50 JAMESTOWN CONGRESS OF HORTICULTURE 



By adaptations is meant that climatic differences have had to be 

 observed and some of our methods adapted to those differences, as 

 for example, the intense sunlight of our summer season makes neces- 

 sary rather more shading on the glass than is required in some parts 

 of Europe, and again the longer period of hot weather in the central 

 and southern portions of our country give us an advantage in the 

 rapid growth of heat-loving subjects. 



As a rule, American plant growers are impatient of delays in the 

 production of marketable stock, the consequence being that the slower 

 growing plants are not handled to any great extent, such subjects being 

 imported from Europe, where labor is a little cheaper, and where time 

 seems to be less of an object. 



As a result of these conditions such plants as bay trees, box 

 bushes, Aspidistras, Azaleas and various other plants that require much 

 time and labor in their culture, are imported from Europe. 



The palm industry has made wonderful advances of late years, but 

 up to the present time there have not been enough palms of all sizes 

 to supply the demand, this condition causing the importation of large 

 quantities of these beautiful plants from Belgium each season. 



It is true that a few small palms have been occasionally exported 

 from this country to Europe, but these exports do not approach the 

 imports in value. 



The centers of commercial palm growing in this country at the 

 present time are New York, Philadelphia and Boston, the neighbor- 

 hood of these three cities doubtless producing more palms than all the 

 rest of the country together, and from those cities is shipped the 

 choicest stock of this description that is offered in the interior cities 

 and towns, even out to the Pacific coast. 



By far the larger part of the palms that are annually sold in the 

 United States are grown here from seed, the imported stock being 

 chiefly in the larger sizes, such as are used for decorating. 



The species thus used are few, and but little change will be noted 

 in the catalogues from 'year to year, as the qualifications of a useful 

 commercial plant are somewhat exacting. 



To fulfil the requirements of a plant for this purpose it must needs 

 be a species that is readily obtainable, so that a regular supply of seeds 

 may be had each season, and it must also be of reasonably quick 

 growth, of considerable grace and beauty, and have foliage of an 

 enduring character. Thus we find that out of a possible hundred of 

 new species of palms that have been introduced to cultivation in the 

 past thirty years, there are less than a dozen to be found in the average 

 trade lists. 



The most popular palms of the present day are the Howeas (other- 

 wise and more generally known as Kentias) the seeds of which are 

 imported by the million each season from a certain small island in the 

 South Pacific ocean. 



The Howeas, or Kentias, are grown best in a night temperature of 

 about 60 degrees, and this may be considered as the low average tem- 

 perature for palm growing, in comparison with the high average palm 



