1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



39 



joins himself to another berry, enters and de- 

 vours it also, and so contimies. No remedy is 

 known for this insect aside from hand-picking. 

 But the worst of all enemies to improved 

 (fooseberry growing, in tills country, and which 

 lia\'e baffled skillful cidtivators, are mildew an<l 

 blight. When wc attemid to grow improveil 

 Gooseberries in this coinitry, a thick grtiwth of 

 vegetable mould or mildew will spread itself en- 

 tirely over, thus destroying the fruit and render- 

 ing the bushes luiprolitjible and worthless. 

 Another mildew or blight attacks the leaves, and 

 co\'ers them on the luider si<le with a whitisii 

 growth which destrtiys them. 



We think that the cause of these is atmos- 

 pheric, and the remedies, to forbeai" planting 

 such \'arieties as are liable to such pariusitic 

 growths. Happily it is found that new forms, 

 grown from seed of our native Amcrie'an wild 

 Gooseberries, are not lial)le to this mildew- 

 Varieties, Our varieties are as yet limited to 

 two or three, as a variety nuist be at once hardy 

 in bush to stand our climate, free from mildew, 

 a good grower, and an abundant bearer, with 

 fruit good, but not too large; these points we 

 have developed in Houghton's Seedling, Smith's 

 Improved, and Downing; others are promising 

 but, as yet, not certainly e.stjtblished. 



More about tine Meeting of the 

 Society of American Florists. 



Mention ha.s been made in previous i.ssues 

 of the last convention of this flourishing 

 body, held in August, at New York. The 

 exhibition, aside from the show of florists 

 snpplie.s, was not what it should have been, 

 considering that over four hundred florists 

 live within twenty-five miles of New York. 



The President's Address. Retiring-Pi-esident, 

 E. (i. Hill delivered an able address. Among 

 other things he said that all wisdom comes largely 

 by e.xperience, and we can help each other and 

 ourselves by meeting together and comparing 

 notes. We should supplement practical know- 

 ledge by a study of scientitic reasons. 



We should critically study the present posses- 

 sions of the florists, and improve them in form 

 and color of flowers, by the raising of new varie- 

 ties by hybridization. American florists were 

 doing too little in this direction, and most of the 

 best novelties were thus far, either sports or acci- 

 dental seedlings. 



The credit system needs bracing up, by making 

 the officers of the society a bureau of informa- 

 tion, to whom could be forwarded reports of 

 dishonorable business transactions, by parties 

 injured, and in that way dishonest parties could 

 be made to pay up or be blacklisted. 



The evil of substitution of plants in flUing 

 orders, should be heavily sat down upon by the 

 society. If the membership cc^uld not be purged 

 of dishonest individuals, the society, or at least 

 the large majority could put themselves on 

 record to posterity as being honorable men. 



Exhibitions were urged as being a means of 

 enlightening buyers, and giving growers stand- 

 ards of comparison. In the discussion of the 

 president's address, Mr. Cole, of Des Moines, la., 

 believed that the necessity of a scientific educa- 

 tion was not so urgent as was implied. He pre- 

 ferred the practical experience of florists to the 

 most elaboi-dte chemical analysis. Mr. Peter 

 Henderson thought life too short to acquire a 

 scientific education. He considered the majority 

 of the heads of agricultural colleges to be inex- 

 perienced and incompetent, and that a bo.v of 

 practical experience could beat them in secur- 

 ing paj'ing I'esults. President Hill was sure that 

 practical knowledge could be advantageously 

 supplemented by a scientific study. Mr. Fergu- 

 son, a practical florist from Pennsylvania, said 

 the maintrouble with florists was a failure to ac- 

 quire a knowledge of the practical details of the 

 business. 



Stady of Botany, "What can this society do 

 to encourage the study of systematic botany'/" 

 was a iiuestion referred to Superintendent Smith, 

 of the Botanic Garden, Washington. Mr. Smith 

 believed that while a knowledge of elementary 

 botany was desirable, he saw no great ad\ antage 

 to the florist from its study. Mr. Peter Hender- 

 son believed that a study of botany was a great 

 help to the florist, and emphasized this belief by 

 offering a prize of glOO for the best herbarium or 

 native plants, not less than .'iOO species, arranged 

 in their natural ordci-s, the plants to be gathered 

 between now and the next aiuuial meeting, and 

 the competition to be confined to members of 



the society and their children. He offi'red the 

 prize knowing that tht? best knowk'dge of syste- 

 matic botany was obtained through the work of 

 collecting and arranging such an herbarium. 

