68 



The Florists^ Review 



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GARDENERS' COURSE * 



NEW COURSE AT AMHERST. 



The Training of Gardeners. 



'J'lic MassiU'.Iuisi'tts Af^ricultural Col- 

 ]vii(' )i;is itniiouiu-cd ;i oooiieviitivc ar- 

 ijiiigt'iiu'Dt with file Xatioiial Associa- 

 tion of (i;ir(U'iu'is, ulieroby a special 

 ••oiir.so of tiaiiiiiij; for fiardoiicrs is to be 

 • ■st;iblisii('(l. Toiit.-ilivt' j)laiis for this 

 course are set forth below, .■iiid it is ex- 

 pected that the lirst iJUjiils under this 

 .•irranfjcnient will be admit led to !M;issa- 

 cliiisetts Afiricultural ("olloge with tlie 

 (ipening of the fall term September L'7, 



Purpose of the Course. 



'J'lie traditional tr.iiiiiufj of j^arili'ii- 

 tr.s ill Europe has ))een conducted 

 lhrouj>h a well established apprentice 

 .•system. This traiuiiifj requires sevei'al 

 vears of jiractical work in various 

 liraiiches of the art. The American sys- 

 tem, by contrast, has developed ex- 

 tended courses in scliool and college 

 j^iviufr scientific and tlieoretical train- 

 iiiff, witli a minimum of practical expe- 

 rience. In tlie present plan the attemjit 

 is made to combine these_ two systi'ms, 

 witli the liope of securing tlie benefits 

 of botli. Tlie Massachusetts Ajiricul- 

 tural College will conduct the theoret- 

 ical instruction, while the National As- 

 sociation of Gardeners will take the re 

 s|)onsibility of directing a prescribed 

 .-ijiiirenticeship. These two lines of work 

 will be carefully cotirdinatetl and pupils 

 will be held to a strict accountability 

 in both. 



This course of training is planned 

 with the expectation of fitting men for 

 ]iraetical garden iiiy. either as coinmer- 

 <'ial gardeners, florists or nurserymen 

 conducting productive business enter- 

 ]>rises of their own, or .-is gjirdeners on 

 estates, foremen ;ind superintendents in 

 ]iarks or cemeteries, or as gardeners. 

 florists or nurserymen in tli(> employ of 

 commercial establishments. 



Plan of Instruction. 



The general plan of instruction is 

 b.ased upon the 2-year course already in 

 successful operation .-it Massachusetts 

 Agricultural College. Students fitted to 

 lake the course will be admitted each 

 year in September, and will remain in 

 residence ,'it the college for six montli>. 

 During this time they will jiursue gen 

 eral studies in fruit growing, flower 

 growing, vegcf.able growing, forestry, 

 general horticulture and such elemen- 

 tary subjects as may be necessary. 

 These classes will close the last week in 

 March and students will be sent to va- 

 rious commercial establishments aiul 

 ]>rivate estates for a summer of jirac- 

 tical work. Every effort will be nuide to 

 see th;it jmpils are advantageously 

 placed, so as to secure the best jiossiblc 

 experience; and this summer's ajipren- 

 ticeship will be supervised by ;i commit- 

 tee representing jointly the Massachu- 

 setts Agricultural College ;inil the X;i 

 tional Association of (i.-irdeners. 



At flie end of the summei-. students 

 will return to the college for an addi- 

 tion;iI jieriod of nine months' study. 

 They will thus coni]iIete this jiart of the 



course in the following June and, if 

 successful, will receive a certificate 

 from the college. From this point they 

 will enter upon an apprenticeshiji of two 

 \ears, to be arranged and su]iervise<l by 

 the National Association of (i.irdeners. 

 At the end of this time they will be ex- 

 amined by ;i special board and, if suc- 

 cessful, will receive the dij)loma of the 

 National Association of Gardeners. 



Admission; Expenses; Information. 



Students nius' be 17 ye;irs of age or 

 over at the time of admission and must 

 have completed an element.-iry school 

 course or its eipii v.-ilent, and must be 

 able to use the Knglisli langu.-ige with 

 reasonable facility. I'lider the j)lan 

 proi)osed, special consideration will Tie 

 given to pu](ils coming upon the recom- 

 mendation of the National Association 

 of Gardeners. 



Tuition at the Massachusetts Agricul- 

 tural College is free to citizens of the 

 state. Pupils from outsid<' the state are 

 <li;ir«e<l $(Ui :i term. This will make the 

 tuition charge for thq first vear $120 

 and for the second, ,$180. 'Phere are 

 small ];iboiatory fees charged in cer- 

 t.iin cour.ses and other fees for inci- 

 dentals, but these will not average 



above $10 a term, lioard and room at 

 .Vmherst cost from $8 to $12 a week. 



