■ — Horticulture IN AN address delivered to a graduating 



as a Profession" *■ class of the School of Horticulture for 



Women, at Ambler, Pa., which has since 

 been published in Science, Dr. C. Stuart 

 Gager of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden sounds some notes that 

 many a garden lover, whether or not desirous of ever being a "pro- 

 fessional horticulturist," can read or hear with both pleasure and 

 profit. For he sees the measure of the progress of horticulture as a 

 profession simply as the fullness of preparation with which one exceeds 

 "the limitations of anticipated requirement in practice." In other 

 words the gap between the practical gardener and the horticulturist, 

 he says, can be bridged by gaining from'a study of horticulture what 

 may be called a liberal as distinguished from a technical education — 

 a knowledge of the why and the wherefore and the history of the 

 subject, the true names and relationships of its plant materials, 

 something of the sciences that link up with it, as well as the mere 

 details of how to plant and grow and reproduce garden crops. 

 "Make your horticultural study, then," he says, "not only a means 

 of preparation for a vocation, but also a basis and means of educa- 

 tion — of the enlargement of your minds, the enrichment of your 

 lives, the expansion and perfection of your characters. . ' . . See 

 your vocation in broad perspective — in its relation to the sum total 

 of things; to social needs, spiritual needs, civic needs, human needs." 

 This is a worthy admonition, and one no less applicable for all 

 of us who love gardens and gardening and want to make the most 

 of them in the way of an avocation, than for those young women 

 who plan also to make their living therefrom and who with that 

 aim in mind had gone to a school of horticulture — to avoid, 

 as Dr. Gager remarked, living up to Charles Dudley Warner's 

 statement that "women always did, from the first, make a muss 

 in a garden." 



THE Northwestern Peony and Iris 

 Society held its exhibition midway 



— Peonies in 

 the West" 



between the twin cities of Minneapolis and 

 St. Paul on June 20th. These two flowers 

 are marching triumphantly on in popular favor in the West. Mr. 

 Brand introduced a new wonder in the competition for seedlings 

 carrying the honors with Victory Chateau Thierry, of which, how- 

 ever, no description has been received. In the color classes the lead- 

 ing varieties were as follows: Medium to dark pink, Martha Bulloch, 

 Mons. Jules Elic; white, Le Cygne, Enchantresse; flesh to light 

 pink, Tourangelle, Albert Crousse; red, Mary Brand, Rubra 

 Superba. 



— An Official 

 Flower for the 

 Nation" 



ANOTHER attempt was made a while 

 ago — this time by a popular magazine 

 through the medium of a general referen- 

 dum — to determine which flower should 

 enjoy the privilege of being accepted as the national floral emblem. 

 Apparently no decision was arrived at, although it is reported that 

 Columbine and Goldenrod shared the honor of receiving the largest 

 number of votes with the humble, plebeian Red Clover. Probably 

 there are individuals and organizations that had no opportunity to 

 express themselves, but that are just as convinced as were any of the 

 voters that still some other plant deserves the implied tribute. One 

 trade journal, for instance, pins its faith to the Mountain Laurel, 



while another choice, based on the unquestioned nativity of the 

 plant, designates our own Indian Corn. Even the following, from 

 a New York City newspaper, has the merit of timeliness: 



When wholesale prohibition comes along 



'Twill not be silly, 

 To make the floral emblem of the land, 



A Water Lily! 



Official, or even unanimous designation of one flower for the 

 whole country is as far off as ever. Nevertheless, on grounds of 

 beauty and utility, the little Red Clover does make a strong plea for 

 recognition. 



—The Effect of 

 Bud Selection on 

 Tree Growth" 



AMONG the subjects often discussed 

 L by horticulturists but concerning 

 which present knowledge is still limited 

 mainly to theory and conjecture, is the 

 question of the relative value for propagating purposes of different 

 kinds of buds. As far as the apple is concerned it is now possible, 

 to hope for some really definite information based on experiments 

 being conducted by the Illinois Experiment Station and involving 

 hundreds of trees and thousands of cases of budding and grafting. 

 One project is attempting to "determine whether or not there are 

 differences in value, for purposes of propagation, between large buds 

 and small buds, between buds produced on different parts of the 

 tree, and between buds from different locations on the shoot." The 

 ultimate test will of course come when the trees involved in the ex- 

 periments come into full bearing, but at the present time, according 

 to Bulletin 2 1 1 of the Station, it is possible to arrive-at the conclusion 

 that, so far as the growth of the trees is concerned, there are no dif- 

 ferences in value between the buds of any of the groups mentioned. 

 The second group of experiments, dealing with the results of "grow- 

 ing apple seedlings from fruits from trees chosen as possessing special 

 merit," thus far seem to warrant the statement that, in general, 

 "seedlings from seeds from large fruits are somewhat more resistant 

 to adverse conditions and possess a higher degree of vitality than do 

 seedlings from seeds of small fruits." 



— Flowers and IT ORT I CULTURE as an art and a pro- 



Reconstruction n fession is being taught to convales- 



Work" cents among the returned soldiers in the 



same practical way as the other subjects 

 in which courses are offered by the Federal Board for Vocational 

 Education. A recent report shows that a very respectable per- 

 centage of those who are taking advantage of this opportunity are 

 studying some branch of practical horticulture — and remember, 

 there are more than 400 callings open to them. Another interesting 

 point is that this particular field of horticultural education is en- 

 listing the services of some of our best instructors. Professor — now 

 Captain — F. A. Waugh, formerly of the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 College, has been, for nearly a year, in charge of this sort of work at a 

 Base Hospital near New Haven. Now we hear that Professor David 

 Lumsden of the Department of Floriculture of the New York State 

 College of Agriculture has been granted leave of absence so that he 

 can fill the position of Director of Agricultural Reconstruction Work 

 and Landscape Work at the famous Walter Reed Hospital, Tacoma 

 Park, Washington, D. C. As has previously been suggested in these 

 pages, seed growing, among the phases of horticulture less com- 



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