May 18, 1907 HORTICULTURE 



Press Comments on the Express Rate Decision 



An Inviting Opportunity. 



The first reduction of rates iiiuler 

 the 1906 amendments to the Interstate 

 Commerce law have just been ordered 

 by the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion, on complaint made by the So- 

 ciety of American Florists against the 

 United States Express Company. 



If eminent corporation lawyers are 

 so confident that Senator Foraker is 

 right in holding the Rate law uncon- 

 stitutional, here is an inviting oppor- 

 tunity for a test case, in which Sen- 

 ator Piatt's corporation and three rail- 

 roads can pool their confiscatory 

 grievances. — N. Y. Worhl, Mini 7, 1907. 



IVIay IVIake Test Case. 



The first reduction of rates ordered 

 by the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion in the exercise of authority con- 

 ferred upon that body under the 

 amendments of 190G to the interstate 

 commerce law, affects both railroad 

 and express companies. 



The United States Express Company 

 is Senator Piatt's corpoiation. The 

 railroad corporations interested are 

 very powerful. It is not improbable 

 that the first decision of ihe commis- 

 sion may be made a test case to de- 

 termine the constitutionality of the 

 rate regulation law. The first applica- 

 tion of the law has apparently hit 

 some of its bittei'est enemies in a ten- 

 der spot. — Worcester (Mass.) Post, Tues- 

 dny. May 7, 1907. 



Work of New Rate Law. 



It is a strange and by no means de- 

 lightful situation which the express 

 companies of the country now face 

 because of the attempted extortion of 

 one of their number. In future they 

 must face the fact, fixed and inexor- 

 able, that their charges, like those of 

 the railroads, are subject to review 

 and reduction when necessary by the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission. This 

 is the first tangible evidence of the 

 teeth with which the new rate bill is 

 furnished. The first case of the kind, 

 arising under the new federal rate law, 

 has just been passed upon by the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission with the 

 consequence that Senator Piatt's ex- 

 press company is ordered to beat a re- 

 treat from a radical advance in rates 

 which it had made last year on cut 

 flowers from New Jersey points to New 

 York city. The advance was so extend- 

 ed, following up a previous marking up 

 of the rate, as to give an impression of 

 unreasonableness on the face of things, 

 and it will be found difficult to quarrel 

 with the commission in reaching the 

 conclusion it does. 



It is now up to the express company 

 to obey the orders of the commission- 

 ers or appeal to the courts, and in view 

 of the plain weakness of its case it is 

 not likely to do the latter. Tbe one cer- 

 tain thing is that it will not snap Its 

 fingers at the commission in the old 

 familiar' way of the past decade. It 

 would be too expensive a gratification 

 at $5,000 a day, while the finger snap- 

 ping was going on. — Nev: Britoin (Ct.) 

 Beruld, Tiicsda!/, May 7, 1907. 



Puncturing Corporate Reasoning. 



In the first decision rendered by the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission, af- 

 fecting an express company rate. Com- 

 missioner Lane neatly punctures the 

 fallacy of corporate reasoning. The 

 complaint arose from an increase of 

 100 per cent, in the rate on cut flowers 

 from New Jersey points to New York 

 City— from 50 cents to $1 per 100 

 pounds. 



The express company pleaded the 

 necessity for increase on account of the 

 cost of delivery in New York, and at- 

 tempted to show that it received little 

 enough for the service from the new 

 rate. First, it declared its contracts 

 with the railroads for carriage com- 

 pelled it to give them from 40 to 45 

 per cent, of the gross rate; second, its 

 contracts with receiving agents gave 

 them 20 per cent, of the gross rate. 

 Under the new rate the agents got, 

 say, 20 cents and the railroads 45 cents, 

 leaving the company only 35 cents for 

 delivery. No attempt was made to 

 prove that either the agents or the car- 

 riers were entitled to such amounts 

 for the service performed, but merely 

 that under contracts existing they re- 

 ceived that proportion of any rate im- 

 posed. 



Commissioner Lane justly holds that 

 by such contracts and such reasoning 

 any rate on any commodity might be 

 made to appear unprofitable. The com- 

 mission therefore rules that a rate of 

 60 cents per 100 pounds is reasonable. 

 Allowing agents and carriers the old 

 rate for service the express company 

 will realize from the rate allowed pre- 

 cisely the same amount it would real- 

 ize from the $1 rate after doubling the 

 compensation of agents and carriers. 

