October 14, 1911 



HORTICULTURE 



529 



THE HORTICULTURAL OUTLOOK 



An Address by J. K. M. L. Farquhar, Boston, Delivered Before the New York Florists' Club, October 9, 1911. 



Retrospect. 



In Looking backward thirty years or 



more one is very torciblj impressed 



with Uic advancement made in nearly 



every depaitment oi' horticulture. Any 



ampliflcati i this statement would 



be superfluous to this audience; lather 

 would 1 speak briefly of some of the 

 agencies which have been working for 

 the unprecedented progress of the past 

 ten years or so. 



Agencies of Advancement. 



Foremost of these agencies I place 

 the automobile, which of itself has 

 been the means of greatly changing 

 the habits of the American people. 

 The limit of suburban residence has ex- 

 tended fiom about twenty miles to a 

 hundred, and the houses and grounds 

 have increased in importance and area 

 in like proportion. 



The larger country estate is of 

 greater interest than was the smaller 

 one, and the time-saving automobile 

 gives the owner more time in which 

 to enjoy it, and, furthermore, having 

 his own comfoi table and eve:-ready 

 means of transportation, he goes to it 

 earlier in the season and stays later 

 than formerly, when his sojourn in the 

 country depended upon railroad time- 

 tables. 



Tne telephone, the electric lamp, 

 and recent inventions for water supply 

 and heating have all contributed to 

 make life on the country estate much 

 more enjoyable than in the immediate 

 environment of the large city, where 

 only such comforts and conveniences 

 of life as were obtainable in the cities 

 themselves could be had formerly. 



The automobile, too, has lessened 

 the owner's interest in horses; the time 

 and much of the money spent on 

 horses are now frequently bestowed on 

 the garden and grounds. 



Another agency has been the period- 

 ical press, which, with beautiful illus- 

 trations, has done much to arouse and 

 develop interest in gardening. The 

 articles published have been incentives 

 to many to make their home grounds 

 beautiful as well as to lead them to 

 give attention to providing home sup- 

 plies of flowers, fruits and vegetables, 

 lather than to depend upon city mar- 

 kets, as in the past. 



T might mention many other agen- 

 cies which have been instrumental in 

 bringing so many of our people to a 

 greater appreciation of, and interest in 

 horticulture, but I content myself with 

 calling attention to the influence of the 

 country clubs. Not only have the 

 social influence and health-giving 

 recreations of these insti utions proved 

 beneficial, but the well-kept fair- 

 greens and putting-greens have led 

 many a country clubman to imp ove 

 his own lawn and grounds. 



Wealth and Travel. 



Millionaires and multi-millionaires 

 are much more numerous now than 

 they were a generation ago. Luxuries 

 to them are now necessities, and hor- 

 ticulture has its share in supplying 

 them. They have traveled abroad 



where Hey have seen things which 

 have appealed to them, pictures, 

 sculptures and other works of art, 

 great bouses with rich and laie fur- 

 nishings and line old gardens, with 

 beautiful trees, shrubs, vines and 

 Bowers — and they want them all. The 

 gardens give us our opportunity; op- 

 portunity many times greater now 

 1 1 an ever before in this country; 

 opportunity greater in this than in 

 any other country; opportunity greater 

 than we tealize and which will grow 

 beyond our most sanguine expecta- 

 tions if we horticulturists to whom it 

 comes do our part. To be successful 

 we must seek success, not alone for 

 ourselves but for our clients as well, 

 and I shall aim to point out, br.efly, 

 how each one of us in his own par- 

 ticular branch may cultivate and 

 propagate this present phenomenal 

 propensity of our people for gardens 

 and garden things. 



The Private Gardener. 

 To the private gardener I would say: 

 Make youiself master of your calling. 

