298 



HORTICULTURE 



March 9, 1907 



LITTLE JOURNEYS BY THE GIN- 

 GER JAR MAN. 

 I. 

 The Dingee & Conard Co. 



Once in a while tlie Ginger Jar 

 comes down off its shelf and takes a 

 little trip— not because it likes that 

 but because a certain editor has an 

 idea that travel broadens one; which 

 may be very true if one happens to 

 be run over by an automobile, but if 

 one goes on the cannon ball express 

 one is just as likely to get scattered. 

 The forty-mile trip from the Quaker 

 City to West Grove takes however 

 two hours by the clock and there is 

 absolutely no danger, unless the little 

 worm-eaten West Grove station should 

 happen to fall on you. It has been 

 threatening to do something desperate 

 these many years. Captain Lynch has 

 to be very solemn and dignified in- 

 side that depot. 



Every one has heard of the Captain 

 of the Rough Riders of Chester Co. 

 and his speedy horses. But the Cap- 

 tain had commandeered old Moses for 

 this occasion and the guest was half 

 way on Shanks' Mare before being 

 met. Moses gets his name from hav- 

 ing been foaled the same year that 

 Moses struck the rock, so the vener- 

 able steed and its precious freight ar- 

 rived in safety. 



After modestly running the gauntlet 

 of the bright eyes in the counting 

 rooms the Ginger Jar was escorted 

 with great courtesy by Edward Parker 

 the chief of the operative forces 

 through the greenhouses. Last year 

 there were but seventy but there has 

 been an increase — eight more this 

 year — and it was enough to make one's 

 head swim— the bewildering variety 

 of roses of every conceivable clime and 

 character from sturdy young ones of 

 the mailing size to big robust plants of 

 the two and three year olds — to review 

 such a myriad and listen to the virtues 

 and vices of each as expounded by 

 Messrs. Lynch and Parker is about 

 as interesting an experience as anv- 

 one could wish. 



Of course one looks diligently for 

 all the shortcomings and secrets, es- 

 pecially in any house where the guidi^s 

 want to hurry pa^t. The plausible 

 reason given is usually, "Oh, there's 

 nothing interesting in there," but being 

 an ancient this jug is not deceived. 

 and rolls nimbly in if the gates are 

 ajar. In this instance however no 

 "finds" were found. 



In one house one hears there are nii 

 less than .3.5,000 young roses in 2 1-2 

 in. pots. That means, multiplied by 

 eighty, nearly three millions of roses 

 and the factory making more every 

 day. The mill is emptying constantly 

 and filling up again. Roses go every- 

 where by mail, even to the interior of 

 China. 



Of course, not being in bloom, one 

 can say nothing of the roses them- 

 selves, but that is unnecessary for it 

 Is all put down in condensed form in 

 the well-illustrated book of over lOO 

 pages which the firm sends free every- 

 where. There are over a thousand 

 named varieties in the collection and 

 so expert do the growers become that 

 they can recognize the variety by thr- 

 foliage alone. One grower is said to 

 know over 800 varieties but Mr. Par- 

 ker can only tell about 500 and Mr. 

 Lynch modestly owned to knowing 

 but 300 by the foliage. According to 



the prophet "I said in my haste; all 

 men are liars" and the foregoing does 

 sound like a bit of a whopper. But 

 it was verified on referring it on the 

 return to Philadelphia to D. T. Con- 

 nor of the Lord & Burnham Co., who 

 worked in the D & C greenhouses for 

 nine years when a boy. At the end 

 of that time his limit was 250; but he 

 said others were much cleverer at it 

 than he. Still one would like to see 

 them do it and keep tab. You've all 

 heard that old yarn about Sandy Mac- 

 pherson's visit to London. On his re- 

 turn home one of his friends asked him 

 what lie thought of it. "Man," said 

 Sandy, "its a grand toon; but the folk 

 there are no verra honest." "How's 

 that?" "Weel, I had my doubts about 

 it a' the week but I proved it when 

 comin' awa'. I bought a package o' 

 pins labeled 1000 for a penny and on 

 counting them on the train comin' 

 home I found them seventeen short." 

 The merit of this yarn lies in its ap- 

 plication to Messrs. Lynch, Parker and 

 those other experts. Only — there is 

 no proof yet but it sounds to an out- 

 sider about as wonderful a tale as the 

 cuteness of Corney Rooney's pig which 

 always disappeared the day before 

 Quarter Day for fear he'd be made 

 bacon of to pay the rent. 



GEORGE C. WATSON. 



CLUB AND SOCIETY NOTES. 



The Scranton Florists' Club, will 

 hold its first flower show in Guernsey 

 Hall, Scranton, Pa., on March 15. 



The Indiana State Florists' Associa- 

 tion at its meeting on March 5 made 

 preliminary arrangements for a spring 

 show. 



