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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



others have signified their intentions of doing so. The lack of 

 interest on the part of the gardeners themselves, to attract the 

 young men to the profession was said to be the greatest handicap 

 to the success of this movement, but it was hoped that as the 

 plans develop further, this apathy will disappear. 



P. F. Foley, of Chicago, referred to an orphanage of a fraternal 

 society located in Illinois, which teaches the vocation of floricul- 

 ture, both under glass and outdoors, to the boys, and suggested 

 that this institution might prove an excellent source of supply for 

 apprentices when the boys are old enough to be sent forth into 

 the world. On motion the secretary was instructed to comrnum- 

 cate with the officials of this institution, and advise them of the 

 plans of the association for training young men. 



On the recommendation of secretary Ebel. George H. Pring and 

 Montague Free were appointed a committee to co-operate with him 

 in conducting the work of placing young men in positions where 

 they will receive the necessary training to fit them for the pro- 

 fession. 



The meeting adj(iurned to convene at two o'clock in the after- 

 noon. 



WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION 



The Wednesday afternoon session convened promptly to dis- 

 cuss the several "papers presented to it for consideration. 



The Threatened Food Crisis: How Can the Gardeners and 

 Their Association Assist in Relieving It? 



W. N. Craig— after reviewing the 1920 food production situation. 

 the present-day tribulations of the farmers, owing to farm labor 

 shortage, high cost of farm machinery, increased freight rates, 

 and poor market facilities; and the returns of the 1920 census, 

 showing a steady trend of the rural population to the cities — pro- 

 fessed that he is not over optimistic on the food outlook for 1921. 

 Reverting to the gardeners, and what can be accomplished by home 

 gardens in relieving the food situation. Mr. Craig continued; too 

 many gardeners, sometimes good practical men at that, are obsessesd 

 with the idea that now that the World War is ended conditions 

 will speedily right themselves and they can drop back into the 

 even tenor "of their ways. I yield to none in my sincere regard 

 for all that is artistic and beautiful in our profession, and am 

 glad to see the floricultural end coming back into its own grad- 

 ually, but we are not by any means out of the woods, and can- 

 not afford to drift back into pre-war conditions. I consider 

 it to be still the bounden duty of every practical gardener to 

 produce every ounce of food he can, even if some neglect to the 

 purely ornamental is unavoidable. Thoughtful employers realize 

 better than many of their gardeners how necessary it is to keep 

 up food production, and with the increased freight rates it is 

 more than ever your duty to relieve transportation as much as 

 possible by producing all we can at home. 



No one loves ornamental horticulture more than I do, but it is 

 unpatriotic and selfish to neglect the utilitarian as too many are 

 doing today. The "back to the farm" movement, "a consumma- 

 tion devoutly to be wished" is traveling via the garden many aver. 

 Many have planted a garden ; liked the sample of crop growing 

 which it gave, and wanted more. Then they started dreaming 

 of a small farm. For some, dreams have come true and may 

 their number steadily increase ! There is nothing more likely to 

 cure a man of any Bolshevistic tendency which may lurk in his 

 system than a garden or farm to care for. 



It has been truly said that it is not really a home unless there 

 is a garden of some size attached to it. Without a garden "tis 

 merely a house in which people dwell for a longer or shorter 

 period. The very word "home" indicates, it seems to me, con- 

 tented parents, happy children, household pets, and gardens where 

 vegetables and flowers are grown. The garden ties the home to 

 the land, and what our country needs is more tying of this kind. 



More gardening through so called "war gardens" and now con- 

 sidered as home gardens, has been done in the past few years 

 than ever Ijefore. Much of it started as a patriotic duty, but 

 many continue it as they enjoy it and finil it both pleasant and 

 profitable to do so. Not a few took gardening up as a mere fad 

 and now cling to it as a well-worth-while fact. It is in the power 

 of the members of our association to support in every conceivable 

 way this home garden and "back to the farm" movement. We 

 cannot afford to have it linger and die. 



If the cost of living is to come down, we must produce more, 

 and urge others to do likewise. We need more producers and not 

 an increasing army of non-producers and consumers, in addition 

 to more up-to-date marketing methods. There are probably some 

 who will consider the danger of any near food shortage as very 

 unlikely, but decreased crop acreage will result from low prices 

 to the farmer, and a single poor harvest may bring dire disaster 

 to multitudes. Without seeking to be at all pessimistic, I would 

 urge continued and careful attention to food production on every 

 gardener as a strictly patriotic duty. 



