August 23, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



359 



new variety, seedling of Eumelan, resembling Concord in 

 color, but very sweet. Missouri shows by far the finest lot of 

 peaches, the chief variety being the now famous Elberta. This 

 state also displays new apples and pears, native plums and 

 grapes in variety. Colorado, which heretofore has confined 

 itself almost wholly to bottled and .wax fruits, now has fresh 

 peaches, wild goose plums and a long table of new apples. 

 Oregon is receiving new grapes, pears, apples and plums. The 

 great space at the north end of the curtain, occupied by 

 Florida earlier in the season, is now being rebuilt, and Ne- 

 braska is spreading a very large and attractive display of 

 apples, peaches, grapes and native plums ; and Oregon has 

 secured some of the space for a show of stone-fruits, including 

 the Early Red nectarine and the Hungarian prune, the latter 

 showing many double specimens. 



It is yet too early to judge of the comparative merits of even 

 the early displays of new fruits, but it is clear that Illinois, 

 Oregon, New York, Missouri, Arkansas, Ontario, Iowa, New 

 Jersey, Nebraska and Wisconsin are to make strong exhibits. 

 California seems inclined to rest upon its citrous exhibits, and 

 many states, even in the east, which are capable of making 

 important shows, have so far made no effort. It is doubtful if 

 the quality of even the opening displays of new tree-fruits is 

 beyond criticism, but an interesting autumnal competition 

 seems to be assured. , ,^ „ ., 



Chicago, 111. L. H. Bailey. 



Meetings of Societies. 



Convention of the Society of American Florists. 



THE annual meeting of this association at St. Louis was not 

 so largely attended as some of its predecessors, but it was 

 unusually interesting and important. According to the report 

 of Secretary Stewart, the membership last year reached 829, of 

 which 174 were new accessions, and there is little doubt that 

 the association will number a thousand strong within a com- 

 paratively short time. The convention opened with the usual 

 address of vv'elcome by the Mayor of the city, and President 

 W. R. Smith, of the Botanical Gardens in Washington, read an 

 elaborate and instructive address covering a wide range of 

 topics. In the discussion of the address, the point which ex- 

 cited most attention was the advice to encourage the produc- 

 tion of home-grown seeds, bulbs and plants, so as to give to 

 American industry the two million dollars which are annually 

 sent abroad for these articles. As a proof of our capacity in 

 this matter Mr. Smith cited the example of California, which 

 was already producing large amounts of seeds and bulbs, and 

 of Long Island, where he had lately seen on one estate ninety 

 acres of Gladiolus. Indeed, Gladiolus-bulbs had now become 

 an article of export, instead of being imported, as they were 

 ten years ago, while the price has been greatly reduced. The 

 cultivation of Tuberose-bulbs and similar ventures in some of 

 the southern states, for the home and foreign trade, was also 

 cited ; and it was urged that Roman Hyacinths, and perhaps 

 many' other bulbs, seeds and plants, could be grown success- 

 fully for market on this side of the Atlantic. 



The papers read on various subjects were of high order. 

 We have already made quotations from some of them, and 

 we shall quote from others from time to time such portions 

 as may be of permanent interest. The first paper was an 

 admirable one by Mr. C.H.Allen, on Carnations, and as Mr. Allen 

 is one of the most successful growers in the country, the terse 

 account of his own experience had singular value. The other 

 important papers were by Robert Kift, of Philadelphia, on the 

 "Benefits of Closer Co-operation between Growers and 

 Dealers as regards Regulating Prices"; one by Mr. J. C. 

 Watson, of Philadelphia, entitled "How Can We Increase the 

 Love of Flowers among the People of this Country .?" and 

 one by Mr. Elmer D.Smith, on "Bench-grown Chrysanthe- 

 mums for Exhibition Purposes." At the second day's session 

 Mr. R. F. Tesson, of St. Louis, discussed with great fullness 

 of detail and ample knowledge "The Science and Facts of 

 Successful Rose-growing." The essay drew forth much com- 

 mendation and discussion. In the evening a paper by Mr. 

