June 29, 1918 



HOKTICULTURE 



641 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 



George Gouldmaii, who for several 

 years was with the Washington Floral 

 Company, but more recently with 

 George C. Shaffer and the Louis 

 Flower Shop, is reported as having 

 joined the Marine Corps. 



Wood and peat, when not subjected 

 to railroad transportation, may be 

 used by florists in addition to the coal 

 that will be allowed them, according 

 to an announcement of the United 

 States Fuel Administration, 



Miss Minnie E. Shea, bookkeeper 

 and cashier for the S. S. Pennock 

 Company, is taking an extended vaca- 

 tion, it being rumored that while ab- 

 sent from Washington she has become 

 the bride of a soldier boy at the An- 

 niston, Ala., camp. 



The sympathy of the entire trade is 

 with Frank Weaver, salesman for the 

 Leo Niessen Company, he having just 

 met with the sad loss of his mother. 

 Mrs. Weaver had been seriously ill for 

 several months and it was while 

 undergoing an operation that she 

 passed away. The funeral was held 

 in St. Georje, Va. 



Calling attention to the necessity 

 for complying with the rules and reg- 

 ulations heretofore announced regard- 

 ing the necessity of obtaining import 

 certificates and affixing appropriate 

 supplemental information sheets to 

 applications for export licenses, the 

 War Trade Board announces that flow- 

 er seeds, except those of oil bearing 

 plants, and shrubs may now be ex- 

 ported to European Holland and Den- 

 mark proper. This permission to ex- 

 port flower seeds does not cover con- 

 signments to Sweden. 



OBITUARY. 



D. V. Kelley. 

 Many town officials of Dedham at- 

 tended the funeral of Daniel V. Kelley, 

 for a number of years custodian of the 

 Stone Park reservation grounds in 

 Dedham, held June 20 from his home, 

 129 Whiting avenue, Dedham, Mass. 



William J. McGee. 

 William J. McGee, aged 6.5, of the 

 florist firm of McGee & Geary. Salem, 

 Mass., died at his home June 22d. 

 after a brief illness. Mr. McGee was 

 one of the best known horticulturists 

 of the state. He is survived by two 

 brothers. 



Charles Harkett. 

 Charles Harkett, youngest son of 

 W. A. Harkett of Harketfs Floral and 

 Nursery Co. of Dubuque, Iowa, died on 

 June 17th after an illness of over four 

 months. He had charge of the cut- 

 flower and shipping department of 

 his father's concern for over twenty 

 years. 



PUBLICATION RECEIVED. 

 The Schedule of Premiums of the 

 Rhode Island Horticultural Society 

 for the exhibitions of 1918 is received. 

 It provides for exhibitions on Thurs- 

 day and Friday, Sept. 12-1.3 and No- 

 vember 14-15, to be held In the ball- 

 room of the Narragansett Hotel. The 

 September show will be devoted large- 

 ly to dahlias. 



REASONS FOR THE FOURTH EDI- 

 TION OF THE PEONY MANUAL. 



About twenty years ago people knew 

 little about the Peony and there were 

 very few sales. As nearly as 1 can 

 ascertain the first issue of the Manual 

 doubled the amount sold. About this 

 time there was a new impetus given 

 to raising peonies from seed. This 

 multiplied the number rapidly. W^ith 

 the increase of better varieties the 

 price increased. One sold as high as 

 one hundred dollars a root. Some sold 

 for twenty-five. Many went from five 

 to ten dollars. Amateurs also took 

 the matter up. Two of the leading 

 lawyers in St. Paul. Minnesota, started 

 as beginners and kept on until they 

 had quite a collection. One real es- 

 tate dealer, having plenty of money, 

 sent to France for the choicest Europe 

 could produce. In a few years he had 

 a splendid collection of the finest in 

 America. He then commenced selling 

 them and has sold thousands of dollars 

 worth. The business increased so rap- 

 idly that it was hard to keep out of the 

 way of it. So the second and third 

 editions of the peony manual were 

 rapidly absorbed. 



