72 



HORTICULTURE 



January 18, 1908 



EUROPEAN CROP CONDITIONS. 



^Ctntinr.fd from f-agt ~l) 



and are abnormally weak, and there- 

 fore particularly subject to dauiage 

 from cold. While the greater part or 

 Europe has experienced freezing tem- 

 perature, snow is much less general 

 than usual at this time of the year. 

 Even in the face of the present gloomy 

 outlook, however, it is by no means 

 impossible that, if the seedlings are 

 favored by a mild winter, a normal 

 harvest of winter grain may be reaped 

 in 190S. — Prom Januai-j- report, Bureau 

 of Statistics, Department of Agricul- 

 ture. 



MAINE VIEW ON FREE SEEDS. 



To be sure it is not quite time to 

 plant garden seeds up here in this 

 part of Uncle Sam's big farm, despite 

 the warm weather and the open win- 

 ter, but down in Florida and just over 

 in California the farmers and garden- 

 ers are putting in the early seed, and 

 even in Washington the congressmen 

 are getting ready for the usual sup- 

 ply to send to their constituents. 



Of course congressmen must have 

 their beet seed and turnip seed and 

 so the House of Representatives has 

 passed a deficiency appropriation bill 

 setting aside $50,000 for the purchase 

 of more seeds for free distribution. 



It was only last winter that Con- 

 gress was busily engaged in talking 

 about possible total abolition of the 

 free seed graft. If memory is correct 

 the movement even went so far that 

 a committee report advised the aban- 

 donment of the wasteful appropriation 

 for that purpose. Of course the re- 

 form was not successful. Moved by 

 the touching appeals of men like Rep- 

 resentative Chandler of Mississippi, 

 who said that if no seeds were dis- 

 tributed by him his "dear old farmer 

 friends" would look at him reproach- 

 fully and say: "You raised your own 

 pay, but to us you are not willing to 

 give even so much as a bushel basket 

 of beans," Congress clung to the old 

 idea of free seeds. 



And now what do we discover? Not 

 only has all the free seed money been 

 spent, but more, too. It is going to 

 take an extra $50,000 to make up for 

 the congressmen's overdrafts on their 

 standing graft account. 



The Commercial has steadily op- 

 posed this large annual draft on the 

 treasury for free seeds. It has done 

 so because in general the seeds sent 

 out are of the old standard varieties 

 which any one can purchase at all 

 country stores for a few cents. an3 be- 

 cause in general many of the seeds 

 are worthless. 



It would be far better for Congress 

 to make larger appropriations for the 

 work of the several state experiment 

 stations, and let the officials of the 

 stations experiment with new seeds, 

 find out what plants are adapted to 

 the several states and ascertain what 

 new varieties would be an acquisition 

 to those we now have. In that way 

 much good would come of the money 

 so expended. 



No appropriation for saving the 

 White Mountain forests from destruc- 

 tion and for preventing the rivers 

 from drjing up; but thousands upon 

 thousands of dollars for useless gar- 

 den seeds. Such is congressional econ- 

 omy — or congressional graft. Down 

 with it! — Bangor Commercial. 



ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE. 



Extract from a paper read before the 

 Civic L'luli of Portland, Me., by Prof. 

 Herman Beckenstrater. 



The growth of any community along 

 the lines of ornamental horticulture 

 indicates progress along the lines of 

 culture and refinement. 



No doubt America is at the present 

 time somewhat behind European coun- 

 tries in this line of work, but this is 

 not strange, for long before the birth 

 of our nation this art has had abroad 

 a comparatively free field in which to 

 advance. While in the pioneer century 

 there was naturally a lack of means; 

 today wealth, rapidly developing taste, 

 and in fact everything needed for fos- 

 tering the fine arts is with us, and the 

 time is not far distant when we must 

 excel in this as we do in most of the 

 useful arts and inventions. 



There is a general awakening all 

 over the land. The larger cities have 

 already developed large and extensive 

 park systems and more land and mon - 

 ey is continuously being appropriated 

 to this cause and from the great 

 amount of good that this is doing to 

 the millions in the crowded cities many 

 are asking why it was not done long 

 ago. In large, populous centers the ac- 

 quisition of land is becoming more and 

 more difficult and expensive if not im- 

 possible, but in our smaller cities 

 where land is still cheap, the city 

 should not delay in acquiring parks 

 and play grounds for the generations 

 to come. It will never be easier and 

 cheaper than now. and if any wishes 

 to build a monument to his honor, I 

 know of no better way than to donate 

 a tract of land to his city for park pur- 

 poses. Such a monument will be more 

 enduring and beneficial to the future 

 inhabitants than the endowment of a 

 library or an institution of learning. 



