762 



HORTICULTUKE 



December 2, 1911 



PARIS AUTUMN SHOW 



This great annual show was held 

 November 3rd. to 12th, at the Cours- 

 la-Reiiu as usual in a huge temporary 

 building constructed for the purpose. 

 The site is a superb one close to the 

 Champs Elysees, along side the Seine, 

 in an open position easy of access and 

 consequently the visitors are legion. 

 The first Sunday afternoon, if fine is 

 a sight, for 30,000 to 35.000 well- 

 dressed, genteel people are (rammed 

 into the show and locomotion be- 

 comes a difficult matter. Once with- 

 in the charmed circle the visitor 

 finds himself treading his way along 

 an immense promenade consisting of 

 several parallel paths and along them 

 are the usual exhibits of trained fruit 

 trees, the pride of the French gar- 

 dener. There are also at intervals 

 nice ornamental hardy shrubs, coni- 

 fers, etc., in great variety from many 

 of the leading nurserymen of France. 

 In and around this promenade and the 

 show building are the Horticultural In- 

 dustries, an enormous display, quite a 

 show of itself; greenhouses, summer- 

 houses, frames, garden pottery, statues, 

 vases, fencing, boilers, pumps, garden- 

 tools and accessories, apparatus, etc. 



The great feature of the Autumn 

 Show is the fruit. Apples, pears and 

 grapes are staged in vast quantities 

 and the individual exhibits are of 

 enormous extent — far surpassing any- 

 thing we see elsewhere. The taste dis- 

 played by these French fruit exhibi- 

 tors is essentially their own and the 

 fruit looks all the better for the dainty 

 arrangements mostly adopted. Many 

 exhibits are in splendid glass cases: 

 some are in pretty baskets tied up 

 with colored ribbons and the pears es- 

 pecially are superb. Passing into the 

 great show hall, as we may call it. the 

 visitor goes under a pergola formed of 

 vine branches. Right and left are fes- 

 tons of vine foliage and under these 

 a series of glass cases containing an 

 immense variety of grapes of all kinds 

 and shapes. In fact nearly all the ex- 

 hibitors adopted the glass case method 

 of staging, in most instances in very 

 attractive style. One exhibitor alone 

 had a 60 ft. run of handsome glass 

 cases containing a choice assortment 

 of handsome grapes, peaches and 

 pears. 



Flowers other than chrysanthemums 

 were freely shown. Almost the first 

 exhibit on entering the show was that 

 by M. Geo. Boucher who put up a 

 group of Clematis. We noted: Xerxes, 

 Ville de Paris, Venosa, Mine. Grange, 

 Gypsy Queen, Mme. Van Houtte, Ville 

 de Lyon, M. Hope and others among 

 the most attractive. There were many 

 dahlia exhibitors, but by far the most 

 important lot was that from Messes 

 Cayeuxand Leclere. Two large double- 

 faced sloping banks of cactus and dec- 

 orative dahlias in pyramids was an ef- 

 fective group. 



Carnations came from several exhib- 

 itors; Messrs. Stuart Low & Co. had 

 a neat little collection staged in good 

 form. 



In M. Nonin's big display we noted 

 carnations on one flank. Tuberous be- 

 gonias, brilliantly displayed on sloping 



banks halfway across the show, the 

 colors divided in "vandyked" divisions 

 were well shown in accordance with 

 the invariable practice by the two 

 leading exhibitors Messrs Vallerand 

 and Billard. 



.Many other flower exhibits were 

 staged. We noticed a pretty lot of lilies 

 in iin Leon Fouteneau. The Maison 

 Ferard put up a little square bed of 

 cyclamen. There was a nice collection 

 of Hydrangea Hortensis from M. Aug. 

 Nonin; he had varieties Radiant, 

 Vieux Chateau, Mme. Emill Mouillere, 

 Bouquet Rose, etc.. in fine heads ot 

 bloom. 



The chrysanthemum classes were 

 well filled and in the plant section 

 some good entries were made. Vil- 

 morin Andrieux & Co., staged a huge 

 collection of handsomely trained plants 

 in all forms. This was by far the 

 most imposing lot of pot plants in the 

 show and made a grand effect. Aug. 

 Nonin's novelties were numerous, 

 several being certificated. The exhibi- 

 tors in this section were very numer- 

 ous, including names of world-wide re- 

 pute but space forbids these details. 



The best cut-bloom exhibit was 

 sent by an Englishman, Thomas Stev- 

 enson who put up a lovely exhibit of 

 the finest show sorts. He carried off 

 important prizes in all the classes en- 

 tered, Paul Labbe had some nice 

 blooms of choice varieties and staged 

 in French style. Other cut blooms 

 were sent by Ch. Gervais, Louis Le- 

 clere and Henri Crepin, the latter put- 

 ting bis flowers up in good style and en- 

 livened with Salvia splendens, palms, 

 musa and an edging of achyranthes. 