There are so many hundreds of su- 

 perior merit recently thrown on the 

 market that we propose to discard 

 many of the old sorts, and put in those 

 of much higher merit. The question 

 of value of the new and superior ones 

 at a higher price is a very important 

 one. Will it pay? Take one for in- 

 stance costing twenty-five dollars. 

 With care in ten years you will have 

 five hundred, which brings them down 

 to fifty cents apiece. This certainly 

 is not unreasonable for the best grade 

 of flowers. 



We flnd that there is a great differ- 

 ence in the readiness of blooming and 

 the high quality among the newer 

 sorts. Take for instance two of the 

 recent ones. One is Richard Carvel. 

 It is a resplendent red of glistening 

 beauty. I had six planted late last fall 

 and every one of them bloomed this 

 spring. They were very fragrant 

 withal. The other, Carl Rosenfield. 

 took six years to produce one decent 

 flower. It had six roots in six years 

 which sold at two dollars apiece. Rich- 

 ard Carvel in the same time had eigh- 

 teen roots, every one of which was 

 eager to bloom on the least provoca- 

 tion. Each root would quickly bring 

 five dollars. So you can judge for 

 yourself which would be the most 

 profitable. 



People are often deterred from en- 

 tering into peony growing on account 

 of the excessive prices they must pay 

 on the start for the best kinds. W^e 

 are to remember that many of the old 

 sorts like Mme. d' Vernville. EduUs 

 Superba and Festiva >Maxima have 

 never lost their primitive value and 

 they can be had at very reasonable 

 rates now. You can start with the 

 very best of the old sorts and get up 

 a fine collection tor about twenty-flve 

 cents each and you will have some- 

 thing you will not be ashamed of. 



With all these facts before us we are 

 impelled to get out a new edition on 

 a large scale and as cheap as possible. 

 No advertisements will be received 

 for this edition. 



C. S. Habwson. 

 York, Neb. 



Cambridf* 



9 



N*w Tark 



WOBLD'8 OL.DE8T and I^AKOEST 



Mannfaotarcn of AIX STTLKS and 

 SIZES of 



FLOWER POTS 



A. H. HEWS & CO., INC. 



Cambridge, Mass. 



LOOK OUT FOR CORNSTALK 

 BORER. 



One of the most destructive insect 

 pests of corn, known as the European 

 cornstalk borer, discovered in eastern 

 Massachusetts last summer, is spread- 

 ing rapidly to other neighboring lo- 

 calities, according to entomologists of 

 the United States Department of Ag- 

 riculture. The most vigorous and en- 

 ergetic action possible will be required 

 on the part of farmers and gardeners, 

 country agents, and entomolgists if the 

 pest is to be eradicated or satisfactor- 

 ily controlled, the specialists declare 

 in a statement just issued. 



It is known that shipments of infest- 

 ed ears of sweet corn were shipped 

 last year to practically all the New 

 England States before the presence of 

 the worm was discovered. Corn grow- 

 ers are warned to be on the alert to 

 discover this pest in growing corn or 

 within the stalks of last year's crop, 

 and gardeners are urged to watch for 

 it in such vegetables as tomatoes, 

 beans, and some of the common weeds. 

 In the caterpillar stage this pest when 

 full grown is about 1 inch in length, 

 grayish in color, and covered with 

 numerous small, round, dark-colored 

 specks. Persons discovering the in- 

 sect are urged to communicate imme- 

 diately with the State agricultural 

 college or the Bureau of Entomology. 

 United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Washington, D. C. 



This pest bores into the cornstalks 

 at the joints beneath the leaf sheaths 

 or into the bases of the ears. As 

 many as two dozen caterpillars have 

 been found inhabiting one dry stalk. 

 The insects pass the winter in the 

 pupal or resting stage protected inside 

 the stalks or stems of corn or weeds 

 of the previous year's growth. When 

 they are found in such places in the 

 spring or summer the dry vegetation 

 should be carefully gathered and im- 

 mediately burned to destroy the pest. 



Seaweed Is a good fertilizer to use 

 for potatoes. It is used in Great 

 Britain quite extensively, about thirty 

 tons to an acre. It is excellent for 

 other vegetables especially the root 

 crops. 



