432 



HORTICULTURE 



September 23, 1911 



A FARMER'S DINNER. 



To enter, for one thing, emphatic 

 St against the proposition that 

 the farmer lias no compensating ad- 

 vantages for all his troubles as com- 

 pared with the city dweller, and for 

 another, to show that those high- 

 toned places like the Union League, 

 Dooner's, The Bellevue-Stratford, et al, 

 with their million-dollar buildings and 

 regal salaried chefs, can never reach 

 the highest pinnacle of viandic fresh- 

 ness, fragrance and perfection, two 

 Bucks County farmers, Dr. John H. 

 Washburn of the agricultural college 

 known officially as the National Farm 

 School, and Howard M. Earl of Ford- 

 hook Farms, invited a select party of 

 city men — scoffers, bon vivants, Phil- 

 istines, poets, philosophers and unbe- 

 lievers—for the purpose of giving them 

 an object lesson, Sept. 14, 1911, to a 

 farmers' dinner at Farm School, Bucks 

 County, Pa. (Whew! That's a long 

 sentence. We shall be aspiring to the 

 Gladstone and Cleveland hilltop if we 

 can sustain a gait like that and still 

 be understood without putting in a 

 full stop.) 



They made a day of it — and what a 

 day! Brilliant sunshine, a crisp, clear 

 September day, their hosts to meet 

 them at the station, a drive through 

 the college grounds, then over to the 

 Fordhook Farms adjoining, a drive 

 through these and inspection of the 

 brilliant fields of scarlet sage, zinnia, 

 marigold, phlox, and scores of others, 

 some for testing, some for seed sav- 

 ing, then down to the farm buildings 

 and a look through the model arrange- 

 ments for the care and increase of the 

 W'Orld-famous Burpee pedigree stocks 

 of thickens, collies, and other pet and 

 useful "horned cattle." In passing the 

 Burpee residence, who should appear 

 smiling on the porch but "the big 

 chief" himself, and nothing would do 

 but that the party must disembark 

 and come inside for a brief rest. Those 

 who know Burpee know what a prince 

 he is at doing the honors. Of course 

 there was the usual chat and rest, 

 then the jest and repartee and general 

 wakening up, after which Everett, the 

 English butler and body squire of the 

 chief, with all his h's and courtly 

 ways still hanging to him, appeared 

 noiselessly from some mysterious 

 source, bearing cheer and comfort and 

 leaving in his wake golden smiles. 



Mr. Burpee joined the party for 

 their further adventures, which in- 

 cluded the inspection of a peach or- 

 chard adjoining Farm School and 

 Fordhook, and where young trees 

 (seven thousand of them), planted 

 about two years ago and now from 

 five to eight feet high, show up in 

 fine shape and are expected year after 

 next to give their first crop, estimated 

 at seven baskets per tree. That ought 

 to bring fifty thousand dollars, which 

 is going some for a fifty-acre farm in 

 four years. The cost of cultivating, 

 spraying, etc., is largely covered by 

 the corn and turnip crops grown in 

 between. After the first of July all 

 the surplus moisture and fertility pos- 

 sible is taken up by these side crops 

 so as to make the peach trees stop 

 growing and ripen up good and hard 

 to stand the winter. Even the weeds 

 are allowed to riot after the first of 

 July with the same object in view. 



Returning, more of the Farm School 

 stock and operations are seen, ex- 

 plained and discussed. Every phase 



of agriculture and horticulture is car- 

 ried on, the work being all done by 

 the students as part of their studies 

 in their four-year course, and the vis- 

 itors were greatly impressed with the 

 fine appearance of everything. Dr. 

 Washburn and his able staff of pro- 

 fessors in all departments certainly 

 deserve great credit for the excellent 

 showing. 



By this time it was one thirty and 

 a bell rang at the doctor's residence 

 intimating that dinner was ready. 

 Tom Daly called that bell "the Jewish 

 Angelus." It certainly did not sound 

 like the usual merry jingle of a dinner 

 bell. Very discouraging for men with 

 appetites whetted by five or six hours 

 of country air! But the clouds were 

 soon dispelled. What a dinner! 

 Words fail us. Here is the menu: 



WASHBURN AND EARL'S FARMERS' 

 DINNER. 



Thursday, September 14. 1911. 

 Cooking by Washburn. Eats by Earl. 



AN APPETIZER! 



Guess what it is? 



OLIVES. 



Home made from Farmers' Grape-vine. 



COMPOST. 



SOUP. 



Better than Dooner's. 



FISH. 



From Lake Rosenthal. 



SWEETS. 



DUCK. 



That Earl swiped from the cradle. 



APPLE SAUCE. 



To be eaten through a straw. 



SWEET CORN. LIMA BEANS. 



Washburn's Folly. Burpee's Best. 



TATERS. 



Not marbles. 



ONIONS. CELERY. 



Without odor. "Boughten" 



WOLFF'S CLEAR CIDER. 



