THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



47 



the garden be continued in a similar way in the future 

 and the display of 140,000 spring flowering bulbs, which 

 was at its best a few days ago, brought out the follow^ing 

 editorial from the Alinneapolis Tribime of May 21 : 



OUR TULIP BEDS, 



"Is there in another city of the world a sight so bril- 

 liant as the garden beside our Minneapolis armory? 

 There it stands, the property of the poorest child as well 

 as the richest grown-up who passes by. In every such 

 life it is playing a part to-day — warming the soul with the 

 richness of splendid color, quickening in it the love of 

 nature, lifting it above the dusty drab of the day's busi- 

 ness. Xature is a bold artist. Were any mere man to 

 splash colors from a paint bo.x in such gorgeousness, to 

 parallel scarlet with canary yellow, to mottle pink and 

 orange in the same blossom, the eyes would close tightly 

 with the hurt. But the very splendor of these gay colors 

 in the tulip beds makes them magnificent. It is as though 

 nature laughed at our futile attempts to rival her and yet 

 gave to us opulently of her most brilliant treasures. It 

 is not so long since such a public garden would have been 

 found far from the center of any American city if found 

 at all. Men and women thought themselves 'practical' 

 in those days ; in reality they were only shortsighted. 

 To-day the dweller of the American city sees farther — 

 and he makes his children richer than he was with a suc- 

 cession of clean and wholesome interests as the best pos- 

 sible offset to the day's temptations. 



"Our tulip beds are something more than a passing 

 delight, this spring. They are a brilliant certificate of 

 our widening vision and our nearer approach to fullness 

 of the spirit." 



To what better aims can we devote our professional 

 labors and skill than to the recognized motives outlined 

 in that editorial, and of what could we justly be more 

 proud and happy, than to feel that our endeavors and 

 achievements are deserving of such favorable impres- 

 sions, comments and recognition. 



What has been started successfully last year can now 

 be greatly enlarged upon in Boston, and a splendid be- 

 ginning has been made. May I be accorded the privilege 

 to ask every grower, florist and gardener to do his full 

 share towards the success of our Boston Convention 

 Garden, through active participation as an exhibitor. 

 The Garden is all ready, and all that is now required is 

 the plants to fill it. We want you all to help us in this 

 educational work, and we want you to share alike the 

 happiness, the pride, the glory and other manifold bene- 

 fits of this progressive undertaking. Planting time is 

 passing fast, so write to James B. Shea, Chairman, Con- 

 vention Garden, 30 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass., for 

 information and space. DO IT NOW ! 



Theodore Wirth, 

 President, S. A. F. & O. H. 



A VISIT TO THE CONVERSE ESTATE, 

 MARION, MASS. 



The writer recently had the pleasure of a journey over 

 the Converse estate at Marion, accompanied by Super- 

 intendent Roy. After walking about two hours around 

 the grounds we realized that a vast amount of planning 

 and an equally large amount of work must have been 

 necessary to have so completely changed the eighty acres 

 comprising this estate into such a picture. 



As you enter the gate, if one takes the drive, a beauti- 

 ful vista of stately trees banked with Rhodendrons prom- 

 ises a pleasing picture when the season arrives for the 

 unfolding of the numerous buds into a gorgeous display. 

 Preferring to walk, one takes a turn to the right and 

 enters the Daffodil Walk winding its circuitous way 

 among Nature's solitude from the gate to the green- 



houses. Never in the walk could the eye escape the nar- 

 cissus in all its loveliness. Bordering the walk are thou- 

 sands of trumpet varieties, while peeping from among the 

 undergrowth were seen the beautiful poeticus. Another 

 gorgeous display was seen in the formal garden where 

 nearly ten thousand bulbs of various kinds vied with each 

 other in an effort to catch the eye. Emperor and Em- 

 press Narcissus were remarkably fine. 



In the greenhouses everything showed the touch of the 

 master hand, while the house containing a large collection 

 of Hydrangea Hortensis, each plant bearuig several 

 trusses augmented by splendid specimens of pink and 

 while spireas, was the center of attraction. In fact it 

 was hard to turn in any direction without seeing some- 

 thing to hold the attention of any lover of Nature. 



W. F. TURXER. 



SUN WARMS ONLY EARTH'S SURFACE. 



How far does the heat of the full summer's sun pen- 

 etrate into the ground? 



Probably not one person in ten will give an answer 

 that is even appro.ximately correct, says Tit Bits. Their 

 replies generally vary from one inch to many hundred 

 feet. Actuallv the distance is about three feet. Beyond 

 this depth the temperature of the soil does not vary ap- 

 preciably from hour to hour, let the midday be ever so 

 hot and the midnight ever so cold. At this depth the 

 mean temperature in the summer is about 58 degrees 

 Fahrenheit and in the winter about 36 degrees Fahrenheit. 



And the annual difference? That is to say, the depth 

 at which there is some difference between the summer 

 temperature and that of the winter? Well, at a depth 

 of 60 feet it is impossible to measure any change due 

 to the changing seasons overhead. Go down only 40 feet 

 and it is minute — barely measurable. But at 25 jeet to 

 30 feet it is quite a definite amount. 



The surface heat takes a long while to penetrate down- 

 ward. In fact, curiously enough, the change in tem- 

 jierature of the ground takes just over six months to 

 reach the end of its 25-foot journey. Thus we are faced 

 with the phenomenon of midsummer upon the surface 

 occurring at the same time as midwinter 25 to 30 feet 

 down, and vice versa. 



As most people are aware, the temperature increases 

 with the depth. At three feet down the average annual 

 mean is just short of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, while at 

 25 feet it is just over a degree more, that is 47 degrees 

 Fahrenheit. 



In agricultural districts yon will hear farmers in the 

 same village talking about "cold" soils and "warm" soils. 

 This, although it soimds improbable to those who have 

 never had anything to do with the land, is an actual fact. 



Everybody knows from personal experience that black 

 clothes are hotter to wear when a hot summer's sun is 

 shining than white ones, hence the "flannels" for men 

 and the white frocks for girls. The reason for this is 

 that black and other dark color.s absorb heat, while white 

 and the lighter shades reflect it. And this applies to soils 

 equally with clothes. 



Those soils wdiich by their ingredients are a darker 

 color are literally w-armer than their lighter neighbors. 

 Peaty soils, some of which are nearly "black, others a 

 rich, dark brown, are the warmest. Light colored clays 

 and chalk the coldest. There may be as much as 15 de- 

 grees or 16 degrees Fahrenheit difference between the 

 temperatuies of two soils, lying next each other, and 

 upon the same day. On a warm suminer's day the tem- 

 perature of peaty soil may well be over 87 degrees 

 Fahrenheit, while a chalky field of similar situation in the 

 .same district will not rise above 73 degrees to 74 degrees 

 Fahrenheit. 



