Januabt 7, 1909. 



The Weekly Rorists' Review. 



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COLLEGE COURSE 



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FOR FLORISTS 



EDUCATION IN FLORICULTURE. 



The Course at Amherst. 



In a paper by Charles N. Page, of Des 

 Moines, read before the Society of Iowa 

 Florists December 9, 1908, that appears 

 in the Review of December 17, the fol- 

 lowing statement occurs: 



"During the past A^ear I have corre- 

 sponded with most/of the agricultural 

 ■colleges in the Umted States, but I find 

 that none of them is prepared to train 

 a young man in commercial floriculture. 

 Although the Missouri Botanical Gar- 

 ■den and the Illinois Agricultural College 

 have courses which would be of consider- 

 able benefit, they are far from com- 

 plete." 



Two years ago the Horticultural De- 

 partment at Massachusetts Agricultural 

 College was reorganized and a horticul- 

 tural division was formed. This division 

 is composed of independent departments 

 of pomology, floriculture, landscape gar- 

 dening and market gardening. The flori- 

 cultural course aims to give instruction 

 in strictly commercial floriculture. As 

 at present organized, there are given in 

 the first three years of the course those 

 subjects upon which the foundations of 

 floriculture are based; namely, botany, 

 bacteriology, entomology, soils, fertiliz- 

 ■ers, plant propagation, the propagation 

 and care of trees and shrubs, general hor- 

 ticulture, and market gardening, together 

 with other subjects, such as mathematics, 

 history, English, and some of the other 

 languages. In the senior year the course 

 becomes more scientific, practical and 

 technical. 



The first half-year is largely taken up 

 in the consideration of details of green- 

 house design and construction, green- 

 house equipment, such as types of 

 benches, beds, ventilators, and the like, 

 also greenhouse heating. In the last 

 half-year the time is wholly occupied in 

 the stiidy of cultural methods of commer- 

 cial florists ' crops, methods of market- 

 ing, design work and decorating. A 



student may receive instruction in any of 

 the subjects suggested by Mr. Page. The 

 course is so. planned that the student de- 

 votes much time to the details of growing 

 plants by practical greenhouse work, in 

 addition to the lectures of the class room. 

 Observation trips to commercial estab- 

 lishments are taken from time to time, 

 and on each of these trips the student is 

 provided with a written syllabus, in which 

 is noted the special features he is to 

 observe. A written report of the trip 

 is required at a later date. This year 

 thirteen seniors are taking the course, six 

 of whom intend to take up commercial 

 floriculture. The remaining seven are 

 taking the course in preparation for work 

 in landscape gardening, or in the man- 

 agement of private estates. It is ex- 

 pected that with the new equipment the 

 number of men electing this course will 

 increase rapidly. 



The requirements for admission to this 

 course are based upon the studies cov- 

 ered in the high school courses of Massa- 

 chusetts high schools. In other words, 

 the high schools are the training schools 

 for the agricultural colleges. 



The Short Course. 



To provide for a class of young men 

 who have not had the advantages of a 

 high school education, a short course in 

 floriculture has been started this year. 

 This course covers ten weeks. It began 

 January 5 and closes March 10. The only 

 requirements for entrance to this course 

 were that the individual be at least 18 

 years of age and of a good moral char- 

 acter. Tuition is free and board and 

 room rent reasonable. Immediately upon 

 its announcement the registration for 

 this course reached the capacity of the 

 teaching equipment and a number who 

 wished the course could not be accom- 

 modated. The aim of the course is to 

 give, as thoroughly as the limited time 

 will permit, the principles of greenhouse 

 construction and management essential 

 for success in commercial floriculture. 

 No attempt is made to develop experts 



in the growth of greenhouse crops. Such 

 expertness comes only after years of 

 practical experience in growing some in- 

 dividual crop. It is hoped, however, tiiat 

 those taking the course may find their 

 lives broadened and their capacity for 

 intelligent work increased by these few 

 weeks of study. 



The men taking the short course in 

 floriculture are required also to take the 

 lectures given in soils, fertilizers, insects 

 and diseases of greenhouse crops. Aside 

 from the daily lectures of the course, 

 talks will be given each week by experts 

 on special subjects. The men secured 

 for the course this year have been emi- 

 nently successful in the various subjects 

 on which they are to speak, and the col- 

 lege is to be congratulated on the hearty 

 cooperation these men have given the 

 work. 



Facilities for Instruction. 



The facilities for giving instruction 

 along this line will not be surpassed by 

 any institution in the United States when 

 the new range of greenhouses, and the 

 new instruction building, for the depart- 

 ments of floriculture and market garden- 

 ing are completed. This will be about 

 March 1, 1909. The legislature of 1908 

 made an appropriation of $34,000 for the 

 erection of a commercial greenhou^ 

 range and an attached teaching building. 

 This instruction building is a substantial, 

 two-story brick structure of pleasing 

 architecture, and contains, above the 

 basement, three class rooms, a large lab- 

 oratory, two offices, a coat room, jan- 

 itor's room and a work room. In the 

 basement are soil rooms, a cool room for 

 bulbs, storage rooms and lavatories. Ad- 

 joining this building on the east is a 

 palm house, the dimensions of which are 

 25x42 feet. This house is strictly com- 

 mercial in type and is intended for the 

 propagation and growth of commercial 

 varieties of palms. Adjoining the palm 

 house is a small house for orchids and an- 

 other for ferns. A students' house 26x50 

 feet joins the orchid house on the east, 

 and from the east end of the students' 

 house an alley twelve feet wide and 116 

 feet long runs directly south. Extending 

 east and west from this alley there are 

 a violet house, cucumber house, tomato 

 house, rose house and a carnation house, 

 the dimensions of each house being 

 24x50 feet. The alley house will be used 

 for propagation and for growing general 

 plants. The contractors for this range 

 were Lord & Burnham Co., New York. 

 The range consists of four two-thirds- 

 span houses and three even-span houses, 

 and with the connecting houses all are 



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New Range of Greenhouses and Instruction Building for Floriculture at Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



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