678 



HORTICULTl' 



December 29, 1917 



may still fxj>«-t to pull through ami stuy in husiiiesa, 

 hut we must surelv try to liud how to produce for less 

 and how to sell for more money our iiroducts. It may 

 be easy enouj^h to drop usiloss habits, nei>dless expenses 

 ajul fixilish notions, also to find out what tilings cost to 

 pn>duoo them, but to sell nt a profit or to find ways and 

 nutans to do so, is a more serious matter. 



Yot, in a way, this present time will very likely help 

 us a lot in j;elting there. 1 mean that umlouhtedly a 

 number of irresiwnsible men will be foried out of l)usi- 

 ne«s, at least for a time, and this will give the rest the 

 chance to prove that, beinjr better business men they 

 arc able to nuike a living even under adverse conditions. 

 Of i-ourse we shall not stop disbudding, nor fire the fire- 

 man, as tlnit freak Iwss ailvised his grower to do. No. 

 wi- inav even l)e more particular and jiay more attention 

 to tiiose very two items, so that wc may raise better 

 plants and flowers, mayiie decidedly less of them, so 

 that the law of supply and demand may work out to our 

 advantage. 



Tiiere is a silver lining to the present cloud for those 

 floristj! and growers who have the knowledge, couviigc 

 and grit to do business in a real business way. Maybe 

 the weeding-out process that is bound to occur, will be. 

 for the florist business, not a setback at all — rather 

 otherwise. Of course we shall all feel sorrj' for the mu 

 fortunates who will not be able to weather the .storm. 

 but the trend of the times and the marcli of progress 

 have ever been forward and in business, as in any other 

 affair it is only "the fittest that will survive." It is 

 perhaps well that it should he so. Columns upon col- 

 umns have been printed telling florists and growers liow 

 to sf\ rill 111" Hk^ ~iii-]i1u> of flnwpr>; nf certain times. Imw 



to educate the masses, ho that they may buy those mon- 

 strous jiiles of ehyrsunthemums. roses, eannitions, sweet 

 peas, etc., that are (luni|K-d into the wholesale and retail 

 nuirkels. Not even by giving it away co\ild the ac< iinni- 

 lation bo gotten rid oi" at certain jieriods of the year, and 

 yet, year after jear, aonie of the same men waste time 

 and money in raising new piles of the stufl^ which they 

 must know caimot be sold even for what it has cost to 

 rai.se it. much less sold at a ]>roHt. Is this doing busi- 

 ness in a business way? I/jt those who do these stunts 

 sit down and figure for just a little while and they will 

 not rei)eat fonner mistakes, if they have iirains. How 

 can roses be sold on the street for 10c. per doz., carna- 

 tions for 5c., etc., and the pedler making .something at 

 it too? Somebody cei-tainly is getting nothing for some- 

 thing and it seems to be the florist every time. An far 

 as live years ago, according to my figures, it cost a little 

 over 2c. to ]>roduce one carnation on the average, with 

 all the waste cut out and 13-14 flowers to the plant pro- 

 duced. Still, with the larger number of growers, carna- 

 tions, on the average, would not sell for more than that 

 for the year. Now, with the cost for everything doubled 

 and trebled, it docs not look as if the returns are going 

 to be any more than ever. The outlook for those grow- 

 ers who cannot or will not figure correctly can be neither 

 pleasant nor in do\ibt. 



Sure, better times are bound to come again, but not to 

 the man who will not mend his ways now. 



C^^' 



ii'liiiir. Afa^-. 



rcT 



LOYALTY 



Extract from the Address of President Thomas W. Head Before the 

 National Association of Gardeners. 



There is one thing at this time that 

 I think can be Impressed on us all in 

 connection with this body of workers 

 and that is, "Loyalty." This goes a 

 long way to make our goal and I think 

 If we take this word and act up to its 

 meaning to the letter, we will find our 

 position improving quicker than we 

 expected. The average gardener is a 

 good fellow, he is amongst Nature's 

 own surroundings so much that he 

 gets that intuition of "I»yaUy" by 

 watchins how loyal his plants are to 

 him and by even the slightest kind- 

 ness or work bestowed on them, he is 

 doubly repaid and yet by neglect how 

 soon these same plants resent the 

 treatment. Nature helps us a great 

 deal, but Nature also handicaps a 

 great deal in diseases, fungus, storms, 

 etc., and here is where our loyalty to 

 our plants and plant life comes In last, 

 but not least is the loyalty due our 

 employer and his loyalty to us, for as 

 yon all know a gardener's work is 

 never done and his' plants must have 

 his consideration night and day. week 

 In and week out, Sundays and holi- 

 days, yet we must not forget that it 

 Is up to us to keep at it and be loyal 

 to our trust and our reward is bound 

 to come. There are plenty of good 



employers who are quick enough to 

 recognize a man's loyalty to him and 

 if you find your services are not ade- 

 quately compensated, look further, 

 but be quite sure you are doing what 

 is riKht by your employer before you 

 make the move. 



LILY OF THE VALLEY. 

 Beds of lily of the valley become 

 crowded after a few years, and unless 

 the crowns are replanted they become 

 weak and fail to flower. Trench tne 

 ground and mix with it a liberal 

 amount of decayed manure, leaf- 

 mould, and if the soil is of a heavy, re- 

 tentive nature, a quantity of old pot- 

 ting soil or sand. Lift the crowns 

 carefully and select the finest for pot 

 culture or for planting in special beds. 

 Plant the crowns in rows made 12 

 inches asunder, and allow a space of 

 6 inches between the crowns. Small 

 crowns planted in reserve beds will 

 make good plants, suitable for putting 

 into permanent quarters next year. 

 Give the beds that were planted last 

 year a light top-dressing of decayed 

 manure and leaf-mould, after all 

 weeds and rubbish have been removed. 

 — The Garden, London. 



WINTER COURSES AT OHIO STATE 

 UNIVERSITY. 



Winter courses in agriculture In- 

 cluding instruction in many of the 

 branches of farming will be opened at 

 the College of Agriculture, Ohio State 

 University. Columbus, on January 7: 

 they will continue tlirough eight 

 weeks, closing on March 1. The mini- 

 mum age limit for entering the farm 

 courses is 17: Iiowever, in view of the 

 present necessity for the production of 

 more food, provisions will be made for 

 instructing farm men over draft age 

 as well as any subject to draft. No 

 previous high school or college train- 

 ing will be required for entrance. 



Two courses will be offered in dairy- 

 ing, one dealing with farm dairying 

 and advanced register work and the 

 other with dairy manufacturing, such 

 as cheese, butter and ice cream mak- 

 ing. Four weeks will be given to each 

 course. Those who complete the 

 dairy courses may qualify to become 

 testers for local cow testing associa- 

 tions. 



Forty special lectures have been pro- 

 vided in addition to the courses in ani- 

 mal husbandry, farm crops, farm man- 

 agement, soil fertility, agricultural en- 

 gineering, horticulture, vegetable gar- 

 dening and poultry husbandry. Full 

 information may be secured by writ- 

 ing to The College of Agriculture, Co- 

 lumbus, Ohio. 



