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HORTICULTURE 



May 28, 1910 



t ^ 



ORCHID PEAT 



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Osmunda Fibre 



Either the black or brown grade, in chunks or handpicked^ 

 in bags or barrels^ ready for the orchid grower. 



LIVE SPHAGNUM MOSS, ROTTED or 

 AZALEA PEAT, LEAF MOLD, BALED SPHAG- 

 NUM MOSS, all of fine quality. 



Our Exhibit at the Boston Orchid Show will interest you as a 

 demonstration of the quality of our goods. 



I 



The C. W. BROWNELL CO. 



• Walden, N. Y. • 



A TALK ON GARDENS. 



By J. H. Prost, City Forester of Chicago, 

 Before tlie Soutli End Womeu's Club. 



Municipal gardens, such as back and 

 front yard gardens, children's gardens, 

 vacant-lot gardens, porch and window 

 effect, together with streets properly 

 ornamented with trees and shrubs, 

 really are the fundamental features of 

 a beautiful city. Gardens not only 

 help to beautify the city, by beautify- 

 ing the home surroundings, they are 

 also of gi-eat importance as education- 

 al factors, improve sanitary conditions, 

 increase the value of real estate, 

 strengthen home ties and stimulate 

 civic pride. 



It seems to me that every one must 

 realize the influence for good which 

 the cultivation of plants exercises upon 

 a community. It is those citizens, 

 having gardens of their own, who 

 most appreciate and respect our parks. 

 The planting, cultivation and handling 

 ol plants in their own little gardens, 

 gives them a better understanding of 

 the plants in our parks and they grow 

 to realize that each flower, each tree, 

 each shrub and all the beautiful scen- 

 ery is for them to admire and enjoy. 

 If only they will make their acquaint- 

 ance and visit with them now and 

 then. 



Nothing gives a family more satis- 

 faction during the warm summer days 

 than a well kept lawn, fringed with 

 perennials, flowering shrubs and trees; 

 a quiet, peaceful and beautiful retreat 

 as it were, where they can feel as 

 though they had retired from the city 

 into their own little private park. 

 Whenever you find a home where 

 gi-ass, flowers, trees and shrubs have 

 taken the place of cinders, tin cans 



and rubbish, there you will find a hap- 

 py family, a successful father, a con- 

 tented mother and well behaved chil- 

 dren. Here, in their own little garden, 

 they all have a common interest, each 

 has his favorite flower, vegetable or 

 tree, and while each contributes a part 

 of his or her time to its care, all re- 

 ceive the benefits of the whole. Here 

 the children may play and have their 

 garden parties; the mother may en- 

 tertain her friends and in the cooling 

 shade of the garden trees serve her 

 afternoon tea; while in the evening 

 the family may sit out in the open air 

 and gaze at the "twinkling stars 

 through the sighing leaves." 



A child brought up in surroundings 

 such as these, where it may watch the 

 tiny seedling plants break through the 

 ground in early spring, cultivate and 

 study their growth during the sum- 

 mer, pick the flowers and carry them 

 to a sick schoolmate, and in the fall 

 harvest the vegetables and fruits, — 

 sucli a child surely gets more out ot 

 life and is making better preparations 

 for the future than those who are 

 spending their youth in useless or idle 

 play. 



All this is even more practical than 

 poetic: it is simple rather than diffi- 

 cult, and intensely fascinating to those 

 who have gotten started in the work. 

 What our people need is more mis- 

 sionary work along these lines, sucli 

 work as the Improvement clubs have 

 been doing; more definite instruction 

 as to Just what, how , and when to 

 plant and how to care for their gar- 

 dens. The United States Department 

 of Agriculture has published several 

 bulletins on vegetable and flower gar- 

 dens, which may be had for the 

 asking. 



As a result of these garden contests, 

 home garden making has taken a firm- 

 er hold upon our people. Every im- 

 provement association could well af- 

 ford to put forth especial effort to in- 

 duce citizens to do more to beautify 

 their front and rear yards and to grow 

 vegetables upon vacant lots. What a 

 grand annual garden festival we might 

 have and what an influence it would 

 have toward civic betterment, if each 

 improvement association in the city 

 could be induced to have an annual 

 garden contest in its district, give 

 prizes for the best gardens and then 

 enter these local prize gardens in a 

 contest to be conducted by the League 

 ot Improvement Associations, an or- 

 ganization comprising all of the im- 

 provement associations of the city. 

 This final contest would bring out the 

 best gardens in the city, and by award- 

 ing the prizes at some suitable time 

 and place, with each improvement as- 

 sociation participating, better ideas 

 and new ambitions could be aroused, 

 which would stimulate the interest in 

 garden making throughout the city. 



These contests ought to take into 

 consideration all the different kinds 

 of municipal gardens and might be 

 considered missionary work in home 

 garden making and civic betterment; 

 no effort need be made to give large 

 prizes. 



The vacant lot gardens would of 

 course be either children's gardens or 

 purely vegetable gardens. The. prop- 

 erty usually being rented, may at any 

 time be utilized for building or other 

 purposes: for this reason, persons do- 

 ing the gardening cannot afford to pay 

 a big rental, and should get as much 

 for their efforts as possible. These 

 gardens would be judged upon the 



