June 6, 1908 



HORTICULTURE 



753 



AFTER ADJOURNMENT. 



If I were in the retail florist business 

 and desirous of increasing my patron- 

 age during this month of weddings, 

 graduations, steamer departures and 

 glee, my first move this June morning 

 v,'ould be to send to Bayersdorfer & Co. 

 for a sample lot of those new and spe- 

 cial fiower baskets lately received. 

 They are beauties and are sure to make 

 an impression. 



"Horticulture, an extremely interest- 

 ing, high-grade publication issued in 

 Boston, Mass.," is the way our esteemed 

 contemporary, the "Long Island Agron- 

 omist," expresses its opinion of us. 

 We appreciate the compliment, all the 

 more so because the Long Island 

 Agronomist is a practical little sheet 

 with a mission and every line of its 

 solid eight pages has a business pur- 

 pose. 



We are pleased to know that our 

 British friends, having opened their 

 hearts to the "winter flowering" or 

 "perpetual" carnation as a florists' 

 flower, are now beginning to look upon 

 it with favor as a summer-blooming 

 subject for the garden. This is a use 

 to which it has not seriously been 

 put in this country. We might return 

 the compliment by giving some atten- 

 tion to the English dwarf border carna- 

 tions, which are well worthy of a 

 place in our American flower gardens. 



Our correspondents, at all times 

 ready to write about the weather on 

 the slightest provocation, have re- 

 galed us with some very breezy ac- 

 counts of how badly the uncertain 

 elements treated them on Memorial 

 Day. Alter all. James Whitcomb 

 Riley's sentiments on this time-hon- 

 ored topic are about as sensible as 

 anything ever advanced on the sub- 

 ject- 



"It ain't no use to grumble and complain. 

 It's Just as cheap and easy to rejoice; 



When God sorts out the weather and sends 

 rain. 

 "Why, rain's my choice." 



Our life-long friend, Thomas F. Gal- 

 vin. of "Lawson pink" fame, has 

 with characteristic enterprise been en- 

 tertaining the local newspaper re- 

 porters and they, in turn, have been 

 regaling the public with interesting 

 data of his recent trip to Europe. 

 Here are a few; 



"From time to time prizes are produced 

 over there, and one of these I have just 

 succeeded In capturing. I have made four 

 voyages with this end in view, and con- 

 sider the victory worthy of the extended 

 campaign. This prize is a new variety of 

 c:ai*nation which I expert will make a.s 

 great a sensation as did the famous La\\- 

 son pink a few years ago. The new ono 

 is pea green or Easter lavender in color, 

 very delicate and beautiful. I have an 

 option on 500 of the plants and shall grow 

 them for three or four months longer near 

 London and then go over to complete ar- 

 rangements for transplanting them in this 

 coiinti-y." 



"The Lawson pink of a few years ago. 

 wliich I managed for the owner, cost him 

 .$30.(V«I. and yet he netted $20.0<lfi on hi^ 

 speculation in that little flower. We sold 

 ().5<l,00i) of the cuttings In all parts of the 

 world; at one time the Khedive of Egypt 

 ordered 10.000 of them. My new variety 

 Is t)Ound to eclipse it and the expense of 

 securing the right to grow it is very little 

 less than the earlier wonder cost Mr. Law- 

 son." 



"On this trip Mr. Galvin visited Amster- 

 dam. Brussels. I*aris and London, and pur- 

 chased a quantity nf palms, orchids and 

 bay tree.s. These require so muc-h space 

 that he must charter two steamships to 

 bring his cargo over." 



AN INTERESTING ANNIVERSARY. 



