620 



HOBTICULTUEE 



October 31, 1914 



scribed what is the result: The de- 

 partment stores take wliat the Holland 

 salesmen choose to deliver. Second, 

 the firm which depends upon agency 

 distribution continues to grow largely 

 the same old varieties in order to cov- 

 er the sales produced mainly by litho- 

 graphed plates, and while the catalog 

 man may be a little better able to dis- 

 pose of new varieties as they come 

 along, he, too, is slow to weave into 

 his list the worthy new sorts as they 

 are introduced — why? First, because 

 the general public do not now readily 

 take hold of new sorts and second be- 

 cause the grower himself lacks first- 

 hand information regarding the new 

 roses. Except for one or two firms 

 who are doing splendid test work for 

 their own information, our present 

 means and methods for testing new 

 roses and disseminating information 

 are woefully inefficient and inadequate. 

 How many of us realize that new roses 

 are being introduced at the rate of 

 seven hundred every five years — yet 

 how many of us know what we are 

 getting when we buy new roses from 

 abroad and therefore go slow and in 

 consequence are so far behind our 

 European brother as to give him the 

 cream of the American trade. 



Can this be true? It is distinctly so 

 in some sections. Just for example 

 at the Syracuse Rose Show where I 

 acted as judge, there was one amateur 

 alone who showed one hundred and 

 fifty varieties out of a collection of 

 something over 250 in this garden, and 

 he was only one of many I met there 

 who were obtaining their stock direct- 

 ly from across the water. Several oth- 

 er amateurs with whom I have come 

 in contact, typical of those who show 

 a discriminating interest in having the 

 Ijest obtainable, seem to feel that it 

 is only natural that they should go to 

 the source of supply in Europe for 

 what they want in tlie way of roses. 

 I have it on good authority that one 

 enthusiast not from New York State 

 or Ohio, during the past year has 

 bought upwards of seven dozens of 

 rose bushes none costing less than 

 $3.50 a bush and a greater number 

 $5.00 each, having imported all of them 

 from abroad, and from among the num- 

 ber only one. the Itose Richmond was 

 hybridized in this country. I believe 

 that this tendency to go abroad for 

 roses is growing, not so much because 

 of the superior quality of the stock as 

 the new varieties there introduced and 

 there early available. 



Let us compare. The average num- 

 ber of roses offered by the six leading 

 rose firms in America, tlie past spring 

 was about 400. The average number 

 of roses offered by the six leading 

 rose firms in England was over 1.000. 

 The total number of varieties offered 

 by eleven leading American firms was 

 a little over l.ooo, and only 18 kinds 

 were offered by them all. In these 

 eleven catalogs of 1914. I find ninety- 

 one new roses not formerly listed by 

 any of them. I calculate tluit Ameri- 

 can firms have begun adding on the 

 average more than twice as many 

 new roses annually as they did five 

 years ago. But in selecting them It is 

 largely guess work and consequently 

 we still crawl along in the dark. 



Therefore, in order that we may 

 walk in the light, in order that we may 

 not become burdened with the 1,000 

 long list of the Europeans— in order 



that we may eliminate before they 

 reach the nurserymen's hands the va- 

 rieties unsuited to our needs — in order 

 that we may build our sales upon 

 "make good" sorts only — I advocate 

 that American growers provide ade- 

 quate means for obtaining country- 

 wide tests of roses tor Americans. 



Having once established a means of 

 obtaining regularly a dependable list 

 of roses that will make "come back" 

 customers, may we not turn to the 

 other phase of our subject, that of 

 creating throughout the country a 

 greater interest in and a bigger de- 

 mand for roses. Painted upon the 

 wall of a certain high building in 

 Cleveland, you will notice a spectacu- 

 lar advertisement showing an Indian 

 standing on a rock overlooking a great 

 city completely illuminated. The In- 

 dian is made to explain "All Light — 

 No Night" — a condition that is typical 

 of every first-class American city. 