 W. G. Bertermann, of Indianapolis, on "Horticultural Ex- 

 hibitions and How to Make Them Successful," was read, and 

 this was followed by an essay by Mr. James Gurney, head- 

 gardener of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, on "Old and 

 Neglected Plants which are worthy of More General Use in 

 Outdoor Decoration." The essay was characterized by a 

 sincere and catholic love of nature, a fact which was alluded 

 to in the discussion of the paper by Mr. J. C. Vaughan, \yho 

 added in the same strain that if florists could acquire a little 

 more of that love for Apple-blossoms and Arbutus, the love of 

 simple nature, and could teach it to some of their customers. 



it would much benefit the trade, which he sometimes feared 

 was too strictly commercial. Mr. Robert Craig, of Philadelphia, 

 read a brief but practical paper on "The Best Means of 

 Increasing the Love of Flowers," among which means he 

 gave a prominent place to such societies as the Carnation 

 Society, which had already done much, and the Chrysanthe- 

 mum Society and the Rose Society, from which we ought to 

 hope for much more. The concluding paper on " Labor- 

 saving Devices," by Mr. Patrick O'Mara, was a resume of the 

 more important improvements in practice which have been 

 adopted by the trade within recent years. 



Tlie report of the Committee on Nomenclature, of which 

 Professor Trelease is president, was important. It recom- 

 mended, as the standard for naming species and varieties of 

 ornamental plants, Nicholson's Dictionary, and that in cases 

 where plants had been widely known under a name differ- 

 ent from that used in the dictionary, the popular but dis- 

 carded name should be added in parentheses until the public 

 had become accustomed to the change. With respect to 

 florists' names, it was advised that the trade should conform 

 to the rules adopted by the American Pomological Society 

 for fruits, and the Association of American Agricultural 

 Colleges for vegetables, and that the society should publish 

 every year in horticultural papers and elsewhere a list of 

 synonyms used in the trade during the year; and, finally, the 

 originators of new plants were urged to employ short, appro- 

 priate and neat vernacular names instead of misleading, long, 

 liigh-sounding or vulgar names, and that the use of Latinized 

 names should be confined exclusively to species and natural 

 varieties. 



The meeting was honored by the presence of several 

 foreigners of distinction — among them Mr. George Nicholson, 

 Curator of Kew Gardens ; Professor Wittmack, of Berlin ; M. 

 Krelage, of Holland ; M. Lemoine and others. 



Mr. J. T. Anthony, of Chicago, was elected president for the 

 ensuing year, Mr. Robert Kift, of Philadelphia, vice-president, 

 and Atlantic City, New Jersey, was selected as the place for 

 the next annual convention. 



The Horticultural Congress at Chicago. 



'T" HAT part of the general scheme of congresses auxiliary to ■ 

 -•• the Columbian Exposition which devoted itself to horti- 

 culture convened on the morning of Wednesday, August i6th, 

 in the Memorial Art Palace, in Chicago. The congress was 

 designed to represent the entire field of American horficulture, 

 and it was held under the patronage of the four great national 

 societies — The American Pomological Society, Society of 

 American Florists, American Seed-trade Association and 

 American Association of Nurserymen. The immediate charge 

 of the congress fell to a local committee, of which J. C. 

 Vaughan was chairman. A general session was held upon the 

 morning of the i6th, and thereafter the business of the con- 

 gress came before four separate sections representing the re- 

 spective societies. The general convention attracted an 

 audience of 150 persons, mostly of men distinguished in 

 various horticultural professions. It was undoubtedly the 

 most representative body of American horticulturists which 

 the country has yet seen. Foreign horticulturists were few in 

 number, but among them were Henri L. de Vilmorin, of Paris ; 

 Professor L. Wittmack, of Berlin, and J. Pedersen-Bjergaard, 

 of Copenhagen, all of whom took an active part in the con- 

 ventions. The first session introduced four general topics, 

 each of which was the subject of a paper and some discussion. 

 "Technical Horticultural Education" was introduced by Pro- 

 fessor Trelease, of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, who was 

 of the opinion that, save possibly in floriculture, the United 

 States is not yet ready for technical horticultural schools. 

 "Improvement and Care of Public Grounds," by William 

 McMillan, Superintendent of the Buffalo Parks, introduced the 

 whole subject of landscape-gardening, and provoked a discus- 

 sion of the uses of color, in which the florists contended for a 

 greater recognition of the importance of flower-pieces in land- 

 scape-design. Charles W. Garfield, of Michigan, spoke upon 

 the " Relation of Experiment Stations to Commercial Horti- 

 culture," saying that the stations and the public have not yet 

 come into perfect and productive sympathy with each other. 

 "Horticultural Displays at Future World's Fairs" was most 

 suggestively introduced by Dr. Wittmack. Amid the universal 

 praise which Americans naturally bestow upon everything 

 connected with the Fair, it was a refreshment to hear an im- 

 partial foreigner measure the features of our horticultural dis- 

 plays. While the distinguished guest, who is sent by the Ger- 

 man Emperor to report upon the Exposition, is greatly 

 impressed with the architectural and material splendors of the 



