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Fbbruart 6, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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I FLORICULTURAL 



EDUCATION 



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Prof, Bailey's Views. 



I have read with much interest the 

 letter of Thomas A. Kempton, in the Ee- 

 viEW for January 16. There is no sys- 

 tem of apprenticeship in this country 

 whereby a person can receive the kind of 

 practical instruction and training in 

 handicraft which Mr. Kempton wants. I 

 do not know that the florists' business 

 can ever provide such a system of ap- 

 prenticeship, since it is necessarily or- 

 ganized on the strictly commercial basis 

 and is not developed from the private 

 gardening idea. It is in the well-kept 

 and well-supported private garden that 

 one is to look for instruction of this kind, 

 unless he goes to the agricultural college 

 or to some other special public or semi- 

 public institution. The horticultural de- 

 partments in connection with some of the 

 great parks might afford a means for 

 training a few men. The Missouri Bo- 

 tanical Garden is doing much for the 

 floricultural interests. 



In a number of the agricultural col- 

 leges considerable attention is now being 

 given to floricultural subjects. If a man 

 wants an education he must take time for 

 it and he must take "book knowledge" 

 as well as the rest. If he wants mere 

 practical training in some of the handi- 

 crafts, he will find facilities provided him 

 in many of the agricultural colleges in 

 the way of short courses and special 

 courses. It is undoubtedly to the agricul- 

 tural colleges that we are to look in the 

 end for help of this kind. One difficulty 

 is that the floricultural interests have not 

 yet asked the agricultural colleges for 

 help in such a definite way as other in- 

 terests have. There is no reason why the 

 florists should not be served as well as 

 the fruit growers, if they really desire 

 such service and organize themselves to 

 secure it. L. H. Bailey. 



From a CoUeze Gardener. 



I notice in the Review of January 16 

 that Thos. A. Kempton, Pasadena, Cal., 

 is looking for a place where he can get 

 a jgood education in floriculture and gar- 

 dening. I think we would be able to 

 offer him an extra good opportunity to 

 learn the various branches of the trade 

 in our greenhouses, parks, gardens, arbo- 

 retum, nurseries and orchards. We also 

 have a complete library on all subjects 

 in horticulture and forestry, for study 

 and reference, and we receive a number 

 of papers published for gardeners and 

 florists, "^'-ri- Julius Erdmann. 



College Gardener, Ames, Iowa; 



College lot One Year. 



In answer to T. A. Kempton 's ques- 

 tion, I would say, attend your agricul- 

 tural college for one year. These col- 

 leges are founded for the purpose of 

 helping us along practical lines. 



By a little correspondence before 

 starting, a couise can be arranged to fit 

 the needs of a young florist. The prac- 

 tical work in the greenhouses, of from 

 oue to three or more hours a day, is 



supplemented by book work bearing di- 

 rectly on the subject. There is also 

 time and space given for any experi- 

 mental work desired. 



In these colleges there is little red 

 tape, expenses are reduced to a mini- 

 mum, and any energetic young person 

 can take such a course and earn enough 

 to carry him through the year, at the 

 same time. 



The college that I attended had no 

 such course, but I requested it, for my- 

 self, and since then several more have 

 taken it. We were taught propagating by 

 seed-planting, grafting, budding, layer- 

 ing, top and root cuttings. We studied 

 plant diseases and remedies, structural 

 botany, soil and atmospheric conditions, 

 and all other kindred topics, thus secur- 

 ing a most valuable foundation for our 

 future work. Our florist was also a land- 

 scape gardener and a decorator, so the 

 knowledge gained was such as could not 

 be obtained in the same length of time 

 in a commercial establishment. 



Let our young people make use of the 

 opportunities thus afforded them. 



Myra Eggleston. 



Help From Horticultural Papers. 



I have noticed with interest the article 

 of Mr. Kempton in your issue of January 

 16, and later comments regarding the po- 

 sition of the young man in floriculture. 

 I am in entire accord with Mr. Kempton 

 and do not think his advisers quite un- 

 derstand his position. 



