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CAN AMERICA GROW 



ITS OWN AZALEAS? 



The foregoing question appeared in the same conspicuous position in The 

 Review some months ago. But the query surely will bear one repetition in 

 these columns, for it doubtless has been reiterated hundreds of times by members 

 of the trade. Chas. W. Ward believes the answer should be, "Yes." 



mu^^s mmrr. 



OT ONLY does Chas. W. 

 "1|k "T* Ward insist that the ques- 

 &I^L I tion, "Can America grow 

 ri ^J its own azaleas?" should 

 ' be answered in the af- 



firmative, but he is man- 

 ifesting the sincerity of 

 his statements by invest- 

 ing large sums of money 

 in preparations for sup- 

 plying the American demand for the 

 plants. He has already covered a good 

 many acres of ground at the Cottage 

 Gardens Nurseries, Eureka, Cal., with 

 slat houses, glass houses, frames and 

 other structures, expen- 

 sively equipped for the 

 propagation and growing 

 of azaleas, and the work of 

 building is still proceeding 

 merrily. As fast as new 

 space is enclosed, it is filled 

 with stock. The best test 

 of the genuineness of a 

 man's faith in a business 

 idea is the amount of cap- 

 ital he is willing to use in 

 backing the idea. 



Prospects at Eureka. 



Mr. Ward's success in 

 former undertakings would 

 probably insure respectful 

 attention to his opinion of 

 the prospects at Eureka. 

 But he intimates that the developments 

 at Eureka have reached such a stage 

 that tliey are now among the self-evi- 

 dent facts and are no longer a mere 

 matter of opinion. He is confident that 

 the results alrea<ly attained are a con- 

 clusive demonstration of tlie feasibility 

 of his plan. He avers that he is prov- 



ing the thing can be done by pist do- 

 ing it. He even declares that "('ali- 

 fornia is destined to produce better aza- 

 leas than Belgium and to im])rove the 

 cultural methods as well." He "does 

 not believe that Belgian growers have 

 learned everything about azalea cul- 

 ture. ' ' 



Moreover, the situation with refer- 

 ence to Belgian azaleas is so precarious, 

 is it not, that florists in the next sea- 

 son or two may be forced to decide 

 either to use American-grown azaleas 

 or get along without any? That ob- 

 servation, let the reader note, is put 



Azalea Grafts Two Months Old, Two at Left Being Eureka Seedlings. 



in the form of a question. It is not a 

 prediction, but a cautious reference to 

 the gloomy i)ossibilities. "The unex- 

 pected always happens "^ — in the ])res- 

 eut great war if nowhere else. So most 

 of the war ])rophets have lost tlieir rep- 

 utations. But florists' recent expe- 

 riences in attempting to import azaleas 



have been discouraging, to say the least. 

 Even if ocean transportation should 

 be greatly improved in the near future, 

 what is the outlook in Belgium itself? 

 The tide of war, as it el)bs and flows, 

 may eventually surge over the Belgian 

 frontier. Tlien the azalea district, 

 though it escaped harm in the early 

 stages of the war, may be devastated. 

 That is merely another of the gloomy 

 ])ossibilities. And, though it is not safe 

 to prophesy, it is safe and sane to im- 

 agine the worst — as well as tlie l)est. 

 Chas. W. Ward gives an interesting^ 

 account of some of the events that led 

 liini'fo engage in tlie enter- 

 ])rise of growing azaleas at 

 Eureka. He says, l)egin- 

 ning his narrative with 

 a <|uotation from a great 

 scientist: 



A New Departure. 



" 'Do what the other fel- 

 lows say you can't <lo. I 

 iiave made sonic of my 

 most important discoveries 

 wliile working over ground 

 that had, su])posedly, been 

 coiiihed l)are by others, who 

 declared there was nothing 

 tliere,' said the sage of 

 Mcnlo Park. 



"Tliis was thirty years 

 ago. The scene was laid 

 on the bor(Lers of Lake Flirt, Fla., in a 

 region tiieii a pristine wilderness. Tiie 

 sage, of course, was Edison; the listener 

 was your liiinible scribe, wiio lias re- 

 nu'ml)ere(l Edison's words and jirofited 

 liy tlieni ever since. 



'' ' ^'olI cannot grow azaleas success- 

 fully anywhere exce]»t in Belgium; they 



Here is One of the Slat Houses at Eureka, Covering Three Acres and Housing Four Hundred Thousand Azaleas. 



