December 10, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



815 



watched this thing for years. We have 

 an interest in one of the furthest 

 north nurseries at Paynesville, under 

 the care of Prank Brown. Every year 

 I come up here and tal^e note of things 

 and, though at Yorlf, Neb., we have 

 by far the largest collection of orna- 

 mentals west of Chicago, yet every 

 time I visit Minnesota I am ashamed 

 of Nebraska, and if I was not too old 

 to transplant I would be with you. 

 There is no limit to what you can do. 

 Art can match nature and you can 

 have right here Elysians of beauty 

 scattered all over this northland. Your 

 vigorous winters would have their com- 

 pensation in gardens of delight and 

 landscapes unsurpassed in loveliness. 



It is the duty of the nurseryman to 

 proclaim the evangel of beauty. They 

 fell us there is no call for these things. 

 Then make a call. How did you make 

 a call for fruits? By faithfully pound- 

 ing facts into the people and by dem- 

 onstration. Now enter and conquer 

 this new field. The calling of the nur- 

 seryman is larger than the dollar, yet 

 incidentally there are more dollars In 

 it than in any other line of horticul- 

 ture. You can raise lilacs by grafting 

 on the ash. You raise syringas and 

 spireas by divisions and cuttings and 

 you raise perennials from seed. Take 

 the iris with its beauty you cannot 

 translate into language. You are baf- 

 fled in trying to describe is winsome- 

 ness. There are 500 varieties, reaching 

 from early spring until August. They 

 are not expensive and we often get 

 20 to 30 divisions from one plant in 

 two years. Peonies should double 

 every year. Phloxes should bring In 

 fivefold each season. You will soon get 

 sick of the lubberlift when you can 

 only get $25 in a great nursery box 

 and you can i)ut the same value in 

 a package you can take under your 

 arm. 



You should have your grounds 

 stocked with all the beautiful things 

 which will grow here. Get acquaintcU 

 with them yourself and have your 

 agents familiar with them. There 

 should be a committee appointed to 

 give a campaign of publicity, furnish- 

 ing articles for our agricultural papers 

 and also for the dailies and weeklies 

 scattered all over the land, to show 

 people just what they can do. Warn 

 them against sending thousands of dol- 

 lars east every year for things which 

 cannot grow in the west. 



What fortunes have been hidden in 

 single flowers! One carnation, they 

 say. sold for $30,000 and that was the 

 beginning of its value. The peony 

 Festiva Maxima has been worth a mil- 

 lion. The American Beauty rose has 

 been worth as much more. Talk about 

 mining! Why. the delightful fields of 

 nature are richer than the mines of 

 Golconda. There is much yet to be 

 done, new discoveries to make and you 

 may be the one to bring out of the un- 

 known treasures not yet seen by mor- 

 tal eyes. 



You can take a piece of sombre earth 

 and give it the beauty of the rainbow, 

 the brightness of the stars and the 

 splendor of the sunset. You can be 

 co-worker with God and it is a shame 

 to sit down supinely and do nothing 

 in the midst of such superb possibili- 

 ties. 



Let. this be your motto — have it en- 

 grained in your soul: 



Beauty is wealth. Raise a lot of 't 

 and be rich. 



SPRING BEDDING. 



The accompanying picture shows a 

 spring garden scene in the grounds of 

 the D. Willis .James estate at Madison, 

 N. J., which is under the charge of 

 William Duckham. The effectiveness 

 of the May flowering tulips in associa- 



tion with pansies, daisies and other 

 spring flowering bedding material is 

 well displayed. The gardens under 

 Mr. Duckhara's care are interesting 

 and well worth a visit at any season 

 of the year.. 



SWEET PEAS. 



A Paper Read Before tbe Detroit I^lorist 



(.'lub by Fred. Pautlie. 



Seed. 



It is very important and has much 

 influence on the future growth and 

 croii of sweet peas to have good, ripe 

 full-grown seed and it possible every 

 grower should raise his own seed of 

 the approved varieties in a well-pre- 

 pared soil very thinly (I recommend 

 fall sowing). After they are up, sup- 

 port them well so the vines will not 

 lie on the ground; it will keep mildew 

 off. Don't cut any flowers from those; 

 and the seed will be ripe in the latter 

 part of .July or in the first part of Au- 

 gust, ready for the winter's sowing 

 in the greenhouse. Don't try to save 

 any seed from left over greenhouse- 

 grown flowers, as the vitality is not 

 very great and sickly looking plants 

 will be the result. 



Soil. 



Any soil which will grow chrysan- 

 themums, carnations or roses is suit- 

 able. Use well-rotted cow manure and 

 plenty of it. After the plants have a 

 good height and are growing well, use 

 once a week nitrate of soda dllited. 

 J have grown sweet peas seven years 

 in the same soil with good results and 

 I am trying again for the eighth year 

 and the plants look very promising. 

 Planting. 



The time for sowing the seed all de- 

 pends upon when crop is wanted. The 

 first sowing for a good Christmas crop 

 in our climate should be made in the 

 first part of August. They will start 

 to bloom first part of November and 

 will give good long-stemmed flowers 

 for Christmas and will bloom all win- 

 ter. For April, May and June crop, 

 sow in December and January. Put 

 from three to four seeds six inches 

 apart, two inches deep, and let the 

 rows be three feet apart, on raised 



benches; the planting can be a little 

 closer. Keep the soil well moist in 

 hot weather; cover the ground with 

 paper and in eight days the seeds will 

 germinate. White seeded varieties 

 should be sown outdoors in cold 

 frames, dropping flve or six seeds close 

 icgether. Cover same with shaded 

 glass till they are up and then give full 

 sunlight, and in three weeks you will 

 have better results than from sowing 

 in little pots. 



Culture. 



It is very important to keep the 

 plants till they are about six inches in 

 height on the dry side, as too much 

 water will surely cause stem rot. Be 

 sure and give them support right from 

 the start. As soon as they show good 

 growth give more water; never neglect 

 to give all the air possible day and 

 night to insure a sturdy growth; be 

 careful about night air in late fall to 

 prevent mildew. 



Insects and Diseases. 



The biggest enemy of the sweet pea 

 is the red spider, which will attack it 

 in its early growth and, if not checked, 

 will soon destroy the plants. The best 

 remedy is a spray with nicoticide solu- 

 tion every two weeks and the spider 

 never gets there, which also will keep 

 the aphis and other insects in check; 

 keep a sharp lookout for the green 

 caterpillar which will chew off whole 

 oranches and which appears sometimes 

 in gieat numbers. The only remedy 

 here is hand picking. There is another 

 aphis which goes in the ground and 

 attacks the roots. But I cannot say 

 how big the damage is, as I have not 

 had any experience with it. In dis- 

 eases, stem-rot and mildew are the 

 most common. Stem-rot can be pre- 

 vented by being careful with water 

 and air when the plants are young and 

 not too close planting. For mildew 

 use flower of sulphur. Lately I have 



