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150 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



Jdxe 7, 1906. 



Compare the eflfect of such desultory 

 results, to that of the council's press 

 service, which is systematically con- 

 ducted with the benefit of the commercial 

 men as its ultimate aim, and gets with 

 regularity, week after week, into twice 

 as many papers as would print horticul- 

 tural information if left to prepare it 

 themselves. 



It is my opinion that the council 's 

 press bureau, properly enlarged, can 

 apply a stimulus to the wave of horti- 

 cultural interest, that from a commercial 

 standpoint will have double the effect 

 of the work of all other organizations. 

 Should the commercial men refuse to 

 take advantage of this opportunity, when 

 it means dollars to them, and those who 

 are working on other lines are acting 

 from mere love of ^ horticulture ? 



The value of general newspaper pub- 

 licity is being recognized in most lines 

 of business, and- large sums are being 

 spent for it, but the results obtained in 

 horticultural exploitation cannot be 

 touched in other lines/ This is because 

 of the general recognition of the moral 

 value of horticulture. 



In the recent life insurance investiga- 

 tions in New York it was brought out 

 that a, press bureau was maintained by 

 the Equitable which obtained the inser- 

 tion of matter favorable to the company 

 in the r editorial columns of . newspapers 

 and paid for it at a rate of $1 per line. 

 This shows what value is set upon pub- 

 licity of this sort. 



I have received from the managing 

 editors of some of the best known daily 

 newspapers of the country letters which 

 show what great interest they take in 

 horticulture and how they regard the 

 council's press service. Here is a 

 typical one from a leading publication : 



James Keeley, managing editor Chi- 

 cago Tribune, writes : * * I take pleasure 

 in saying that The Tribune has used, 

 with due appreciation of its value, the 

 press service of the National Council of 

 Horticulture. I regard in the most 

 friendly feeling any effort to teach the 

 people in the gentle art of raising 



flowers and beautifying the grounds 

 around their residences." 



James Burdett. 



-■V 



A FAMOUS HORTICULTURtST. 



Plant lovers all over the world have 

 lost a benefactor, plant growers a com- 

 rade — Edouard Vander Cruyssen died at 

 his home in Mariakerke, near Ghent, Bel- 

 gium, on May 7, in his eighty- 

 seventh year. Edouard Vander Cruys- 

 sen was the originator of Azalea Mme. 

 Vander Cruyssen, undoubtedly the most 

 popular variety of forcing azalea today. 

 No collection in America is complete 

 without it, while in nearly every col- 

 lection it outnumbers any other variety. 



Edouard Vander Cruyssen was born at 

 Mariakerke, December 8, 1819. He was 

 in horticulture in 1849 at his place near 

 Ghent. He devoted especial attention to 

 the culture and improvement of Azalea 



Indica, originating a number of new va- 

 rieties. He won the gold medal at the 

 , universal exhibition held in Paris for 

 the best twelve varieties of azaleas 

 grown and exhibited by the originator. 

 This set of twelve included the peerless 

 Mme. Vander Cruyssen. He also won 

 high honors for his productions during 

 the next eighteen years at'^Amsterdam, 

 Vienna, Brussels, London and Antwerp. 



In 1902 the syndicate of Belgian nur- 

 serymen presented Mr. Vander Cruyssen 

 with a gold medal in commemoration of 

 the thirty-fifth anniversary of the in- 

 troduction and the victory at Paris of 

 his greatest azalea! 



The funeral took place at Mariakerke 

 on May 10. Among the many beautiful 

 floral designs sent by relatives and 

 friends was a wreath composed entirely 

 of azalea Mme. Vander Cruyssen "from 

 Henry A. Dreer, of Philadelphia. 



Phil. 



A Chapter on Bench Building. 



The time will soon be here when our 

 most important crops must be planted, 

 and probably many readers are consider- 

 ing what kind of benches are to be 

 built in place of those that are decayed 

 and must be replaced. 



Smilax and Asparagus plumosus are 

 the first crops to go in, and for these 

 there are no benches to build. Both of 

 them should go right into Mother Earth. 

 This is particularly true of asparagus. 



Bed for Asparagus and Smilax. 



The soil of the surface of the green- 

 house may not be suitable. If not, all 



Edouard Vander Cruyssen. 

 (With medals presented by the Belgrian government for achievements In liorticulture.) 



you have to do is to put up a plank 2x8 

 inches, held in place by some pieces of 

 1-inch pipe, and then fill in with soil 

 that is one-fourth cow manure. Don't 

 put boards or any other material at the 

 bottom of the bed. As the asparagus will 

 do in the same soil for three or four 

 years, with an annual top dressing, it 

 should have a bed at least eight inches 

 deep, and if it were twelve inches deep, 

 none the worse. 



The smilax pays best when planted 

 annually and, therefore, six inches of 

 soil will grow it well for one year. To 

 get the best returns from smilax it 

 should be planted the last week in June; 

 then by the time to replant a year 'hence,, 

 you should have cut four crops. Smilax 

 is mostly used in quantity. If you need 

 fifty strings you have time enough to 

 procure it of a specialist, but unless 

 you have some on your own place, if 

 you are a retailer, it is a continual annoy- 

 ance sending to the wholesale house for a 

 few strings. We daily notice the in- 

 convenience of not having smilax on th& 

 place, and I am not sure that it is less 

 profitable than many other plants that 

 occupy our thought and space and upon 

 which we put our labor. 



ihe smilax, like its closely allied genus,, 

 the asparagus, is a heavy feeder, and 

 should have a heavy loam with a third 

 or fourth of fresh manure. Once we 

 were compelled to use a light, gritty sand 

 for our smilax bed, and it was a most 

 pronounced failure. We also planted a 

 lot of asparagus in a bed of good soil 

 at least a foot deep, separated from 

 Mother Earth by planks, and that also 

 was a failure, so avoia these mistakes. 

 We have paid for our experience and 

 profited Dy its teachings. 



A Digression. 



The planting of roses dnd carnations 

 yet is a few weeks in advance, but it is 

 none too early to be prepared. I notice 

 that some methods of building and glaz- 

 ing are pronounced fads by a wise man 

 in i\ew Jersey. Most of us are 



