June 19, 1915 



HORTICULTURE 



811 



A PLEA FOR THE LABELLING OF EXHIBITS 



At the iIas.s;U'liusc'tts Hoitiiiiltural Exhibition last 

 week many people were disai)piiintecl iu finding the large 

 and fine exliibit of rhododendron flowers from the Hun- 

 newell place shown without names. However much one 

 may or may not know about tlie subject it is without 

 dispute that a properly labelled exliibit of flowers, plants, 

 vegetaldes, etc., can be examined witli far more profit 

 than an unlabelled one. For many people one of the 

 inducements to visit the exhibition was the supposed 

 opportunity of seeing rhododemlrons under name. The 

 erratic behavior of these jilant-. as evidenced this spring, 

 has directed attention to tliem more than usual, and it 

 seeius that here was a fine opportunity lost of presenting 

 to the public facts of educational value and interest. 

 At the two other much snutller but labelled exhibits of 

 rhododendrons people could lie seen with note book and 

 j)encil in hand ; at the large exhibit such were conspic- 

 uous by their absence. In England, it is said that an 

 exhibit is de]jreciated -jO'/c in the eyes of the judges, by 

 the omission of tlie proper labels. 



This criticism is made in no unfriendly or unap- 

 preciative spirit. The exhibit in question was well worth 

 seeing even' without labels ; it was a fine display : its 

 omission would have been a great pity and it probably 

 deserved the silver medal winch was awarded; but it 

 is to be hoped that next year the same exhibitor will 

 provide the names, and, thus, by giving of his knowledge 

 and enhancing the attractiveness of his exhibit, confer 

 a great benefit upon tliose who may be so fortunate as 

 to see it. 



It may be pertinent here to express the opinion that 

 rhododendrons are not made the feature at these ex- 

 hibitions, or at those of any other organization in the 

 country, that they should. They are the most command- 

 ing and impressive flowering shrubs of our gardens when 

 rightly tised; yet the public does not know and under- 

 stand them as it should. It would seem that there 

 should be exhibits enough of them to fill at least one 

 of the halls. The announcements of these exhibitions 

 lead one to suppose that rhododendrons are to be a large 

 feature, instead of the disappointingly small one they 

 turn out to be. Whether the fault lies with the various 

 horticultural organizations in not offering sufficient in- 

 ducements to exhibitors, or whether tlie trouble lies else- 

 where, can best be delei'mined by others. 



What a startling and inijiressive exhibit might be 

 made with plants in tubs, not only of the tender kinds 

 but most largely of the hardy ones. The reasons why 

 rhododendrons do not lend themselves as subjects for 

 cut flowers are manv and obvious and need not be enum- 



erated here, but it should be borne in mind that the 

 effectiveness of rhododendron flowers is tremendously 

 reduced when not on the plants, more so than in the 

 case of most flowering shrubs, especially when cut with 

 tbe short stems usually necessitated by a due regard 

 for the plants; although it might be said in passing 

 that it would seem possible by judicious cutting to obtain _ 

 from a large collection of rhododendrons many trusses 

 with long stems without disfiguring the plants. 



This matter of tub plants should not prove an un- 

 reasonably expensive proposition; if of the hardy kinds 

 they might be wintered even without the aid of the usual 

 cold cellar; in the fall the tubs could l)e plunged to their 

 rims in some sheltered position. liea\ily mulched with 

 k'aves, and further protected by a .stockade of spruces, 

 [lines, or what not. In the spring they could be placed 

 in a sunny position, and brought into bloom at the re- 

 quired time. Moderate sized jflants might even be 

 tubbed m April for exhibition in June. Commercial 

 growers might find it to their advantage to make ex- 

 h.ibits of tubbed plants, affording an opportunity for 

 effective advertising and at the same time adding to 

 the attractiveness of exhibitions. 



The value of rhododendron exhibits would be further 

 increased l)y indicating in some way the degree of hardi- 

 ness of the difl'erent kinds. This could be done by 

 merely stating the fact on the same label giving the 

 name of the kind, or by grouping them according to 

 tiieir hardiness, classifying them as tender, as half hardy 

 — that is those which can be coddled along in favorable 

 situations, and as hardy — that is tliose which are hardy 

 iu the most unfavorable situations in wliicii rhododen- 

 drons will grow (tliere do not seem to be any fdol-iiroof 

 ones). 



Once more referring to the aggravation of an un- 

 lebelled exhibit : two vases of unlabelled iris, all by them- 

 selves, were sufficiently striking to attract the a])])roving 

 attention of at least two iris experts in the hail who were 

 very anxious to find out what they were Init could not. 

 A small exhibit of unlabelled azaleas attracted the at- 

 tention of a man who wanted to know about them for 

 use in his own garden, but \\'as unable to carry away 

 with him the names of those he especially liked. 



I'rookline. Mass. 



Comment and exchange of views on the topics treated in 

 these pages will be gladly welcomed from Horticulture's 

 Readers. Suggestions as to how they can be made still 

 more interesting and instructive will be appreciated. 



