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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



they would grow better under conditions nearly like that 

 of their native country ; but in the second season they 

 were set out in an open, sunny part of the garden, 

 planted at distances of one or two feet, and cared for 

 just as the other parts of the garden were cared for. 



The flower of cold weather and of mountains thrived 

 and bloomed abundantly all through the hot summer 

 under a blazing sun. 



Since that time the edelweiss have appeared each 

 spring in the early part of May, and toward the end of 

 the month have put forth flowers which remained in 

 bloom until along in September. There has been no fur- 

 ther bother with hothouse culture and cultivation : the 

 plants have become naturalized and in their hardy way 

 have inured themselves to the hardships of the new soil. 

 They fill an interesting place in a garden full of inter- 

 esting flowers. 



"It is a low plant, four to twelve inches high, densely 

 covered with a whitish wool, the attractive portion being 

 the flat, star-like cluster of woolly floral leaves surround- 

 ing the true flowers, which are small, inconspicuous and 

 yellow," says "Bailey's Cyclopedia of Horticulture" in 

 describing the edelweiss. Various directions are given 

 by authorities for the culture of the Alpine flower. One 

 says, "It can be grown to perfection in elevated position 

 of the rockery, in rather light soil and with full exposure 

 to the sun. It also succeeds in an ordinary hardy border 

 where the plants can be kept moderately dry in winter." 

 Another advises that the seed be sown early in spring in 

 shallow pans of sandy soil and leafmold and kept cool 

 and moist. An English writer advises that a few stray 

 seedlings be firmly planted in a narrow chink of rock, so 

 placed that a deep fissure of gritty or sandy loam may 

 be assured for the roots to ramble in. Plants in pots 

 may be grown and flowered when the collar is tightly 

 wedged between some pieces of stone or old mortar. The 

 plant is best propagated by seeds, as division is not al- 

 ways successful. 



The more poetic name of edelweiss means "noble 

 white," and e.xpresses the sentiment of the Alpine natives 

 toward the flower as an emblem of purity. 



The odd little plant has long had a place in English 

 gardens ; its cultivation is not difficult on sandy soils, or 

 even as a border plant, and it grows, too, lu.xuriantly in 

 moist, rich soils." 



Gardeners who wish to grow something that is more 

 or less of a novelty will find edelweiss an interesting 

 plant with which to experiment. Most of our American 

 seedsmen catalogue it. — From Suburban Life. 



RAILWAY GARDENING ASSOCIATION 

 CONVENTION. 



The eighth annual convention of the Railway Garden- 

 ing Association will be held in Xew York City, August 

 11 to 14, at the Hotel Breslin, Broadway and Twenty- 

 ninth street. 



Program. 



tl'esd.w, august 11. 



10:00 a. m. to 12:30 p. m. — Opening meeting. 

 2 :30 p. m. to 5 :00 p. m. — Business meeting. 

 If necessary, part of the evening will be devoted to busi- 

 ness meeting, 



WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12. 



9 :00 a. m. to 12 :00 m. — Business meeting. 

 2 :C0 p. m. to 5 :00 ]). m. — Business meeting. 

 Evening. — Go as v m please. 



THUr.Sli.W, .\UGUST 13. 



9 :C0 a. m. — Business meeting, election of officers, etc. 



.Adjorrnment. 



1 :00 p. m. — Trip on Central Railroad of Xew Jersey to 

 Somerville and Dukes Farms and Gardens, stopping 

 en route to have photo of party taken by Mr. Morris 

 at Fanwood Station. 



FRIDAY, AUGUST 14. 



9 :00 a. m. — Trip to Ocean Grove via Sandy Hook boats 

 and train, compliments of Central Railroad of Xew 

 Jerse}-. 

 Afternoon. — To Coney Island or suit individual tastes. 



Members are requested to kindly advise President F. 

 W. Vail, of Dunellin, X. J., at the earliest possible mo- 

 ment whether they are going to attend, so that he can 

 complete the program for all business and social features. 



THE OLDEST CHEMICAL FERTILIZER. 



By KL\rl L.\ngenbeck. 



The beneficial results of applying a variety of chem- 

 icals to the soil is an old experience in agriculture. 

 Gypsum or crude plaster, marl, a form of carbonate of 

 lime, with more or less of clay admixture, chalk, 

 crushed limestone and the road dust of roads running 

 through a lime country were used indiscriminately just 

 as they were available. In districts distant from such 

 materials, the plastering, stucco and mortar of old 

 buildings that were pulled down was not wasted. They 

 were applied to the gardens and farms near the villages 

 and towns of England in the days of bluff Prince Hal. 



We are speaking, of course, of old countries, where 

 the keeping up of the fertility of the land has been a 

 constant problem. And. this is a problem we still have 

 to learn in America, where virgin fertility is still so 

 recent a tradition, if not an experienced fact with many, 

 that farmers are slow to keen alive to its necessity. 



Now, rural England, the home of our mother tongue, 

 called all these various forms of chemicals by the gen- 

 eral term "lime." "Liming the soil" meant applying 

 any one or other of them, whichever was cheapest or 

 easiest available. But it was also known, that if re- 

 sults were wanted in shorter time, burned lime such as 

 used for mortar was best. It was, therefore, designated 

 "quick lime" for "quick" meant alive in old English 

 and "lime" an earthy chemical. 



"Quicklime" is the good old English name for 

 burned lime. It got it fr<mi the farmer from the way 

 it did its work-quick. As there were always more 

 farmers than masons, their designation had the call, 

 and in the English of England, "burned lime" would 

 not be understood for what it is by the generality of 

 men, for "quicklime" is the word. Now, it would be 

 well for our farmers to remember this, for it tells the 

 story of age long experience in a word. But, how is it 

 that here in America we have lost the designation and 

 do not, as in the mother tongue, understand by lime, a 

 class of substance and the particular thing by "quick- 

 lime." Wh}^ very naturally. Favored in agriculture 

 by fertile soil, the American farmer forgot about fer- 

 tilizing it with different chemicals. "Quicklime" be- 

 came virtually a material of the mason alone. The 

 designation "quick" was therefore dropped because it 

 was considered senseless. 



So, in American English, we know of lime as a par- 

 ticular thing. We have lost the farmers' term "quick- 

 lime" for the most active of lime derived chemicals. 

 We hope American farmers will revive the expressive 

 old English term 



