402 



HORTICULTURE 



June Ifl, 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



K'.liibli'.ln'il l>.v ft Mliaiil .1. Miwiirl in I'.Mt 



Vol. XXXI 



June 19, 1920 



No. 25 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN 



HORTICULTRE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 78 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 

 Teleplisne Fort Hill SC94 



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Entered as second-class matter December S. 1904. at the Post Office 

 at Boston, Mass., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1S97. 



Window boxes are appearing on every 

 Window boxes hand and apparently the tendency to 

 embellish public and commercial build- 

 ings as well as private homes with flower Ijoxes of this 

 kind is again making itself felt. This tendency had as- 

 sumed large proportions before the war but of course was 

 held In abeyance while the great conflict lasted. 



This is a feature of floral decoration which florists can 

 well afford to cultivate. Occasionally in the case of a big 

 building like the Filene store in Boston, the furnishing of 

 plants and their care throughout the summer comes to an 

 item of considerable proportions. 



One advantage of these window boxes when displayed 

 by hotels, stores and other commercial establishments is 

 that It awakens an increased interest in the eyes of private 

 customers and encourages them to start window boxes of 

 their own. It would seem as though much could be done 

 along this line by town florists if they could get their local 

 papers to publish an occasional article on window boxes; 

 what to use in them and how to care for them. It has 

 been pointed out in I-loRTicuLTrRE before that the coopera- 

 tion of newspapers is of the greatest value in helping 

 florists, and the florists have an opportunity of securing 

 this cooperation which is denied to men in most other 

 lines of business. 



Certainly interest in flowers is growing 

 Advertising apace among all classes of people. This 

 with flowers is indicated just now by the activities of 



the garden clubs, and especially by the 

 numerous flower shows which are being held. Various 

 cities are coming to prize the reputation which they are 

 winning among flower lovers, and Harrisburg, Pa., is one 

 of these. Probably Harrisburg is best known now to the 

 majority of people in the horticultural world as the home 

 of J. Horace McFarland, editor of the Rose Annual; but 

 it is holding its annual rose show, which bids fair to be- 

 come an event of importance each season. One of the 

 Harrisburg papers prints the following in a leaded editorial, 

 which is good advertising: 



"Perhaps Harrisburg can never expect to be the 'Rose 

 City' as Portland, Oregon, but it can very easily attain a 



distinguished position if it goes even more strongly for 

 roses and other flowers. It has been said that in the per- 

 son who has no interest in baliies, music or flowers — one 

 of this trinity — there is something fundamental lacking. 

 Flowers then offer one medium of escape from this detect. 

 They are not only a joy to their growers, but they make 

 tor a more beautiful city, a better grade of citizenship, a 

 finer outlook on life in all its profound recesses." 



The quarantine mania seems to be sweep- 

 Quarantines ing over all the countries in which horti- 

 abroad culture is an item of im|)ortance. It is now 



very much to the front in France, with the 

 result that growers are very much aroused over the situa- 

 tion. The matter was frankly and promptly discussed at 

 the second meeting of the Federation Horticole Profession- 

 elle Internationale held in Ghent last month. French rep- 

 resentatives present stated that the various horticultural 

 associations had not been consulted in the matter of the 

 prohibition order which has been issued by France exclud- 

 ing imports of plants and flowers from all countries. They 

 said that they were distinctly against any such prohibition 

 as they had already felt the effects of the American act 

 and desired to work amicably and freely with allied coun- 

 tries. The French order is a drastic one, and hits particu- 

 larly the Belgian growers who have already been badly 

 handicapped by quarantine 37 in this country. France has 

 been their important customer for azaleas, rhododendrons, 

 hydrangeas, palms, and other pot plants. As a matter of 

 fact, the action of the French government seems quite as 

 short sighted as that of the Federal Horticultural Board 

 in Washington, because many of the articles prohibited are 

 kinds which are needed in the process of business recon- 

 struction in the devastated areas of France. These things 

 were ruled out as luxuries. As a matter of fact, the com-, 

 mon pot plants and flowers are purchased and used by all 

 grades of society and are considered as little less than 

 necessities. Just how the matter will work out eventually 

 no one can say, but the British seem to have the cards in 

 their own hands, and if they so desire can retaliate very 

 much to the disadvantage of France, because while com- 

 paratively few plants and flowers are sent to France from 

 England, the imports into England from French territory 

 are very considerable, and a retaliatory spirit would cause 

 France to suffer more than England. 



Numerous echoes of the peculiar Dutch bulb sit- 

 Dutch nation in Holland have been coming to this coun- 

 bulbs try, although buyers here have not been affected 



to so great an extent as those in England. Ap- 

 parently there has been a steady game of bluffing for the 

 last, year, which has accounted in part for high prices. 

 Now things are breaking. America and Scandinavia have 

 bought less bulbs this season than the year before, while 

 Russia, Austria and Germany have been out of the market. 

 The Dutch Bulb Exporters' Association has had control of 

 affairs, but there seems to be a strong tendency on the 

 part of several members to break away, with the result 

 that prices are likely to drop. In any event, the gambling 

 in bulbs which has been going on in Holland for some time 

 seems to have been stopped to a large extent. Last year, 

 according to all accounts, Haarlem was a hotbed of specu- 

 lation and feverish buying at this time. This year nothing 

 of the sort is to be found, resulting from the fact that com- 

 petition among exporters for stock is much less intense, 

 and indicating that the failure of America, England and 

 other countries to buy up to the expectations has felt, as 

 well perhaps as showing, that a more normal condition pre- 

 vails. As a matter of fact, stocks are said to be ample and 

 the bulbs in good condition, due to an early and fairly long 

 season of growth, with plenty of rain and sunshine. 



