General Aspects of Commercial Gardening u 



ideas, however, are gradually vanishing, and it is now customary to use 

 the natural foliage of any flower that may be used in floral work. Thus 

 violet leaves are most appropriately used with violet blossoms, as holly 

 leaves are the most suitable adjuncts to the scarlet berries. Indeed there 

 is no end to the methods employed by the modern florist to produce 

 a charming effect; and the plant and flower grower who will introduce 

 a new plant, or suggest a novel idea, is looked upon as a floral friend. 



Tree and Shrub Trade. This is a very important branch of com- 

 mercial horticulture, and one about which the general public knows but 

 little. It may be divided into two principal groups, viz.: (1) that dealing 

 with forest trees, and (2) ornamental flowering trees and shrubs. 



In regard to forest trees it is astonishing what an enormous number 

 of young plants are raised every year in different parts of England, 

 Ireland, and Scotland. Those who are under the impression that British 

 forestry is a dead or dying industry have no idea as to the amount of 

 business done in forest trees, and it is a pity that the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer and the officials of the Board of Agriculture are not better 

 informed as to what is being done in this respect. There are hundreds 

 of capable men, who could not only plant all the waste land in the United 

 Kingdom in a comparatively short time, but who could produce millions 

 of young forest trees annually to fill the gaps that might occur. And yet 

 Mr. Lloyd George, when introducing his famous 1909 Budget, said in 

 reference to the scheme of afforestation : " I am also told that we cannot 

 command the services in this country of a sufficient number of skilled 

 foresters to direct planting. I am advised, and, personally, I am disposed 

 to accept that counsel as the advice of prudence, that the greater haste in 

 this matter will mean the less speed, and that to rush into planting on a 

 huge scale without first of all making the necessary experiments, organizing 

 a trained body of foresters, and taking all other essential steps to ensure 

 success when you advance, would be to court disaster which might dis- 

 courage all future attempts." 



It would be interesting to know whose advice the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer relied upon when he stated that " we cannot command the 

 services in this country of a sufficient number of skilled foresters to direct 

 planting", but there was no doubt about its misleading character. We 

 wonder what kind of men they are who raise and plant thousands of forest 

 trees annually? Have they no knowledge of the trees they raise, and are 

 they not skilled in planting and growing them? The Chancellor's some- 

 what misleading statement is calculated to injure the reputation of a large 

 number of skilful and hard-working men who earn a living by carry- 

 ing out the very duties which the Chancellor was advised were not and 

 could not at present be performed. These men, skilled in the raising, 

 planting, and cultivation of forest trees, may not, of course, be able to pass 

 an examination in Greek and Latin, or in Conic Sections and Trigonometry, 

 nor have they had the disadvantage of a "public-school training"; but 

 they know their business, and if the Chancellor of the Exchequer will only 



