328 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



estates, now that labor is scarce and high. It entails a 

 great deal of extra labor to bank up. protect, and tiig 

 celery in the open. In a warm Winter, it is likely to 

 sweat and rot ; mice and rats will gnaw at it if there is 

 not a good frozen crust of earth protecting it beneath the 

 mulch. If we have an early Spring, it will spoil much 

 more quickly than celery well packed in a good cold cellar. 



rfj ;:< ^ 



For forcing under glass, what is the best head lettuce ? 

 This is a question often asked. Boston is a great center 

 for lettuce culture under glass, many acres being devoted 

 to it. Practically three varieties only are grown today, 

 viz.. May King, Hittinger's Belmont, and French Un- 

 rivalled. Personally, I like the last-named best of all. 

 The difficulty with May King is that, while it heads 

 beautifully, it is very likeh' to burn at the edges when 

 headed up. if a very clear sunny day follows several dark 

 days. May King, however, is still grown more than any 

 other sort. Golden Queen, one of Sutton's varieties. I 

 Ijelieve. of a pale color, has given good results. We cus- 

 tomarily think of lettuces as somewhat shallow rooting 

 vegetables and that twelve inches is a fair depth for roots 

 to go down. ]Mr. Hittinger of Belmont, a noted lettuce 

 specialist, told me several years ago that having occasion 

 to cut a drain across one of his mammoth lettuce houses, 

 he found lettuce roots four and a quarter feet long, and 

 he believed that they would have gone even deeper had 

 soil conditions permitted. 



^ ;■; :[: 



At our Summer and Fall exhibitions we frequently find 

 classes for collections of vegetables arranged for efifect, 

 and the group at the Museum of Natural History Show 

 in New York last month from James McCarthy was im- 

 doubtedly the finest single exhibit at that excellent show. 

 How rarely do we see a class provided now-a-adays 

 for a collection, say, of twelve varieties of fruits arranged 

 for efifect with suitable decorative material ? Surely we 

 have ample material for such a class in greenhouse and 

 open air grapes, peaches, plums, nectarines, figs, apples, 

 pears. Autumn fruiting strawberries and raspberries. The 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society has added such a 

 collection class for a great vegetable and fruit show to 

 be held on September 28-30. 1923. Cannot other societies 

 be induced to do likewise? Properly staged collections 

 of fruits, such as are seen at the great Enghsh shows, are 

 always stunning features, and we should easily be able to 

 duplicate them here with our greater fruit facilities. 



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The November exhibition of the Rhode Island Horti- 

 cultural Society, combined with a number of other kin- 

 dred bodies, held in the state armory. Providence, Novem- 

 ber 17-20. brought out one of the grandest fruit displays 

 I have seen in a long time. \'arious associations and 

 fruit firms put up large and very cnm|)rehensive displays 

 which were arranged most artisticilly. with all exbil)its 

 named and the country of origin marked in addition. Over 

 100.000 people viewed the exhibition, and the wonderful 

 fruit collections far outclassed the floral exhibits in inter- 

 est for the general public. Surely one or two honorary 

 displays of this kind shf)uld add interest to any of our 

 .\utumn exhibitions. In one collection, I noted fruits 

 from California. Morida, Oregon, Canarla, the eastern 

 States, Hawaii, Jamaica, Honduras, Italy, England, Bel- 

 gium, France, Jaffa, S]>ain and Porto Rico. It would be 

 hard to find an individual who would not enthuse over 

 such a varied fruit collection as this. 



* * * 



When we look hack a few years, it is surjirising to note 

 the advance in po])ularity of annuals for greenhf)use cul- 

 ture. Sweet peas are probably the best known and the 



most largely grown annual for forcing, while calendulas, 

 mignonette, godetias, Clarkias, bachelor's buttons, sweet 

 sultans, lupines, larkspurs, and many more also are grown. 

 Nemesias have Ijecome extremely popular, and justly so. 

 There are few annuals which cannot be cultivated suc- 

 cessfully indoors, and our commercial friends make use 

 of stocks. cand)-tuft. and Gypsot>liila clegans for Memorial 

 Hay trade. A variety which makes a good pot ]>lant 

 and can be flowered by making successive sowings from 

 November until June, is Sfatice Sozvorozi'e. A friend 

 who made a sowing late in the Summer, planted a couple 

 of benches with it. and these will be in bloom for Christ- 

 mas. This pretty lavender-pink colored everlasting makes 

 a pleasant addition to the not too varied list of available 

 Flowers for the holidays. 



* * * 



It has been a wonderfully clear and open Fall, very 

 favorable for many who have but a limited fuel supply 

 on hand. We may get severe snow and ice storms at 

 any time, and all true garden lovers fail to do their full 

 duty if in such times they do not feed our best friends, 

 the birds. Pieces of suet or fatty meats, securely fas- 

 tened to trees are much appreciated by many, and may 

 save some valuable little lives. Bread crumbs, scraps 

 of meat, or small mixed grains, with some grit added, 

 will also be enjoyed, and it will not be so much labor to 

 clear a ])iece of ground of snow and give our feathered 

 friends a daily repast. We are well rewarded for any 

 little efforts and expense l>y watching the pleasure of 

 the twittering birds, and later on they will repay us 

 many fold for helping them. 



* * * 



r)ur evergreens are now coming in for their annual 

 mutiliation. I ain not referring to those on private 

 estates which can be classed as reasonably safe from 

 vandals, but take a walk or drive on arny pleasant Sun- 

 day in December, and note how many automobiles are 

 carrying their loads of spruce, cedar, mountain laurel, 

 pine,' or other conifers. The desire for Christmas deco- 

 ration is natural and commendatory, but the increasing 

 depredations of auto vandals in our woodlands and fields 

 is a scandal. Too bad that these, in common with other 

 law-breakers, could not have a taste of the old cat-o'- 

 nine-tails. It is only the nice, shapely cedars, jiines, or 

 spruces which are cut for Christmas trees. The ill- 

 shaped ones are left to grow up for timber. With forest 

 areas gradually diminishing, something must be done to 

 curb and regulate this traffic. It is a pleasure to note 

 that many churches and individuals refuse to buy any 

 moimtain laurel, and that some retail florists refuse to 

 sell it. Ma_\- their numbers steadily increase! 



* * ^ 



How lovely it is these Winter days when snow man- 

 tles Mother Earth, to stroll in our northern woodlands! 

 .Some there arc who fail to note the beauty which every- 

 where abounds, and wdio think that a greenhouse is the 

 only place for the gardener in such weather, dreen- 

 houses are interesting and pleasurable, and we need more 

 of them, especially small ones for suburban homes such 

 as we find so abundantly abroad. But why comjiare the 

 lloral beauties of the greenhouse subjects with the more 

 truly majestic ones of our great outdoors? The man or 

 woman who cannot see beauty, synnnetry. strength, and 

 vigor in the glorious :\mcrican elms, maples, oaks, pines 

 or birches, silhouetted again.st the .sky. or cannot admire 

 the great variations in Ijark colorings of many shrubs 

 and trees is no true gardener ;uid is to Ix- |)itied. We 

 hear of many .Spring, Summer, and Autumn field days, 

 but hiiw few there are in Winter! Personally, I see great 

 { CoiitiiiKi'd on pat^c 334) 



