May 31, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



517 



"NEARING A CRISIS." 



Editor Horticulture: 



Your editorial under the above far- 

 fetched caption, and your but thinly 

 veiled slurs on the head gardeners in 

 the vicinity of Boston, is, to say the 

 least, in exceedingly bad taste, and I 

 am surprised at your attempt to mis- 

 judge the members of our profession. 

 Your statement that the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society is losing 

 ground amongst flower lovers and the 

 general public is a regrettable fact. 

 The exhibition of May 17 came at a 

 time when gardeners were rushed to 

 the limit trying to accomplish a nor- 

 mal amount of work with depleted 

 forces, and how many employers are 

 there who would countenance or sug- 

 gest them making an exhibit? 



We have an excellent list of trus- 

 tees, some of them owning large es- 

 tates, others large florist establish- 

 ments; not one of them made an ex- 

 hibit even when appealed to as they 

 were in some cases. Why not criticise 

 them? Are you aware that there have 

 been excellent exhibitions held in Bos- 

 ton within the past eighteen months 

 which no member of this trustee board 

 attended? That at a fine flower show 

 only last February one member came 

 out to see it? 



I believe the trustees have an idea 

 that one or two large shows a year 

 should be held and the small ones all 

 be eliminated. I do not accept your 

 opinion that "there seems to be a 

 very general feeling that it would be 

 better to have fewer shows, etc.," on 

 the contrary the present policy of the 

 powers that be is largely the cause of 

 the general apathy shown towards the 

 society's shows. The cutting off of 

 the summer exhibitions, once so strong 

 a feature in Boston, is the best way 

 to alienate the great army of amateur 

 cultivators, for at these shows are to 

 be found the plants, flowers, fruits 

 and vegetables which they can grow, 

 while at the larger and more impos- 

 ing exhibitions only those possessing 

 greenhouses are in the running, these 

 being held in late fall, winter and 

 spring when little or nothing from out- 

 doors can be had. 



The directors were warned last 

 year that exhibitions would be very in- 

 ferior with all premiums eliminated, 

 and the small pittance allotted to flow- 

 ers this year, which by the way are 

 all to be from outdoors, effectively cur- 

 tails the the extent of such an exhibi- 

 tion as the one referred to in your 

 editorial. 



The policy of the Massachusetts Hor- 

 ticultural Society in holding ten to 

 fourteen exhibitions yearly all through 

 the Civil War period made its hold 



still stronger on the general public 

 and I cannot but think that the course 

 adopted during the European War 

 compares not unfavorably with that of 

 over hall a century ago. 



You state that a "conciliatory atti- 

 tude" is desirable to bring about "har- 

 monious relations." I am unaware of 

 any who are nursing "grouches;" per- 

 sonally I have never been averse to 

 stating where I stand, and the socie- 

 ty's interests are and have been very 

 near and dear to my heart. You are 

 exaggerating conditions as they are, 

 but your criticism unjust and biased 

 as it appears to be, will not have been 

 in vain if it shows the necessity of a 

 more "conciliatory attitude" between 

 the officials of the society and its mem- 

 bers, and a return to the old demo- 

 cratic policies which made it strong 

 and respected years ago, and I would 

 parallel your query "Have the head 

 gardeners of estates around Boston 

 deliberately determined to boycott 

 these shows?" with another one; 

 "Have the trustees and other estate 

 owners, around Boston deliberately de- 

 termined to boycott these shows." 



What I would like to see and what 

 we ought to have is one or two meet- 

 ings a year when the society and its 

 policies can be discussed from all 

 angles, in a calm and dispassionate 

 manner by the membership at large. 

 Such get-together gatherings would 

 clear away the miasmus of aloofness 

 and suspicion which unfortunately ex- 

 ist today, and with a more harmonious 

 feeling better exhibitions would come 

 as surely as light follows darkness. 

 W. N. Craig. 



Faulkner Farm, Brookline, Mass. 



a competition for twenty-four pods of 

 peas, twelve best strawberries and 

 the best vase of outdoor flowers, not 

 an annual or a shrub. 



Harky Goodwin, Cor. Sec. 



NASSAU HORTICULTURAL SO- 

 CIETY. 



There was an unusually large at- 

 tendance at the regular monthly meet- 

 ing of the Nassau County Horticultural 

 Society, held at Pembroke Hall on 

 Wednesday evening, Vice-President 

 Frank Watson, presiding. 



Thomas Richardson was elected an 

 active member and six petitions for 

 membership were received. 



Decision was reached to hold a rose 

 show some time during the month of 

 June, and all arrangements are left 

 in the hands of the executive commit- 

 tee. 



A tulip show was held in connection 

 with the meeting and a fine collection 

 of buds were on the tables. The Dar- 

 wins were exceptionally fine, consider- 

 ing the inclement weather. 



The next meeting of the society will 

 be held on Wednesday, June 11, at 7 

 o'clock in the evening. There will be 



HOW BOSTON FLORISTS AIDED 

 THE SALVATION ARMY. 



Three thousand dollars' worth of cut 

 flowers, representing many varieties 

 and all contributed by Boston florists 

 for the benefit of the Home Service 

 Fund, were auctioned off around 

 "Belleau Wood" (formerly Liberty 

 Court) on Boston Common last week, 

 the sale lasting several hours. 



Benjamin Jacobs of the advertising 

 department of the Boston Post served 

 as auctioneer and his first sale brought 

 in $50 in cash. This sale was a cluster 

 of American Beauty roses and the pur- 

 chaser was Mrs. Edwin A. Shuman. 

 Later another bunch brought a similar 

 amount and there were a number of 

 sales at $20, $10 and $5. Hundreds of 

 lots were disposed of at from a quarter 

 dollar up to the $5 figure. About 10,000 

 flowers were donated and their value 

 at retail prices was $3,000. 



COMING MEETINGS. 



Chicago. — American Seed Trade As- 

 sociation, annual convention, June 24 

 to 26. Secretary, C. E. Kendell, 216 

 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, O. 



Chicago — American Association of 

 Nurserymen, convention, Hotel Sher- 

 man, Chicago, June 25-26-27. Charles 

 Sizemore, Louisiana, Mo., Secretary. 



Detroit, Mich.— S. A. F. and O. H. 

 Convention at Acadia Hall, Aug. 19, 

 20, and 21. Secretary, John Young, 

 1170 Broadway, N. Y. City. 



Hartford, Conn. — Conn. Hort. Socie- 

 ty, fall flower show, Sept. 9, 10 and 11. 

 Secretary, Alfred Dixon, Wethersfield. 

 Conn. 



New York City. — The American In- 

 stitute and the American Dahlia So- 

 ciety, exhibition of dahlias in the En- 

 gineering Building, 25-33 West 39th 

 St., Sept. 23 to 25. William A. Eagle- 

 son, 322-324 West 23rd St., Secretary. 



San Francisco, Cal. — Dahlia Society 

 of California, Fall show at the Palace 

 Hotel, Sept. 4, 5 and 6. 



Toronto, Can. — Canadian Hort. 

 Ass'n convention, Aug. 12. 13, 14 and 

 15. 



PATENTS GRANTED. 



1,303,264. Seed-planter. Harry S. 

 Dickinson, Moline, 111., assignor to 

 Moline Plow Co., a corporation of Il- 

 linois. 



1,303,427. Wheel Plow. Benjamin B. 

 Wallace, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., as- 

 signor to Moline Plow Co. a cor- 

 poration of Illinois. 



