142 



HORTICULTURE 



August 16, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



EotnbllHlied by William J. Stewart In 1904 



VOL. XXX 



AUGUST 16, 1919 



NO. 7 



PUBL.ISI1KD WEEKLY BY 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 78 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 

 Telephone Fort Hill 3094 



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This is the Advance Convention Number of 

 HORTICULTURE and indicates that the Con- 

 vention is to be a largely attended and most suc- 

 cessful event. The regular Convention Number 

 next week will be full of interesting and im- 

 portant material for the trade. 



The stage is set for the convention of 



Stage all set the S. A. F. & 0. H. at Detroit next 

 week. Apparently this is going to be 

 a big convention, and one of no little importance. All 

 the conventions are important, for that matter, as any 

 gathering must be when the most active and wide-awake 

 members of the trade from all parts of the country get 

 together for discussion and mutual help. Several mat- 

 ters are to come up at Detroit, however, which will make 

 the occasion one of special interest. Moreover, Detroit 

 is a first-class convention city, filled with hospitable 

 people, and there is no doubt whatever but that the 

 social features will be given so much importance that 

 that end of the convention will remain a pleasant mem- 

 ory for many years. 



As the time when the convention is to open draws 

 near, many members of the trade who had at first de- 

 cided not to go are changing their minds. They are 

 begining to realize that this is to be a convention which 

 they cannot afford to miss and one at which perhaps 

 their counsel will be needed. This applies particu- 

 larly to some of the older members of the organization. 



An excellent program has been prepared, although it 

 seems distinctly unfortunate that Dr. Marlatt should 

 have been included. Judging from the character of 

 seme of the men who will attend the meetings, Dr. Mar- 

 latt's statements v ill not go wholly unchallenged. Still 

 it is difficult to see where much good can be accom- 

 plished by a discussion of the famous Quarantine No. 37 

 at this time when the lid has been clamped en and 

 seems likely to stay clamped unless Congress takes a 

 hand in lifting it. 



As it is the firs! convenl inn of the kind since the war. 

 the attendance will probably be unusually large, ^lore- 

 over, there will be a marked tendency to seek- out all 

 that is new and which will make for the betterment of 

 business methods or greater convenience in greenhouse 

 operations. It is to be expected, therefore, that the 



trade exhibit will be of BpeeiaJ \alue and excite more 

 than usual interest. Such an opportunity to get ac- 

 quaiated with the most up-to-date and improved appli- 

 ances anil the mosl recent methods is one not to be 

 overlooked by ambitious ami enterprising members of 

 the trade. 



Finally there is the getting together of el.] friends 

 from all parts el' the country —men vim seldom sec each 

 other except on the occasion of these annual events, but 

 whose friendship does not wax nor wane on that ac- 

 count. Altogether, the convention of 1919 promises to 

 be one el' ill.- 1 ><--t in the Ion? ami honorable history of 

 the S. A. F. 



The convention el' tie- I anadian Borti- 



Toronto cultural Association is being held at 



convention Toronto this week, ami a number of men 



representing the trade in the Ohited 



States are in attendance. At least six of the big supply 

 firms of this country are also represented. An excel- 

 lent program is being carried out and a discussion is 

 being held as to the advisability of forming a Dominion 

 Retail Florists' Association to further the interests of 

 the retailers in Canada. The result of this discussion 

 will be learned with interest on this side of the line, 

 where organizations of local retailers have proved of 

 great value. Reports from the Toronto convention 

 will be worth reading. 



One subject which is likely to re 

 Gardeners' considerable attention at the coming 

 convention convention of gardeners at Cleveland will 

 be that of educating young men for the 

 duties of an expert gardener. With war time con- 

 ditions and the lure of high wages in industrial lines, 

 the number of young men turning to horticulture has 

 been distressingly small. The lack of expert labor and 

 especially of interested labor is being felt on estates and 

 in ereenbouse establishments everywhere. Many of the 

 colleges and other institutions are offering courses in 

 horticultural subjects and the attendance seems to be 

 good. After all, though, no system of education by 

 the book can take the place of practical work under the 

 eye of a trained and experienced man. Doubtless some 

 sort of solution will eventually be devised and possibly 

 it will be presented at the Cleveland meeting. It should 

 not be supposed, though, that the difficulty is one which 

 is peculiar to this country. According to reports from 

 abroad the same situation is being encountered across 

 the water and in some places the lack of good men seems 

 very acute. The following excerpt from the Horticul- 

 tural Trade Journal is especially interesting in this con- 

 nection: 



"Another matter that demands the serious attention 

 of the trade is the reinforcement of the ranks of really 

 skilled and clever craftsmen which as in every other 

 sphere, have been sadly drained whilst the normal 

 influx of beginners has been arrested. Depleted stocks 

 of trees, and plants cannot be replenished without 

 skilled propagators, and the selection and improvement 

 of seed-stocks demands the work of carefully trained 

 bands. I venture the opinion that the revival of the 

 apprenticeship system in nurseries and gardens would 

 prove to be of far moie real value than the development 

 of training colleges and institutes of scientific horti- 

 culture and if the proprietors of nurseries will adopt 

 the principle of giving their employes a tangible interest 

 in the development and prosperity of their business the 

 results will be greater and more beneficial than any 

 form <>( trade unionism for garden workers can be." 



