July 8, 1905 



horticulture: 



OLD COLONY CUTTINGS 



A new florists' delivery wagon, unequalled, 

 with one exception, between Boston and 

 Brockton, has appeared in Quincy. It bears 

 the inscription "Derringer, Florist, Clover 

 Ave." Before this evidence of |ircK|.iniy, 

 Mr. Derringer resorted to various (k\i.r^ 

 for delivering his goods from an onlin.iiy 

 democrat or e.xjiress wagon. Sometimes his 

 flowers would be in boxes, sometimes on 

 a sheet spread over the bottom of the wagon, 

 or occasionally the driver had to hold the 

 piece in one hand while he drove with the 

 other. In these days of immense glass areas, 

 large capital, and highly systematized 

 methods in all departments of plant and 

 flower production for the wholesale market, 

 the grower with limited resources is firncd 

 to a careful consideration of condLti<ins, in 

 order to find a living chance for himself. It 

 is possible that in some instances, the best 

 chance is found, or made, in a supreme 

 effort to build up a business on strictly 

 retail Unes of which funeral work constitutes 

 an important part. Now, the writer of this 

 article is in full sympathy with that which 

 has appeared a number of times between 

 the hnes in the editorial columns of Horti- 

 culture — namely, that, in the evohitiun 

 of the supply and demand of the cut-llnwer 

 business, the time approaches when the ar- 

 rangement of flowers which brings out, in 

 the most artistic manner, the characteristics 

 of the individual flower, and its harmonious 

 relationship to its environment, will entirely 

 supersede the tooth-pick and wire. That 

 time has not yet fully come, however, and 

 therefore the only course to be taken where 

 piece and design is called for is to endeavor 

 to give the best possible satisfaction in that 

 class of work. Mr. Derringer has about 

 three thousand feet of glass which is used 

 to grow ferns, palms, flowering plants, and 

 bedding stock, confining his effort to build- 

 ing up a business upon strictly retail hnes 

 and has probably come nearer to success 

 than he would have done, had he tried to 

 grow for the wholesale market. ' 



The greenhouses, lawns, and gardens of 

 Miss Abby Bradley, at Hingham, under the 

 care of Harry Terry, gardener, are models 

 of neatness and synnmetry. The fair pro- 

 portions of many hnes in the flower and 

 vegetable garden, this year, however, have 

 been broken into by the ravages of the cut- 

 worm. A border of viola (tufted pansy), 

 in which are some lovely varieties and which 

 has made a fine show in former seasons is 

 l^adly mutilated. The vicious httle pests 

 have also cut off asters, peas, beans, and 

 onions. Plants have had to be reset and 

 seed sown a number of times to keep the 

 rows even approximately fuU. It is related 

 that some one asked the late Peter Hender- 

 son about a remedy for cut-worms. The 

 answer was, that a fortune awaited the man 

 who could find one. Doubtless this gar- 

 dener, in company with many others, would 

 be glad to contribute his mite towards the 

 fortune for an effectual remedy. Mr. Terry 

 among other things has fine plants of Nico- 

 tiana Sandera:, some of which are in bloom. 

 The blossoms are of a dehcate shade of 

 carmine-pink. They are very pretty but not 

 of the striking color which we exiiectcd to 

 see in this variety. 



Oscar Hay, gardener to Mr. Peter B. 

 Bradley, of Hingham, Mass., has cut 27,000 

 carnation blooms, from a 50 by 20 house, the 

 present season. Mr. Hay fiUed his benches 

 with a prepared compost of chopped sod, 

 that was partially rotted, and cow manure. 

 .\fter the plants were established lie gave 

 them a top dressing of Bradley's fertilizer 

 every ten days, using about ten pounds of 

 the same to a hundred square feet of bench 

 urface, and followed it immediateh- with an 



GRADUATING CLASS IN FLORICULTURE, MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL 

 COLLEGE 



Readers of Horticulture will be inter- 

 ested to see the accompanying photograph 

 of the graduating class in floriculture at the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, for 

 which we are indebted to Professor Waugh. 

 Unfortunately Mr. R. L. Adams, Horticul- 

 ture's representative, who was a member of 

 this section, was out of town on the day the 

 photograph was taken. The gentleman 

 standing in the middle is Francis Canning, 

 head gardener and instructor of the class. 

 These young men all expect to engage ac- 

 tively in various Unes of floriculture and 

 landscape-gardening. In fact several of 



them are already at work in their chosen 

 profession, though it is only a week since 

 graduation day. 



The men in the photograph, reading from 

 left to right, are; 



W. B. Hatch, Falmouth; J- J- Oardner, 

 Milford; P. F. Willi,,'., \-,,il.l:, G. H. 

 Allen, West Somer\i I I 1 II 1, Weston; 

 R. P. Gay, Stoui;!,- 1 : : Canning, 



Instructor; A. D. r,:-,!,,! W. ii.nl; H. D. 

 Crosby, Rutland; F. L. Yeaw, Winthrop. 



Floriculture is inestimably enriched by the 

 addition of these well-trained, self-reliant 

 young men to the ranks of its followers. 



application of liquid. There were 880 

 plants in the house. The varieties grown 

 were Lawson, Wolcott, Enchantress, Mrs. 

 Patten, and Marquis. Mr. Hay kept a 

 careful and accurate account of his cut, and 

 the record is certainly one worthy of note. 



The significance of the following incident 

 is so apparent that "he who runs may read." 



In a conversation upon matters relating 

 to the trade, a flower grower who has made 

 a success of the business, said to a repre- 

 sentative of HoRTicULTtTRE, " If you hear of 

 a second-hand boiler or two-inch water-pipe 

 for sale, let me know." The very next 

 issue of HoRTicin-TURE contained adver- 

 tisements of three second-hand boilers. As 

 the speaker referred to is a .subscriber and 

 reader of HoRTicULTtjRE, the man who had 

 something to sell was brought in touch with 

 a possible buyer through the medium of a 

 hvc, practical, readable journal. Perhaps 

 some one has some second-hand pipe to dis- 

 pose of. A word to the wise is sufficient. 



G. H. HiGGINS. 



DESTROYING PLANT LICE 



The Practical Counselor for Fruit and 

 Garden CuUure, of Frankfort, recently of- 

 fered a "prize for the best method of destroy- 

 ing plant lice, for which 58 persons com- 

 peted. The prize was awarded to the 

 author of the following preparation; Quassia 

 wood, 2h pounds, to be soaked overnight in 

 10 (juarts of water and well boiled, then 

 strained through a cloth, and placed, with 

 TOO quarts of water, in a petroleum barrel, 

 with 5 pounds of soft soap. The mixture is 

 then ready for sprinkhng on plants infested 

 with lice. Leaves, even those of peach trees, 

 will not be injured in the least by the solu- 

 tion, which can be kept covered in the barrel 

 from spring to fall without deterioration. 

 .\s soon as lice appear the leaves should be 

 sprinkled with the solution. If this is re- 

 peated several times the pests will disappear. 

 — Richard Gtienlher, Consul-General, Frank- 

 fort, Germany, May 27, 1905. 



.\ccording to latest investigation the Eu- 

 ropean area planted in sugar beets covers 

 3,657,156 acres, exceeding last year's acre- 

 age by 17.2 per cent. 



The Johnson Heating Co. is a new con- 

 nrii in the greenhouse heating business, with 

 olTii e in the St. James building, New York. 

 Mr. Johnson, the head of the firm was 

 formerly with Hitchings & Co., and starts 

 with a good knowledge of his business. 