 Mr. Grant, of tliicago, s;ii<l that the value of 

 education must be aiiplied to each case separ- 

 ately. If a young mail luus the mind to Vmild on 

 he can, by a]>plying himself rightly, acquire an 

 education without college help. 



Elevation of Business. In a pajier, "The Kleva- 

 tion of the Business," by II. II. Battles, of Phila- 

 delphia, stress WHS laid on the idea that nientjll 

 and manual labor should go hand in hand. An 

 excess i>f the cme made (d' a man a \isionary and 

 theorist, while he who labored soltdy with the 

 body was one who rarely reachetl the goal. In- 

 tellectual stagnation in later life, nught often 

 result from the huk <d' early education, but this 

 need not be an absolute bar to )irogress. That 

 success could be commanded, even though .study 

 should not begin until in after years, the lives of 

 many in various professions jiroved. I 'lo.se obser- 

 vation was the handmaid of intelligent thought, 

 and may be aided by a knowledge of botany. 

 In the study of this science, Gray's How Plants 

 Grow, and Manual are most excellent heljis. 

 The florist should also study color and its laws. 

 so that taste could be used in arranging flowers, 

 and also in using colors; combine^red, green, and 

 white; blue and Orange; yellow and iiurple. 

 Table decorations should harmonize with the 

 surrounding colors. Corsage bouiiuets, instead 

 of being blindly arrangt^d to fill orders, with no 

 regard to complexion or dress; one might better 

 send loose flowers, allowing the wearer to select 

 the proper flowers. Improve funeral designs of 

 flowers in the way of having them less cumbrous 

 and heavy; flowers of pronounced odoi-, like 

 Tuberoses, are to be avoided. The wide-awake 

 florist also is always a regular reader of the best 

 papers bearing on his business. 



Palms from Seed. C. D. Ball of Pa., read a 

 paper on "Ferns, Palms, and other Decorative 

 Plants," in which he Siiid : Palms were easily 

 propagated from seed, if the seed was good and 

 sown as soon as ripe, for the best results. He 

 sowed in six or eight-inch pots, covered it about 

 one half inch, was careful of the watering, and 

 generally the young plants appeared some seven 

 or eight weeks after sowing. Robert Craig said 

 he trapped snails, that injure such seedlings, by 

 scattering little bunches of Lettuce around, and 

 gathering them up in the evening while the 

 snails are feeding. Another florist used bran; 

 covering the benches with air-slaked lime; salt 

 was also mentioned. 



Plant Somenclatnre. The subject was ably 

 handled by R. J. Halliday, of Baltimore, who 

 presented a strong paper on "Plant Nomencla- 

 ture." He indicated the ways in which plants 

 were known by Latin names, and classiticatious. 

 This system was not complex or meaningless and 

 no correcting was to be done except by men of 

 scientific research. There were names like 

 Fuchsia, Rose of CastUe; Geranium, Happy 

 Thought, etc., and these names were necessary to 

 designate particular plants. He denounced re- 

 naming old plants or sending out the same 

 plants under two names, as was done with a 

 Fuchsia. Drop all such nomenclature, as Wax 

 plant. Beet Steak, Fish Geranium, etc. 



Glass Area. It was reported, by the special 

 committee appointed at the last meeting, that so 

 far as they could ascertain, the total area of glass 

 in use in the United States by florists was 11, W4,- 

 teo feet i2a3H acres); increase during 1M7, 1.tK,- 

 279. Showing that the annual increase probably 

 was about from 10 to 12 per cent. 



Express Rates and the Tariff. Mr. Peter Hen- 

 derson reported that express rates could not be 

 bettered, the companies having the best of the 

 argument. J. N. May said that every florist 

 ought reallj' to boycott the Adams Express Com- 

 pany for exorbitant charges and incivility. Mr. 

 Hendricks, of Albany, thought persistence might 

 avail and wished the committee to be continued 

 for farther agitation of the matter; not only 

 were first-class charges made, but the companies 

 doubled the rates, and even then were slow in 

 settling the losses caused by their own employees 

 The committee on reduction of duty on bulbs, 

 &c., reported no progress. Mr. Ilendrick, ad- 

 mitted that he was a protectionist, but favored 

 the admission of foreign bulbs, plants, and the 

 raw material for florist supvilies, free of duty. 



Chrysanthemums and other Flowers. D. B. 

