THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



231 



In mixing this compost, equal parts of leaf soil and cow 

 manure with a sprinkling of Clay's Fertilizer added, is 

 used ; whenever the roots begin to show above the surface 

 is the time to appl_v a little more of this material. "A 

 little at the time and often," is the motto. 



A word in regard to pinching: Do not pinch the main 

 stem ; let it continue growing and it will continue giving 

 ofif the side shoots, which should be disbudded clear back 

 to the main stem, as soon as the bud shows. By this 

 method long stems are procured. 



To produce good flowers from October on, requires 

 watchfulness in ventilation, watering, temperature and 

 cleanliness. When the buds become fairly large, syring- 

 ing must be reduced to about two thorough syringings a 

 week, which will keep the plants clean and prevent the 

 constant drip consequent on daily sprayings. For much 



syringing has a tendency to make the buds drop, a condi- 

 tion to be guarded against during the fall months. When 

 watering, soak the soil thoroughly and then let it dry out 

 before more is applied. 



If the soil is porous, there will be no trouble with sur- 

 face scum. Keep a moist atmosphere by keeping all 

 paths well damped down. Ventilate when the temperature 

 gets above 75, a little at a time. A night temperature 

 of 6.S degs. suits them admirably. But good Gardenias 

 can be grown with a night temperature of 60 degs. Keep 

 the plants clear of green fly and mealy bug, the former by 

 frequent syringings, and the latter by spraying. 



The "yellows" is generally caused by over-watering. 

 Running a hot water pipe under the bench will tend to 

 dry the soil out quicker, and thus prevent the soil from 

 remaining soggy, a condition favorable to the ''yellows." 



The Gardener at the International Show^ 



By CHARLES H. TOTTY, Madison, N. J. 



Members of the National Association of Gardeners : 



The question I wish to present to your notice is "What 

 part are the superintendents and gardeners of this country 

 going to play in the International Show, scheduled for 

 next April, in the New Grand Central Palace, New 

 York?" I think I am safe in saying that the finest plants 

 in the world have been imported and sold in the neigh- 

 borhood of New York in«the last twenty years. These 

 plants in the natural order of things, since they cost con- 

 siderable money, have been bought by your employers 

 and are at the present time, many of them, reclining in 

 the greenhouses, within easv shipping distance of New 

 York. 



Are you going to leave them there or bring them out 

 next spring and let the rest of the country see stock they 

 have never previously had any knowledge of. We are 

 now working on the Final Schedule, which devotes con- 

 siderable to the special classes, solely for the private 

 growers in both plants and flowers and which in the 

 aggregate amounts to some $5,000 for the gardeners 

 alone. This is the first lime in the history of the Society 

 of .American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists, to 

 my knowledge, that special classes have been made — the 

 first time that the private growers have been recognized 

 as a large factor in the development of horticulture, and 

 the fact that this Society of American Florists, which is 

 primarily a trade organization, is willing to do this is a 

 tribute to the growing force and power in the horticul- 

 tural world of the private gardener. 



As a member of different local horticultural societies, 

 your response to my appeal to join with the parent body 

 for this show has been very generous. Practically, every 

 society within a reasonable distance of New York will 

 be represented by a silver cup or cash premium. 



We also have working with us, the American Rose 

 Society, American Carnation Society, the Gladioli and 

 Sweet Pea Societies, and for once horticulture in .'\merica 

 presents to the world a solid front, standing together, and 

 it will show to the people an exhibition that will demand 

 recognition as being the finest achievement in the annals 

 of horticulture and floriculUire history in America. 



j\Iy friends, it is fitting that this should be so. As the 

 editor of the New York World said in a recent editorial : 



"When 130,000 throng to see a Flower Show in New 

 York, the popular vogue of flowers must be regarded as 

 pretty conclusively established. This is about as many 



people as constitute the capacity audience at the theaters 

 on holidays, and the fact bears witness to the place flower 

 exhibitions now hold as fixed events in the Fall calendar 

 equally with football, the opera and the Horse Show." 

 The final paragraph as follows : 



"But behind the vogue in this country and most sug- 

 gestive of all the circumstances having to do with its 

 popular appeal, is the confirmation the attendance at 

 Flower Shows gives of the true aesthetic sense, in a city 

 where as many of the population go to see flowers as a 

 world's baseball series." 



I remember, and so do you, when about all the space 

 a flower show would get in the metropolitan dailies was 

 two or three lines in an obscure corner. Flower shows 

 and the flower industry were regarded with toleration 

 simply as hobbies of the rich. Today the people are awak- 

 ened to a sense of the value of the flower show in culti- 

 vating the aesthetic taste of a cit)', and we can get almost 

 any space we wish in the leading newspapers of the coun- 

 try. 



An indication of this is shown in yesterday's New 

 York Herald, which gives ovej half a column to the Na- 

 tional Flower Show we are at the present time discuss- 

 ing. 



The popularity of an undertaking, be it sport or busi- 

 ness or an individual, can always be determined by the 

 amount of space that the newspapers can be induced to 

 give to the same. A newspaper man has his ear to the 

 ground all the time watching the trend of popular 

 thought, moulding it ofttimes when wrongly directed and 

 giving it unlimited space when as a news item it is of in- 

 terest to the large body of our people. I am firmly of 

 the opinion that this Flower Show in New York is going 

 to set a record for attendance at a flower show in Amer- 

 ica. 



Many of j-our employers who are connected with the 

 "upper crust" of New York society will be present. If 

 that employer sees his name in conjunction with a first 

 prize at the "greatest flower show .America ever had," he 

 will be just that much prouder of his gardener. Those of 

 you who are so loyal to your local shows and win prizes 

 know just how true this is. 



The average American is content with nothing but the 

 best, and if the spirit of emulation between the employer 

 and the gardener is encouraged there is little doubt but 

 that horticulture will rise even more rapidly in the im- 

 mediate future. 



There is nothing about the cultivation of plants and 



