490 



IIORTICULTURH 



April 10, 191B 



horticulture: 



VOL XXI APRIL 10, 1915 NO. 15 



I'l IIIISIIKI* WKKKI.V HV 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING CO. 

 147 Summer Street, Boston, Muss. 



Trlrlllitinr, (llluril 'JB^. 

 WM. J. STKIVAKT. KilUur anil Manasrr. 



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.■^<. ,. [be Act of (.'uuki. - ■ ;. 1879. 



CONTENTS Page 



COVEIR ILLUSTRATION— Primula obconica 



NOTES ON CrLTl'RR OF FLORISTS' STOCK— Care 

 of Ferns— Callas—Beddin.t; Plants — Orchids— .Vdiant- 

 unis — Ripening Freesia Bulbs — John J. M. FarrcU... 489 



BRITISH HORTICILTLRE— IV. H. AdscH 491 



CLUBS AND SOCIETIES— New York Florists' Club- 

 Florists' Club of Philadelphia— North Shore Horti- 

 cultural Society — Anieriran Gladiolus Society — Club 

 and Society Notes — Coming Events 492 



PITTSBURGH EASTER FLOWER SHOWS 493 



THE CONTROL OF THE SAN JOSE SCALE 494 



.A.MERICAN ROSE SOCIETY— Address of President 

 Wallace R. Pierson 496 



OBITUARY— Thomas Burnet— S. N. Orvis— Charles 

 Scallen — William Weil — Thomas Emerson — W. A. 

 Bridle 497 



SEED TRADE— Alfalfa Growers Elect— Plan for Bet- 

 ter Seed Corn 498 



OP INTEREST TO RETAIL FLORISTS: 



The Retailers Business Calendar 500 



Flowers by Telegraph 501 



An Easter Basket Illustrated — New Flower Stores.. 503 



NEWS ITEMS FROM EVERYWHERE: 

 Boston, Washington, Philadelphia — Notes 502 



FLOWER MARKET REPORTS: 



Boston, Buffalo, Chicago 505 



Cincinnati. New Bedford, New York 507 



Pliiladelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Washington 512 



MISCELLANEOUS: 



Fences and Gardens 491 



Floral Booth at New York Flower Show — Illustration 491 



New York Florists' Bowling Club 493 



Primula obconica 493 



Pupils to Aid in Saving Trees 494 



License to Peddle 494 



Personal 498 



Visitors' Register 498 



News Notes 496 



New Corporations 503 



Business Troubles 513 



A Rapidly Growing Industry — M. B. Hancock 514 



Greenhouses Building or Contemplated 514 



Patents Granted 'u 



The weather man has handed out some 

 A wicked pretty harsh treatment to the flower peo- 

 storm pie occasionally in the past, but Easter 

 Saturday's experience in the Atlantic 

 Coast section in the year 1915 will long be remembered 

 as one of the most vicious flings on record. Preceded 

 and succeeded by ideal days, it could not have been de- 

 liberately planned for greater intentional mischief and 

 was on the order of that wicked knock-out blow at Bos- 

 ton last August which so completely blasted the antici- 

 pations of hosts and guests for the crowning day of the 



S. A. F. Convention. It is in order to mention also, 

 11.'? ill the cnise (»f the great convention disap|X)ititmcnt, 

 tlie aiiiiiiniMu inaiiMor in whicli those ni(«l ulficleil took 

 their puiii.slinn'iit and the geiienil ab.sencc of complaint 

 or bewailing mi the jinrt of those upon whom the resul- 

 tant finuncial lo.s.s iiiuBt iiave fallen with crusliing weight. 

 All departments of the trade and allied interests are 

 more or less concerned in the aftermath of re<luced re- 

 sources, and the possible curtiiilment of enterprise for 

 the coming sea.'ion which can liardly be avoided. The 

 recuperative power and stability of commercial horti- 

 culture in the face of untoward circumi^tances and con- 

 ditions has been repeatedly and impressively demon- 

 .strated heretofore, however, and we have no doubt that 

 the present set-back, regrettable as it is, will show no 

 exception to the excellent record of plucky recovery. 



The growing disposition of the retail 

 One sort of florist trade to imitate other lines of 

 reciprocity business in the use of the advertising col- 

 umns of the local newspapers for the 

 purpose of increasing their trade, appears to meet with 

 a generous and most gratifying response and recognition 

 in the reading columns of these publications. Never be- 

 fore have horticultural' and floral matters been given tlie 

 space and prominence publicly accorded them this sea- 

 son, and never before has the material thus spread be- 

 fore the public been freer from exaggeration and mis- 

 leading information. Newspapers, as a rule, are dis- 

 posed to liberality in excess of any apparent compen- 

 sating return to themselves to a much greater degree 

 than we find in other industries, but there must neces- 

 sarily be a limit to this sort of generosity. The cease- 

 less demand for "something for nothing" is the Neme- 

 sis forever following the newspaper man, imposing upon 

 liis altruistic temper of mind and rudely jostling his 

 sense of fairness. Now that the flower trade is inclined 

 to meet the newspaper man half-way he will find that 

 gentleman overjoyed and ready to devote his best abili- 

 ties to a proper presentation of the most attractive side 

 of the florists' fvvocation. 



It is in the power of the newspapers and 

 The pen magazines to do inestimable service for 

 and the hoe this country by calling the attention of 

 the people to the possibilities of inten- 

 sive cultivation of the land in small patches for garden 

 crops. Conditions abroad, at the present time furnish 

 a salutary object lesson in this respect and it is well to 

 use all available means to keep the facts constantly be- 

 fore the people and to impress upon them a fuller reali- 

 zation of the health and wealth that would accrue from 

 more rational habits of living than at present prevail. 

 There is a wholesome truth in the New York Journal's 

 remark that "War-stricken Europie would today be 

 starving were it not for the wonderful knowledge of 

 gardening possessed by its people who can make a few 

 acres yield enough to keep a family in food for a year." 

 It is an encouraging sign that the newspapers are dis- 

 posed to give so much space and attention to this sort 

 of reading matter. They should have all possible help 

 from the seed trade especially, and should never be per- 

 mitted to run short of useful material such as the in- 

 telligent seedsman and plant grower are able to supply 

 but which they apparently seldom think of extending 

 beyond the pages of their own catalogues. 