The eastern section of the New York 

 Fruit Growers' Association met at 

 Poughkeepsie on February 21, with a 

 good attendance, interesting papers 

 and fine exhibits. J. R. Cornell con- 

 tinues as president and E. C. Gillett 

 of Penn Yan as secretary for another 

 year. 



At a special meeting of the Tri-City 

 Florists' Club held at Fejervary Park 

 it was decided to hold the annual 

 banquet at Turner Hall, Davenport, 

 Iowa. Monday. March 11, 1907. The 

 annual meeting for election of officers 

 for the ensuing year will be heldi at 

 Fejervary Park, Thursday. March 14. 



The Annual Pi-oceedings and Bulle- 

 tin of the American Rose Society for 

 1906 has come to hand. The report of 

 the meeting and exhibition at Boston 

 is given in full and a chapter from 

 "A Woman's Hardy Garden" by Helena 

 Rutherford Ely has been appended. 

 The list of members contains loS 

 names, of which 43 are life members. 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 



John Westcott reports that his so- 

 journ in the sunny south did him some 

 good, but he is still far from his old 

 self. 



The executive committee of the S 

 A. F. meets at the Hotel Walton, Mon- 

 day and Tuesday, 11th and 12th., to 

 plan out the program for the August 

 convention. 



Dracena fragrans is in bloom with 

 Christian Eisele at present. The Rob- 

 ert Craig Co. also has several of this 

 species in bloom. The flower is fairly 

 attractive and very fragrant. 



A special feature of the Horticul- 

 tural Society's meeting on the 19th 

 inst. will be an address by William 

 Kleinheinz, "A winter trip to Europe 

 by an American gardener." This will 

 be worth hearing. 



William Munro of Garretford as- 

 serts that this has been the most un- 

 profitable year for American Beauty 

 growers ever experienced. We noted 

 here two very fine houses of Kaiserin 

 Augurta Victoria. 



Chas. S. Grey, lately with the S. S. 

 Pennork-Meehan Co.. has transferred 

 his allegiance to the Edward Reid es- 

 tablishment on Ranstead street. Mr. 

 Grey is young, ambitious, and ener- 

 getic. His many friends wish him 

 well in his new move. 



Jno. Lees of Frankford has built and 

 opened a show room at Bridge and 

 Main streets for the retail business. It 

 is near his greenhouses, and also ad- 

 joins the show rooms of Kohler & 

 Sons erected some years ago. Mr. Lees 

 will build an addition to his green- 

 houses the coming spring. 



Berger Bros, opened their new flower 

 market at 13th and Filbert streets on 

 Monday, and were kept busy all dav 

 receiving the congratulations of cus- 

 tomers and friends, and incidentally 

 hustling out the largest overturn of 

 stock in their history. Room is to 

 be made for a number of the old mark- 

 et renters or sub-tenants as soon as 

 the lease in the old building expires. 



On Wednesday the committee accom- 

 panied by a goodly delegation from this 

 city will start for the Rose Show and 

 Convention at Washington. Although 

 roses generally are not up to last year's 

 exhibition standard in this locality, it 

 is expected that quite a number of our 

 .growers will contribute their best and 

 help to make the show a success and 

 no doubt will be rewarded by a prize 

 or two, Init in any event they are keen 

 enough, most of them, to enjoy ex- 

 hibiting for the sport of the thing. 



SEND FOR ONE. 



The nurserymen of the state of 

 Connecticut met at the Hotel Garde, 

 New Haven, on March 5th and formed 

 a permanent organization to be known 

 as Connecticut Nurserymen's Associa- 

 tion, with the following officers: John 

 S. Barnes of Barnes Bros., president: 

 R. H. Gardener of Gardener's Nur- 

 series, vice-president: Frank Elmer 

 Conine of The F. E. Conine Nursery 

 Co., secretary; and W. W. Hunt of 

 Hunt & Co., as treasurer: Edwin 

 Hoyt, C. E. Burr and E. F. Coe com- 

 mitteemen. 



.John C. Moninger Company, Chicago, 

 are sending out a useful book of in- 

 structions for erecting greenhouses 

 with their material. It answers in a 

 lucid manner many of the questions 

 regarding various problems that come 

 up in the erection of greenhouses. 

 Among the topics treated on are 

 the ground site; painting- founda- 

 tions and walls: wood posts; cast-iron 

 posts; concrete, brick, stone or tile 

 walls: sash: wood gutters; wall 

 plates; iron gutters; ridge and sash 

 bars; purlins; headers; ventilators: 

 trusses; benches; glazing, etc. It is 

 the intention of the publishers to dis- 

 pose of these books at the nominal 

 price of ten cents each, to cover cost 

 of printing and mailing. 



