44 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



July, 1906 



•» •• *» •» 



•» •» •* ♦*> 



• m » a 



•? 

 ♦>«* .<**,. 











K 



V *-J»sltf? 



v 



• 



#> -iv*; 



•1 > . ,r »M 



,, 



1/ v» •» 



\4/'i ■ 





m> ! ! 





jMff r 





f 



t 



1 





The Marvels of Plant Retardation 



By S. Leonard Bastin 



)EVER before in the history of the world 

 have such striking advances been made in the 

 realm of horticulture as has been the case 

 during the last twenty years. Step by step, 

 patient investigation and skilful experiment 

 have removed those difficulties and de- 

 ficiences of which the old time gardener was so painfully 

 conscious. Probably few innovations have had such a revolu- 

 tionary effect as the introduction of the system of plant re- 

 tardation by cold, which was first practised in England 

 about eight years ago. 



The root idea of plant retardation is so simple that it is 

 a wonder that nobody had thought of attempting some- 

 thing of the kind years before the scheme was put to a prac- 

 tical test. It is a fact well known to everyone that in the 

 natural world the retarding of vegetation by low tempera- 

 ture is of common occurrence. During late winters when 

 the grip of the ice king sometimes extends well into the 

 spring season, all kinds of plant life are often held in check 

 for weeks. That this does not in any way cause injury is 

 very evident from the fact that directly the warm weather 

 comes, the buds on the plants split and the tender green 

 leaves begin to develop, none the worse for the experience. 

 All that has taken place has been a prolonging of the winter 

 sleep or resting period, in which all plants indulge. 



As has often been the case before, mankind has taken a 

 leaf out of Nature's book. The retardation of plants as 

 practised by the 20th century gardener is merely an arti- 

 ficial lengthening of the dormant state, although carried 

 much farther than is ever the case under natural conditions. 



It is curious that it is not known who was the discoverer 

 of the method of plant retardation. The idea had not long 

 been mooted however, before an English firm of flower 

 specialists decided to test the matter thoroughly in order to 

 find out its commercial possibilities. It was felt that if cer- 

 tain plants could be kept from flowering at their natural 

 time by means of a continuously low temperature and then 

 blossomed quite out of their season that a most valuable 

 addition would be made to the resources of the florist. This 

 is what has actually been accomplished, with the result that 

 in the case of some kinds of plants the gardener is quite in- 

 dependent of the seasons. 



The first experiments were carried out in connection 

 with Lily-of-the-Valley. This plant is, of course, a naturally 

 spring flowering variety, and as it had shown itself amenable 

 to forcing it was felt that it would be likely to prove a suit- 

 able subject for retardation. Some lily roots were placed 

 in a refrigerator in the late autum, and were kept there all 

 through the winter, past the proper blooming time of the 

 species, right until far into the summer. On a certain day 



A Cold Storage Building in Which Plants are Retarded. In ihis Building Five 

 Lily-of-the-Valley Plants Were Retarded in a Single Year 



Milli, 



The Man Who Works in the Channels that Lead 

 Cold Air into Chambers Wears Arctic Dress 



