The Garden Magazine 



War Arouses American Horticulture 



COINCIDENT with the progress of the 

 European war, a new era of American 

 horticulture opens up and it now seems 

 as though what at first looked like a 

 "lemon" will cut like a "melon." The changes 

 that have come over the world's business hold 

 out prospects that one of the results of the war 

 will be the firm establishment on a world basis 

 of the horticultural industries of this country. 



The outlook certainly did seem dark in those 

 early days of the war when a number of European 

 horticultural industries were almost wiped out; 

 when various embargoes and a growing scarcity 

 of carriers made export and import exceedingly 

 difficult; when finally some people were tempted 

 to look upon any outdoor activity other than 

 food production as a drag on national progress 

 — and a billion dollar industry was in a fair way 

 of being crushed, while the war lasted. 



In a way it needed this attitude to awaken 

 the horticultural trade itself to a realization of its 

 own possibilities. As a class (with some notable 

 exceptions) its members had been satisfied to 

 trail along as the tassel on the tail of the Euro- 

 pean kite, depending almost entirely on importa- 

 tions to secure the staples of the business. When 

 the foreign sources of these staples failed, the 

 latent possibilities of those home industries that 

 had been quietly working and developing for 

 some years past were forcibly realized and 

 through the veil of mist the future of sunshine 

 was clearly seen. 



American horticulture and gardening may 

 well pride itself on the vision of those pioneers, 

 for, when the disaster in Europe assumed pro- 

 portions that made certain a long drawn-out con- 

 flict, the machines of production were all ready 

 to be set in motion. Quickly California growers 

 were called on for quantity supplies of vegetable 

 seeds, the production of which a few years prior 

 would have seemed rank folly. Tractors by the 

 hundreds replaced the slower working men and 

 teams. Acreages of vast proportions were 

 planted and harvested. Systematically America 

 set to work to become the seed grower and the 

 seed merchant of the world. Three years suf- 

 ficed to do it. Tons and tons of lettuce, carrot, 

 radish, beet and other staple garden and farm 

 seeds are now produced here to help our allies 

 over a handicapped situation. 



As with vegetable seeds so also the flower seed 

 industry gathered new impetus under war pres- 

 sure. German Pansies and Stocks are no more, 

 but Washington with Oregon and California 

 respectively produce far better. Besides being 

 famous for melons, Rockyford, Colo., now nurses 



hundred acre patches of Poppies, Zinnias, 

 and other popular annuals. The California 

 Sweet Pea industry has assumed proportions 

 where the product is measured in tons, and there 

 also are produced choice strains of Petunia, the 

 seeds of which are worth more than their weight 

 in gold. 



A few years ago a natural st and horticul- 

 turist of no mean achievement, Charles W. 

 Ward, formerly identified with the development 

 of the modern Carnation in the East, went to 

 California to seek conditions of soil and climate 

 favorable for the production of the so-called 

 Dutch bulbs. The Department of Agriculture 

 had demonstrated that they could be grown. 

 It remained for business men of vision to work 

 out the practical problems in a practical way. 

 To-day America is contributing her millions 

 of Hyacinths, Tulips, etc., to gladden the spring 

 landscape, and Dutch interests are directing 

 their attention to the new bulb farms of the 

 Pacific. This is but one instance of deliberately 

 setting out to meet an existent need. But there 

 are besides, scattered here and there over the 

 land, centres of plant production in the hands ot 

 specialists whose introductions are now right at 

 hand to meet the demand that cannot well be 

 satisfied from abroad. The great cataclysm has 



Now Will You Can, Dry, 

 Salt and Store ? 



JTT It is all very well to have crops grow and ma- 

 Til ture so that we live on abundance during the 

 summer season, but through the period of plenty 

 attention must be given to the non-productive 

 months of winter, that now fast approach. 



fl]T It is a national necessity that every available 

 Til product of the garden that is not utilized for 

 immediate consumption be conserved for future 

 use, by canning, drying, salting, or storing. Full 

 particulars as to each of these methods will be 

 found in the earlier issues of The Garden Maga- 

 zine. (See The Garden Magazine for June, July, 

 and August). 



{][ It will not be safe to depend upon the ordinary 

 ib market supplies, for the government agents 

 will requisition approximately one half of the out- 

 put of the commercial canneries and preserving 

 plants. To be specific, it is expected that the 

 government requirements will take about one 

 third of the total output of the canned tomatoes; 

 about 25 So of the output of canned peas, corn, and 

 string beans; one half of the output of canned 

 cherries and of dried peaches. 



{]| We are advised in letters from Europe that the 

 a British Government this year commandeered 

 the entire crop of gooseberries and strawberries. 

 We in this country must exert a maximum effort 

 to maintain and preserve the maximum of fruit 

 and vegetable crops. 



tf]T The Food Administration has announced that 

 al there is no danger of the Government requisi- 

 tioning the stores of home canned fruits and veg- 

 etables. 



opened up the field these pioneers waited for. 

 Brand's Peonies, Kunderd's Gladiolus, Farr's 

 Irises, Nehrling's Caladiums and Wintzer's 

 Cannas are typical illustrations of how our own 

 people were ready to supply the demands. 

 Another interesting development of transplant- 

 ing to the new world and creating a new indus- 

 try is seen in Dreer's establishing plantations 

 of Phoenix Roebelenii in the West Indies because 

 the natural supply in Cochin China was threat- 

 ened — the last seeds procured from there were 

 gathered in 1914. Realizing the importance of 

 maintaining a steady supply of one of the most 

 satisfactory of all house Palms, large old plants 

 were set out in a new country with a view of 

 obtaining seeds nearer home. 



The introduction of hundreds of hardy and 

 tender shrubs from the wilds of China by the 

 Arnold Arboretum has stimulated certain far- 

 seeing nurserymen to propagate the novelties 

 and the fruits of their work are culminating 

 fortuitously to meet the exigencies of the time 

 and America's gardeners will draw on new sup- 

 plies of new material in the embellishment of the 

 home garden. 



To cite one instance, the Farquhars on the 

 shores of New England acquired new acres to 

 devote to the multiplication of these new comers. 

 The public realizations naturally follow the 

 actual conditions by a considerable time. Trees, 

 shrubs, etc., cannot be turned out over night 

 — indeed years are often necessary. These 

 developments have been brought forcibly to 

 notice of late, and in the wake of war come 

 these unexpected expansions of industry to 

 supply the home demands, because of the pre- 

 vision of these men who worked for the ultimate 

 benefit of horticultural America. And now 

 that the field and operation has been opened 

 up who can question but that when peace dawns 

 we will never draw back our lines. 



Bulb Prospects 



NOTWITHSTANDING the upset and un- 

 certainty of transocean freight prospects, 

 the bulb_dealers of the country feel confident in 

 putting out their fall announcements that they 

 will receive at least as big a supply this year as 

 they did last year. Indeed in many quarters 

 the feeling is that the stock will arrive earlier 

 than was the case last season. At all events the 

 Dutch growers report that the stock is in good 

 condition and sufficient to fill the limited orders 

 that have been placed. The French bulb 

 growers do not speak so favorably because interior 

 transportation in France is a very uncertain fac- 

 tor. While the whole of Holland is devoted to 



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