MYSTERY SALAD. 



The ingredients have been accumulating all 



summer. 



RAT-TRAP CHEESE. 



ABERNETHY BISCUITS. 



BLACK WALNUTS,— from Farm School 



woods. 



FORDHOOK CHICORY. 



HOT WATERMELON. DYSPEPSIA PIE. 



If "eats" are unsatisfactory please make 



complaints in writing to Dr. John H. 



Washburn. Farm School, Bucks Co., Pa. 



After about two hours of most 

 scandalous demolition from beginning 

 to end, those who were still able to 

 talk voted unanimously "A farmer's 

 life for me," and those who were too 

 full for utterance went out and 

 stretched themselves under the pear 

 trees. 



Then came more sight seeing. Bye 

 and bye came another impromptu 

 meeting at the Burpee residence, 

 which had some speech-making and 

 almost developed into a little home 

 concert. Conspicuous features of the 

 day's speeches, megaphone and other- 

 wise, were Attorney Louis Boss's ap- 

 preciation of the merits of Wolff's 

 sweet cider, and Editor George Don- 

 nelley's dissertation on the virtues of 

 "Swiss chard" as compared with spin- 

 ach. The latter was most sincerely 

 convinced that his mission in life had 

 at last been struck. That Mr. Earl 

 and others might hint that they had 

 been telling the American people that 

 very thing for thirty years and more, 

 made no impression on George Don- 

 nelley. He was in the full gallop of 

 the new discoverer. A secret came 

 out about the ladies of the Washburn 

 and Earl families. They had dis- 

 guised themselves in neat waitress 

 uniforms and most of the guests being 



strangers they had great fun at get- 

 ting in touch with a lot of men folks 

 in the abandon of a stag dinner. For- 

 tunately everybody behaved well. 

 There was no flirting and the only 

 cuss word we remember came from 

 the only clergyman in the party. 



In his own inimitable way Mr. Bur- 

 pee made the speech of thanks to the 

 ladies. Dr. Daly gave some of his 

 wonderful stories and recitations. 

 These have made him famous on al- 

 most every stage all over the United 

 States and Canada. Two of the Em- 

 peror William prize tenors. C. Howard 

 Reed and T. Frank Dooner, gave a 

 sample of their quality to please Mrs. 

 Burpee and the other ladies present. 

 When train time came it was the most 

 chastened, subdued and admiring lot 

 of city men that bade adieu to their 

 hospitable, able and wonderful hosts. 

 Happy to meet — sorry to part — happy 

 to meet again. 



GEORGE C. WATSON. 



[P. S. — To Our Readers: A clever man (we 

 think it was Charles Dudley Warner) once 

 said that the next best thing to having 

 a garden of one's own was to read about 

 one. We may emphasize that by saying, 

 the next best thing to attending a farmer's 

 dinner is to read about one. We trust our 

 readers will enjoy at second-hand this 

 veracious account of our correspondent who 

 seems to have been there. — Ed.] 



NEWS NOTES. 



Middletown, N. Y— Robert Craw- 

 ford, florist. Cottage street, was cut 

 and bruised in an automobile accident 

 at Newburgh on Sept. 8. 



Akron, Ohio — H. Heepe, florist, has 

 sued O. C. Barber of Akron for $822 

 for material alleged to have been fur- 

 nished Barber's country home. 



Grants Pass, Ore. — Five acres of land 

 near the city park have been pur- 

 chased by E. Mayer and B. Nyberg of 

 Seattle, who will put up a greenhouse 

 plant and engage in the florist and 

 nursery business. The concern will 

 be known as the Grants Pass Floral 

 and Nursery Co. 



lo^of CALIFORNIA PRIVET 



$25.00 to $35.00 per 1000. 



3S&N CARNATIONS 



Enchantress and Winsor, $6 00 per 100. 



5 00 Jerusalem Cherries 



Field-grown, ready for 5 and 6-inch pots. 



l:T,, Scottii, Whitmani and Boston'Ferns 



4 and 6-inch, ready t<> shift; also ;iu assort- 

 ment of 



ROSES 



FIELD-GROWN 

 OWN ROOTS 



RIDLEY PARK NURSERIES 



RIDLEY PARK, PA. 



~IN~THE SWUVT 



/ must be in the swim, 

 You might forget my name, 

 And say that I am to blame. 

 If you do not get the best. 

 Christmas Trees, Spruce or Balsam, from 

 one foot to thirty, in any quantity; Baled 

 Spruce. Balsam, II em I nek Boughs. Laurel 

 and Evergreen Festooing and Wreaths. 

 Sphagnum Moss, Hardy Cut Fancy and 

 Hugger Ferns. Yearly Contracts Made. 

 Send for Price List and order your Christ- 

 inas Trees now. GET THE BEST. 



H. J. SMITH, Hin sdale, Mass. 



HERBERT, ATCO, N. J. 



DAHLIAS Every Day In th* Year 



