406 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



Ihc system used in this instructional work was uiodcl- 

 leti after that in use at the Kew Gardens, England, and 

 fioriculture was from the beginning the most important 

 phase of the work. This system has been giving excellent 

 results and these courses have actually been the founda- 

 tion for the work we are giving today. The important 

 factor in this course is the emphasis that is put on the 

 practical work as it gives the student the assurance and 

 confidence that he understands the tasks set before him 

 and the best ways to accomplish them. In this country 

 tcda}' we owe much to the Euroi)ean trained men who 

 received their training imder a similar system. 



Coming back to our problem of floricultural education, 

 it is ni}- firm belief that floriculture in all its phases is 

 b'ecoming more and more scientific ; that is to sav, more 

 and more dependent on the result of scientific research 

 and discovery and surely it must give a man greater con- 

 fidence and power if he has had a term or two at a school 

 or college where the subjects in which he will be en- 

 gaged in the earning of his livelihood are highly special- 

 ized. Above all, <if cnursc, he must have practical ex- 

 perience: that is taken for granted, but if he understands 

 plant life, chemistry, the habit and structure of insect 

 pests, and the life history of fimgi and other such things, 

 he is surely a better man at his vocation. Practice with 

 science, in other words, is the ideal for which we should 

 strive and we are following this plan as far as existing 

 circumstances will permit. ( )ur system is 1)\ no means 

 ideal: it will take years and \ears to develop methods 

 such (IS those under iclilcli our siicrcssfiil Liurilriwr of tlic 

 prcsent day received his traiiiiii:^. 



We have done our utmost to kee|) u]) with the won- 

 derfid progress that is being ni.ide in .-dl lines of tloricid- 

 tural work. 



In selectiii'^ the allied si^hjects which ;iid in rounding 

 I'Ut a well balanced c:inisc in floricultnrc, onl\ those giv- 

 ing the mo-t beneficicd tr;iining ha\-e been selected. The 

 value of the course lies in the strictly scientific and funda- 

 mental training. The object of the work, then, is not 

 to turn out specialists or men who have mastered all 

 the details of practical work. If a man wishes to spe- 

 cialize along any particidar line, he must first obtain this 

 practice on some up-to-date establishment. In this con- 

 nection I wish to say that we always urge our men to 

 go into practical work during the summer months and 

 vacation periods. I think the time is near at hand when 

 every student taking a course of this nature will be re- 

 cjuired to have at least one \ear's practical exjjerience 

 Ijefore he receives his diploma. The Rhode Island Agri- 

 cultural College has just recently ]ia'-'sed a ruling to this 

 elTect. 



As a separate college course the floricultural work is 

 comparatively new. It only approaches the ap|)rentice 

 system, the Kew and Edinburgh s\stem, under which 

 our successful gardeners of the present dav received 

 their trainings. I have t)ften heard the statement that 

 there are no good American florists and gardeners. This 

 is true to a certain extent and for this reason it is our dutv 

 to see that any one who wishes to go into this work should 

 have only the best educational facilities and training. So 

 this problem which we are trying to solve is your problem 

 as well as ours, and you practical gardeners and florists 

 can be of great assistance to us. 



While I fully believe that the gardeners and florists 

 of today are as progressive and broadminded as any other 

 group of professional men, they have been slow in en- 

 couraging this work and in giving the coming generation 

 a better foundation for the profession which has made 

 such wonderful strides the past twenty-five years. 



That a man in choosing this line of work must have 

 a love for nature in onler to be successful is a well 



known fact. It means more than watching anfl waitmg 

 developments. To my knowledge there is no line of 

 work where the duties are more exacting. 



That more has not been done along the lines of floricul- 

 tural education is not so much the fault of the insti- 

 tutions as the fault of the people. Before we can expect 

 active support we nnist prove to you people that we 

 are working along the right lines — in other words, we 

 are after results. .\s the work is still in its infancy it 

 is rather difficult to gi\e you accurate figures; however, 

 I can say frankly that nearly all the men who have 

 actually gone into this work are today fairly successful. 

 I am keeping close watch on the men who are going out 

 from here and in a few }ears I hope to give vou more 

 detailed information on this point. To the question 

 "IJoes the instruction given along floricultural lines in the 

 agricultural college influence floriculture?" I can only 

 sa}' that we are creating new interest. The key note 

 of this new interest is better methods, business organi- 

 zation and a knowledge of the scientific principles un- 

 derlying successful practice. Education along general 

 agricultural lines seems to be remarkably successful, and 

 I see no reason whv we should not be equally sucessful 

 along eilucational lines in our bighh' de\'eIoped specialty. 



THE HERBACEOUS PHLOXES. 



Tbc^e Useful hard\ flnwering plants are equally as valu- 

 able for small as for large gardens. From the middle 

 of July onwards they continue to produce an abundance 

 su])pl\ of flowers imtil the damp days and nights de- 

 stroy their beauty. riie tew first frosts do not usually 

 do them much injui-\, at least, not to the same extent as 

 damp. The s(iil best siiiteil !< ' their successfid cultivation 

 i- a giKjil luam not of tun light a nature, as when this is 

 llu- case there will be a tendenc\- to suffer from drought 

 in dry weather, and this should always be carefully 

 guarded against. A positicin that is tolerably moist and 

 tool during hot weather is well adapted for their re- 

 ([uirements. When this can be secured, even with a less 

 amount of sunshine, it is lietter than being too fully ex- 

 l)Osed to the heat and drought. I'oor soil, or that which 

 is light and gravelly, should be enriched with cow manure 

 previous to ])lanting, being deei)ly dug at the same time. 

 The\' thri\e very well indeed in a heavy loam with a 

 tenilenc\ to clay. \\'henever they are found to grow 

 freely and flower profusel}- it is not a good plan to add 

 much manure, but better to leave them for a few years 

 as the\ are. After a time they \\\\] show signs of weak- 

 ness, then the best pl;ni will be to add manure to the 

 soil or remove them to a fresh piece of ground. When 

 this is being done the clum])s may be divided as necessary. 

 This is a very good and simple wa\ to cultivate them 

 for all genera! purposes. Where, hr)wever, more ex- 

 tensive ])ropagation is necessar_\-, or when plants of extra 

 vigor and strong spikes are the chief aim, then propa- 

 gation should be b\' means of cuttings taken off just when 

 of sufticient length in the spring and struck in sandy 

 soil in pots in a cold-frame. When well rooted these 

 may be planted out permanently or left in pots and plunged 

 for the first year, and planted the following spring when 

 commencing to grow. This jilan gives rather more 

 trouble, but no doubt better plants are thus obtained. 

 Large established clum|)s always throw up a sui)erabun- 

 dance of shoots every spring: as soon as the strongest 

 of these can be fairly (listinguishcd, all of the weaker 

 ones should be thinned out stifficientK for each shoot to 

 develop without being drawn up weakl\-. Those growths 

 remaining will thus increase in vigor, and at the same 

 time remain more dwarf and compact with less need 

 afterwards of any midue amount of staking and t\ing, 

 ( Continued on page 408. ) 



