NATIONAL COUNCIL OF HORTICULTURE 49 



Massachusetts is not an agricultural state, but she produces annu- 

 ally at the present time $65,000,000 worth of products, her largest crop 

 being cucumbers under glass. 



In the little town of Arlington there are to-day over 100 acres of 

 glass where thirty years ago there was not one acre, and we produce 

 there more products for our acreage than any other town in 

 the country, and I may say, the world. There are many hundreds of 

 acres under glass in the State of Massachusetts, all producing crops 

 of lettuce and cucumbers where forty years ago no glass was used. 



The men of those days did well on their outside growing, but by 

 the intelligent use of all the new methods and inventions great changes 

 have been made. The sons of those men followed their fathers and 

 are cultivating successfully to-day the same land with the improved 

 methods and ever looking forward to still greater improvements and 

 thereby larger and better crops. The most successful of these present 

 market gardeners confine themselves to a few crops having a ready sale 

 all the season, thereby having a continuous crop and steady returns. 



All of these men will testify that the business can be made as 

 profitable as any other business and they can live better, feel better 

 and know that what they enjoy really belongs to them and is not 

 obtained by speculation. 



The time is coming when the business of agriculture will stand as 

 high as any calling and in the future those engaged in it will be looked 

 up to as men of intelligence and knowledge and be respected as ex- 

 ponents of the leading industry of mankind. 



To the young men of today I would say, "study agriculture. Apply 

 yourself to that part of it to which you are adapted and which you like 

 best and you may be sure there is no calling in which you will take 

 greater pleasure." The profit is sure to come to those who follow it 

 and among the first branches of agriculture will be found the com- 

 mercial growing of vegetables. 



COMMERCIAL GROWING OF ORNAMENTAL PLANTS. 

 W. H. TAPLIN, CHAMBERSBURG, PA. 



The past decade has witnessed great advances in the production 

 of ornamental plants for commercial purposes in the United States, 

 the trade having in some instances attained to the dignity of being 

 specialized. 



It is true that there are but few specialists in this department of 

 the trade as yet, the majority of plant growing establishments being 

 divided into various sections, rather than confined to a single specialty. 



However, there are a few such places, and these are almost entirely 

 confined to the Eastern States, the specialists of the West devoting 

 themselves in most cases to the cut flower industry, in which many of 

 them are remarkable examples of success. 



Broadly speaking, our cultural methods are adaptations of the 

 methods long in vogue in Europe. 