 What has made possible our magnifi- 

 cent illuminating systems? Because 

 one Benjamin Franklin of Philadel- 

 phia, detected evidences of a wonder- 

 ful power lying latent about him. He 

 blazed the way for modern electrical 

 engineers; and electricity, which was 

 a scattered force, and to the Indian 

 unnoticed, has been brought under con- 

 trol and direction and is now used. 



In the same sense and in no less a 

 degree there is lying loose around us 

 a love for the beautiful, which needs 

 to be centralized, organized, controlled 

 and used. The love for flowers is in- 

 stinctive. The power of a beautiful 

 rose to beget entliusiasm for more 

 roses you all know. It is tremendously 

 contagious, and do you know that if by 

 means of roses the love for beauty, 

 lying latent all over this big country, 

 were once enkindled and exploited, 

 you would be obliged to double your 

 output or else double your selling 

 price. 



If the rose men of America were to 

 combine in a national advertising cam- 

 paign (just as the lumber men and the 

 brick firms have done), their advertis- 

 ing manager in making his preliminary 

 study of the situation would want at 

 least to review the industry abroad, 

 where last year the demand for roses 

 exceeded the supply. As between the 

 American situation and the European, 

 he would discover one big and notable 

 difference. I. therefore, propose to pre- 

 sent to you photographs of some of the 

 leading hortirullural exhibitions held 

 ii! England and of some of the most 

 distinguished iirivate and public rose 

 gardens in France, and J want you to 

 see if you can detect wherein our Eu- 

 ropean craftsmen have succeeded in 

 arousing public interest in a field in 

 which we are merely pioneers. (Mr. 

 Pyle here threw on the screen with col- 

 ored lantern slides, views of the great 

 shows of the National Rose Society of 

 England, of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, of the leading growers of Eng- 

 land, Ireland, Prance. Germany ana 

 Luxemburg.) He described in succes- 

 sion with autochrome reproductions, 

 the famous Rosarie de la Hay with its 

 seven thousand five hundred different 

 varieties; with its tree roses 12 feet 

 high with 5 and 6 feet spread; with 

 its avenues of rose-covered archways; 

 its laboratory for extracting the es- 

 sence of the rose; its museum contain- 

 ing records of the rose in the literature 

 of all languages as used in the prodnc- 



Seeds and Bulbs 



To the Trade: 



TO the Florist who (de- 

 pends for his profits 

 upon reliability of his 

 seeds and bulbs a bargain 

 is not of the first impor- 

 tance. 



Yet we often have an over 

 stock of popular seeds and 

 btilbs which we are able to 

 supply below the market. 



This Month We ParticularUi 

 h'frdin iDfiid the FoUoirinp: 



Freesia Purity Bulbs 



''.-in. (liam.. It'^-in. long. 



I'd- iW. S2.00 Per KHKI, ipin.OO 



ExfVM JLlimnotli Hullis. 



:f,:i.m \irr inn 



Refracta Alba 



% to y. iiK-li .lin.on iii'r lOiK) 



Vi to % iMcll i.uo 



\ iiifli aiui upward.... ».50 



Pansy Seed 



Finest Strains 



Per oz. 



■riinrlmrn's Superlj ¥4.00 



I'Miio I.ar^e Englisb Mixed 90 



.Masterpiece 80 



Masterpiece from Originalnr. . . . S.on 

 Triniardeau Giant .Mixed !)(! 



Lilium Harrisii 



(Pernnuia lOastcr IjII.v i 

 .T to T inciies in circiiinl'i-rcncc 

 $5.50 n liiiiulred !)!45.00 a tliousaml 

 7 to inclies in ciriainiference 

 $IM.UO a Inindred $85.00 a tliousand 

 And all other rnrieties at 

 reasonable /iriees. 



.Vise n few eases Cold Storage 

 1..U.V uf the Valley J'ips 



Cases of L'.")0 eaeli for $4.50 



Cases of ,5(10 eacli for 8.00 



Cases of 1(K)0 eaeli for 15.00 



Ask for a eopy of our Bulb Cata- 

 lofl (i)iit Siie( id] Pri( es to Florists 



J. M. THORBURN & CO- 



Kshiltlislu-d 180-! 

 't'.i I ta relay Slri't-t - New York 



