1885.J 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



6i 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Landscape Gardening Work. — A correspon- 

 dent, writing from a town in Massachusetts, 

 wishes to know how to establish himself as a 

 landscape gardener, for which, from education 

 and e.\perience, he believes himself to be well 

 suited. He has advertised repeatedly and failed. 



We have often stated that one of the greatest 

 wants of the day in all our large towns and cities 

 is good landscape gardeners. There are hundreds 

 of well-to-do people anxious to employ them, and, 

 for want of finding them, have to endure men who 

 scarcely know one tree from another. Hundreds 

 of thousands of dollars are spent annually by 

 mere graders and contractors for gentlemen de- 

 sirous of getting good work done, simply because 

 they do not know where to find the proper men 

 to do what they desire. 



But there is an art which cannot be taught by 

 an Editor in a magazine, and that is, the art of 

 making one's self known to the community around 

 him. We will, however, tell a true story which 

 will illustrate what we mean, and in its applica- 

 tion perhaps some one may profit. 



" I understand," said a rather needy-looking in- 

 dividual to the writer of this, many years ago, 



"that your friend Mr. has made a fortune 



and intends to build himself a fine house. Do 

 you know just where he proposes to locate it?" 

 " Just right over in the middle of that corn field," 

 he was told. Further conversation disclosed that 

 the young man believed he had special talent for 

 an architect, but was wholly unknown in the 

 vicinity. Some months later when the owner of 

 that land was within reach, the poor young man 

 was on hand with a plan of a building just suited 

 as he thought to that location. The owner put 

 him off with the remark that he had his own ideas, 

 and did not want to look at any plan. But he 

 finally did look, and objected to this, that and the 

 other, to all of which the young man paid particu- 

 lar attention. He was finally told that he need 

 take no trouble in the matter, that the owner had 

 his own architectural friends, whom at the proper 

 time he proposed to consult, and who no doubt 

 would work out his ideas to his entire satisfaction. 

 But in less than a few days the young man again 

 appeared with another plan. The owner of the 

 land was at first reluctant to grant another inter- 

 view, but gave in finally, and was surprised to 

 find how nearly the stranger had caught up the 

 idea of his wants from the casual conversation. 

 Seeing that he had a person of real talent and 



genius before him, he gave him an order to make 

 a plan. The end of it was that the young stranger 

 got his first job, a $50,000 house, and he finally 

 became one ol the most distinguished architects 

 of Philadelphia. This was the beginning of the 

 career of the late Samuel Sloan. 



After all, is not this the way of all successful 

 business or professional men, even down to the 

 much abused tree pedlar ? They have all to let 

 people know in some way or another that they 

 have just what these people want, or they would 

 starve. 



It is no use to write to an Editor to ask where 

 the particular individuals are who require good 

 landscape gardeners; all the Editor can say is 

 that he knows there are profitable engagements 

 for hundreds of them. To find them in each in- 

 dividual case is however an art which, though he 

 can and has in the past successfully practiced, he 

 is incompetent to teach. 



Profits of Plant and Seed Collecting. 



A lady in South Carolina sends us the follow- 

 ing letter. Though addressed to us in our public 

 capacity as Editor of a Magazine, it is not clear 

 that it was meant for publication ; but as a reply 

 may be of service to others as well as the writer, 

 we give it a place here, only suppressing the name 

 and address of the writer : 



"Editor Gardeners' Monthly: I am em- 

 boldened in writing this to you, from an in- 

 tuitive feeling that it would result in a kindly 

 hearing from you ; and, I hope, a pecuniary help 

 to me. I am ' only a woman,' but one reared in 

 the lap of luxury, before and since the war, but 

 now feel it a duty to try to help my husband, if I 

 can, to educate and rear five children ; and one 

 arvenue which I had hoped would be a means to 

 this end, proves very unsatisfactory to me. I 

 will explain. Our beautiful Southern woods and 

 fields are filled with plants and bulbs, much 

 prized by the citizens of the Northern States ; 

 notably a bulb— advertised as Amaryllis Treatse 

 — but known here as Atamasco Lily. I saw it 

 extensively advertised in a great many catalogues 

 for from 8 cents to 15 cents per bulb, and gathered 

 for the last three seasons thousands of bulbs, and 

 can get no better price, wholesale, than i cent, 

 and not always that, per bulb ; and I write to ask 

 you if you think if I advertised it in your Gar- 

 deners' Monthly it would bring me in any more. 

 I am 'to fame unknown,' and after writing 

 hundreds of letters, 1 have not yet made the salt 

 that goes in my own bread, much less my child- 

 ren's. The bulbs I have sold, if retailed at cata- 