 Li^ng, of Biitfalo, inl\anccd the ot)inion that an 

 abundance of Chrysanthemums f)r itther cheap 

 flowers, did not alfc'ct the sale of Hoses. Mr. .lor- 

 daii, of Boston, also concurred, but ln'lie\ed that i 



it mattered little whethei- any injur.\' was done 

 or not, as Chrysantheniuuis woiUd be m'own as 

 long as a tlemand existed. A'good'wuirket'^irys- 

 anthemiim, according Xo John Henrle»'S(!i*, of 

 Long Island, should be vigoroiio in grovvth, atJ 

 Id erect habit, tu sustatta the lieftvy blossunjsX 

 No mor<' than three blo(iriis,-i^n a ipray is ft^-.^ 

 visable for getting best rcsi^t.s, . ^ '"^ •^' '- 



Ixoras for Profit, .lohn ( \^}«rrtener, of Njpw"^ 

 .Ierse.v, said, that Ixoras aiarytlu-i- Mike stpVg 

 plants could be grown so that thN4h)WeiS* can tie ,> 

 sold at a profit, by adjusting the time ftC blooming' 

 to the iniirket. He had at times chang^Ti--the 

 season by six months, using plants gi-own in 

 pots, as the temperature of the roots can be bet- 

 t<?r controlled to change the jieiiod of bloom. 

 The plants should be gradually ripened olf l)y 

 withholding water. When ripened hold in a 

 abs<»lut4' rest, by keei>ing at a comparatively low 

 state of temperature. 



Wholesale Flower Markets. .1. c. Vaughan 

 thought, that wholesale markets for selling cut 

 flowers in large cities were impracti(;able. London 

 and Paris had over two million inhabitants, and 

 the successful flower mai'kcts were closely con- 

 nected with other large markets. The experi- 

 ment the past jear at Berlin had been a failure, 

 although the buildings were built by the city. In 

 this country it must be undertaken by the flor- 

 ists' clubs of the larger cities, and as a concen- 

 trated poi>ulation is neces.sary to success, he 

 doubted if America afforded a city large enough 

 to warrant the experiment. 



Elements Essential to Plant Growth. 

 fX. A. Simtuons, before the State IJorticnItural Society, 

 Meeting at Holton, Eunsas.] 



Growth in the vegetable as well as animal 

 kingdom is the result of the consumption of 

 food. All plants from the tiniest to the 

 giant Redwood, take a portion of their food, 

 organic, us well as the inorganic or mineral 

 elements, by the aid of water, from the soil 

 and from the air, by the pores in their leaves 

 and branches. 



Air and Water. The air, comiiosed mainly of 

 oxygen and nitrogen, is the compound in which 

 all plants li\"e, and from which they derive a 

 large portion of their food. 



Water, composed of one eijuivalent of oxygen 

 and one of hydi-ogen, has some properties which 

 deserve careful attention. Its power as a solvent, 

 incorporating into its own mass, both gases and 

 solids, is truly remarkable. It absorbs from 

 the air a portion of oxygen, nitrogen, carbonic 

 acid, or almost any other gaseous substance or 

 vapor it may contain. Its afllnity for certain 

 soUds, as lime, ashes, clay, etc., is truly wonder- 

 ful, and the value of manures depends largely 

 on their capability of absorbing moisture. Water 

 is the chief medium by which growth elements 

 are conveyed to the roots, and conveyed in the 

 sap to all parts of the plant structure. It also 

 enters the leaf pores of every growing thing. 



Carbonic Acid. The compound formed by two 

 equivalents of o.vygen and one of carbon, is 

 called carbonic acid. Water absorbs a little more 

 than its own bulk of this compound, but like 

 other gases it may be greatly compressed; so that 

 water may be made to hold several times its own 

 bulk of it, as long as the pressure is maintained. 



Carbonic acid is about one half heavier than 

 common air, hence ascends much more slowly 

 than the elementary gases, and exists in largest 

 quantities near the surface of the earth, and 

 spread by the winds over great areas, constantly 

 entering into the composition of the air. Though 

 on an average it constitutes only the one twenty- 

 five hundredth part of the atmosphere, yet it 

 may in some localities,as when forests are bu rned, 

 form a greater portion. 



In a pure state, carbonic acid is fatal to all plant 

 life, yet, existing as it does in the air, it constitutes 

 the greater portion of all idant food, being con- 

 stantly imbibed by the leaves and roots. The 

 experiments of Dc Saussure, as to the effect of 

 carbonic acid, in excess of what is usually con- 

 tained in the air, on plant life, are instructive. 

 The growth of plants was stimulated, in the sun- 

 shine, when the quantity of this compound was 

 increased so lus to constitute aluait one twelfth 

 of the air; when it formed two thirds they ceased 

 to grow, and speedily died when it was made 

 (me half. In the shade any increase of this gas 

 in the air proved injurious. 



Carljonic acid cinnbines with the alkaline 

 elements, lime, potash, soda, etc., to form the 

 carbonates which are in somewhat common use 



