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horticulture: 



October 8, 1910 



Obituary, 



Max Leichtlin. 

 With Max Leichtlin, who died at the 

 age of 80 years on September 3 at 

 Baden-Baden, the horticultural world 

 has lost an eminent horticulturist and 

 and enthusiastic lover of plants whose 

 name is intimately associated with the 

 introduction to cultivation of a great 

 number of valuable plants. He was 

 chiefly interested in hardy plants and 

 more" particularly in bulbous plants 

 and he not only introduced them, but 

 also cultivated and propagated them 

 successfully and improved many by 

 hybridization and selection. He was 

 perhaps better known in this country 

 and in England than any other German 

 horticulturist, because he was a .fre- 

 quent contributor to the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle and to the Garden and In 

 this country to Garden & Forest, where 

 from 1890 to 1S98— when this publica- 

 tion ceased to appear— numerous 

 articles of his pen can be found. He 

 also sent seeds and plants of trees 

 and shrubs introduced by him to the 

 Arnold Arboretum, though his interest 

 In trees and shrubs was not as great 

 as in herbaceous plants. 



He was born at Carlsruhe, Germany, 

 in October, 1831. At the age of fifteen 

 he became an apprenticed gardener 

 and served later at Fi-ankfort, Boll- 

 weiller and Ghent. Afterwards he 

 traveled for several years and returned 

 from South America in 1856 to spend 

 a short time at the botanic garden in 

 Dublin and then two years with Van 

 Houtte in Ghent. From Ghent he 

 went again to Carlsruhe to engage in 

 the business of paper manufacturing 

 with his two brothers and devoted 

 himself for fifteen years entirely to 

 this occupation. Having then acquired 

 a small fortune he retired to Baden- 

 Baden and founded a private botanic 

 garden and began to collect and to 

 cultivate hardy plants and pai-ticularly 

 bulbous plants. At one time he had 

 the best collection of lilies, later of 

 irises, gladioli, tulips, also of nerines, 

 crocus, colchicums and other bulbs. 

 He also introduced many other hardy 

 jilants, as Ramondia Heldreichii, Os- 

 trowskia magniflca the largest known 

 Bellflower, Meconopsis aculeata, Telli- 

 raa parvifiora, Incarvillea Delavayi, 

 Haberlea rhodopensis, several species 

 of Eremurus, Primula and others. He 

 raised a number of valuable plants by 

 hybridization of which perhaps the 

 best known are Gladiolus Childsii and 

 Aubrietia Leichtlini. Quite a number 

 of his introductions were named in 

 his honor, as Lilium Leichtlini, Knip- 

 hofia Leichtlini, Calochortus Leichtlini, 

 Freesia Leichtlini, Milla Leichtlini and 

 others; also a genus, Leichtlinia, was 

 named after him, but this is generally 

 considered only a section of Agave. 

 He was probably better known and 

 more appreciated in England than in 

 his native country; one volume of the 

 "Botanical magazine" and also one vol- 

 ume of the "Garden" was dedicated to 

 him: he was awarded the Veitch mem- 

 orial medal and the great gold medal 

 for his services to horticulture. As the 

 introduction of new plants from for- 

 eign countries difficult of access was 

 connected with great expense and as 

 he was not inclined to exploit his in- 



trcducticns commercially, he died quite 

 a poor man after having sold his house 

 and garden a few years ago on account 

 of his failing health. 



Mrs. Richard Witterstaetter. 



The Horists of Cincinnati hsve suf- 

 fered an irreparable loss through the 

 death of Mrs. R. Witterstaetter. The 

 sad event came so suddenly and un- 

 expectedly that it is difficult to realize 

 that she will be no more at the place 

 she loved so well — at home, sweet 

 home: and that we shall never again 

 feel the warm clasp of the hand with 

 which she was wont to greet her 

 friends. Of her it can only be said, 

 that she was an ideal woman, simple 

 in her every-day life, kind to all and 

 a steadfast friend. The funeral took 

 place from the family residence Oct. ^, 

 and the remains were laid to rest in 

 beautiful Spring-Grove cemetery. The 

 floral tributes were magnificent and 

 too numerous to describe separately. 

 Mr. Witterstaetter and his aged moth- 

 er have our sympathy in this hour of 

 bereavement. 



TO CURB THE EXPRESS COM- 

 PANIES. 



