484 



HORTICULTURE 



May IS, IK IS 



NEW YORK FLORISTS' CLUB 



The New York Florists' Club hud an 

 exceptionally IntcrestinK and prollta- 

 hie nieetlns on Monday night, May 

 IS. Two special speakers, both from 

 Ihe Bay State, were promised and 

 there was a big audience present to 

 greet them. These, together with 

 some local addresses on timely topics, 

 an unusually flne lot ot exhibits, suf- 

 ficed to hold the crowd si ellbound 

 until a few minutes before the mid- 

 night hour. 



The session previous to the usual 

 intermission for refreshments was de- 

 voted to routine business. Committee 

 reports and an address full of pathos 

 and touching appeal by F. R. New- 

 bold, on behalf of the sick and wound- 

 ed in the hospitals here and in 

 Prance asking the members to "Say 

 It with flowers for our boys"' in co- 

 operation with the American Red 

 Cross and the Fund for the Ameri- 

 can Wounded in France, an organiza- 

 tion which is doing an untold work 

 In full accord with the Red Cross 

 activities. The result of Mr. New- 

 hold's plea was the appointment ot a 

 committee to establish and follow up 

 a system of flower distribution on be- 

 half of the florists of Greater New 

 ■york, which it is hoped will speedily 

 extend to every section of the United 

 States, and an unanimous vote ap- 

 propriating from the club funds the 

 price of a Ford car for use by the 

 hospital nurses in Prance in their 

 work of mercy. The Horticultural 

 Society of New York had made a 

 similar appropriation for a car and 

 others are expected. 



Following the intermission Ken- 

 neth Gillett ot Southwick, Mass., 

 read a well written paper on the sub- 

 ject of Native Plants, describing 

 their charming characteristics under 

 cultivation and presenting in a con- 

 vincing manner the attractiveness of 

 special gardens devoted exclusively to 

 the cultivation ot the unsurpassed 

 flora of our own country. He regret- 

 ted the unfamiliarity of professional 

 planters and the average garden 

 owners with the native ferns and 

 flowers and expressed the belief that 

 the near future would see a much 

 greater popular interest in this class 

 of plants, which is capable of yielding 

 so much pleasure. 



\Vm. H. Elliott of Boston. .Mass., and 

 Madbury, N. H., spoke on The Green- 

 house Business in War Time, touch- 

 ing on the many serious problems that 

 confront the commercial (lorist at the 

 present time and in his planning for 

 the future, giving attention princi- 

 pally to the all-important fuel ques- 

 tion as affected by recent ofTicial rul- 

 ings and orders. Mr. Klliott advanced 

 the view that the restriction to 50 

 per cent ot the greenhouse man's nor- 

 mal supply of coal is unintentionally 

 unfair in that it compels him to stand 

 for more than his proportionate share 

 of the cost ot the war, but that an 

 eventual benefit will undoubtedly ac- 

 crue to the business as a whole from 

 the enforcement of this rule and that 



in fact it would be rutlier in the na- 

 ture of 11 mis ortune to the business 

 an a whole if the greenhouses could 

 have all the coal they wanted undei 

 tlii- i:resent situation and outlook. Mr. 

 Klliott stated In regard to thi- mooted 

 question of the florists' right to use 

 wood without restriction if growing 

 on his own premises that he bad been 

 assured by the New Fngland admin- 

 istrator that there would be no inter- 

 ference. He said that a desperate 

 struggle Is on in New England terri- 

 tory between the coal dealers and the 

 fuel administration, the former with 

 a tremendous wealth and power back 

 of them, apparently having the best 

 of it thus far, and the florist is thus 

 placed "between the devil and the 

 deep sea." He declared that a rose 

 bouse run at 4S degrees will save one 

 half of the coal required to hold It at 

 611 degrees and that in a tryout of this 

 he had in the past season taken more 

 money out of a White Killarney house 

 so conducted. He urged more care- 

 ful firing and that much saving can 

 be effected by a thorough cleaning of 

 boiler tubes and by carrying over the 

 old roses in place of replanting with 

 young stock. 



Among the gentlemen who followed 

 .Mr. KUiott in discussion was Wallace 

 R. Pierson, who felt that If the florists 

 could only get their fuel allowance in- 

 creased to 70 per cent instead of .50 

 per cent they could get along all 

 riiiht and, with the better market val- 

 ues and the improved business meth- 

 ods forced upon the trade, the out- 

 come could not be other than satis- 

 factory. F. R. Pierson took a some- 

 what optimistic view of the situation. 