 The Crepin Challenge Cup value 1000 

 francs was won by Zimmerman & Sons 

 with a neat little lot of cut blooms. 

 Paul Feron, Morin and Merigen were 

 among others who had noteworthy 

 collections in this section. 



The side room allotted to stove 

 plants and orchids did not contain a 

 very large display. Edward V. Low 

 of Vale Bridge, Haywards Heath, 

 showed a collection of Cypripediums. 



Messrs. Maron et fils showed in 

 their group: Cattleya Sigurd, Laelio- 

 Cattleya Bright Star, Cattleya Fabia 

 Alba. 



Floral art was well sustained. Geo. 

 Truffaut staged vases of roses on a 

 turf lawn in the most effective style, 

 Ed. Debrie, a well known Parisian 

 florist, bad some good designs in many 

 examples. The Lachaume firm also 

 sent traditional exhibits. H. Pillon sent 

 a basket of white lilac and arranged 

 a little bamboo arbor, decorated with 

 plants of chrysanthemums. 



Only those who know the Paris 

 Autumn Show can form an idea of the 

 way in which vegetables are staged 

 there and the immense variety of the 

 kinds produced. Vilmorin Andrieux & 

 Co., took the premier place. They had 

 an enormous border 60 ft. long by 7 ft. 

 in width containing a grand display of 

 everything in season. The establish- 

 ment "A la Pensee," also staged a 

 long border of excellent vegetables with 

 the addition of cactus dahlias. A 

 large group of vegetables and salad- 

 ings was sent by the Ecole d' Horti- 



culture St. Nicolas. M. Compoint, in 

 a glass case 35 ft. in length, demon- 

 strated the art of Asparagus culture — 

 quite an instructive object lesson. 



Horticultural literature had a sec- 

 tion devoted to it as also did the fine 

 arts. A picture gallery was attached 

 to the show in which were exhibited 

 many interesting works of art in oil 

 and water colors. 



As soon as the prizes had been 

 awarded — and here we may observe 

 they consist of grand prizes of honor 

 given by the president, M. Fallieres, 

 by the minister of agriculture, of pub- 

 lic instruction and other donors, 

 guests and jury are trooped off to the 

 Restaurant Ledoyen in the Champs 

 Elysees. Our American friends who 

 know Paris will understand what it 

 means to lunch chez Ledoyen. It is a 

 feast fit for epicures, let alone a set 

 of hungry jurymen. M. Viger pre- 

 sided, surrounded by the officers of the 

 society and some of the notables of 

 Paris. Among the horticulturists we 

 noticed Abel Chatenay. Albert Truf- 

 faut, George Truffaut, Philippe de Vil- 

 morin, Jules Vacherot, H. Martinet, 

 Lucien Chaure, Ch. Arranger, B'.ot, D. 

 Bois, Gibault, Crepin, but there — we 

 must stop. Two hundred guests filled 

 the dining saloon and if we omit some 

 there can be no wonder. 



At length the champagne arrives 

 and speeches begin. M. Chatenay 

 reads out a list of the premier awards 

 of which the following are the most 

 important: First grand prize of 

 honor to Nomblot-Bruneau for his 

 fruit and fruit trees; second grand 

 prize of honor to M. Pinon for trained 

 plants of chrysanthemums; other 

 prizes of honor to Coedonnier & Sons 

 for grapes, Salomon & Sons for grapes, 

 Debrie for floral decoration, Calvat for 

 new seedling chrysanthemums, and so 

 on. Complimentary speeches were 

 made by the representative of the min- 

 ister of agriculture, by the president of 

 the Paris municipal council, by M. Vi- 

 ger, by M. Deloncle, Deputy for the 

 Seine, by M. Lepine chief of the po- 

 lice, and by Harman Payne for the 

 visitors. 



C. HARMAN PAYNE. 



SHORT COURSE IN FLORICUL- 

 TURE, MASSACHUSETTS AGRI- 

 CULTURAL COLLEGE. 



The short course in floriculture will 

 be given as usual beginning the 2nd 

 of January and closing on March 8th. 

 The lecture course given in the morn- 

 ing will cover general subjects of in- 

 terest and value to the commercial 

 florist. The afternoon will be spent 

 in practical work in the greenhouse 

 range. In addition to the lectures 

 given on distinctly floricultural sub- 

 jects, lectures in soil fertility, botany 

 and entomology will be required and 

 other lectures on field crops, fruit 

 growing, market gardening or land- 

 scape gardening may be taken. On 

 Satuidays an observation trip will be 

 taken to some of the commercial 

 greenhouses in the vicinity of Am- 

 herst and one trip will be arranged 

 to the commercial places in the east- 

 ern part of the state. The practical 

 men who have co-operated so gener- 