The opposition to the methods of the 

 express companies has reached such a 

 point that the railroads are seriously 

 considering whether to end the express 

 business by taking over that branch of 

 transportation themselves. Already 

 some of the larger lines are running 

 their own express departments. The 

 change will not necessarily mean an 

 end of all the bad practices of the ex- 

 press trade. The main advantage 

 would be that everything would be 

 more directly under the control of the 

 State and Government conditions, and 

 any excessive rates or unfair condi- 

 tions would be promptly taken up by 

 these officials. The associations of 

 business men, bankers, farmers, etc., 

 are working as never before to secure 

 relief from the express monopoly, and 

 success seems nearer than at any time 

 in the pusL—.-tim-r- Cullivalor. 



CLUB AND SOCIETY NOTES. 



The florists of Janesville, O., with 

 their employes, held a picnic recently 

 at Moxahala Park. Among the athlet- 

 ic diversions was a game of baseball 

 between the men and the women, in 

 which the fair sex won by a score of 

 15 to 14. On this occasion permanent 

 organization as a Florists' Club was ef- 

 fected and meetings will be held 

 monthly. J. T. Goodlive was elected 

 president, Edward Caton, secretary, 

 and Henry Schwab, treasurer. 



THE WASHINGTON FLOWER 

 SHOW. 



The Washington florists have decid- 

 ed to hold their floral show this year 

 in Convention Hall, which has a seat- 

 ing capacity of about 8000 persons, In 

 connection with the National Manufac- 

 turers' and Householders' Show, Octo- 

 ber 24 to November 5. This will prob- 

 ably be the most elaborate, ambitious 

 show ever held by the florists of the 

 Capital City. Heretofore the flower 

 show has been held in Masonic Temple. 

 A proposition was made to the florists 

 by the management of the National 

 Manufacturers' and Householders" 

 Show to give 12,000 square feet for a 

 floral display and the offer was ac- ^ 

 cepted. 



A feature will be the Japanese sa- 

 cred mountain, Fujiuama, surmounted 

 by a pagoda. There will be another 

 peak with a windmill surmounting it, 

 and from the mill a stream will fall 

 in cascades, giving room for artistic 

 treatment. In the pagoda tea will be 

 served. There will be rustic fences, 

 and a big temple suggestive of the 

 Orient, while pergolas, rock work, urns, 

 er pieces and other features will com- 

 plete a striking exhibit. The idea is 

 an enlargement of the decorations at 

 the big banquet at the Willard Hotel 

 given to President Taft before he start- 

 ed, when secretary of war, on his fa- 

 mous trip to the Orient. 



F. J. DYER. 



At the last meeting of the Spring- 

 field, O., Florists' Club, John M. 

 Good and George H. Mellen were 

 appointed a committee to circulate 

 among local florists a petition for 

 the adoption tif a parcel post system 

 by Congress. The candidates for Con- 

 gress from this district will be inter- 

 viewed and requested to define their 

 attitude toward the question, it being 

 the opinion of the members that the 

 real opposition originates among the 

 express companies of the country. The 

 Club voted a contribution of $25 to the 

 publicity department of the postal de- 

 partment of the postal congress league 

 of New York City. 



A SILVER WEDDING. 



Mr. and Mrs. William Keith of Med- 

 ford, Mass.. observed the 25th anniver- 

 sary of their wedding on September 

 30. Friends and neighbors gathered 

 at a nearby house, and headed by a 

 bagpiper, surprised them in the even- 

 ing by marching into their home and 

 voiced their congi-atulations through 

 a local orator, at the same time pre- 

 senting them with a solid silver tea 

 set. An informal reception with the 

 usual refreshments on such an occa- 

 sion followed. The company numbered 

 nearly fifty, coming from various parts 

 of New England and New York state. 

 A good deal of talent was among them, 

 and the tendering of readings and 

 songs contributed much to the even- 

 ing's enjoyment. 



Mr. Keith has been head gardener for 

 General S. C. Lawrence for about 26 

 years, and deserves credit for the neat 

 and well-kept appearance of the orna- 

 mental part of this large estate, which 

 is at all times open to the public, thou- 

 sands visiting it every season. Mr. 

 and Mrs. Keith are natives of Aber- 

 deenshire, Scotland, and came to Amer- 

 ica many years ago. 



We have received a copy of the four- 

 page periodical issued semi-monthly as 

 the organ if the St. Louis Florist Club. 

 We congratulate our St. Louis friends 

 on the commendable local enterprise 

 displayed in the goodly number of ad- 

 vertisements which the Bulletin car- 

 ries. 



No less than 100,000,000 seedlings, 

 for the purpose of budding and graft- 

 ing, are brought info this country by 

 the nursery importing interests every 

 year. 