This work will sill be under the co 

 oper.-itive management of the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural College and the 

 National Association of Gardeners. 

 This association is represented for the 

 ]>resent by the following members of its 

 executive committee: Kobert Cameron, 

 Ipswich, Mass.; William N. Craig. 

 Brookline, Mass., ,ind M. C. Ebel, New 

 York. The immediate direction of in- 

 struction will be in the hands of I'ro- 

 fessor Frank A. Waugh, Amherst, Ma.ss.. 

 to whom may be addri'ssed all corre- 

 spondence regarding these matters. 



POTASH AS FERTILIZER. 



Would it be .■ill right to use a raw 

 jiotash, fresh from a soa]i factory, as 

 fertilizer for mums and carnations in 

 sandy loam mixed with sod, muck and 

 uiaiiure.' K. W. V. — Mich. 



If the Jiotash is pure potash, it cannot 

 do any harm. The proliabilities are that 

 it is pure, but I have no way of knowing 

 if this is true. If any oily material is 

 contained in it, I should not use it. But 

 why use potash from a soap factory? 

 Ill the first place, not many soils require 

 potash, and, in the secoiid place, why 

 not buy crude potash that is known to 

 be reliable? If the potash from the 

 soap factory can be jirocured cheaplv, 

 1 suggest that it be tested with plants, 

 (ui a small scale, or that an analysis be 

 ref|uired upon purchase. 



P. A. Lehenbauer. 



An item that electrified the craft of 

 the Electric city, Schenectadv, N. Y., 

 was the news thiit John ¥. Hormaii, oiu' 

 of the foremost merchants there, had 

 IMiich.ised the old Felthousen estate 

 and, following the incorporation of the 

 liusiness, would erect an U|i-to-date 

 r.ange of glass, chiefly for ret.-iil jiur- 

 poses. (ieorge W. Matthews, well known 

 in the tr.ide, is a director and manager 

 of the corporation. 



• * • • 



"It could have been worse," ob- 

 served Arthur J. Grupe, of Schenectady. 

 N. v., r<'ferring to an automobile acci- 

 dent that came within an .ace of being 

 fat;il, when Mrs. Grupe, Sr., was struck 

 Uy one m.achine and her son, going to 

 lier assistance, had his machine in turn 

 -mashed by .a passing truck. Fortu- 

 ii.-itely. the truck was owned by a gen- 

 erous and good customer, so that, aside 

 from bruises and inconvenience, ;ill 

 ended well and much publicity was 

 yiven our worthy confrere. 



• • * » 



"Gladly we did it," commented 

 lleiiry Eberh;ndt. of iljc Kosendale 

 I'lower Sli(>p. S(dieiieitady. X. Y ., refer- 

 liny to the execution of ;i n order for ;i 

 l.ri<l:il l.ou<|net that me;int setting the 

 al;iiin clock for :mi e.'irly rising. ''.\nv 

 onler received through the Pink Part 

 of The Review has ]>receilence. We ;it- 

 tribute oiir increasing clientele to this 

 servi<-e. ' ' 



• • ♦ • 



The Snnnyside Greenhouses, Schenec- 

 tady, N. Y., lead in the Mohawk valley 

 with e.-irly chrysanthemums. Oconto, 



Sun ray and Kiehmond, three flowering 

 shoots to a plant, are f.airly jumping 

 these warm nights, welcome after the 

 long cool, wet Jieriod. 



• • • » 



"Judging from the numerous com- 

 pliments we receive," observed J. G. 

 Barrett, Schenectady, N. Y., "the 

 griefs of our jiatrons are assuaged at 

 sight of the floral tokens of .sympathy 

 we have furnished at the obsequies of 

 leading Trojans for nearly half a cen- 

 tury." 



• • • • 

 "Westw.ard. ho!" exclaimed John 



Sambrook, of Sambrook Bros., Trov, 

 N. Y., referring to the ajijiroachiiig 

 convention of the S. A. F., which a reji 

 resentative delegation from the Trojan 

 city is expected to attend. Samuel 

 Hanson, of North Troy, and A. D. Car 

 jienter, of Cohoes, .-nv' imdiided in the 

 party. 



• • • * 



"Not a bad idea," observed W. (". 

 (■iloeckner, Albany, N. Y., referring to 

 a suggestion that a delegate be sent to 

 the S. A. F. convention from each flo 

 rists' club whose number of members 

 in the society does not reach the neces- 

 sary quota for official recognition, the 

 delegate to go at the expense of the 

 club, after being selected by popular 

 vote. 



• * * * 



"Since our stock is all planted and 

 doing well, we see nothing to prevent 

 the trip to Kansas City, about which 

 there has been so much speculation and 

 now ojiportunity for realization," ob- 



