For October. I'^2l 



743 



tion for roses, there will be no doabt about this. I am told, after 

 an ordinary Winter, the circiniis'ances in Euro'je only represent 

 sixty per cent, of the o-'iginal hu'ldmcr. But on the other hand, 

 those people are using iimnctli roses which have no value in our 

 climate. The American nurserymen, or the Eastern ones who 

 are budding roses, use the up-to-date stalk of the muUiflora. The 

 American roses iiave practically no stem today ; tliey are budding 

 on the root. 



Now then, when we get to teaching these young men from time 

 to time they will become great experts in budding. As labor 

 conditions change they will work probably for $3 or $4 a day 

 instead of getting as I said from $.S to $15. Then the prices of 

 ros^s are going to come down. Everything leading up to the 

 present cuhivation of roses has been brouglit about during the 

 ])eriod of high prices. Don't expect either to buy up-to-date 

 nursery stock of rhododendrons or evergreens for a song for the 

 ne.xt year; you are not going to do it any more than you are 

 going to buy the roses Prices are going to be just as cheap as 

 they possibly could be. Taking Europe, for instance, I want 

 to ask if, in several sections where they are growing commercial 

 roses, five shillings is cheap? 



We have this v^ar imported two hundred and some odd varie- 

 ties of roses and have paid as much as three and four pounds for 

 them. I want to know if we wouldn't like to produce roses 

 in this country at such a price. We will be glad by and by to 

 produce hundreds of thousands of them for fifty, sixty and 

 seventy cents a piece. 



CHAIRMAN H.WEMEYER: Can't we hear from somebody 

 else? 



More About Quarantine 37 



PRESIDENT CRAIG: Mr. Cameron, the first speaker, is as 

 strongly opposed to Quarantine No. 37 as I am, but at any meet- 

 ing where I say something he takes the opposite side. Now he 

 is just as aware as I am that there are quantities of Elizabeth 

 Campbell phlo.x to be had in Massachusetts. Mr. Atkins' argu- 

 ments are all in favor of Quarantine No. 37. He admits they 

 will sell roses at three for a quarter when they are popularized 

 in stores I-Ie do?s not tell you that they ask one dollar for one 

 now, which will not popularize them. Furthermore, he says 

 that the stocks these roses were budded on were unsuitable. We 

 have roses which we have tested out and they are just as vigor- 

 ous today on manetti stocks and are just as suitable as the mnlti- 

 iiora, he recommends. Nurserymen are coming around to view 

 Quarantine No. 37 somewhat differently. They say now: "Here 

 is a chance to shut out all foreign importations. Here is a chance 

 for us to make good. Here is a chance for us to charge $5 for 

 a plant that is only v.'orth $1 and soak the big people for it." 



They tell us plants have brought in mealy-bugs, scales and 

 red spiders and cattleya flies. They say these flies came in on 

 orchids, but in some cases they were here before we grew any 

 orchids. Now orchids are entirely debarred and why? No 

 reason for it. Some of our producers here are raising quantities 

 of orchids and are trying to load us up. Many beautiful flowers 

 which ought to come in here cannot. Now are you going to 

 debar everything to build up an .American horticulture with a 

 miserable and bad choice of subjects? 



Mr. .\tkins is going to propagate, he says, thousands of roses 

 and rhododendrons. Probably others are also. Well, they want 

 to compel people here to buy the certain things which they can 

 propagate most easily and in greatest quantities. That is not 

 broadening horticulture, that is stultifying it. I say we ought 

 to adopt a incisure here to permit individuals as well as nursery- 

 men to bring ni, if they want, what is raised by the best efiforts 

 of European horticulture. They are just as skillful and. perhaps, 

 more skillful then wc are. \Vc have no one here to do the work 

 in horticulture that Le Macusc has done for France. .\ wealth 

 of peonies and qi'.aiitities of other plants and bulbs are all de- 

 barred now. These are all debarred except certain ones when 

 nurserymen bring them in and propagate them for general public 

 use. We are likewi.sc denied many beautiful things from Corea, 

 Manchuria. China and Japan. 



Now, what is the sense in admitting tulips, daft'odils. lily-of-the- 

 valley and such, and debarring those innocent, lovely, harmless 

 China phlox, Achillea, Spanish Iris and English Iris. They have 

 never been known to bring in any pests so why debar them? The 

 whole thing is utterly wrong and narrow. If the policy were 

 carried out to the letter it wouUl simply prevent all export tradi-. 

