THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



511 



ELECTRICITY AND PLANT LIFE. 



I L'.iiitiiiiicil from /'I'.si' -t'''"'. i 



•conditions electric stimulation has increased crop 

 yields of manj- kinds. The favorite method of appli- 

 cation has been to date to cause a high tension dis- 

 charge to the ground from insulated conductors ar- 

 ranged over the growing plants. It has also been 

 observed that the positive discharge gave better re- 

 sults than the negative one. 



Electric stinuilation a]>])ears not only to affect vege- 

 tation but has a similar effect on li\-ing creatures. 

 Experiment in connecticjn with chicken raising shows 

 that young chickens stibjected to an electrified atmo- 

 sphere for a certain interval each day develop not only 

 greater vitality and a consequent reduced mortality 

 but also show a much more rapid growth under the 

 same feeding or an equal growth with a more limited 

 diet. On an Oregon farm a stock raiser has wired 

 his sheep pens with JNIazda lamps. The light of the 

 pens induced the sheep to feed earl\- in the morning 

 and late at night, besides their regular diet during 

 the da}-, which served to fatten them up for the mar- 

 ket weeks in advance of the (ordinary shee|i shipping- 

 day. 



Much niiire experimentation is needed in Electro 

 Culture so that definite principles may be set down 

 and the effects of electric stimulus be assured with the 

 accuracy obtainable in all scientific and engineering 

 work. 



In man}' exj;eriment stations data is now being col- 

 lected by engineers on the staff' of the Society for 

 Electrical Develupment on this subject, to be publishefl 

 during "Electrical Prosperity Week," November 29 

 to December 4, when the record of electrical achieve- 

 ■ment for the last twenty years will be heralded in 

 everv citv and town of the United States. 



AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. 



The E.xecuti\-c Cummittee of the American Rose 

 Society held a meeting in New York City, President 

 Pennock presiding. The matter of the annual bulle- 

 tin with the proceedings for 1915 was gone over, with 

 the ])lan of making improvement in this publication, 

 and the J. H. AlacFarlane Co., of Harrisburg, made a 

 proposition to issue the same in a much better form 

 than heretofore, and this proposition was accepted, 

 and the same will come out after the first of Januar\-, 

 embodying the transactiijns of the year with colored 

 illustrations. 



The matter of cost of affiliated membershi]) was 

 gone over with some detail. At present the affiliated 

 membership is ten cents for each men-ilier. and after 

 careful consideration it was uK.ived that the asso- 

 ciate membershii) be changed from ten cents to twen- 

 ty-five cents per member; this change to be ])Ut into 

 effect January 1, 1916. 



The premium list for the exhibit of lOKi, to he held 

 in Philadelphia at the National Flower Show- from 

 Alarch 25 to April 2, was submitted and gone over care- 

 ftdly, covering roses in pots and ttibs, table decora- 

 tions, blooms bv commercial growers and blooms by 

 private growers. The total amovmt of jjremiums to 

 be awarded is $2,500.00. 



Mr. C. T. Tansill, of the Washington Test Garden 

 Committee tendered his resignation, and it was moved 

 that Mr. Win. F. Gude, of Washington, D. C, be ap- 

 pointed to fill the vacancy, and Mr. Gude has accepted 

 the position. PlEXJ.\^^IX H.\MMoxn, Secretary. 



HONORING JOHN McLAREN 



That was a luqip}- thought of the authorities at the 

 San Francisco Exposition when they gave one day of 

 their program to honoring John McLaren, the maker 

 of Golden Gate Park, and who has been instrumental 

 in adorning the exposition grounds. In doing honor 

 to this able horticulturist, the San Franciscans have 

 unwittingl}- paid a high compliment to the gardeners' 

 art, fcjr although so many peo])le in these days are 

 too squeamish to ackncjwledge that a "landscape en- 

 gineer" (save the mark) is a "gardener," that is just 

 what he is, first, last and all the time. Or shall we 

 be merciful and say that that is what he ought to 

 be but too often is nul}- the "engineer," and leaves 

 the real gardener who has to follow him, and \vho 

 has to try and grow ])lants and shrubs in some of the 

 impossible places he has planned — he leaves the latter 

 w-ith a rich legacy of difficult problems or cultural 

 im])ossibilities. If all the "engineers" knew as much 

 alxiut the real gardening part of the business as they 

 ought to, there would probably be many more cosy 

 and effective gardens u]3 and down the land. The 

 work of John Morlev at San Diego deserves to be 

 siniilarK- honored to |ohn McLaren's. 



FLOWERING LILACS IN NOVEMBER. 



The e.xhihil of llowering lilacs at the show of the Horti- 

 cultural Society of New York, made by Johij Scheepers, 

 and awarded a silver medal attracted a considerable 

 amount of interest and |)rnved one (jf the attractive dis- 

 plays of the show. 



These plants, packed in a way to insure their remaining 

 dr}-, were put into cold storage last Deceniher and after 



oRori' oi' ii.ow-Kkixr, i.il.xcs and spirk.xs o.\ icxii ii'.rriox 



IX xo\-|-:mi:i;k .\-r thk iiokticultuk.sl sociK-rv of 



XKW York i--.\ll show. 



being retarded for eleven months, they proved better than 

 lilacs which arrive fresh from Europe and are then forced. 



The trusses were larger than those from fresh lilacs ; 

 one ])lant bore as many as fifty-nine perfect trusses, while 

 they were grown from only regular size potgrown plants ; 

 a remarkable thing is that after being for five days in a 

 dark corner of the overheated museum, barely watered, 

 thev w-ere in as perfect condition when they left the 

 museum for the Plaza Hotel, where the\- are now- on ex- 

 hibition, as lhe\ were when they left the greenhouses 

 where the\- were grtnvn. 



Not all the plants so treated and retarded flowered in 

 ])erfect condition ; a considerable percentage would not 

 flower at all, but Mr. Scheepers hopes to succeed one hun- 

 dred per cent, next }ear. 



