Makch 30, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



59 



TEACHING HORTICULTURE 



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TRAINING LOVE FOR FLOWERS. 



How Others Do It. 



Slowly and surely ii tasto is develop- 

 jiifi in America for plants and flowers, 

 .1 love for horticulture. I have seen great 

 'lianges in the twenty-five years I have 

 i.i'cn coming to this country. I think, 

 iiiutlemen, that it is our duty to fur- 

 tlicr and to foster the love for plants 

 iiere. We must have something in tlie 

 future to whicli to devote our time. 

 More and more the people are working 

 fewer hours. We must try to give them 

 .something other than a desire to attend 

 (he movies and to speed along the roads 

 at the rate of fifty miles an hour. This 

 can only be done by educating them to 

 love ])lants. Allow me to jjoint out to 

 you what other countries are doing, in 

 order to give the necessary horticul- 

 tural instruction and education. Nat- 

 urally, I am speaking about Holland, 

 the country with which I am most .ac- 

 quainted. 



In the first place, there is elementary 

 horticultural training in the winter 

 <'ourses, for which the state gives a 

 sulisidy. Each course extends over two 

 winter semesters. Tlie teaching is done 

 l)y the stjite school teachers, who have 

 ."icquired the necessary qualifications; 

 <iualified practical gardeners are also 

 i'lujiloyed to do the teaching. Students 

 m;iy enter every two years and must 

 not be under 15 years of age. The 

 course eomi)rises: The elements of nat- 

 ural science, including plant diseases 

 and pests; manures, soils, treatment 

 and improvement of the ground; fruit 

 culture, vegetable and flower culture, 

 arlioriculture and horticultural draw- 

 ing. 



On a Wide Scale. 



As far as possible, the instruction is 

 ad:ii)ted to the requirements of the par- 

 ticuhir kind of gardening in the loca- 

 tion. In 1914 there were 1.T2 winter 

 courses in the country and there were 

 twelve horticultural teachers appointed 

 by the state who must travel all over 

 the country; they give advice on any 

 subject wher(n-er wanted without any 

 extra pay. They deliver lectures, con- 

 duct exjH'riments and, in general, fur- 

 tlier the interests of horticulture. Bc- 

 sidi^s these courses, there are special 

 courses for adults; in 1014 there were 

 sovciity-two of these courses, all with a 

 state subsidy. 



Secondary training in horticulture is 

 Riven in five horticultural winter 

 colleges. One is in .\alsmeer, flowers; 

 one in r.nskoo[>, nurseries; anotluT at 

 T>isse. bulbs; at Nanldwyk, fruit; at 

 Hoorn, vegetables, niul at 'the Ilnrticul- 

 tural College at Frederiksoord. The ob- 

 .icit of these colleges is to give the 

 necessary horticultural education to 

 young gardeners, florists, nurserymen, 

 ("tc. The schools are diviiled into two 

 ''lasses and the period of instruction 

 <overs two winter semesters, from Oc- 

 tober to April. In the summer months 

 these young men work with their va- 



rious employers; this way almost every- 

 liody can afford to attend these col- 

 leges. The colleges are surrounded by 

 more or less extensive grounds, where 

 students receive jiractical instruction 

 ami where ex|ieriments are taken. 



Higher horticultural education is 

 given in the High Heboid for Ajjricul- 

 ture, Horticulture and Forestry, at 

 Wageningeii. This is a ;i-year course 

 and embraces ])hysics, meteorology, 

 jilant j)hysiology, mineralogy and soils, 

 chemistry .and agricultural chemistry, 

 botanical termiiudogy, botany, draw 

 iiig, sur\'eying, arlioricult ure, t'ruit 

 ;^ro\ving, \c<;('table and flower culture, 

 ci\il law and practical work. 



P.esides all this v.aluable knouled^^e, 

 foreign languages are taught, which i^ 

 a great assistance to our horticultural 

 education, as it enables us to read hoi 

 ticultural pa]iers in foreign lanjiuaj^es 

 It also pre]iares the young men t'or their 

 extensive travels in forei^^ii conntrie^, 

 where they generally go alter le.irnin;^ 

 t heir trade at home. 



It is not only in Holland tliat this 

 horticultural education is given; it is 

 the same in Knghuid, (iermany, Bel- 

 gium and France. 



That sonu'times the knowledge of a 

 foreign language is directly responsible 



tor horticultural gains is illustratt'd by 

 the way Koster's blue spruce was found. 

 My father, who was the great-great- 

 grandson of a nurservnnan, soon under- 

 stood that in order to make Hoskoop a 

 horticultural center, we did need a 

 larger area than Holland to s(dl our 

 ]iroilucls, and father did all he could 

 to induce the government to devote 

 time and money to horticulture and to 

 the teaching of foreign languages. He 

 hinisi'lf iiad accpiired, through self- 

 study, a considerable knowledge of Kng- 

 li>li, French and German. One day, 

 i'e;i<ling in the K(,'vue Ilorticole, f.ather 

 saw a description of the beautit'id blue 

 spruces ot' the Hocky mountains and 

 re.-iil that the botanical garden at Zu- 

 rich li.id received seeds of some of the 

 linest s|iecimens. Immediat(dy father 

 wrote for SOUK' s(>eds, received some 



• ind one of the seedlings was the blue 

 ■-|irnce which now is universally known 



• is Koster's iilue. If father had not 

 been able to read l'''rencb, would the 

 plant h.ave c<ime to life? Would others 

 h.ivc seiii the great beauty of this 

 plant and would it have been propa- 

 gated? 



Tliis is not the fiuly instance; other 

 plants |j;i\e been described in foreign 

 jiapers ;ind projiagated. These, other- 



Tnlk (.'ivpn )iv V 



M. Kdxtcr. Uriiluolcin. N. J.. 

 <i 1 ^. '"'■''tiiii.' of 111.. I'liiliiilolplii.i Florists' 

 ^ I'll] liit-sdiiy ("vcnin;;, Xlardi 7 



P. M. Koster. 



