340 



HORTICULTURi: 



September 29, 1996 



HORTICULTURE 



AN ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL 



DEVOTED TO THE 



FLORIST, PLANTSMAN, LANDSCAPE 



GARDENER AND KINDRED 



INTERESTS 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING CO. 



II HAMILTON PLACE, BOSTON, MASS. 



Ttlapheni, 0>fard 292 



WM. J. STEWART. Editor and Manager. 



Horticulture is at all times glad to 

 Our readers' hear from its readers on any topic that 

 interests are j^rtains to their or its welfare. This 

 our interests paper is in close touch and on most 

 friendly relations with the best in- 

 formed and squarest men in the horticultural prof rfion. 

 If there is anything in cultural research or artistic 

 methods on wliieh you desire further light, make known 

 your wish and we shall try to get a prompt response 

 from trust wortliy sources. If you find in our co'umns 

 something to especially commend or anything you do 

 not approve of we shall be glad to have you tell us and 

 express your views concerning it. We seek the most 

 intelligent readers and our columns are always open to 

 contribiitions from those who are thoughtful and zeal- 

 ous, ready to give and anxious to take advice on matters 

 of common horticultural interest. "Not by years but by 

 disposition is wisdom acquired." 



Horticulture in the schools is one of the 



Training the interesting topics touched upon by our 



children in London correspondent in this issue. 



horticulture The equipment of the public school 



teachers so that they will be competent 

 to instruct in horticulture is recognized there, a? here, 

 as a fundamental basis for efficient and productive work. 

 Nearly sixty years ago Downing compared the love of 

 nature so strongly developed in the English peopl(* and 

 the universal fondness for the cultivation of plant- and 

 flowers about the English homes with the deplorable 

 absence of the.se proclivities among the people of our 

 own land. Observant writers since then and down to 

 the present day have made similar comparisons to our 

 disadvantage. If, then, in a land where flower culture 

 is almost an instinct, the need is felt for special training 

 and encouragement of the young to take a stiU deeper 

 interest in these things how much more essential it is 

 that the work should be taken up seriously in this 

 country. 



An American florist, Mr. John H. Taylor, 

 Clubs and -who has lately returned from a visit to 

 societies England and the Continent, says that 

 should aid one thing which particularly impressed 

 him everywhere he visited was the uni- 

 versal cultivation of flowers and the surprising number 

 of florist stores, these occupying, especially in Belgium, 

 the most desirable premises along the leading thorough- 

 fares. That the more flowers and gardens and rural 

 life are appreciated and the more intelligent the people in 

 general are as regards the operations of horticulture the 

 greater the support given to those engaged in the hor- 

 ticultural professions should never be lost sight of by 

 those florists, seedsmen and nurserj-men who have the 

 intelligence to look beyond the present moment and the 

 willingness to do something for the future advancement 

 of their calling. It seems to us that there can be found 

 no more sensible and effectual means to this end than a 

 liberal and enthusiastic support of the movement now on 

 toot to make practical horticulture a reg-ular course in 

 the public school system. This is a subject that is 

 worthv of the attention,of every florists' and gardeners' 

 club and horticultural sociotv. 



The communication in this issue, from 



To stimulate (j^p secretary of the Massachusetts Hor- 



garden fruit ticultural Society in reference to the 



culture special fruit and vegetable exhibition 



to be held at Boston in October is a 



most welcome one, for it seems to indicate the beginning 



of a new epoch in this great horticultural industry in a 



section of the country which in times gone by set the 

 jiace for American fruit growing, under the leadership 

 of such men as Manning, Hovey and Wilder. A', last 

 the word is "Onward,"' after a long period of desue- 

 tude and every one who loves a garden, every one 

 interested in seeing advancement made in garden indus- 

 try and improvement in garden product, should applaud 

 and support the work of revival wliicli this foremost of 

 our horticultural organizations now seeks to arouse. For 

 nearly a generation the experiment stations have been 

 working, investigating, experimenting, and recording 

 results and the fruit grower, cojnmercial or amateur, 

 now has all this accumulated knowledge at his disposal. 

 With these great advantages backed by the same ambi- 

 tious spirit which has in recent years given so tremen- 

 dous an impulse in other departments of horticulture 

 there is no good reason why our New England fruit 

 growers may not rival and even surpass the achieve- 

 ments of their predecessors of half a century ago. The 

 awakening of the amateur element to a realization of the 

 pleasure and health to be derived from a direct personal 

 interest and participation in these garden operations is 

 a wholesome sign. The schedule for the exhibition of 

 October 10 and 11 gives evidence of a disposition to 

 break away from hide-bound methods and we hope it will 

 stimulate an enthusiastic support in exhibits and 

 attendance. 



