The Private Gardener in Commercial Fields 



The subject of our sketch, Chas. H. Totty, of Madison, 

 N. T., was born in Shropshire, England, in September, 

 1873, and is now forty-one years old. In his early 'teens 

 in common with most other youthful seekers after horti- 

 cultural knowledge he served his three years appren- 

 ticeship and was passed along to Dickson's celebrated 

 nurseries at Chester in 1890. He is at all times willing 

 to bear testimony to the good that a young fellow derives 

 from such nursery experience. He says a few weeks 

 spent in getting up orders in a first-class nursery gives 

 an observant young man an almost cyclopedic knowledge 

 of plants, if his memory is good and he concentrates on 

 his work. Too many of our American boys in this age 

 of specialization never acquire even a speaking acquaint- 

 ance with the numerous varieties of trees and shrubs, not 

 to mention the thousands of varieties of orchids and stove 

 plants, in cultivation at the present time. 



After a year at Dickson's, Mr. Totty went to the Norris 

 Green Estate in the hands of the Gladstone family, locat- 

 ed at West Derby, Liverpool, immediately adjoining the 

 estates of the Earls of Sefton and Derby. This estab- 

 lishment was largely known for the quantity of excellent 

 fruit grown there and the training in fruit growing there 

 received during his two years' employment, was a great 

 help in rounding out his horticultural knowledge, which 

 previously had been confined to plants and flowers. 



In May, 1893, Mr. Totty came to America and secured 

 a position with Mrs. F. F. Thompson, Canandaigua, 

 N. Y., although this estate was not nearly so large at that 

 time as it is now. In the spring of 1895 he returned to 

 New York and drifted out to Pitcher & Manda's establish- 

 ment at Short Hills. X. J., looking for a position. They 

 sent him to the Twombly Estate at Madison, N. J., in 

 which town he has remained ever since. He was largely 



responsible for the chrysanthemums exhibited from this 

 estate from the year 1898 to 1903, which gave the name 

 "Florham Farms"' a world-wide reputation. 



In 1903 Mr. Totty started into business for himself at 

 Madison, buying out the Hart greenhouses of that 

 place. His expert knowledge of chrysanthemums to- 

 gether with his extensive acquaintance among the ex- 

 pert growers of the country served him in good stead. 

 In l909 the opportunity presented itself to lease the 

 Twombly Greenhouses, where he had taken his first posi- 

 tion in Madison. This establishment with its large glass 

 area and commodius packing sheds was just what was 

 needed to take care of his rapidly increasing business. 



From the first Mr. Totty has made a specialty of pro- 

 ducing high-class stock of chrysanthemums, carnations, 

 roses, and other novelties that show merit. In 1910 he 

 was given the exclusive American agency for the Wells- 

 Pockett varieties of Novelty 'Mums. It will be noted in 

 any exhibition that most of the first-prize 'Mums are 

 varieties that \lr. Totty introduced to the American 

 trade. 



He is the introducer of the single type of "]\Iums which 

 have become so popular the past few years, and also the 

 Early Flowering 'Mums, which are now almost as exten- 

 sively grown as Geraniums. In reference to the latter 

 type, he has this past year signed an agreement with 

 August Nonin of Paris, France, bv which he becomes 



the sole American agent for this grower, who has done 

 more than anyone else in the world to improve this Early 

 Flowering type of Chrysanthemum. At the present time 

 Mr. Totty has a great many Early Flowering seedlings 

 under test at his Madison establishment. 



\\'hile the catch-phrase "Totty's 'Mums" is world-wide, 

 his novelty business is not confined solely to this flower. 

 In 1911 he introduced the English rose, "Lady Hilling- 

 don," to the American trade. In 1912, in conjunction 

 with the E. G. Hill Co., of Richmond, Indiana, he dis- 

 tributed the French variety Sunburst. In 1913 he gave 

 us the pink rose "Airs. Geo. Shawyer," which is an Eng- 

 lish seedling grown by Lowe & Shawyer and introduced 

 to the English trade by that firm. This latter variety 

 seems destined to become one of the most popular pink 

 varieties grown. 



Mr. Totty is also the American agent for Hugh Dick- 

 son, Ltd., of Belfast, Ireland, for his Novelty Roses, and 

 as "Dickson" is a name to conjure with we can hope to 



CH.\ELES H. TOTTY. 



hear a great deal more of him in this connection in the 

 future. 



Mr. Totty is an ex-president of the New York Flor- 

 ists' Club, and at the present time a trustee of that body ; 

 he was for three years president of the Chrysanthemum 

 Society of America ; in 1912 was appointed a director 

 of the Society of American Florist & Ornamental Hor- 

 ticulturists. He was appointed chairman of the Na- 

 tional Flower Show in New York in 1913, and his work 

 in that capacity still speaks for itself. 



