464 



IIORTICULTUKE 



November 29, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



Established l>y William J. Stewart In 1904 



VOL. XXX 



NOVEMBER 29, 1919 



NO. 22 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 78 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 

 Telephone Fort Hill 3094 



ADVERTISING BATES: 



Per Inch, 80 inches to page $1.26 



Discount on Contracts for consecutive insertions, as follows: 



One month <4 times), 5 per cent.; three months (13 times), 10 

 per cent.; si* months (26 times), 20 per cent.; one year (52 times), 

 30 per cent. 



Page and half page space, not consecutive, rates on application. 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 



One Year, in advance, $1.00; To Foreign Countries, *2.00; To 

 Canada, $1.50. 



Entered as second-class matter December 8, 1904, at the Post Office 

 at Boston, Mass., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1897. 



There would seem to be good reason for 

 Nothing the sharp criticism of the Federal Horti- 

 but bugs cultural Board which appears in a signed 

 communication on another page. Appar- 

 ently this board can see nothing but bugs. Matters of 

 commercial importance are to be lightly waved aside. 

 The idea that plants with wrapped balls of earth shall 

 not be allowed to pass through the United States from 

 an American port to a Canadian consignee is prepos- 

 terous, and the writer of the letter in question points out 

 that this is rank discrimination against our own sea- 

 ports in favor of those of another country. 



However nurserymen and florists may feel upon the 

 general subject of restricting plant importations — and 

 of course there are arguments on both sides — the trade 

 cannot well help asking, if the Federal Board is to be 

 clothed with such autocratic power and is to be per- 

 mitted to go to almost any length, what guarantee can 

 our business have as to its future. Surely the trade is 

 justified in demanding that this whole matter be taken 

 up again and thrashed out on a less biased and more 

 scientific basis. 



It is human nature no doubt to wish for 



Costs and expect immediate results from money 



and profits which is spent for advertising. Certain 



florists seem to think that business ought 

 to boom as soon as a "Say It with Flowers" week 

 campaign had been started. When there is no rush of 

 patrons as a result of advertising, some of them seem to 

 regret the outlay. The right kind of advertising is 

 cumulative, however. Once an idea has been gotten 

 under way it gathers force and impetus. The results of 

 ''Say It with Flowers" week in different cities will be 

 seen for a long time. 



It is difficult to explain just how it happened in Bos- 

 ton that the week after the campaign was a dull one, 

 with much stock and a limited demand. The past week, 

 however, has been entirely different. There has not 

 been enough flowers of several kinds to go around. More- 

 over, prices have ranged high, which in itself indicates 

 a strong demand on the part of the buying public. With 

 roses selling at what amounts to a cent an inch, that is 

 nine cents for a nine-inch stem, twelve cents for a 

 twelve-inch stem, and so on, there has been no reason 

 to complain. 



All in all, members 'of the trade who have taken part 

 in the various publicity movements may well feel that 

 they have not wasted their time or their money. Look- 

 ing back over the year they have had reason to observe 

 Thanksgiving Day as heartily as any class of people. 

 Moreover, prospects are still bright. At the same time 

 the fact must be reckoned with that higher costs are 

 coming, especially in the line of supplies. Makers of 

 wooden boxes are already talking of a 25 or 30 per cent 

 advance in the near future. Very likely other supplies 

 will advance, too. 



Nobody can tell when the peak of this movement will 

 have been reached, but so long as the present era of high 

 wages and prosperity continues there will be no lack of 

 business for the florists. And it is a fact of more than 

 passing moment that thousands of people who formerly 

 could not be classed as flower buyers are now numbered 

 among those who purchase flowers either regularly or 

 whenever a special occasion arises. That is one result 

 of war time conditions plus intelligent publicity work. 



A wonderful 

 garden 



Fortunate indeed are plant lovers who 

 live near enough to the Missouri Botani- 

 cal Garden at St. Louis to take advan- 

 tage of the endless opportunity which it 

 offers for recreation, investigation and study. Its gar- 

 dens and its greenhouses contain specimen plants net to 

 be found anywhere else in the country. They are not 

 arranged like the contents of a museum, however, as 

 would have been the case years ago, no doubt, but are a 

 part of the splendid display which make both garden and 

 greenhouses as attractive as those on the best kept pri- 

 vate estates. 



The Garden has now begun the planting of a variety 

 nut orchard which should prove of great interest and 

 no little economic value. 



It is particularly appropriate that the Garden be the 

 institution to undertake this work, because of the fact 

 that there is the greatest collection of wild nuts on the 

 American continent within a radius of 200 miles of St. 

 Louis. The lands adjacent to the Mississippi river and 

 its tributaries contain tens of thousands of pecans, hick- 

 ories, and black walnuts. Already from this wonderful 

 collection there have been found a number of varieties 

 of nuts that are of great merit, and it only remains for 

 the virtues of these to become sufficiently well known to 

 lay the foundations of a prosperous and enduring indus- 

 try in Missouri, Kentucky, Southern Indiana, Illionis, 

 and such other parts of the country as have similar cli- 

 matic conditions. 



So far as we can see, the only thing which the Mis- 

 souri Botanical Garden really needs now is an up and 

 .tin ing press agent. 



