January 15, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



81 



Btocks of some vegetables than we 

 found in the beets, but it exists to a 

 Bi eater or less clegr<ic in all. It is 

 evident that this is not a desirable 

 condition, and we think it can be 

 fairly ascribed to a general want of 

 appreciation of the importance of an 

 accurate conception, and explicit de- 

 scription of distinguishing varietal 

 characteristics. 



Some Catalogue Defects. 



The country is flooded every spring 

 with the beautiful seed catalogues 

 filled with illustrations and glowing 

 descriptions of the sorts offered, but 

 which are often wanting in definite 

 varietal • description. I pick up the 

 first catalogue which comes to hand, 

 which is the 1910 descriptive cata- 

 logue of the seeds offered by a repu- 

 table seedsman not 300 miles from 

 Trenton. I found it a beautifully 

 printed book of SO, S by 10 pages, 38 

 of which are devoted to descriptions 

 of the vegetable seeds offered, the 

 verbal description being supplemented 

 by more than 70 most excellent half 

 tone engravings. Turning to the two 

 pages devoted to garden beets I found 

 that 1460 words and 5 excellent ialf 

 tone illustrations are devoted to the 

 description of the 19 different vari- 

 eties offered. Now there may be dif- 

 ference of opinion as to the space 

 which should be given to different 

 varietal characteristics in a descrip- 

 tion of garden beets, but certainly such 

 a description would be very incom- 

 plete if it did not include some refer- 

 ence to such points as the shape of the 

 root, the outside color, and the color 

 of the flesh. We find that in the de- 

 scription of the 19 varieties offered in 

 this fairly typical catalogue, the shape 

 of the root was well shown by illus- 

 trations in the case of four varieties, 

 was more or less fully described by 

 the use of from one to eight words, in 

 the case of nine others, but was not 

 referred to in any way, either direct, 

 by classification or inference in the 

 case of six. The outside color, cer- 

 tainly an important varietal character, 

 was described by the use of from one 

 to seven words in the case of twelve 

 sorts, but there was absolutely nothing 

 regarding it in the description of 

 the remaining seven. In only eight 

 of the 19 sorts was there any ref- 

 erence to the color of the flesh. In 

 only seven of the description was 

 the size or color of the leaf or leaf 

 stems referred to in any way. This 

 catalogue was gotten up and distrib- 

 uted by a shrewd and successful busi- 

 ness man at no inconsiderable cost of 

 time and money for the purpose of 

 inducing jilanters to buy the seed he 

 had to offer, and if the descriptions 

 are incomplete it is so because the 

 seedsman thought that fuller descrip- 

 tions would not increase his sales suf- 

 ficiently to warrant the expenditure. 

 Again, there is often a material dif- 

 ference in the cost of growing seed of 

 different varieties of the same species, 

 and seedsmen in accordance with what 



is regarded as good business practice 

 will endeavor to push the sales of the 

 sorts which bring them the greatest 

 profit. Some of t he most valuable 

 varieties ever originated have never 

 come into general use, and have even 

 been lost because the seed could not 

 be grown .and handled as profitably as 

 that of other sorts. 



The Greatest Needs of Today. 

 The greatest needs in modern hor- 

 ticultural practice is first, a more com- 

 plete and accurate knowledge on the 

 part of the planter of varietal dif- 

 ferences, their economic value, and 

 adaptation for his own condition of 

 soil, cultural practice and market re- 

 quirement, and second, the raising of 

 stocks of seed which will be more uni- 

 form in varietal character. Develop- 

 ment of the first will surely be fol- 

 lowed by improvement of the second, 

 for when the planter comes to know 

 the exact varietal character which is 

 best suited to his needs, and intelli- 

 gently calls for truer and more even 

 stock of that exact sort, the seedsmen 

 will be forced to supply it in order to 

 hold the business. Such a knowledge 

 of varietal differences and their value 

 can only come through carefully con- 

 ducted and studied varietal trials, 

 made not only in the immediate vicin- 

 ity of the planter, but at other points 

 as well, to emphasize the importance 

 of trials in the immediate vicinity be- 

 cause very often there are adaptations 

 to local conditions and requirements 

 which would only be shown in a local 

 trial, but it is well that such a trial 

 be supplemented by a careful study of 

 those made elsewhere in order to gain 

 the advantage of repeated trials and a 

 possible advantage from a difference 

 in cultural methods and conditions. 

 In such trials clearly discernible char- 



LILIES 



Canadense, Super- 

 bum, Single and 

 Double Tigers, 

 named Elegant, 

 Tenuifolium, Wallace), etc. 



German and Japan Irie, Delpbinium For- 

 mo8um. GIndoli, Callas, Cinnamon Yinrs, 

 Madeira Vines, H^acinthus Cooperias, 

 Milla and Beseera. 



Write for prices. 



River 



E.S. MILLER ^^W 



NEW BERRIES 



Send for our up to date tested berry 

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Berrydale Experiment Gardens 



HOLLAND, MICH. 



Dahlias and Gladiolus 



BULBS 



Jantzen & Hoebel 



HICKSVILLE, LONG ISLAND, N. Y. 



ROEHRS, "^"^^ERroRD 



PALMS, All Sorts and Sizes 



Martial Bremond 



Martial Bremond of OlUouIes, France, !■ 

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Write u> 



RALPH M. WARD & CO. 



I 2 West Broadway 

 NEW YORK 



Representing 



Not How Cheap 

 MARTIAL BREMOND, Ollioules, France ="' ^ow Good 



Every Florist 

 Who Grows Asters 



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ROCHESTER, - N. Y. 



Mention this paper 



DAHLIAS -GLADIOLUS 



400 Varieties Dahlias. Selections from 

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