304 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
men of the Davey organization in convention makes 
possible the concentration of many minds on the prob- 
lems of the art. It is this massed intelligence and 
massed skill that has done such wonderful things in 
the way of refinement and the elimination of all weak- 
nesses and errors. Everything is put to the test of 
this massed experience and the results have been truly 
wonderful. 
So you see, it takes good men, correct methods, 
skilled and capable instructors and then long thorough 
training to the point of finished skill to make a real 
Tree Surgeon. So, also, you see why so many embry- 
onic tree men have failed and brought temporary dis- 
grace and more or less condemnation upon a really 
great and noble work. The road to success is hard. 
It requires heavy toll of all who pass. He who will 
not pay can not travel. But he who has faith and 
courage and inspired determination, and who is will- 
ing to pay the price, may sometime wear the crown. 
Time exposes the false and lays prostrate the un- 
worthy. Time also rewards that which is meritorious 
and points the way very clearly to that which is in- 
herently good and worth while. So this has been my 
everlasting inspiration that if zve will be all that we 
ought to be and can be by devoted efifort, we have 
naught to fear from the spurious and the mercenary 
despoilers of a great work that is highly beneficial to 
humanity. 
Many, many have fallen by the wayside as unworthy 
or incapable or out of tune with the spirit of the in- 
stitution ; but those who have endured all of the ex- 
acting requirements of the up-building process are 
rare gems, upon whose sterling quality it is possible ■ 
to build a national institution, whose basis is quality 
and whose moving spirit is service. 
FUCHSIAS 
I 
N gardens where there are partially shaded positions, 
especially in town and suburban gardens, the 
fuchsia is one of the most useful of all summer-flower- 
ing plants to grow. It continues to bloom through- 
out the Summer and early Autumn months, possesses 
charming and various colored flowers, and has a 
naturally graceful habit, does not require any atten- 
tion beyond that paid to watering, tying-in of some 
of the shoots, and occasional stopping of others. 
The plants, when grown in pots, may be arranged 
to form a floral display equal to that of many elabor- 
ately-planned flower beds. 
Then there are the greenhouses in which few kinds 
of flowering plants will give satisfaction owing to 
their shaded position. The fuchsia will do very well 
indeed in such structures, and, after doing their duty 
so well for so many months, the plants are easily 
stored during the Winter by cultivators who do not 
possess sufficient artificial heat for the safe wintering 
of more tender subjects. 
Perhaps a few hints on the present treatment of the 
plants will be useful. The ideal compost should be 
plain but good old turves, full of fibre, one-half ; 
sweet leaf soil, halfrotted and rubbed through 
a coarse-mesh sieve, one quarter ; washed grit or 
silver sand and some well-rotted manure, one- 
quarter part. To the above combined parts and to each 
bushel a 7-in. potful of old mortar rubble, a 6-in. pot- 
ful of well-pounded bricks, and a 5-in. potful of good 
ashes. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, use 
broken bricks for drainage material and a few of last 
Autumn tree leaves before putting in any soil. Pot 
moderately firm, and water always carefully, and in 
the course of a few weeks the pots will be full of new 
roots, and another shift into larger pots will be neces- 
sary or regular feeding. 
Fuchsias may be left to grow naturally, or the 
shoots stopped so as to form a bush, a pyramid, half 
or full standard. In every case at least one central, 
neat stake will be needed, but there should never be 
any stifif tying-in of shoots or training of that kind. 
— E.\-chaiii;i\ 
NORFOLK ISLAND PINE 
T^ 
■"HE Norfolk Island pine is one of the prettiest plants 
that can be used for conservatory, house, or table 
decoration. It does well in quite small pots, with com- 
paratively little attention : and another advantage is that 
it is not liable to become infested with insects. It is usually 
propagated from seed, but this is somewhat difficult to 
obtain. Very pretty plants, of almost any size and price, 
can be purchased from any good nurseryman, and as it 
takes considerable time to raise them from seed or cut- 
tings, it is better and cheaper to buy the former. 
Norfolk Island Pine (Arancaria Excelsa) 
When the plants require shifting to larger pots^ a good 
soil to use in three parts light loam and one part leaf- 
mould, with the addition of about one-sixth of good sand. 
The pots used should be clean and well drained, and the 
plants should be potted firmly. The soil, however, should 
be in the right condition as to moisture, and neither too 
wet nor too dry. When it is desirable to keep them in 
small pots, the plants should be kept nourished with an 
occasional application of weak liquid manure, and a light 
sprinkling over the soil, about twice a year, of some fer- 
tilizer. Repottings should not be frequent, and small 
shifts only should be given. This tends to keep the plants 
within bounds. 
Arancaria e.xcelsa is not quite hardy, but does well with 
a minimum of warmth, short of frost. Dry heat in rooms 
in Winter is detrimental, parching the leaves, and caus- 
ing yellowness and browning. Dryness at the root should 
be avoided always. 
There are several varieties of this conifer. Glauca is 
a blue-green form that is pleasing. Silver Star is a beau- 
tiful thing, the tips of the branches being white, forming, 
with the symmetrical growth of the plant, a veritable 
silver star of conventional design. — Gardening (English). 