Now, there are many hundreds, prob- 

 ably thousands, of' intelligent young men 

 in this country who desire to advance in 

 this profession, but are handicapped by 

 being with a small firm or one that makes 

 a specialty of one thing, or even by being 

 confined to one section in a large com- 

 mercial establishment, which prevents his 

 getting a knowledge of things beyond his 

 confines. Of course this state of things 

 cannot be eliminated, but could be greatly 

 improved if a horticultural paper would 

 run a series of articles on different sub- 

 jects, starting at the very beginning and 

 by easy stages covering the subjects com- 

 pletely, on lines somewhat similar to 

 those followed by correspondence schools. 

 We all read the carnation notes, the rose 

 notes, the plant notes and what not, 

 which are very interesting, but how much 

 more interesting and instructive would 

 these same notes be to a great many of us 

 if we had a more practical knowledge of 

 the flower or plant discussed! 



Then again, take the average store 

 man, who desires to know something 

 about the growing of the things he han- 

 dles, but who has had no experience in 

 this. The plan that I have suggested is 

 about the only way in which he can get 

 a clear idea on it, as he will get little 

 satisfaction in questioning, and a book 

 on the subject is generally too technical 

 or dry for anyone but a student. 



The agricultural colleges are all right, 

 but how many of us can attend themf 

 Neither does it pay to keep hopping 

 around from one establishment to an- 



other, trying to get a knowledge of dif- 

 ferent plants. 



As stated before, this matter cannot 

 be altogether changed, but I would sug- 

 gest that you have a competent person, 

 who knows the subject thoroughly, write 

 an article each week, starting with les- 

 sons for beginners and continuing until 

 the reader knows about all a man needs 

 to know on each subject. Different sub- 

 jects could be taken up in succession. I 

 ^.m sure this would be appreciated by a 

 large part of your readers, 



E. J. McCallum. 



Study Under Specialists. 



In reply to the question as to the way 

 to receive a good, all-round knowledge 

 of this trade or art, there is no direct 

 method or means of learning to be pro- 

 ficient rapidly, except in possibly one 

 particular branch. 



From experience I would say to the 

 earnest beginner, do three years for little 

 or no money in a good private establish- 

 ment, because by doing so you learn a 

 little of everything, although not enough 

 to make you a specialist in anything. 



Never accept a situation where you are 

 required to be a thorough gardener and 

 drive a team, milk cows, etc, but just 

 learn all there is to learn about your 

 trade, and it is quite extensive enough to 

 devote one's whole time to. 



To the plant lover a selection of one of 

 the numerous branches to follow up 

 proves rather bewildering, but to the one 

 who would choose hybridizing, a year or 

 two in Erfurt, Germany, would, I believe, 

 be the very best course to follow. By 

 presenting one 's self, with a reference, in 

 the spring, there would be no difficulty in 

 obtaining a situation, with wages large 

 enough to support one, if economical. To 

 learn rose cultivation in detail, the vari- 

 ous French nurseries present opportuni- 

 ties. Belgium might be visited for the 

 study of decorative plants and orchids, 

 and England for the study of miscella- 

 neous stock. 



The question arises, "Does it pay?" 

 In a pecuniary sense, not always. One's 

 compensation very often must be that he 

 knows more than the other fellow and is 

 able to impart knowledge. It should also 

 be borne in mind that climatic or other 

 conditions are not always a good excuse 

 for ignorance. 



Needless to say, the experience is very 

 interesting and you often meet your fel- 

 low workers in after years in every clime. 



PONICA. 



The Missouri Botanical Garden. 



In reply to the article on "Floricul- 

 tural Education, ' ' in the Review of Jan- 

 uary 16, I should like to state the follow- 

 ing facts: 



If a young person interested in our 

 beautiful work wishes to learn all he can 

 about the how, why, and wherefore of 

 floriculture and its allied branches, both 

 practically and theoretically, I suggest 

 that he put himself in communication 

 with Prof. William Trelease, of the Mis- 

 souri Botanical Garden, and make ar- 

 rangements with him to be admitted to 

 the benefits of the last will of the late 

 Henry Shaw. He will not get the train- 

 ing of commercial hurry and rush for the 

 almighty dollar there, but will learn all 

 of those things which Mr. Kempton asks 

 about in his letter. Then the commer- 

 cial end of it is quickly added by good 

 will and a little apprenticeship. 



The work at Shaw's Garden is both 

 manual and mental, each supplementing 

 the other. 



I should be very glad to give anyone 