On June IT. C. L. Allen, one of the 

 grand old men of horticulture, will 

 celebrate his eightieth birthday anni- 

 versary at his home in Floral Park, 

 N. Y. In a letter from the young old 

 gentleman whom we are proud to have 

 kntiwn as a friend for over thirty 

 years, he tells us that "there is con- 

 siderable satisfaction in growing old 

 beautifully as I feel I am doing. Pneu- 

 monia tried hard recently to get the 

 bett of me, but it was no use. My 

 strength is returning and ray general 



C. L. Allen 



health has not been better, if as good, 

 in the last twenty-five years." On his 

 birthday Mr. Allen will read to his 

 friends a paper which he has prepared, 

 entitled "At Eighty." That it will be 

 profoundly interesting and entertain- 

 ing nobody who knows C. L Allen's 

 literary aljility will question. All who 

 read this will, we are sure, join us in 

 wisihing otir friend an uninterrupted 

 continuance of the good physical 

 health and mental vigor which he now 

 enjoys, for many, many years to come. 

 May the sunset of his busy life be 

 long, cloudless and serene. 



MILDEW ON KILLARNEY. 



I shall be glad to back up my state- 

 ment as to the benefit of propagating 

 Killarney from outdoor grown stock 

 it Mr. Lonsdale really w^ants to know. 

 If he only seeks to indulge in a con- 

 troversy so as to interest people in the 

 journal which is his new love, there 

 is nothing doing. The statement that 

 Mr. Lonsdale never had any mildew 

 on any kind of propagation, old or 

 young, indoor or outdoor, does not 

 strengthen his case any. Let him go 

 around the flower markets of his own 

 city (Philadelphia) and he will find 

 plenty of it! I simply suggested a 

 method of prevention which has been 

 tried and found good by competent 

 people and in so doing followed the 

 highest ideals of horticultural journal- 

 ism. I stand ready and willing to help 

 Mr. Lonsdale or any other florist as to 

 any useful knowledge that comes under 

 my observation, provided they ask for 

 same in good faith and respectfully. 

 To ask for a cure for mildew when one 

 has not got any mildew shows that .Mr. 

 Lonsdale is hard up for a theme. Go 

 to — my dear fellow! I'm not a lion — 

 I'm a lion-slayer like yourself. Try 

 Birnie; he looks something like a beast 

 with horns — brownish gray in the dark 

 of the woods; but you caji't mistake 

 me — I'm right at vour elbow. 



G. C. WATSON. 



GLORY BE! 



For some time there has been no 

 spice in our horticultural journalism. 

 When we look back on the glorious 

 old gladiatorial days of fifteen years 

 ago and think of the raciness and en- 

 thusiasm prevalent then and compare 

 it wit'n recent times we are compelled 

 to admit that we have gone through a 

 flat and commonplace few years. Dut 

 things are iirightening up some. 

 There's the Koehler-Brown glory iu 

 HORTICULTURE over the rhododen- 

 dron, the Birnie-Lonsdale illumination 

 on the carnation situation; a hint of 

 a fine educational campaign on sales- 

 manship; and various other interest- 

 ing things looming up. Rudd and 

 McOorum and Stewart and Welch and 

 Carmody and Crowe and Mavquisee and 

 many more good swordsmen are still 

 above the sod. and if the game is worth 

 while, can be counted on for a manly 

 battle w ith their true names emblazoned 

 on their shields and not masquerading 

 in the cowardly garb of anonymity. 

 Greeks bearing gifts and Trojan 

 horses — not in their line. Let us all 

 give thanks. G. C. W. 



As soon as the rhododendrons and 

 garden azaleas have shed their flowers 

 the seed pods should be promptly 

 picked off. The plants will look much 

 better and the strength which would 

 have been wasted on the seed pods 

 will be diverted to the young growths 

 for next year's flowering. 



"Like good wine your paper improves 

 with age. ' — W ith best wishes, 



"W. H. CLARK, 

 New York, N. V., May 23, 1908. 



Enclosed please find money order 

 One Dollar in payment of enclosed sub- 

 sciiption bill. I appreciate your paper 

 v^rv much and wish vou success. 



VICTOR JOHAXSE.M. 



California, May 11, 1908. 