Where Charity Begins. 



We are a missionary people — we are 

 willing to spend millions for the con- 

 version of supposed heathens in for- 

 eign lands, but we often forget that 

 charity begins at home. There are mil- 

 lions of children and grown people in 

 the crowded tenement houses in our 

 large cities who never tasted the real 

 pleasure of out-ot-door life. Crimes of 

 all kinds flourish in the crowded cities, 

 and what else could we expect? There 

 is nothing for the mind to do but brood 

 over its own condition. Give them a' 

 chance to get acquainted with nature, 

 with trees and (lowers and a new vista 

 of life will suddenly open up to them. 

 To alleviate and better conditions like 

 these is real missionary work. 



Does Ornamental Horticulture pay? 

 I would'nt cut down that tree for a 

 hundred dollars, is an expression one 

 may often hear from property owners, 

 as they point to some favorite. And 

 often the valuation is placed much 

 higher than that. Now what did that 

 tree cost? Perhaps $5.00 fifteen years 

 or so ago for the tree, preparing the 

 soil and planting. From the time the 

 roots took hold upon the soil and a 

 beautiful show of foliage appeared in- 

 creasing year by year in size, soon 

 giving a pleasant shade, it has been a 

 constant source of delight. Was the 

 setting of that tree profitable consid- 

 ering the value at which it is now ap- 

 praised and the pleasure it has af- 

 forded? The decisions of courts in 

 this country have proven In more than 



one instance that trees have property 

 value and in many cases from $50 to 

 $200 have been awarded for the de- 

 struction of a single shade tree. 



The gains from ornamental horti- 

 culture cannot alone be computed in 

 dollars and cents. It has been said 

 that "The strength of America lies 

 not in the roar of its cannon but in 

 the cheerful fireside of its people." 

 Whatever adorns one's home — be it in 

 city or country — enobles his domestic 

 life, strengthens his love for country 

 nurtures the better elements of the 

 natures in those who are thrown in 

 contact with such improvement. To 

 promote a love for trees, shrubs, vines 

 and flowers by cultivating and study- 

 ing them, develops in children a love 

 for the beautiful in nature, in art and 

 still more in character. Nothing is 

 truer than that the love for nature 

 sharpens the senses and quickens all 

 the intellectual faculties. Were par- 

 ents to provide to the fullest practical 

 degree the simplest means for en- 

 couraging the love for ornamental 

 gardening they early secure for the 

 young a source of high enjoyment 

 that is unknown elsewhere, one which 

 elevates the mind and fills it with no- 

 ble aspirations. Besides these things 

 the mere spending of time on the part 

 of all and especially of women and 

 children in the exercise and enjoyment 

 that comes from associating with and 

 caring for plants is highly conducive 

 to health. 



Have a Plan. 



A carefully prepared plan should 

 precede all attempts in extended land- 

 scape gardening. It pays to do well 

 whatever is done in landscape gar- 

 dening. In starting such work it is 

 too often undertaken without any 

 thing like a definite plan. It would 

 be quite as reasonable to work with- 

 out a well considered plan in building 

 our houses, yet we find that large 

 sums of money in the aggregate are 

 paid to architects for house plans 

 while to the surrounding littje thought 

 is given to calling in the services of 

 the trained gardener. When the day 

 comes that the landscape gardener 

 will be consulted along with the house 

 architect in matters of home improve- 

 ment, then a less sum of money will 

 go farther to the purchase of real 

 beauty, pleasure and comfort than 

 when the latter is alone employed. 



Time for Producing Effect. 



There are many who would like to 

 plant trees and shrubs but are kept 

 from doing so by erroneous notions as 

 to the time it will take to produce 

 results. It is possible so to treat trees 

 that they will not grow the same 

 number of inches in 10 years; but on 

 the other hand they may by proper 

 management reach a height of from two 

 to three times as many feet in 10 years 

 from planting. The difference lies in 

 matters that ordinarily are in a large 

 degree without our control. When trees 

 remain almost at a standstill for a 

 long time it indicates either that they 

 were of poor quality in the beginning 

 or in rare cases that the soil cannot 

 be fitted to their wants, but very com- 

 monly that they are deprived of the 

 food and moisture they would appro- 

 priate if they had the chance. 



It is well to know that as a rule 

 shrubs come to maturity quicker than 

 trees. Planted in good soil, these 



