Carnation Culture in Richmond, Indiana 



EDWARD GURXEY HILL 



Edward Gurney Hill was born in Lancashire, England, in 1847, and with his 

 parents came to this country in 1851. When quite a lad he entered the greenhouses 



of Messrs. T. C. Maxwell & Bros., Geneva, 

 New York. In 1881 he formed a partner- 

 ship with his father, and together they 

 founded the present business at Richmond, 

 Indiana. Mr. Hill has been an enthusiastic 

 lover of greenhouse work from his boyhood 

 up. Hybridization and cross-fertilization 

 have always had a special attraction for him, 

 not only as regards carnations, but in all the 

 leading lines of plants. 



Mr. Hill became deeply interested in car- 

 nation culture in 1890, from a cut flower 

 point of view. Previous to that, and dating 

 back to 1884, the firm had bought the novel- 

 ties as offered, and had grown La Purite, 

 Portia, Tidal Wave, Daybreak and Heintz's 

 White in quantity. In 1890, the concern pur- 

 chased a large number of seedlings from Mr. 

 Fred. Dorner, many of which proved extra- 

 ordinarily fine as to blooming qualities, al- 

 though all have been dropped by growers on 

 account of defects which barred them from 

 success when grown commercially. Among 

 these may be remembered Edna Craig, Fred. 

 Dorner, Edwin Lonsdale, Christine, Hoosier, Indiana, Creole, Red Cross, San Mateo, 

 Canada, Cherry Lips, Sea Gull and Ben Hur. A number of the kinds named would 

 still rank with the finest if only the quality of bloom produced needed to be considered, 

 apart from freedom, earliness or cost of production factors not so carefully scanned 

 ten years ago as at the present day, for we were then working with more than one 

 unknown quantity in the carnation line. 



About this time Mr. Hill's firm began growing seedling carnations on quite a 

 large scale. Several years were required to test the varieties, and it was not until 

 1896 that any sorts of their own origination were sent out, when they introduced 

 Triumph, Armazindy, Abundance and Jubilee, the latter purchased from Mr. John 

 Hartje, of Indianapolis. 



In 1897 the firm introduced the two seedlings, Flora Hill and Mrs. McBurney; in 

 1898, Painted Lady, Psyche; in 1899, America; and in 1903, Adonis, which was pur- 

 chased from Richard Witterstsetter and introduced jointly by Messrs. Robert Craig 

 and E. G. Hill. 



Mr. Hill has always been an enthusiastic worker for horticultural improvement 

 and a loyal proponent and supporter of horticulturists' organizations. He is a member 

 of The American Carnation Society, The Society of American Florists, The American 

 Rose Society, The Indiana State Florists' Society, as well as other horticultural asso- 

 ciations. 



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EDWARD GURXEY HILL 