In the general discussion Mr. Craig's views were upheld. 



Will the Farmerettes Solve the Problem of Help Shortage 

 on Country Estates? 



There was no dissension in the views entertained on the part 

 which the farmerettes have performed on country estates in 

 alleviating to some extent the help shortage during and since the 

 war. It was agreed by those in a position to observe thevyork 

 of the farmerettes that in most instances they were highly cfiicient. 

 taking a keen interest in whatever duties were assigned to them, 

 and usually were found to be steady workers. However, it was 

 not believed that the young women who engage in this work 

 do so with any idea of permanency, but that they go into the 

 gardens to gain practical experience which will assist them later, 

 combined with iheir theoretical training, to become instructors 

 or designers, or to embark in one of the many departments of 

 commercial horticulture. That the employment of farmerettes on 

 country estates will solve the problem of help shortage was not 

 generally affirmed. 



Mr. Ebel suggested that there should be a distinction between 

 the young women working in gardens and those working on the 

 farms, known as farmerettes, and proposed the name gardenerette 

 to designate the garden workers. 



A motion was carried to submit the name gardenerette to the 

 Woman's National Farm and Garden Association, which was 

 recognized as the national organization representing the women 

 who are engaged in gardens and on farms, for its approval. 



The Sign Board Nuisance Defacing Our Highways: How 

 Can It Be Combated Effectively? 



Mr. Ebel submitted a paper to the convention on the sign 

 board nuisance, in which he said : 



The National Association of Gardeners has been requested by 

 one of its sustaining members, Mrs. Samuel Sloan, a prominent 

 country estate owner of New York, and vice-president of the 

 Garden Club of America, to enter its protest at its convention 

 against the sign board nuisance which is causing the despoliation 

 of the landscape views along our highways. 



The desecration of our highways by unsightly sign boards is 

 assuming the form of a real menace, and unless some united 

 action is taken on the part of all organizations and individuals 

 concerned in seeing the handiwork of Nature conserved along our 

 highways, the sign lioard interests will soon obscure it. 



Legislation, we are firmly convinced, will avail of little, for 

 while it may be possible to regulate the use of property along 

 the roadway, it will be difficult to regulate what a property 

 owner may do fifty or more feet removed from the roadside, 

 especially outside of city and suburban limits where local ordi- 

 nances do not control conditions. Our grievance, however, is 

 against the defacement of our highways. There are already 

 many statutes in many stales to regu'ate bill boards and sign 

 boards, but few seem effective, judging by the encroachments 

 the sign boards have made the past few years. 



The most effective weapon to employ to combat the sign board 

 nuisance is to create a public sentiment that will discourage our 

 national advertisers from using sign boards along our highways: 

 and this method will be far easier than to attempt to secure 

 laws which would meet the opposition of the sign board interests 

 who have millions of dollars invested in their enterprise. 



Pulilic sentiment is not in favor of sign boards marring the 

 natural beauties along our highways. With the greater interest 

 manifested in country life, and the more extensive use of the 

 highways by the automobilist. opposition to the sign boards, if 

 once stirred, will be greater than it has ever been. 



As an aroused public opinion, supported by the "power of the 

 press." no doubt, is the most feasible means of curbing the sign 

 board nuisance, and thereby conserving the natural beauties along 

 our highways. I recommend that our association take the initiative 

 to create a nation-wide agitation to cause the abolishment of the 

 use of the sign boards through a thoroughly organized movement, 

 and that all interested organizations be invited to co-operate in 

 such a movement. 



After some discussion, which was all in opposition to the sign 

 board nuisance, the following resolution was adopted : 



Whereas, it has become quite evident that if the sign board 

 interests are permitted to continue unmolested they will soon suc- 

 ceed in the despoliation of the beauties of the natural scenery 

 along our highways. 



Therefore, be it resolved, that the National Association of 

 Gardeners take the initiative to institute a country-wide propa- 

 ganda to arouse an indignant public sentiment against the sign 

 board interests and certain national advertisers who are with 

 unsightly sign boards defacing the landscape views along our 

 highways, and 



Be it further resolved, that the National Association of 

 Gardeners invites all other organizations, interested in having 

 the natural scenery along the country's highways protected and 

 conserved, to co-operate with it in suppressing the sign board 

 vandalism. 



