B?3c 



32 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Januabt 9, 1008. 



and far exceeding them in beauty, they 

 should have great commercial possibili- 

 ties. 



Mr. Wingett also raised the fine, new 

 double yellow dahlia, Charles Lanier, 

 which gained high awards at Boston, 

 Newport and other exhibitions and which 

 will also be introduced the coming 

 spring. W. N. Craig. 



IMPORTS. 



The imports of seed through the port 



of New York for the week ending Dec. 



28 were as follows: 



Kind. Pkgs. Val. Kind. Pkgs. Val. 



Caraway.. 8| 96 Hemp ... SOS 231 



Celery ... 112 1,599 Millet ...1,000 8,000 



Clover ...2,500 77,181 Mustard . 100 887 



Cummin . . 15 246 Rape 250 2,068 



Fennel ... 11 90 Sugar beet 900 3,570 



Grass 200 726 Other 12,979, 



In the same period the imports of 



bulbs, trees and plants were valued at 



$8,927. 



IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION. 



Commenting on the seedsmen's exhib- 

 its at 1907 exhibitions, an English gar- 

 dening magazine of international circu- 

 lation says: "On practically every 

 stand set up by the foremost seed grow- 

 ers of this country were to be seen exam- 

 ples of roots and vegetables brought to 

 the highest state of perfection mainly by 

 careful and persistent selection. Cultural 

 skill cannot have played more than a 

 secondary part in producing the really 

 wonderful specimens of mangolds, pota- 

 toes and other subjects there to be seen, 

 for the bulk of the exhibits were drawn 

 from crops growing in the open fields. 

 It must be obvious to any person of in- 

 telligence that seeds from stocks show- 

 ing such perfection of quality and uni- 

 formity of type must be more satis- 

 factory and profitable to grow than any 

 stock of inferior quality, no matter what 

 the price of the latter seeds may be. 

 The pity is that vendors of seeds from 



fbbishy stocks still find buyers of 

 eir inferior seeds simply because they 

 e 'cheap.' " 



CALIFORNL^ ONION SEED. 



In the Beview of December 26 W. 

 Van Fleet was quoted as saying, in 

 part, that the need for revitalization of 

 the onion seed crops of California was 

 shown to be recognized by the Cali- 

 fornia growers by their going to Colo- 

 rado last season to grow crops of onion 

 bulbs for planting for seed in Califor- 

 nia. Commenting on the above, it was 

 stated that "Dr. Van Fleet seems to 

 have lost sight of the fact that the pur- 

 pose of the California growers in con- 

 tracting for the crop at Greeley, Colo., 

 was the prime necessity for replenish- 

 ing their stocks of bulbs, the quantity 

 available for planting for seeds in the 

 Santa Clara valley having fallen below 

 their needs. We doubt if the Cali- 

 fornian growers will admit any thought 

 of necessity for 'revitalization' in their 

 stocks by using Colorado bulbs. ' ' 



Referring to this item, the following 

 letter, dated December 30, will be of 

 interest : 



The writer begs to state that Dr. Van 

 Fleet's opinion we always value most 

 highly, and it is with regret that we 

 have not got more men throughout the 

 country just like him to encourage the 

 production of seeds up to the highest 

 possible standard. 



We beg to say that he is in error in 

 regard to the growing of onions in Colo- 

 rado, or in any other place outside of 



A Hitherto Unpublished Protrait of the Late Everett B. Clark. 



(See page 14 of the issue of January 2, 1908.) 



the state of California, to improve the 

 quality of the stock seed that is planted 

 here, not only by ourselves, but by all 

 of the growers on this coast. The facts 

 are that the California growers for the 

 past season, owing to the onion districts 

 being flooded during the month of 

 March, necessitated finding districts to 

 grow their onion bulbs in neighboring 

 states, it being too late to re-sow here. 

 It was for this reason, and this alone, 

 that the onion growers produced a large 

 quantity of their onion bulbs this season 

 in Oregon, Utah and Colorado. Had 

 we not done so. Me would have had no 

 onion bulbs to plant for seed purposes 

 this fall, and we beg to state right here 

 that the seed stock which was given to 

 the onion growers in the other states 

 mentioned is the same identical seed 

 stock that would have been planted here 

 in California were we in the position 

 to re-sow our fields after the flood. 



The thought of Dr. Van Fleet's that 

 any of the growers went outside of this 

 state with revitalization in view is wholly 

 in error. The writer claims without fear 

 of contradiction that California produces 

 seed of the highest quality, equal to 

 that grown in any other section of the 

 United States or Canada. 



We beg to conclude by saying that we 

 know that when the above is pointe<l 



out to Dr. Van Fleet he will see his 

 error at once. Charles P. Braslan. 



BONHOMIE BURPEE. 



The committee of the National Sweet 

 Pea Society of Great Britain, in its re- 

 port to the annual meeting, speaks as 

 follows of the visit of W. Atlee Burpee 

 last July: 



"One of the most pleasing and inter- 

 esting features of the sweet pea year 

 was the visit of W. Atlee Burpee, of 

 Philadelphia, with his wife and family. 



The Name 



GENUINE 



PHILADELPHIA 



On a LAWN MOWER 



is what 



"STERLING" is on silver 



Seedsmen— CataloRue the Philadelphia line 



and you will be sure you are right. For 



terms and electrotypes, address 



Philadelphia Lawn Mower Go. 



340709 Oeslnil SI., PHIUDEIPHIA 



Mention The ReTlew when yon write. 



