332 



GARDENING. 



July 1 5 



rule prohibiting the planting of elm trees 

 anywhere in a cemetery would be upheld, 

 while a rule prohibiting their planting, 

 except where the cemetery authorities 

 consider advisable, would, if tested, prob- 

 ably not hold, the idea being that if one 

 lot owner is allowed to do a certain thing, 

 all must be given equal liberty. 



A false sentiment is often responsible 

 for exceedingly bad planting. The fact 

 that a deceased friend had an especial 

 admiration for some variety of tree or 

 shrub or flower will cause a lot owner 

 to insist on planting it in quantity in the 

 most unsuitable locations. Any protest 

 on the part of the superintendent will 

 cause him to be considered a hard hearted 

 monster and bring forth as a response, 

 "I have bought and paid for the lot and 

 shall do as I please." The outside gar- 

 dener is also responsible for much of the 

 bad work done, sometimes through igno- 

 rence or carelessness, but more frequently, 

 through deliberate disregard of every- 

 thing except his wish to dispose of a quan- 

 tity of his plants at a good price. Many 

 who have fairly well-planned and well 

 kept residence grounds, and hence feel 

 themselves perfectly competent to super- 

 intend their own cemetery planting, fail 

 miserably, through alack of appreciation 

 of the different conditions. The average 

 cemetery lot is not over eighteen feet 

 square, probably of a considerably less 

 area, and this small plot has no fence and 

 no background against which to mass 

 groups. All planting is viewed from every 

 direction instead of from one or two as in 

 a majority of the residence lots. 



The owner generally visits the place 

 but a few times in a season, hence the 

 care devolves upon the cemetery manage- 

 ment, who are unable to give the minute 

 attention to little things and the daily 

 inspection and care which are naturally 

 given on his home grounds, except at an 

 expense entirely beyond the ability or 

 inclination of the lot owner to pay. The 

 cemetery lot has no protection from 

 buildings and fences. Trellises, stakes 

 and the like, as they soon decay and are 

 not repaired or replaced by the average 

 lot owner, are tabooed. These condi- 

 tions, their lack of space, lack of back- 

 ground — lack of protection and, to a cer- 

 tain extent, lack of care, inability to use 

 trellises and stakes, and more than all 

 else, regard for the general appearance of 

 the grounds and a decent respect for the 

 rights of adjoining lot owners — forbid the 

 use of a large proportion of the plants, 

 shrubs and trees which are so beautiful 

 under other and appropriate conditions. 



The fortunate owner of a larger plot 

 has a somewhat wider range for choice, 

 but it is still limited. The most common 

 mistake made is in planting too many 

 things; next, in planting those which 

 reach too great a size; then in planting 

 those unsuited to the conditions of soil, 

 sunshine or shade and moisture, careless 

 or improper preparation of the ground 

 and slovenly execution of the work, poor 

 grouping and imperfect color combina- 

 tions where flowers are used. W. X. R. 



FROM RADISHES TO ROSES. 



"I began as a market gardener," said a 

 florist who makes a specialty of migno- 

 nette in a recent conversation with the 

 Rural New Yorker. "Changed trade 

 conditions caused radishes and beans, 

 sweet corn and potatoes to be unprofita- 

 ble crops and as an experiment I tried a 

 house of violets. The first crop was not 

 a financial success but I tried again and 

 was more fortunate. Then I built two 

 more small houses and have since natur- 



ally drifted into floriculture on a wider 

 scale. My product is sold through com- 

 mission men just as my vegetables were. 

 The New York cut flower trade is the most 

 critical and exacting in the country, and 

 to be quoted at top prices, any flowers, 

 roses, carnations, violets, or whatever 

 they may be — must be graded so as to be 

 of even quality, carefully packed, and 

 shipped early in the day. My flowers 

 reach the commission man by 6:30 a. m. 

 and are usually sold by 8. 



"I soon found that theflowertradewas 

 far more exacting than trucking. I had 

 to learn, when cold, foggy weather set in, 

 that I could not make up for the lack of 

 sun by extra heat; I tried it and got a bad 

 case of red spider for my pains. Violets 

 are always favorite flowers but they are 

 grown in such quantities that one must 

 raise a superior article to insure any 

 return. The single violets are first in the 

 market in the fall and the varieties 1 grow 

 are Luxonne and California, with Lady 

 Hume Campbell for double. The Marie 

 Louise is a good double but the Campbell 

 does not seem so subject to disease. 



"I took up mignonette and carnations 

 because I thought that I could grow them 

 cheaper than I could roses but I soon 

 found that successful carnation culture 

 demands first-class houses especially 

 suited to their needs. Mignonettethrived 

 in a cheaper house and I grew smilax 

 quite successfully. Mignonette requires a 

 good strain of seed and the lateral shoots 

 must all be pinched off, throwing all the 

 strength into one main spike. Most 

 growers say that there is no money in 

 mignonette, and certainly there is not if 

 carelessly grown, but I am not willing to 

 give it up. Similarly, it is considered that 

 smilax does not pay as it once did, be- 

 cause it has been supplanted by climbing 

 asparagus, but it still pays me. 



