72 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



October, 1915 



best gave 25 per cent., the next 2 if, the next 21 and so on down. 

 With this there was compared an average commercial beet seed 

 field in which the plant having the highest number of single germ 

 seeds carried only 4.77 per cent., while the average for the best ten 

 plants was 2.7 per cent! 



Who knows but that when commerce and manufacture and 

 science have achieved their ends from this work, some one may 

 adapt it to the field of the little garden maker, that he too may know 

 a little more freedom from the monotonous task of thinning. 



jk WILL WE, AS A NATION, ever win the name of being eco- 

 "^ nomical? Sometimes, when reading of the methods of saving 

 practised in the paternal countries of the old world, it seems 

 as if we hardly had grasped the meaning of the word, especially 

 in our gardening and farming. For instance in a recent report from 

 the International Institute of Agriculture an article upon the con- 

 trol of locusts (grasshoppers) in Italy contains some exceedingly 

 interesting facts. Describing the practice of driving the insects on to 

 large sheets or traps the writer says " . . . With only one sheet 

 and with locusts already largely winged, I have collected as much as 

 16 cwt., in a day, that is between eight and nine hundred thousand. 

 "Proceeding in this fashion, it is not necessary to empty the 

 sack [forming the trap in the centre of the sheet] at every haul; 

 it is enough to do so when it can no longer be carried by the boy or 

 when it hinders the removal and spreading of the sheet. The sack 

 is then emptied into another one so as to utilize the locusts as manure 

 instead of burying them on the spot. Thus the work of excavating 

 a pit is saved and a good fertilizer is obtained." The italics are ours, 

 together with a generous amount of respect for the exemplary and 

 efficient economy involved. 



» EVERYTHING seems to indicate that there will be an ade- 

 "^ quate supply of Dutch bulbs for the present season's needs. 

 The Holland trade is exporting all it possibly can, and, with decided 

 limitations on the demands for supplies among certain European 

 countries that formerly were big consumers, there is every reason 

 to believe that not only will the American market receive all it 

 needs but that the quality will be excellent and supplies of the 

 better and' rarer kinds more certain than formerly. It is quite 

 likely, t6o, that the supplies of inferior grades will be over-abundant 

 at A<-ery low prices later in the season, Now, indeed, is the oppor- 

 tunity for the astute gardener to acquire something of the really 

 good quality in Dutch bulbs, especially Darwin and Rembrandt 

 tulips. Naturally those things that come from the Caucasus — 

 crocus, scilla, etc. — will be in limited supply. 



The war conditions are also having their influence on the plant 

 supplies for the regular florists' trade. Much of the stock that 

 finds its way into the stores around the holiday season and at 

 Easter has been imported, Belgium and France being the centres 

 of the supply. The derangement of trade has affected horticul- 

 tural fines in general with others, although some shipments have 

 come through. The florist has been put to it to solve an entirely 

 new problem and there is every reason to believe that our growers 

 will have successfully met the situation by turning their hands to a 

 greater variety of plants, since it was essential that the greenhouses 

 be used to produce something. One indirect result of the European 

 war will be, therefore, the appearance of a greater variety of florists' 

 plants and more particularly the increased supplies of such plants 

 as can be propagated right at home. All this is as it should be. 

 Just so long as it was so easy to import azaleas, etc., from Europe, 

 there was little incentive to branch out into other things; but 

 circumstances have changed! 



And equally other branches of the business are effected. It is no 

 secret that the prospect of our receiving the usual supplies of flower 

 seeds from abroad is a very slim one. There are, no doubt, stocks 

 left over from last year sufficient to meet present needs, but the 

 outlook for next year is, to say the least, alarming along certain 

 lines — that is to say of the rarer, finer quality florists' flowers and 

 of selected strains of herbaceous perennials and of annuals. Some 

 few of them are grown over here — as notably the sweet pea, of 

 which California is the great producer for the world. Taking all 



points into consideration, it would look as though the future opens 

 up a greater increase of interest in what the nurseryman will have 

 to offer. This may not be very apparent all at once, but that the 

 American garden lover will turn more to home grown stock of 

 flowering shrubs, etc., seems inevitable. 



Jfc, THE NOTION that seems to obsess some people that they can 

 ^ directly import from abroad better than by placing their orders 

 through reliable dealers in their own country is a strange one. 

 There are many snags to be encountered, and overcome. Consular 

 invoices; customs duties (sometimes), often with vexatious delay 

 at the port of entry; and not the least by any means the inspection 

 and certification of a clean bill of health. If you know all about 

 these details and how to handle them, why there is nothing to be 

 said; but if you don't it would generally be far better for you to 

 place your orders in the hands of a horticultural concern that is 

 accustomed to handling import orders of such perishable material. 

 And the trick of importing by mail may not be resorted to, for all 

 nursery stock received in the mails from abroad must be returned 

 to the point of origin immediately, according to a recent order. 

 This action was taken for the reason that importers have endeavored 

 to withhold the return of such shipments until they could communi- 

 cate with the Department of Agriculture with a view of having an 

 exception made in some particular case. 



"Nursery stock," which is prohibited from entering this country 

 by mail, includes all growing or living plants, seeds, and other 

 plant products, for propagation, except field, vegetable, and 

 flower seeds. It includes also bulbs, roots, and tubers, and, with 

 the exceptions noted, the seeds of all trees, shrubs, or other plants. 



§IT WILL BE some encouragement to many readers who have 

 puzzled over the vagaries of catalogue names, to say nothing of 

 the hopeless confusion in the so-called English names, to learn 

 that some of the trade organizations have become awakened. It 

 is good news to learn that the American Association of Nursery- 

 men, at a recent meeting in New York, appointed a representative 

 committee to cooperate with other similar bodies in an effort to 

 straighten out the confused nomenclature of common things. The 

 task to which they have set themselves is indeed herculean — that 

 of what may be called a standard list of trade names, with their 

 recognized "English" companions. The action shows the good 

 will of the trade anyhow. It would not surprise us if the Commit- 

 tee never made a final report, but at all events some little progress 

 may be hoped for in an approach to uniformity of names in the 

 catalogues of the leading dealers. 



» SURELY IT IS because the unexpected always happens in 

 ^3 gardening that makes the gentle art so alluring. With every 

 reason to believe this year that with the abundance of rain that has 

 fallen growth would be pretty well of a normal character, still here 

 and there have been curious troubles shown, especially among large 

 trees. We have been reminded forcibly of this by several readers 

 submitting specimens of leaves, chiefly from maples, which showed 

 large areas of brown, dead tissue. These dead areas are not due 

 to any parasitical disease — that has been very clear from the 

 first; but are due entirely to a physiological condition, really a 

 collapse of the tissues, an inability to support the strain that has 

 been put upon them, the practical result being the plant's inability 

 to make up for the rapid loss of water from the affected portions. 

 Many trees have suffered in this way. In order to account for it 

 we must go back to the last two winters. Many trees suffered 

 from winterkilling of the roots and have not yet fully recovered. 

 The loss of large numbers of feeding roots from this cause has 

 made it impossible for trees to take up enough water from the 

 soil to offset transpiration even when moisture has been 

 abundant. However, the present season has been very favorable 

 for growth, and, other things being equal, next season should 

 bring very little of this sort of trouble — unless the winter is unkind 

 again. 



