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12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



i - 



llABCH S, 4908. 



ticulture. Graduates from these classes 

 would have an advantage over unedu- 

 cated men in securing the best posi- 

 tions. The recent establishment of 

 classes in landscape gardening by the 

 Florists' Club of Boston is of great 

 value to those near enough to take ad- 

 vantage, and is an example for all simi- 

 lar institutions everywhere to imitate. 



Be a Reader. 



To the gardener who wants to im- 

 prove himself, books are a paramout ne- 

 cessity. Nicholson's "Dictionary of 

 Gardening" and Bailey's "Cyclopedia 

 of American Horticulture" should be 

 in the possession of every gardener; 

 they describe nearly every plant in cul- 

 tivation and {heir cultural notes are of 

 great value. I will not attempt nam- 

 ing all the good books, but cannot re- 

 frain from mentioning Jenkin's "Art 

 of Propagation and Improvement of 

 Cultivated Plants;" Taft's "Green- 

 house Construction;" Hunt's "How to 

 Grow Cut Flowers;" Henderson's 

 ' ' Practical Floriculture ; ' ' Falconer 's 

 "Mushrooms;" EUwanger and Eey- 

 nolds Hole on " Eoses ; ' ' Downing 's 

 "Fruits and Fruit Trees;" Peter Hen- 

 derson's "Gardening for Profit;" Mrs. 

 Van Renssellaer 's * * Art Out of Doors ; ' ' 

 ' ' The Principles, of the Harmony and 

 Contrast of Colors," by M. E. Chevreul; 

 Herrington and Smith on "Chystanthe- 

 mums. 



Cultivate a love for books; it is a 

 habit that grows by indulgence. Sub- 

 scribe for one or more of the trade 

 papers and get your names on the lists 

 of the agricultural stations so as to get 

 up-to-date information, the results of 

 the latest experiments along all lines. 

 The seedsmen's catalogues are great 

 educational factors; I know of no great- 

 er improvement horticulturally than in 

 the character and contents of these val- 

 uable publications. 



Every garden may be made more in- 

 teresting by excelling in some specialty. 

 Every gardener should have a hobby. 

 By saving your own seed, carefully se- 

 lecting, year after year, the finest, it 

 is astonishing how you can improve the 

 varieties in any species. You will find 

 in a few years your constant and care- 

 ful pursuit of your hobby will result 

 in making you, and the place y<ui^rep- 

 resent, more or less famous. As Ei^er- 

 son says, "If you make shoes betier 

 than anyone else you will have a path 

 beaten to your cottage door." 



How New Varieties Come. 



It is profoundly interesting to study 

 how new varieties come. Nature works, 

 often we know not how, in bringing 

 forth new varieties. The influence of 

 heredity undoubtedly prevails to some 

 extent and instances are not wanting to 

 show that it does. Let me give you 

 just one in my own experience. Three 

 years ago we made a number of crosses 

 in carnations, using Harlowarden as one 

 of the parents. You will recollect that 

 this sort had a long, desirable stem and 

 we noticed that about one-fifth of these 

 seedlings had this Harlowarden stem, 

 but there were characteristics devel- 

 oped in a number of seedlings which 

 had no visible connection with either 

 of the parents. Sometimes, however, 

 the influence of botk parents can be dis- 

 tinctly traced. Many of you will rec- 

 ollect the introduction of the Daybreak 

 carnation, a charming variety which had 

 not many stems, but these were long 

 and stiff and every shoot produced a 



flower. About the same time was in- 

 troduced Tidal Wave, which produced 

 many stems, but lacking in length. The 

 crossing of these two varieties pro- 

 duced the famous Lawson, which in- 

 herited the good points of both varie- 

 ties. Among the seedlings with Law- 

 son blood has been found Enchantress, 

 which I think has more good qualities 

 than any other variety, and following 

 along this line has resulted in produc- 

 ing a free blooming, vigorous type 

 which has made Mr. Fisher famous. 



The results of Mr. Walsh 's work in 

 roses of the Wichuraiana type are lit- 

 tle short of marvelous; the man who 

 does such things is a public benefactor. 



But, while man can do something 

 in breeding from types, nature is al- 

 ways at work and often produces, we 

 know not how, valuable breaks in seed- 

 lings or sports, which are frequently 

 lost because the gardener fails to recog- 

 nize their merits, and propagate and 

 perpetuate them. Private gardeners 

 have done much in the past to preserve 

 and propagate good new things and 



ff9VERY now and then a well 

 mS pleased reader speaks the word 

 which is the means of bringing a new 

 advertiser to 



m 



Such friendly assistance is thoroughly 

 appreciated. 



