398 



HOKT I CULTURE 



October i:t. 1917 



horticulture: 



VOL XXVI 



OCTOBER 13. 1»I7 



NO. IS 



PVBLI8UKD WKKKLT BT 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING CO. 



1^7 Summer Street, Boston, Mas*. 

 WM. ». STEWART, Bdltor mmi ll»—f» 



AOVRRTIBINO RATES: 



r*r Inrh. SO Inrhr* to p«f r il.OS 



I>Urounl iin Cun(r«r(ii for consrcutlTe InarriloDi, R« follows: 



One monlb (4 tiniri), B per cent.: thrr* mODlhi (IS tlmr4), 1# 

 p*r c^ot.: atx monlba (S0 timrs), 20 per cvnt.; oD« jtm* (QZ time*). 

 S« per cent. 



r«fe and half payc spftcc, vpeolAl rmtcs on »pptlcA(IOM. 



SCRSCRIPTION RATES: 



Oaf Vrar, In odrancc, 91.00; To Forrlm Countrlri. ti.OO; To 



CanmdK, tl.BO. 



KntaiTd II twond-cUli matter December 8. 1004, at tbe Poit one* 

 al Boatnn. klaaa.. onder the Act of Concreai of Marcb S, 1879. 



CONTENTS Page 



tOVKK ILLrSTH.\T10i\— A Moderate Cost Service- 

 able Conservatory 



THB S. .\. F. PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN—/. F. Ammann 

 — Wnllarf H Pirrsoti 397 



FIFTH NATIONAL FXX>WER SHOW. ST. LOUIS. . 397 



FLORKSTS- TELEGRAPH DELIVERY ASSOCIATION 399 



CLUBS AND SOCIETIES— Gardeners' and Florists 

 Club of Boston — Meetings Next Week — Cleveland 

 Flower Show — New York Federation of Horticultural 

 Societies and Floral Clubs— Florists' Club of Phila- 

 delphia, portraits — General View Syracuse Fair, 

 illustration — Lancaster County Florists' Associa- 

 tion 400-401 



OBITUARY— .1. A. Valentine, portrait— N. F. Flitton— 

 G. E. Rhedemeyer— R. W. Clucas— Robert L. Pyle — 

 F. A. Russell — Mrs. Joseph Heinl — J. A. Swartley — 

 Resolutions on the Death of J. A. Valentine 402-403 



LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS: 

 St. Louis, Chicago, Washington. Boston, Rochester, 



('leveland 403 



Pittsburgh 404 



New York, Philadelphia 411 



SEED TRADE 404 



OF INTEREST TO RETAIL FLORISTS: 



New Flower Stores 406 



Flowers by Telegrapli 407 



FLOWER MARKET REPORTS: 



Boston. Cleveland. New York, Philadelphia, Pitts- 

 burgh, Rochester. St. Louis 409 



DURING RECESS— Florists' Club of Washington 411 



.MISCELLANEOUS: 



Des Moines Flower Show 399 



New Corporations 404 



News Notes 406 



Raffia and Holland Nursery Stock 412 



A Master Grower 412 



Seen at Cliftondale 412 



Visitors' Register 412 



Christmas Greens Quarantine in Pennsylvania 414 



College this Winter 414 



Blight on Heliotrope — D. P. Lumsden 414 



Greenhouses Building or Contemplated 414 



Catalogues Received 414 



Olio (if tlie mo.st j)ronii.<iiig and happy 



Apostles of aiifruries for the future of horticulture 



horticulture j„ Ameria is the wi(iespread interest now 



\mn^ taken in plant life and juactical 



gardening by those who have been aecustomed to regard 



the.<c subjeet^; as mere indusitries for the attention 



ehiefly of the professional cultivator and workman. 



Tlicre are many nnmistakalile signs that tlie liorticul- 



tural spirit ha,< lieen thoroughly aroused all over this 



broad land, llie well-to-do class, especially, deprived 



liy the great Kun»j>oan u|tlieaval, of many long-«njoyed 

 avenues for rotTeutioii and obliged to seek relaxation 

 and lieneliciai diversion at home, have turned their at- 

 iciition to rural pursuits and are just U^ginning to re- 

 ah/i- the satisfying pleasure to be derived from an inti- 

 niiilc praetiea! kiKjwliHlgc of pbuils. tnK's and flowers 

 a7iil the inti-llig(»nt study of gardening art, stmiething 

 whii'b inis l)een long understood, practiced and keenly 

 enjoyed abroad, where ladies of even the highest Rocial 

 rank regard il as an honor ami rielight to be associated 

 with and identified witii the universal fraternity of 

 p;itn>n.- of horticulture. The (iardi'u Clubs and kin- 

 dicil organizations are developing and training a numer- 

 ous ineinbcrshij) to become apostles of ta*te and refine- 

 ment, the intrinsic value of whose influence and ex- 

 ainide to the horticultural jirofession and commercial 

 fbirirulturc can hardly be ovcrestiinatc(l. .As the people 

 :it large develop a love for sylvan and floral environ- 

 ment tiic stability and strength of commercial horticul- 

 ture will increase, a better and better cla.ss will be drawn 

 into its ranks and the elevation of our industry, so long 

 hoped for, will have become a j)resent reality. We 

 rejieat our opening lines that herein lies one of the most 

 pronii.sing and hap|iy auguries for the future of horti- 

 culture in America. 



The 

 fertilizer 

 question 



The fertilizer (piestion is one of paramount 

 importance to the growers at all times, 

 especially now. Unfortunately this vital 

 es.^ential in the growing of flowers and 

 plants is only partially understood by the 

 florist, who.*e aim is to grow only first-class stock, 

 whetiier for sale or for exhibition. Many a bench of 

 roses 01- other flowers is today suffering from too little 

 or too much manure in one form or other. Does the 

 grower of today figure on the amount of fertilizer per 

 euliic or scpiare yard on the basis of the analysis of the 

 material he is using, or even look to see what the analy- 

 sis is? Does he know the analysis of the cow, sheep or 

 horse manure that he is mixing with his soil or using as 

 top dressing? Maybe he is utilizing a mixed chemical 

 fertilizer, but in any event the analysis is the card to go 

 by, or "e()uivocation will undo you." All soils contain 

 certain amounts of nitrogen in the form of ammonia, 

 phosplioric acid and potash. These elements are the 

 liasi< of all fertilizers: the balance is so-called inert 

 matter and insoluble. To learn how much of the es- 

 sential elements one's soil contains, we must go to a 

 certified analyst who may charge as much as $5.00 per 

 clement, but this will be found a matter of economy in 

 the long nin. Lime is Sin important constituent of 

 soils, necessary at all times not only to "sweeten" but 

 to release the nitrogen and other elements that are dor- 

 mant, without wliich no plant life can exist. After 

 these have been released and are exhausted is the time 

 to ajiply animal or chemical fertilizers in some form. 

 The fertilizer question is one of worry and importance 

 today with the cultivator. No jiota.sh i.« coming from 

 Europe and the available supplies from kelp in this 

 countrv are ncgligihle. The aut(miobile has reduced the 

 su])])lv of horse manure and the farmer is using all the 

 (ither animal manure, which is hardly sufficient for his 

 needs, and therefore we must fall back on the fertilizer 

 man for his bone, tankage and other forms of ammonia 

 and it is well for us to study this f|U(>stion carefully 

 while we may. The percentage of these elements — nitro- 

 gen, phosphoric acid and potash — contained in a fer- 

 tilizer, is or .should be the basis of price charged. Tx)ok 

 into it before vou bnv. 