 If possible specialize in some branch 

 cf it; it will distinguish you to do so, 

 just as it distinguishes a physician to 

 specialize in some department of 

 medical science. Like him, you are 

 teally a scientific man; your calling 

 makes you one. Yours is a long train- 

 ing, in fact it is never done; but let 

 not that fact discourage you. Not only 

 should you learn to till the ground, 

 how to produce crops of flowers, fruits 

 and vegetables, both under glass and 

 ott of doois, how to use, understand- 

 ing^-, fertilize! s, fungicides and in- 

 secticides, how to lay-out, make and 

 plant a garden, from shade trees to 

 water lily, how to build drains, gar- 

 den walks and greenhouses, but a 

 hundred other things. Learn it all — 

 all the art of gardening — so far as is 

 possible, and then render to your em- 

 ployer the best service you can and in- 

 sist upon getting equitable compensa- 

 tion. The demand for men who are 

 gardeners of high grade was never so 

 large as it is now, and such men can 

 command good salaries. The great 

 trouble is that too many important 

 positions are held by incompetent men 

 who are willing to work for compensa- 

 tion which would not attract a capable 

 man. 



You should endeavor to meet the 

 wishes of your employer. Have a 

 clear understanding with him as to 

 what he wishes, then let him know 

 that you must have a free hand in 

 your work for results. Regard your 

 garden and greenhouses as a manufac- 

 turer does his mill. Buy enough ma- 

 terial to keep your plant running at 

 full capacity, but do not buy anything 

 you do not need. Do not try to return 

 the favor of a nurseryman or seeds- 

 man who may have placed you in a 

 position by giving him an order for 

 supplies you do not actually require. 

 Study the interests and wishes of 

 your employer— he is entitled to con- 

 sideration and if he is the right sort 

 of man he will appreciate and recog- 

 nize your efforts. 



The Florist. 

 To the florist, I would say: Broaden 



business. There is opportunity 

 to do it and you will be obliged to do 

 it to prolong your success. Have you 

 ever tried to add to your customers 

 from among the middle classes? 

 Their trade is solicited when they are 

 in want of funeral pieces, but rarely 

 at any other time. Yet, I believe 

 there are thousands of people of 

 moderate means who would gladly 



iip into a flower store on Saturday 

 and buy a dozen carnations, with a 

 little asparagus foliage, or a few fern 

 Ironds with which to brighten their 

 homes on Sunday and through the 

 week, if such trade were encouraged. 

 of course,- it would never do to sell to 

 such people flowers that were about 

 to go to sleep;. they would have to be 

 fresh and likely to keep good for sev- 

 eral days. The feeling that the street 

 vendor is the proper person to care 

 loi the middle class trade will bar 

 progress in this direction. The florist 

 should endeavor to diversify the at- 

 tractions he offers; comparatively llt- 

 tle is done with flowering plants in 

 pots. If the very dwarf antirrhinums 

 in pink, white, yellow, etc., were 

 planted in pans like tulips, they 

 would be much more attractive and 

 more lasting. Dwarf wallflowers 

 might be similarly used; not only 

 would they be novel and beautiful, but 

 their delightful, mild fragrance would 

 be appreciated. Small pots or pans of 

 forgetmenots, mignonette] sweet alys- 

 sum, rhodanthe, and numerous other 

 flowers might be tried at small ex- 

 pense. 



You have still much greater oppor- 

 tunity to broaden your business. 

 Witflin a decade, or less, you will be 

 furnishing pot-grown fruit trees and 

 vines for dining room decoration. 

 Apples, pears, plums, peaches, with 

 from two dozen to half a hundred 

 choice fruits on a tree: pot-grown 

 grape vines, with half a dozen or over 

 clusters of luscious fruit. You may 

 even be selling in the spring or early 

 summer the fascinating little cherry 

 tree, in fruit, of the gay Parisian 

 cafes. 



The Seedsman. 



Every seedsman should endeavor to 

 educate his customers to the use of 

 high grade seeds and bulbs; he will 

 serve his own best interests in doing 

 this. He should push and encourage 

 the sale of the best varieties, and dis- 

 courage or discard those that have 

 been superseded. 



It is but fair to the seedsman to 

 state that he has had to struggle 

 against adverse conditions. He has 

 been forced to compete with irrespon- 

 sible dealers who sold inferior seeds 

 or rubbish. It is safe to say that, on 

 the whole, the seedsman has never re- 

 ceived the return he has deserved in 

 this country— nothing like what his 

 brother dealer in Europe has received. 

 Compare the prices of the best Euro- 

 pean houses with those of any house 

 in this country! Conditions are bet- 

 ter than they were a dozen years ago — 

 quality is being appreciated more gen- 

 erally—but many buyers still hesitate 

 to pay a proper price for high grade 

 seeds. 



This has been especially true of 