 He had been convinced that the flor- 

 ists would be obliged to get along 

 with a reduced coal supply but the 

 man having only one house cannot 

 possibly operate on a 50 per cent 

 limit. 



There was a superb exhibition of 

 lilacs from the T. A. Havemeyer es- 

 tate at Brookville, Long Island, Al- 

 bert Lahodney, superintendent. It 

 was commented upon as the finest 

 ever shown in the club room. Among 

 the varieties shown were the follow- 

 ing named: 



Rene Jery Desloges, Maccostatacia, 

 Pres. Emile Galle, Comtesse Horace 

 de Cboisene, Danton. Charles .loly. 

 Toussaint L'Overture. Othello, iJr. 

 Trozanowsky, Reaumur, Miss E. Will- 

 mott, Pres. Viger, Mme. F. Morel, 

 Pres. I>aubert, Edmund Boisier, Due 

 de Masse, Avalanche, Vulcan, Mme. 

 Ant. Buchner, Negro, Mongolfier, 

 Marechal Bassonpiere, Maxiniowitz. 

 .fules Ferry, Abel Carriere, Pasteur, 

 Montigne, Waldeck Roisseau, Nos. 68, 

 106. 151, 122 and 114, the latter appar- 

 ently being unnamed seedlings. This 

 exhibit was awarded a silver medal. 



P. W. Popp, gardener for .Mrs. H. 

 Darlington, made a remarkable dis- 

 play of Darwin. May flowering and 

 Breeder tulips, comprising about one 

 hundred varieties, all named, for 

 which he was awarded a silver medal, 

 also honorable mention for some 

 lilacs and for an exhibit of splendid 



piiiiHieH, a Hlruin iil N«w Kngluud 

 origin of which R. J. Irwin controls 

 the sale, .lames Stuart, superlntend- 

 cn' for Mrs. F. A. Constable, was 

 uiven a cultural certillcate for some 

 excellent plants of Calceolaria Stew- 

 iirtii strain In several colors and Red- 

 iii:in & Sons, Brooklyn, got honorable 

 incnllon for calceolarias. 



President Schcnck reported that 

 the sale of Liberty Bonds to the flor- 

 ists of (Jreater New York amounted 

 to $:!07,750. C. B. Weathered made 

 a |)artlal report for the Flower Show 

 committee showing total receipts of 

 $:'. 1,000 and a proflt over all of about 

 $(".00. A. Herrington read an eloquent- 

 ly worded resolution for the commit- 

 tee on the death of .1. Harrison Dick, 

 and C. H. Totty reported a contribu- 

 tion of over $6110 by members of the 

 club for the benefit of Mr. Dick's 

 widow and child. 



Some very interesting and pertl- 

 iirnt remarks were made by Wlnfred 

 Kolker, James McHutchlnson, Wal- 

 lace R. Pierson. Patrick O'Mara and 

 others regarding the proposed total 

 exclusion of all plants having soil 

 aliout the roots coming from foreign 

 countries and the great Importance of 

 having the trade well represented at 

 the hearing on this subject to be given 

 in Washington on May 28. A. L. 

 .Miller reported for the special com- 

 mittee on transportation to the S. A. 

 I'. Convention in St. Louis that the 

 Pennsylvania R. R. route was the per- 

 forred one. one-way fare to cost 

 $27.89. A committee was appointed 

 to prepare resolutions on the death of 

 .1. B. McArdle. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICUL- 

 TURAL SOCIETY. 

 The annual May Exhibition of the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 will be held at Horticultural Hall. 

 Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19. 

 The schedule calls for displays of 

 spring flowering bulbs, irises, pansles, 

 wild flowers, and early vegetables. In 

 the classes for greenhouse plants a fine 

 showing of calceolarias and pelar- 

 goniums is expected. The exhibition 

 is tree to the public and will be open 

 from 12 to 6 on Saturday and from 1 

 to 6 on Sunday. 



The Horticultural Society is devoting 

 much effort this year to the encour- 

 agement of home vegetable gardens 

 and to the increase of food produc- 

 tion. A professional gardener. .James 

 Warr, has been engaged for the season 

 to give instruction and answer ques- 

 tions on gardening matters. Mr. Warr 

 will be in attendance every day at 

 Horticultural Hall and all desiring in- 

 tormation are invited to make use of 

 tiio privilege offered. A plot ot earth 

 has been provided for practical dem- 

 onstrations in preparing the garden, 

 planting seeds, and transplanting. 

 There will be also exhibits of garden 

 implements, injurious insects and 

 methods of their control, canning and 

 drying vegetables, and beneficial birds. 

 Wm. P. Rich, Secretary. 



Horticultural Hall. Boston. 