Give us the name of anyone from 

 whom you are buying, not an adver- 

 tiser. We especially wish to interest 

 those selling articles of florists' use 

 not at present advertised. 



FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO. 

 530-60 Caxton Bldg. Chicago 



should be ever on the alert to take ad- 

 vantage of any opportunities along this 

 line which kind nature may afford. 



Importance of Vegetables. 



One of the main branches of work for 

 the private gardener is the growing of 

 vegetables. There should be an abund- 

 ance of vegetables for spring, summer 

 and fall and where the facilities exist, 

 in the winter also. George Eliot says: 

 "No man can be wise on an empty 

 mums. ' ' 



good dinner lubricates business." No 

 dinner is complete without fresh vege- 

 tables, and many of the finest, most 

 luscious and delicately flavored cannot 

 be purchased in the markets, because 

 they do not pay to grow commercially. 

 If you can furnish your employer a reg- 

 ular supply of these dainties, you will 

 find yourself in close touch with him 

 and he is likely to help you in any of 

 your plans. 



Industry and Courage. 



Now, a few words on the importance 

 of industry. From the earliest times, 

 the great men have extolled the value 

 of industry. "Go to the ant, thou slug- 



gard, consider her ways, and be wise" 

 has served for the text of many a pow- 

 erful sermon. The expression that 

 "genius is only an infinite capacity for 

 work" has been endorsed by many 

 thinkers. Napoleon said: "I have liev- 

 er found the limit of my capacity for 

 work." In short, the men who have 

 made their mark in the world have been 

 at a loss for words to express them- 

 selves strongly enough on the subject. 

 Don't^Jje afraid of work and don't for- 

 get that "folks who never do more 

 than they are paid for, never get paid 

 for more than they do." Let not the 

 amount of pay be your main considera- 

 tion; rather see how much and how well 

 you can do the work. The real reward 

 that life holds out for work is the 

 increased capacity to do more and bet- 

 ter work, and consequently greater sat- 

 isfaction and enjoyment. The man who 

 wants an indolent life is not fitted for 

 a gardener. 



Many good men fail to do their best 

 for want of courage and faifh in them- 

 selves, and from lack of energy and am- 

 bition; there are not so many failures 

 from want of capacity. Herrick says: 

 ' ' The great man is not so great as folks 

 think, nor the stupid man so stupid as 

 he seems." 



The late Peter Henderson, a great 

 gardener, close observer and successful 

 business man, often said that he did not 

 think there was so much difference in 

 the mental capacity of men as in their 

 courage, ambition and industry. Have 

 faith in yourselves and loyalty to your 

 employer. I am fond of the saying of 

 Fra Elbertus: "If put to the point, 

 an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of 

 cleverness." Don't be afraid to un- 

 dertake all the time bigger things; 

 your ability will grow in your earnest 

 attempts to accotnplish; and don't be 

 afraid of manual labor if occasion re- 

 quire; it will not lessen, but increase 

 your mental power. A stiffening and 

 strengthening of the spinal column be- 

 gets no weakness of the mind: "A 

 sound mind in a sound body." The 

 advantage of outdoor exercise is recog- 

 nized everywhere. The orator in the 

 English parliament exclaimed: "The 

 battlefields of England were won on 

 the cricket fields of Eton," and there 

 was as much force in the rejoinder of 

 the Irish member: "They were won on 

 the bogs of Ireland." 



Compensation for Gardeners. 



The problem of compensation for 

 gardeners is an interesting one. Most 

 gardeners think it is a poorly paid 

 work, and perhaps it is, considering 

 how much has to be learned. I think, 

 however, the money reward rests large- 

 ly with the individual. There can be 

 nothing like a uniform scale of wages. 

 I had, for instance, paid my foreman 

 about $1,200 a year, but I must say that 

 one to whom I paid $2,000 per annum 

 was the most profitable one to me. 



I think, on the whole, the outlook for 

 first-class gardeners is good. Never 

 in the history of nations has wealth in- 

 creased so fast as in the United States 

 during the last quarter of a century, 

 and a majority of the wealthy men will, 

 in the future, I venture to say, find 

 their highest pleasure in developing 

 their gardehis and country estates. Gar- 

 dening is the most healthful of all oc- 

 cupations; it is one of the fine arts. 

 Buskin has defined fine art as any oc- 

 eupation in which the head, hand and 

 heart work Jogether. I cannot see why 



