THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



147 



INTERNATIONAL GARDEN CLUB. 



Hy securing- the Martovv Alansicjii with its thirty acres 

 of land from the city of X'evv York, the International 

 ( larden Club has obtained a most desirable property to 

 carry out the purposes for which the club was formed, 

 namely: to establish and maintain a horticultural garden, 

 which may in time compare favorably with the world re- 

 nowned Kew Garden in England. 



The old Bartow Homstead and its grounds consisting 

 of some thirty acres are located in Pelham liay Park, just 

 Ijeyond the Zoological < larden. It it easy of access by 

 various roads from the center of New York City. The 

 ])ossibiIities for development along the lines outlined by 

 the International Garden Club are unlimited. The time 

 appears to be a most opportune one to promote the work. 

 The interest in horticulture is growing in this countr\- 

 and there are no doubt a large number of jieople in the 

 vicinity of New York who would avail themselves of the 

 privileges of an institution such as is proposed. 



INTKR.N.\Ti().\AI. i.AKIiKX (Ll'l: IKUSK, I'KI HAM BAY P.\RK, XKW VdRK. 



C)ne of the aims of the club is to make it a headquarters 

 for all garden interests. It intends to estaljlish a com- 

 plete horticulturaMibrary ; another aim is to make its 

 gardens of intrinsic value to garden lovers in the knowl- 

 edge it will furnish in the cultivation of garden plants, 

 and the general information it will inijiart on garden 

 work, through educational departments tn be maintained 

 for that purpose. 



Flower shows at regular intervals and a series of lec- 

 tures in the club house are among the contemplated plans. 

 The club house is to be opened to the members about 

 May 1. 



In the treasurer's report, dated Januarv 25. 1915, a 

 total membership of 336 is shown. The financial report 

 showed the organization in splendid financial condition to 

 proceed with the work it has undertaken. 



so large that more than half of those who applied were 

 turned away, necessitating the securing of a hall for the 

 remainder of the lectures. 



The lecturer, Mrs. Herbert Spencer Harde, is an en- 

 thusiastic amateur gardener, with a country place in 

 Massachusetts, and she is rendering her series of lectures 

 for the benefit of the International Child Welfare League. 

 The subjects of her talks, as she terms them, are: "A 

 ^'ellow Rose Garden in the Making." "])eciduous 

 ."^hrubs and Shrubbery," "Harmony in Gardens Large 

 and Small" and "Distinction in Rose Gardens." 



Airs. Harde calls gardening "a slavery of the love of 

 and work for flowers, but a sweet slavery," which, she 

 says, even music does not equal. She regards gardening 

 a better recreation than outdoor games and urges women 

 to indulge in it as the work means youth, health and 

 strength for a woman. Harmony in color, Mrs. Harde 

 believes, is one of the fundamental principles of success- 

 ful gardenino, in which natural ettects should also not be 

 ignored. 



There are. however, some points on 

 which we cannot agree with the lecturer, 

 one of which is that there is no distinc- 

 tion between low and high grade 

 plants — that there is no difference in 

 value between the plant selling at a few 

 cents and that running up in the dollars 

 in ]3rice. Those who have grown lioth 

 kinds will endorse our opinion that the 

 <lifference is decided. 



"It is a splendid thing to know about 

 gardening if for nothing more than to 

 know what one's gardener tloes. Think 

 (jf a first-class gardener, a diploma man. 

 doubling back the roots of a valuable 

 rose he is going to plant instead of 

 spreading them out!" says the lecturer. 

 Any gardener who would commit such 

 an act and is in possession of a diploma 

 is in the same position as manv other 

 c<illege men who have acquired their de- 

 gree in law. theology or medicine and 

 w hen they proceed to practice their call- 

 ing prove themselves entirely unfitted 

 for it. Too many of us are wont, how- 

 ever, to judge a profession by the short- 

 comings of some individuals within it : 

 whereas the ])rofession does not choose for us whom we 

 employ, hut in most instances it is of our own selection. 



LENTEN LECTURES ON GARDENING. 



Women's interest in gardening has been so aroused, 

 that at the first of a series of lenten lectures on "Intimate 

 Talks of a Successful Amateur," given in a home in New- 

 York City, of spacious accommodations, the audience was 



AMERICAN RED CROSS AT NEW YORK 

 SPRING FLOWER SHOW. 



A unique and what will probably prove to be one of 

 the most attractive features of the New York .Spring 

 Flower Show, will be the tea garden conducted by a num- 

 ber of New York's prominent society women. It will be in 

 the nature of a pergola, constructed across the entire 

 width of one end of the Cjrand Central Palace. The decor- 

 ative effects have been arranged by Mrs. Belmont Tiffany, 

 Mrs. A. S. liurden and William A. Delano, and no efforts 

 nor expense have been spared in making the tea garden 

 the most elaborate setting, from an artistic viewpoint, tlial 

 has ever been attempted for a public benefit. The garden 

 will be in charge of different committees each day of the 

 flower show, and the society women, assisted by the 

 younger set. will daily serve tea while their patrons may 

 indulge in dancing afternoons and evenings. Commercial 

 and private growers have contributed liberally with plants 

 and flowers for decorative pur])oses, and hotels and ca- 

 terers will contribute the foodstuffs. 



