106 



HORTICULTURE. 



July 24, 1909 



Obituary, 



John Thorpe. 



John Thorpe, father of the Society 

 of American Florists and its first pres- 

 ident, Chief of Floriculture at the 

 World's Columbian Exposition and 

 one of the best informed plantsmen in 

 America, died at his home in Chicago 

 on Thursday, July 15. 



Mr. Thorpe was born at Keyham, 

 Leicestershire, England, April 3, 1841, 

 and came of a family of horticultur- 

 ists. At the age of 11 he was appren- 

 ticed to his uncle. After serving his 

 term he took charge of the large es- 

 tate of his cousin John Turner of Lit- 

 tle Thorpe and while there was mar- 

 ried in 1862 to Miss Clara Soar on 

 Christmas day. He then went to Bris- 

 tol and became a market gardener. In 

 1868 he moved his business to Strat- 

 ford-on-Avon, and controlled exten- 

 sive nurseries. In 1874, wishing a 

 ■wider field for his labors, he came to 

 America to take charge of Gordon 

 park, Cleveland, O. He moved to 

 Queens, L. I., where he became a part- 

 ner in the firm of V. H. Hallock, Son 

 & Thorpe. In ISSS he went to Pearl 

 River, N. Y., in business for himself. 

 In 1891 he was appointed Chief of 

 Floriculture at Chicago and since that 

 time has been a resident of Chicago. 

 Four children and seven grandchildren 

 survive him. 



John Thorpe had a profound knowl- 

 edge of plant physiology, was blessed 

 with an inborn love for the beautiful, 

 had keen perceptive faculties and fol- 

 lowed up his work with patient indus- 

 try, all of which qualifications brought 

 forth good fruit as a result of his ef- 

 forts in cross-fertilization while at 

 Cleveland, Queens and Pearl River. 

 His special subjects were zonal pelar- 

 goniums, gladioli, carnations and 

 chrysanthemums. At one time the 

 firm of Hallock, Son & Thorpe may 

 be said to have ranked first in the 

 country in the origination of new va- 

 rieties of the above-named subjects 

 and there was scarcely a catalogue in 

 either America or Europe that did not 

 list some of their productions. 



During the period between 1881 and 

 1S89, Mr. Thorpe introduced to the 

 trade between twenty-five and thirty 

 carnations under name. Practically all 

 of these have shared the fate of all 

 other introductions of that time, but 

 they surpassed any that had been pro- 

 duced up to that time and it is only 

 necessary to mention Portia and Mrs. 

 Ferdinand Mangold to show the posi- 

 tion some of these attained in the 

 trade. In the years immediately fol- 

 lowing, his work in fertilization was 

 concentrated on the chrysanthemum 

 of which he was, up to 1892, one of the 

 ablest advocates. Many of his seed- 

 lings were of advanced type and at 

 one exhibition of the New York Horti- 

 cultural Society (1884), Mr. Thorpe re- 

 ceived 24 first-class ceitificates of merit 

 for an equal number of distinct varie- 

 ties of chiysanthemums. 



The appointment to the position of 

 Chief of Floriculture at the World's 

 Fair marked the close of Mr. Thorpe's 

 activities in hybridization and plant 

 improverhent. During the excitement 

 and turmoil of that memorable time 

 he was "Uncle John" to everybody and 

 became a character of almost national 



celebrity. Within the past four years 

 contributions from his pen have ap- 

 peared in HORTICULTURE from time 

 to time, all giving evidence that his 

 love for the avocation in which the 

 best years of his life had been spent 

 had not grown cold. 



John Thorpe repeatedly asserted 

 that at Cleveland, six or seven years 

 before the S. A. F. was organized, he 

 had advocated the forming of such a 

 body. That he was recognized as just- 

 ly entitled to a large share of the 

 credit for the inception of the idea 

 which took practical, form at a meet- 

 ing in the Sherman House, Chicago, in 

 1884, is indicated in the following ex- 

 tract from the report of the commit- 

 tee on final resolutions at the Phila- 

 delphia Convention in 1886, signed by 

 Peter Henderson, John H. Taylor and 

 \Vm. J. Stewart: 



Resolved, That, knowing that the So- 

 liety of American Florists, uow a soiid 

 success, was the inception of its retiring 

 president — Mr. John Thorpe — who, in de- 

 spite of great opposition from many mem- 

 bers of the Nnisei-ymen's and Seedsmen's 

 .Association, determinedly sowed the seed 



we knew him see editorial on page 104 

 of this issue. 