"The florist's trade is now so specialized 

 that a man can not spread over a wide 

 range of ground. The plant trade and cut 

 flower trade are entirely separate 

 branches. There is quite a difference, too, 

 between growing plants for a local retail 

 trade and for the wholesale market. Each 

 demands a different class of material. 



"If a man were to begin a retail business 

 in a small town he would best start with 

 bedding plants from seed in February, 

 March and April. Pansiescould be sown 

 in August and again in February. Thev 

 always sell well. He could keep violets, 

 sweet alyssum, forget-me-nots and similar 

 flowers in frames. As soon as he could 

 build a small greenhouse, heated by hot 

 water, he could grow carnations, allvs- 

 suni, forget-me-nots, smilax and stev'ia, 

 and in a separate compartment, he could 

 propagate geraniums, ageratum, coleus, 

 heliotrope, etc., moving the overflow into 

 hotbeds as soon as permitted by the 

 weather. 



"He would better not try roses until he 

 could give them a separate compartment 

 with abundant light and heat, although 

 he might do well with some of the less 

 exacting ones, as Bon Silene, Safrano 

 and Niphetos. The best of the flowers 

 which can be grown outside for cutting 

 are paranies, irises, lilies, gladioli, coreop- 

 sis, cornflowers, phlox and other hardy 

 herbaceous plants. 



"There is practically no school in which 

 the trade may be learned although the 

 Missouri Botanic Garden maintains a 

 course in gardening and floriculture. The 

 best plan for a beginner is to secure a 

 position in a florist's place. He will have 

 plenty of hard work and is very likely to 

 get discouraged, but the knowledge he 

 gains will be practical." 



WINDOW BOXES. 



Referring to window boxes, a recent 

 English writer comments: "There is one 

 feature about these objects of domestic 

 floriculture that merits special notice. It 

 is that they do not, when on sills looking 

 to the highway, exist solely for the pleas 

 ure of the owners. They are as pleasing 

 to every passer-by who loves flowers, and 

 who does not? A prettily dressed front 

 window, and where there is a pretty 

 front garden also, furnishes much charm 

 to the house and beauty to the locality. 

 Wherever we are privileged to see flowers 

 growing in windows, within or without, 

 or in the forecourts, conclusive evidence 

 is furnished that amongst the inhabitants 

 within reigns a high range of taste and 

 refinement. Whether flowers be or be not 

 refining and humanizing, most certainly 

 they are evidence of the existence of bet- 

 ter human nature than commonly pre- 

 vails where flowers arc not. Window 

 boxes are elements of floral decoration 

 not at all difficult to obtain. Wood is, 

 on the whole, the best material, and can 

 easily be made to exactly fit the window- 

 sills on which they are to stand; whilst 

 plain, if substantial at the back and 

 ends, they may be moderately decorated 

 with moulding or lattice work in the 

 front; but as the object of the planter 

 should be to drape the front with plant 

 growth as far as possible, the nature of 

 the box face is of little moment. For 

 hardy plants few things aremore in keep- 

 ing to drape the front than creepingjenny 

 or periwinkles, or some of the smaller- 

 leaved ivies may be utilized, and for ten- 

 der plants free-growing lobelias, petunias, 

 musks, especially Campanula isophylla 

 and C. Iragilis, and ivy-leaved pelargoni- 

 ums, are all first-class plants for such pur- 

 pose. As to how the boxes shall be filled, 

 theseasonof the year and the range of ma- 

 terial at disposal should determine. In 

 the winter a few small conifers or shrubs, 

 some spring blooming plants, a few bulbs, 

 anything indeed that will give leaf effect 

 all the winter and bloom and beauty in 

 the spring. As to the summer, there is 

 endless variety, but in all cases too much 

 variety and color should be avoided. 



Texas Static Horticui.tik.m. Society, 

 College Station, Texas.— The State 

 Agricultural Congress, held July 13 to 15 

 was the occasion for this society 's annual 

 meeting. 



1,000,000 

 ,l Peach Trees 



s& grown <>n 1 



the bank of Lake 



Erie, two miles fn>m any 

 peach orchards and guar- 

 anteed free from Scale, 

 Borers, Yellow-, etc. Large 

 stock of Pear, Plum, 

 Cherry, Quince and immense supply of Small 

 Fruit plants. Headquarters lor Ornamental 

 Trees and Shrubs. A quarter of a million of 



LOW 

 BUDDED ROSES 



32 Greenhouses Idled with Roses, Palms, 

 Araucarias, Ficus, Dracenas, Pandanus, etc. 

 Will have immense stocks of besi Holland Hid ha 

 for fall. 45th year. 1000 acres. < 'orrespondence 

 and personal inspection solicited, 



THE STORRS & HARRISON CO., 

 Box 4, Painesvilie, Ohio* 



GGYANTUBERGENJr.HAARLEM.HOLLANI 



GC ABB. 5- CO'sott^^rl.^lio.New YO(l« 



