November 21, 1912. 



The Florists' Review 



18 



Their vases of Chryeanthemum Merry 

 Jane, Wells' Late Pink, Mrs. Syme 

 and Papworth were marvels even to the 

 professional florist; and, one word more, 

 Col. D. Appleton can not be beaten yet, 

 so long as it can be grown as well as 

 Palmer & Son grow it. Their table 

 decorations were more than decorations; 

 they were pictures. Among their roses, 

 a large vase of American Beauty proves 

 that this fine old rose still occupies 

 the topmost niche. Lady Hillingdon, 

 Irish Fire Flame, Safrano, Bon Silene, 

 and the new competitor for American 

 Beiuty's place, Milady, were up to 

 the same standard of excellence. 



S. A. Anderson's display was greatly 

 admired, and his showing of Gloire de 

 Lorraine begonia, of which he makes a 

 specialty, was the finest in the hall. 



The Wm. F. Kasting Co. had a grand 

 display of cut flowers, chrysanthemums 

 and roses. Among them a vase of the 

 new rose, Mrs. George Shawyer, at- 

 tracted general attention. It seems a 

 glorified Bridesmaid. Their Killarney, 

 in several varieties, were the finished 

 products of skillful growers. 



W. C. Stroh had a large bank of 

 foliage and flowering plants, tastefully 

 arranged and demonstrating the artis- 

 tic value of autumn foliage plus a good 

 decorator. The Wm. Scott Co. also 

 showed the public what fine effects can 

 be produced by autumn foliage, electric 

 light and a skillful artist to combine 

 them. L. II. Neubeck had an attrac- 

 tive group of foliage and flowering 

 plants and a large vase of fine Maud 

 Dean chrysanthemums. 



The show was a revelation of beauty 

 and taste to thousands and was credit- 

 able to the skill and energy of the 

 Buffalo Florists' Club. 



Fitzwilliam, 



CAENATION PRINCESS DAGMAE. 



Princess Dagmar is the crimson carna- 

 tion which secured for its originators, 

 M. A. Patten & Co., Tewksbury, Mass., 

 the silver medal of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society at the Boston 

 show, November 7 to 10. Patten & Co. 

 describe the variety as follows: "It is 

 a cross between Genevieve, a large 

 white seedling, and an unnamed crim- 

 son seedling. The color is a fine deep 

 crimson — not too dark. Flowers large, 

 averaging three and one-half to four 

 inches, borne on strong, stiff stems, 

 which hold the bloom perfectly erect at 

 all times. The calyx seldom splits. 

 Plants are perfectly healthy in every 

 respect, a strong grower and propagates 

 easily. An average bloomer and one 

 that attracts instant attention." 



CIVIL SEEVICE EXAMINATIONS. 



The comment in The Review of .No- 

 vember 14, regarding civil service ex- 

 aminations, I feel will be misconstrued 

 and may do harm. You say, "Simply 

 because a man may be an excellent 

 craftsman without being much with the 

 pen, and because equally good jobs are 

 to be had with less effort." 



Sincere efforts are being made to 

 put the examinations on an absolutely 

 fair basis, that is, fair to the applicant 

 and fair to the employer. The idea 

 should not go out that these examina- 

 tions require the ordinary craftsman to 

 be "much with the pen." The basis of 

 credit marks is generally divided into 

 three portions. First, strong credit is 

 given for previous experience. Second, 



Carnation Princesi Dagmar, Shown at Boston, Noytmber 7 to 10. 



credits are based on an oral examina- 

 tion which is made to cover such points 

 as may be properly handled in that 

 way. The third part of the examina- 

 tion is a written one. In examinations 

 for ordinary employees, the papers are 

 marked, not on the basis of their lit- 

 erary merit, but simply as to whether 

 they show whether the man knows what 

 he is talking about or not. Even in the 

 most badly spelled and poorly expressed 

 papers, it is easily possible to read 

 somewhat between the lines and to form 

 an opinion as to whether the man really 

 knows or not. In all examinations an 

 endeavor is made to honestly and fairly 

 ascertain the man's fitness and to mark 

 him proportionately. 



Of course when it comes to an exam- 

 ination for head gardener, the require- 

 ments are different. It will be admitted 

 by anyone, the writer thinks, that in a 

 position of that kind the applicant 

 should be able to write intelligently and 

 certainly should be able to properly spell 

 the names of ordinary plants which he 

 will have to handle and to label. In 

 the head gardener examination, con- 

 siderable weight is therefore properly 

 given to the composition and especially 

 to the spelling of the written report. 

 Having taken part last year in the ex- 

 aminations for the Chicago West Parks, 

 and being much interested in the mod- 

 ern movement for better civil service, 

 the writer was led to look into the mat- 

 ter somewhat carefully. In those ex- 

 aminations, at least, the positions are 

 not difficult to get for those apparently 

 competent to fill them. The writer be- 

 lieves that a thoroughly honest effort is 

 being made by Mr. Heuchling, of the 



West Parks, to make his examinations 

 efficient and fair with a sole view to 

 selecting the most competent men for 

 the positions. No attempt whatever is 

 made to influence the markings in indi- 

 vidual cases, and the final marks of the 

 applicants were given them just as I 

 should place them were they applying 

 for positions in my employ. 



The steady demand of the public for 

 better things in our civil service is pro- 

 ducing a class of men like Mr. Heuch- 

 ling, who are specializing on that par- 

 ticular work, and using every effort to 

 make themselves thorough and efficient. 

 The movement is a good one and should 

 be supported by every public-spirited 

 person. In the old regime, as we all 

 know, employees were largely political 

 favorites and a position in a public 

 park was anything but a desirable one 

 for the good man. We are approaching 

 better things. The civil service job 

 today, as demonstrated in the West 

 Parks, is a good job. The employee has 

 shorter working hours and much better 

 working conditions (I speak now of the 

 average greenhouse employee) than he 

 does in a commercial place, and the 

 pay will probably average l3etter for 

 the same class of work. 



We should not belittle these efforts 

 which are being made to better condi- 

 tions; but, on the other hand, where we 

 see a man honestly endeavoring to ob- 

 tain good service for the public and to 

 put public employees in a position 

 where they cannot be disturbed by pet- 

 ty politics, both the horticultural press 

 and the members of the trade should 

 do all in their power to help the good 

 work along. W. N. Eudd. 