 I think that the thoughtful and intelligent horticulturists will all 

 agree with me that we ought to let the bars down and allow 

 Naure's beauty to come in so as not to inllict any hardships on 

 our Melds, forests and gardens. We can't put the bars on the 

 corn-borer. He has gotten into Ohio because he was blown over 

 the whole of Lake Erie. You can't quarantine the winds and the 

 corn-borer came in a bundle of hemp. Vou can't quarantine hemp, 



I can't see how anyone could '.ie so narrow as to debar all our 

 good, new and interc.=;ti;ig thin-;s from the general buving public 

 simply because certain commercial interests here hope to in- 



crease production and sell their products eventually at higher 

 prices. 



MR. CAMERON: What is the Western point of view? 



MR. PRING: We do not favor it; we want it moderated. I 

 was very much pleased when Mr. Craig mentioned orchids ; that 

 is my particular hobby, or one of them. During my connection 

 with the Missouri Botanical Garden we have imported orchids 

 for a few years and have been trying to locate the so-called 

 dreaded cattleya flies. I found by the systematic use of cyanide 

 of potassium gas that the insect would be eradicated within six 

 weeks. That :s one of the greatest orchid pests. Orchids are 

 not allowed to be iinported in this country without a special per- 

 mit. We have not imported any since Quarantine No. 37 came 

 into prominence. Pre\ious to ihat we would import various 

 tropical plants, especially those which would impress the people 

 by their economic value. Now we have to go through so much 

 led tape we would rather not try to import them. 



As regards ihe propagation of rose cultivation and rhododen- 

 drons, I am afraid I can't enter into that argument with Mr. 

 .\tkins because we can't grow them in our section of the country. 



MR. STEWART : How does Mr. Pring fumigate per thousand 

 feet for the cattleya fly? 



MR PRING: I use 2-2-2. which is 2 oz. water, 2 oz. sulphuric 

 acid of good percentage, 2 oz. cyanide of potassium, to 2,000 

 cubic feet of air space. If you let that dry you will kill the flies. 

 Prevention is better than cure when the cattleya fly or any other 

 disease is around. 



PRESIDENT CR.\IG: Before we arljourn I think we owe a 

 debt of thanks to Mr. Havemeyer, Mr. Boyd, Mrs. Sloan and 

 others for coming here today and talking to us in such a practi- 

 cal way. I think we ought to have a rising vote ot thanks for 

 those who came here today and gave us such interesting talks. 

 Does anyone make the motion? 



... A motion was made and seconded that a rising vote of 

 thanks be extended to Mrs, Sloan, Mr. Havemeyer and Mr. Boyd 

 for their kindness in coming and addressing the meeting. The 

 •audience arose and appbiuded, following which the meeting ad- 

 journed. 



WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 12, 1921. 



The meeting convened at ten o'clock, President Craig presiding. 

 PRESIDENT CRAIG: We will call for the report of the 

 Secretary as the first order of business for the day. 



Secretary's Report 



Notwithstanding the many prophecies following the increase 

 in dues voted at the St. Louis convention last \ear that the as- 

 sociation would suffer a severe loss in membership, quite the op- 

 po.site has happened. The association received less than 40 resig- 

 nations due to the increase in dues and secured 145 new members, 

 also 49 sustaining members. 



The association was, however, not so successful in some of the 

 undertakings it had planned due to the general unsettled condi- 

 tions of the country, but these have been only temporarily sus- 

 pended, and just as soon as the time is ripe they will be' taken 

 up again. 



The various committees have labored faithfully to carry out 

 the work assigned to them, as will be indicated by their reports. 



The co-operation that the Gardener's .\ssociation is receiving 

 from other horticultural organizations indicates that the work of 

 the last ten years has not been without its fruitful results, and 

 efforts continued in the present direction for the next two or three 

 years will gain for tlie association recognition among country 

 cst.ite owners as the influential body in the gardening profession. 

 This will prove so if we can obtain the co-operation of the in- 

 dividual members to secure imblicity for the association, when- 

 ever the opportunity presents itself by discussing it. 



.■\ successful local branch was organized during the last year 

 in Nassau County, L. I., and a movement is now on foot to 

 organize a similar branch in Westchester County, N. Y. A Cali- 

 fornia member visited the office a few weeks ago on his way from 

 Europe and on his return to the Pacific Coast with the intention 

 of organizing a Pacilic Coast branch. The more of these branch- 

 es we can have the more good can be accomplished for the pro- 

 fession they rciiresent. 



.\t the New ^'ork Spring Flower Show the association main- 

 tained a booth, the benefits of which were not immediate, but are 

 making themselves felt today by people who became acquainted 

 at that time with the existence of the organi:<ation. 



The most active department has been the Service Bureau, 

 though, unfortunately, many members have been disappointed 

 because they could not bo aided, the trouble being that there were 

 a great many more gardeners looking for positions than positions 

 offering. There appears to be some good cause for optimism 

 that conditions will change in the near future and that they will 

 :niprove in the gardening profession. Of course, the gardening 

 ])rofession had to suffer with all other lines of business, but I 

 believe it will be one of the first to recover. 



