860. Though actively engaged in 

 the growing and selling of cut flowers 

 for many years, he also learned the 

 printer's trade and followed it for 

 some time. Frederick Brookes and 

 Elizabeth Creek were married in 

 Long Island in 1865 and Mrs. Brookes 

 passed away in 1888. For many years 

 Mr, Brookes has made his home with 

 his son, Robert, at Morgan Park, 

 where he passed away, Sunday, June 

 22. He leaves three sons. Frederick 

 Arthur of California, Robt. McClure and 

 Ralph William, several grand children 

 and six nephews who acted as pall 

 bearers. 



He was noted for the purity of his 

 life and the gentleness of his disposi- 

 tion and many floral offerings showed 

 the respect paid to the memory of a 

 long life well spent. 



CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 



Sander & Son, St. Albans. Eng., and 

 Bruges, Belgium.— Catalogue of Or- 

 chids. A very handsome publication, 

 finelv illustrated. A 5-ft. panoramic 

 view of the Sander orchid group at the 

 International Exhibition in London 16 

 an insert of great interest and beauty. 

 There must be well up to 2000 species 

 and varieties and hybrid orchids listed 

 in this book, which, we understand, 

 was compiled by D. Cameron, Sander's 

 American representative, and is a very 

 creditable example of catalogue work. 



