32 



AtfKALS OF HORTICULTURE. 



flowers in landscape ornamentation. The subject was opened in 

 1889* by a powerful invective against formalism and carpet- 

 bedding in landscape gardening, by William MacMillan, of the 

 Buffalo Parks. Since this time, the florists have thrown them- 

 selves into the aggressive in the endeavor to save the florist 

 business one of its most profitable outlets. The discussion has 

 been largely a mistaken one, for the florists have seemed to 

 understand that the landscape gardeners of the naturalistic 

 school attack the use of flowers in general, while they have only 

 endeavored to reform the popular taste for gross "designs." 

 Nevertheless, the discussion has occupied a leading place in the 

 minds of florists and others during the last three or four years. 

 It is evident that a revolution is working. At the Horticul- 

 tural Congress in Chicago, the debate reached its highest level, 

 where the consideration of landscape gardening interests took 

 the form of a discussion upon the uses of color in landscapes. 

 William MacMillan opened the subject with an emphatic plea 

 for naturalistic treatment of grounds. He was answered in a 

 forcible manner by Robert Craig, who contended that the love 

 of color and symmetry and conventional design are inborn in 

 the human mind, and quite as worthy of gratification as the 

 purely naturalistic impulse. The discussion was resumed in 

 the florists' session on the evening of the following day. It 

 was apparent that the florists were feeling as if some strong 

 effort must be made to save the floricultural part of landscape 

 decoration, and much of the discussion appeared to be forced. 

 The florists again seemed to overlook the fact that the land- 

 scape gardeners do not discourage the use of color, but that 

 they object to the promiscuous insertion of merely conventional 

 designs in places which are meant to be unconventional. There 

 was no objection to color, but rather to color out of place. The 

 purposeless use of formal color beds has discredited the value 

 of flowers in artistic landscape gardening, a result for which the 

 florists themselves are largely responsible. 



2. ORGANIZATION ENTERPRISES. 



The organization movements which arose in connection 

 with the Columbian Exposition are undoubtedly to be consid- 

 ered among the most important horticultural tendencies of the 

 year, particularly if measured by their possible ultimate effects. 

 The Exposition itself affording a strong organization of horti- 

 cultural forces, and it was, perhaps, the first successful attempt 

 in this country to combine pomology and floriculture as coordi- 

 nate branches of one composite industry. 



* See Annals for 1889, 34, 



