18 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



MABCH 7. 1012. 



PLANTING BBASLAN'S SEEDS. 



On Washington's birthday the school 

 children of San Jose, Cal., planted sev- 

 eral blocks of the railroad right of way 



into the city with dwarf nasturtium, 

 using seeds donated by the Braslan 

 Seed Growers' Co. of that city. The 

 accompataying illustration shows one 

 company of the school gardeners. 



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NOTES ON 



GLADIO 



01.1 



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QLADIOLI AS A SPECIAL OBOP. 



[A paper by Arthur Cowee, of Berlin, N. Y., 

 read at the New York State College of Agricul- 

 ture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., in the 

 Fifth Annual Farmers' Week, B'ebruary 10 to 24, 

 1912.] 



For the last ten years probably no 

 other flower has gained popularity so 

 rapidly as the gladiolus. The principal 

 reason for this is the great improve- 

 ment made in both size and character 

 of the individual flower, as well as the 

 better defined colors and markings. 

 By experienced hybridizers, also, the 

 strength and vitality of the corm or 

 bulb has been so increased that gladioli 

 of such breeding can be successfully 

 grown in any climate and under ex- 

 tremely unfavorable conditions, and 

 with little care compared with that nec- 

 essary to succeed with most other 

 flowers. 



I am a firm believer in the theory 

 that the acme of success is best at- 

 tained by those who choose an occupa- 

 tion or profession more for the love of 

 environment, and the possibilities of 

 development, than for the financial re- 

 turns. While I believe this is true 

 in all walks of life, I contend that in 

 agriculture, horticulture and floriculture 

 we have the best support of such argu- 

 ment. Who are your most successful 

 farmers, fruit and flower growers in 

 this country today? I dare say, if you 

 were to canvass this great Empire 

 State, you would find such men and 

 women in close touch with every detail 

 of their industry so far as practical, 

 and not merely directing it. I believe, 

 also, that a certain amount of sentiment 

 should accompany one's work; not too 

 much, however, for this is dangerous, 

 and the development on extreme lines 

 of sentiment has made many a grower 

 bankrupt. 



Elements of Success. 



In specializing there are many impor- 

 tant as well as minor conditions and 

 principles which must be taken into 

 consideration to insure success. While 

 soil and climatic conditions, as well as 

 easy access to good markets, are the 

 principal ones, labor conditions and 

 economy in the preparation of the soil, 

 planting, cultivating and harvesting, 

 with improved machinery adapted to 

 special crops, must not be lost sight of. 

 There is today hardly any crop which 

 at some stage of its growth is not 

 attacked by insect pests, although it 

 may be immune from disease; it is 

 therefore quite essential that the spe- 

 cialist should be prepared to cope with 

 these adverse conditions before much, 

 if any, damage is done. 



Experience is a good teacher, but 

 experimental work, even on the most 

 economical lines possible, is expensive; 



^$ 



hence I would advise the prospective 

 specialist to become thoroughly familiar 

 with the chemistry of 'agriculture, 

 which includes the ability to analyze 

 soils and prepare proper fertilizers, as 

 well as insecticides and fungicides. 



From force of circumstances I have, 

 unfortunately, been obliged to deny 

 myself the pleasure of attempting to 

 master thoroughly the scientific end of 

 this work, hybridization, which in itself 

 is enough to demand constant attention 

 from one person, and I have found it 

 quite impracticable to unite the scien- 

 tific and commercial^ branches of the 

 business and secure satisfactory results. 

 I have therefore contented myself until 

 recently with securing the seedlings of 

 the world's most successful hyUridizers 

 of this flower, the majority of which are 

 from an enthusiastic banker, who has 

 made the study of the gladiolus his life 



flower has not yet begun and the possi- 

 bilities of further improvement have 

 not yet been exhausted, even though to 

 some it would seem that the acme of 

 perfection h«C3\been reachedr 



As probiu)ly but few, if any, of you 

 are fajuiMar with the fact that my in- 

 dustry was not begun on a commercial 

 basis, but is the development of a fad, 

 I trust I may be pardoned if I preface 

 . my remarks with a few references to 

 Mhe early history and sentimental part 

 M my work. 



Some Personal Bemlniscences. 



Meadow^ale Farm, Berlin, where I 

 was born, lies in the Taconic range of 

 mountains, in the valley of the Little 

 Hoosac river, a picturesque stream, fed 

 by mountain trout brooks, at every turn 

 of which the lover of scenery is in- 

 clined to place his camera. It was 

 here, when a boy, that an unusual love 

 for flowers took hold of me. No work 



work, and who, like your speaker, be- 

 lieves that the real demand for this |- of my stock by the seedsmen of this 



in my mother's garden was too hard or 

 irksome for me; her approbation and 

 the pleasure in arranging bouquets with 

 the flowers grown, more than repaid me. 

 At- the age of fifteen I left home to 

 attend school in the city and afterward 

 to embark in business, during all of 

 which time the garden at Meadowvale 

 received my attention, although neces- 

 sarily at intervals. 



Among all flowers I found none so 

 attractive as the gladiolus, and al- 

 though I grew many other kinds, to 

 this one I gave special attention, buy- 

 ing every year such as I could afford, 

 and especially from the better varieties 

 which the seedsmen might have unsold 

 late in the season, and upon which I 

 could secure lower prices. So it was 

 that year after year my stock increased, 

 both by purchase and growing, until I 

 found myself with more than I could 

 conveniently handle. My father re- 

 marked to me at one time that, if I 

 were not careful, I would have the 

 entire farm planted to flowers. The 

 thought then occurred to me: Why not 

 make a business of growing the highest 

 possible quality of these bulbs and sell 

 to seedsmen and others? The result is 

 that therb are few of the prominent 

 American seedsmen of today who are 

 not selling some of the Meadowvale 

 product, ■ and through other channels 

 large quantities are distributed annu- 

 ally through every state in the Union; 

 many thousands, also, are exported to 

 foreign countries. 



You will note how easy it is for me 

 to make these last statements. I wish 

 to assure you, however, that it was no 

 easy task to secure the indorsement 



and foreign countries, and not until I 

 had established a demand in a retail 

 way was I recognized. I do not men- 

 tion these facts to discourage you, but 

 rather to demonstrate thai no matter 

 what may be the quality of one's prod- 

 uct, so long as he is a new disseminator 

 his path is not strewn with flowers. 



aiadioll in Their Wild State. 



The gladiolus or sword lily in its wild 

 state is a native of South Africa, Mada- 

 gascar and some parts of Asia. It is, 

 therefore, more or less of a tropical or 

 semi-tropical nature and had to be 

 acclimated to be grown successfully in y 

 other climates. There have so far been 

 discovered about 140 wild species, many 

 of them bearing beautifully colored, 

 ^mall, dainty flowers. Comparatively 

 few wild species, however, have been 

 of great value in building up the sev- 

 eral strains commercially and scientific- 



You'hful Planters of Braslan Seedi, San Jose, Cal. 



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