John Thorpe 



that has now become such a fruitful tree, 

 he deserves in the highest degree our most 

 hearty thanlcs, for the time so generously 

 given, and the great ahility .so markedly 

 displayed in bringing the work to such a 

 high measure of success. 



An insight into Mr. Thorpe's heart 

 may be gained by a perusal of the fol- 

 lowing extract from his opening ad- 

 dress as president before the Society 

 of American Florists at its first Con- 

 vention in Cincinnati, 1885: 



"Of all tile beauties there are to be 

 found in nature, flowers stand pre-emi- 

 nently lirst. They evidently are intended 

 by the Creator to be companions of the 

 human fiinuly. The man or wmuan is not 

 born who does not inherently love flowers; 

 it is only those who have unfortunately 

 been denied the oppoi-tuity of ever seeing 

 flowers that do not love tliem. 



"Florists are among the iiest educators 

 ill the country. The.v teach by example, 

 as well as precept, all that is" gyod and 

 true; they will moulil the character of 

 generations to come; they help those 

 atflicted \A-ith sickness, ami make the long 

 hours of pain more endurable. They teach 

 also that with even all the liuft'etings of 

 life, there is really something worth living 

 for, and that, withal, the lieauties of 

 nature are ever truthful, full of inspira- 

 tion, and prompt us nil to do that which 

 is right." 



For a few lines on John Thorpe as 



C. W. Smith. 



Charles W. Smith, traveling sales- 

 man tor t^e past twelve years for the 

 Leonaid Seed Co., Chicago, while 

 swimming in the rear of the Chicago 

 Beach Hotel on July 18 was drowned 

 in full view of crowds of people, and 

 at this writing his body had not been 

 recovered. 



Mr. Smith had just returned from a 

 business trip and intended to start out 

 again at once. With his brother Al- 

 bert he was spending the morning at 

 the lake front. He had been in the 

 water but a few minutes and it is 

 thought cramps must have seized him. 

 To his many friends in the trade this 

 will come as a great shock. Mr. Smith 

 was 33 years old and unmarried. 



Herbert Heller. 



Herbert Heller died at his home in 

 New Castle, Ind., on July 9 in his 

 thirty-ninth year. His name has be- 

 come familiar to the trade through 

 his success as a rose grower, and as 

 an exhibitor at the large flower shows 

 his firm. The South Park Floral Co., 

 has secured many prizes. Mr. Heller, 

 was a genial, whole-souled man; he 

 was a member of the S. A. F. and nu- 

 merous other trade societies. A, wife 

 and infant son constituted his imme- 

 diate family. A brother, Myer, was 

 associated with him in the business 

 which will be continued. 



Otto C. Lenz. 



Otto C. Lenz, a native of Germany, 

 died at his home in Providence, R. I.. 

 on July 10. For the past twenty-five 

 years he has been devoted to horticul- 

 ture and his large greenhouse con- 

 tained many rare specimens. A wid- 

 ow, three sons and five daughters sur- 

 vive him. 



NEWS NOTES. 



Albany, N. Y.— John J. Berberick, 



florist, is increasing his floor space 

 and will have two large show win- 

 dows. 



Rochdale, Mass.— The Maple Ridge 

 Greenhouses are being thoroughly re- 

 modeled to meet the extended busi- 

 ness which the proprietors are ar- 

 ranging for. 



Denver, Col. — The Denver Whole- 

 sale Florists' Co. w..i open a whole- 

 sale cut flower commission and sup- 

 ply business at 1433 and 1435 Cali- 

 fornia street on Sept. 1. 



New York.— Charles Millang, the 

 wholesale florist, will hereafter be 

 located only at 55 and 57 West 26th 

 street, having discontinued his store 

 at 444 Sixth avenue. 



Bar Harbor, Me. — Among the many 

 improvements at the Mt. Desert Nur- 

 series is the installation of an auto- M 

 matic sprinkling system, which will ■ 

 include about 12.000 feet of pipe 

 wlien completed. 



Lockport, N. Y.— D. McCarthy & 

 Sou have completed their new rose 

 house and are about through with _ 

 planting. This is their first attempt ■ 

 at rose growing. This firm has pro- T 

 duced some of the finest stock of car- 

 r:ations in the past few years. 