 The case is significant. — Pittshiirg (Fa.) 

 Dispritcli, Monday, May 6, 1907. 



PROF. STORER RESIGNS. 



Professor Francis Humphreys Storer, 

 professor of agricultural chemistry, at 

 Harvard, and head of the Bussey Insti- 

 tution since 1871, has resigned, his res- 

 ignation to take effect Sept, 1. In the 

 thirty-seven years of his professorship 

 Professor Storer has not only done the 

 stated teaching of his position in the 

 lecture-room and laboratory: he has 

 also published a comprehensive and 

 durable treatise on agricultural chemis- 

 try, and carried on the general admin- 

 istration of the Bussey Institution, in- 

 cluding the care of the library and the 

 editing of the Bulletin. As a teacher 

 he has been helpful and interesting, 

 because of the wideness of his knowl- 

 edge and his wealth of illustrative ma- 

 terial. As an adniirjistrator he was dil- 

 igent and careful, and an especial 

 friend of students whose financial 

 means were small, and whose early op- 

 portunities had been limited. He de- 

 voted himself without reserve to the 

 Bussey Institution in spite of the fact 

 that the Boston fire of 1872 greatly and 

 permanently reduced its sources of in- 

 come. At the last meeting of the cor- 

 jK'iation Professor Storer was appoint- 

 ed piofessor of agricultural chemistry, 

 emerituS; from Sept. 1. 



653 



WHOLESOME CHESTNUTS. 



The time is near at hand when flor- 

 ists will find a way of displaying of a 

 considerable portion of stock of vari- 

 ous kinds in the filling of window 

 boxes and tubs. Although a great 

 many kinds of plants are suitable for 

 this work, there are again some things 

 that are almost indispensably asso- 

 ciated with it. For instance, the varie- 

 gated vinca which is without an equal 

 either for tubs or window boxes for 

 hanging downward from the edges. 

 Scarlet geraniums in two rows with 

 blue lobelia in front along with the 

 vincas make up a very attractive win- 

 dow box at a moderate cost. Fuchsias 

 which were for a time all but forgotten 

 are being utilized now for this kind of 

 work Boston terns are very much at 

 home in window boxes providing they 

 receive proper attention and are placed 

 in a sheltered and somewhat shady 

 situation. Rubber plants answer the 

 purpose equally well under like con- 

 ditions. Dracaena indivisa is a whole 

 decoraiion in itself when placed in the 

 centre of a moderate sized tub, and 

 more stunning still when a number 

 are planted in a long box along with 

 some' other decorative foliage plants, 

 or small flowering plant either. Be- 

 gonias will do very well. 



Hydrangeas are very good for tubs 

 and for larger ones cannas fit in very 

 well. Coleuses are soft and conse- 

 quently not so enduring as many oth- 

 er things but if bright foliage is de- 

 sirable they may be used, or Achyran- 

 thes, which is a little hardier, may be 

 used instead. Crotons, when hardened 

 properly in anticipation of the duty 

 to be performed make up into charm- 

 ing window box decorations. 



There may be more than mere talk 

 in the matter of tho falling off in pop- 

 ularity of the American Beauty rose, 

 but granting that there is there need 

 be but little fear but that it will come 

 again to its own. 



There seems to be no end of new 

 introductions of Nephrolepis and per- 

 haps each new comer has points supe- 

 rior to its predecessor, but notwith- 

 standing this the good old Bostonien- 

 sis is in favor still because of its un- 

 doubted qualities as a graceful, sub- 

 stantial, decorative fern, superior in 

 the former quality at least to any that 

 have as yet sprung from it. 



Kentias are much sought after this 

 season and the variety Belmoreana 

 more than any other. This variety 

 makes a splendid specimen undoubted- 

 ly, but for a large hall or reception 

 room a specimen plant of K. Forster- 

 iana with its much longer and graceful 

 leaves seems to me to be preferable. 

 Kentias are somewhat high in price. 

 I refer of course to the larger sizes. 



Memorial Day should count for more 

 than it has so tar, especially to the re- 

 tail florist and grower. Try to make 

 a specialty of something or for that 

 matter boom up a number of things 

 for that day. It is all very patriotic 

 and so on to give a lot of good stuff 

 away for nothing on that day, but it 

 has occurred to some of us that those 

 things would be just as much appre- 

 ciated if something had been paid for 

 them; at any rate it would greatly 

 hasten the time when Memorial Day 

 would be to the craft something like 

 what other occasions are now and 

 have long been. 



