May, 1920 
though fresh picked. If the stalks are 
very long, holes are cut in the box and 
if the flowers were to be out of water 
for more than four and five hours I 
should wrap the ends in moist cotton- 
batten. 
Culture.— A special Bulletin has been authorized 
and will be issued, we hope, by June. The Bearded 
Irises may be transplanted at any season but spring 
planting does not give you representative bloom this 
year and remember that Northern Nurseries may not 
be able to ship until late May. The Beardless forms 
are, however, better transplanted in the spring though 
here too any time is safe, and another thing, dry 
packing with little chance for mold is far preferable, 
therefore do not be disappointed if your roots look 
thoroughly dried. 
Exhibitions. — With the exception of one planned 
at Minneapolis in conjunction with The Northwestern 
Peony & Iris Society there is little further news to re- 
port and details may be procured from the local 
authorities. The big show at Philadelphia will in- 
clude twenty classes calling for from one to fifty 
varieties and so grouped as to call forth competition 
from many interests. Group I, Open. Group II, Open. 
Group III Open to amateurs only. Group IV, Open 
only to individual Members of Garden Clubs of 
America. An exhibitor may enter Group I and one 
other group only. As in other shows there are classes 
calling for collections, for specimens, for seedlings 
and for artistic arrangement and though Bearded 
Irises predominate there is opportunity to exhibit 
other species. 
Schedules will be ready about two weeks in ad- 
vance of date of exhibition and inquiries should be 
addressed to the local authorities. 
Minneapolis. In conjunction with The Northwest- 
ern Peony & Iris Society. Twenty classes for ama- 
teur and commercial growers. T. A. Kenning, 1815— 
26th Ave., N., Minneapolis, Minn. 
Cincinnati. In conjunction with Garden Club of 
Cincinnati. About May 25th, E. E. Hardcastle, 4th 
& Vine St., Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Boston. In conjunction with Mass. Hort. Society, 
June 5 and 6. Twenty classes for amateur and com- 
mercial growers. R. S. Sturtevant, Wellesley Farms, 
Massachusetts. 
Flushing, N. Y. In conjunction with The Park 
Garden Club. Mrs. John W. Paris, Kissena Park, 
Flushing, N. Y. 
Philadelphia. In conjunction with The Penn. Hort. 
Society, May 28, or June 1. University Hall, The 
Wanamaker Store, Phila., Pa. John C. Wister, Ger- 
mantown, Phila., Pa. 
Nashville, Tenn. Floyd Brallior, Madison. Tenn. 
Washington, D. C. In conjunction with the Takoma 
Park Civic Improvement Society. About May 24th 
for Amateurs only Homer C. Skeels, 210 Holly Ave., 
Tacoma Park, D. C. 
Ballot.— On page xiv is given the ballot 
for election of officers as reported by the 
Nominating Committee who considered that 
the present officers should have more of an 
opportunity to carry out their initial policies. 
The amendments concerning affiliated and 
associated memberships have been adversely 
reported upon by the full Board of Directors, 
but by so small a majority that it was con- 
sidered desirable to include them for your 
consideration. In other similar societies, 
neither of these have proved either really 
profitable, or in many cases conducive to 
furthering the interest in gardens, in many 
they have been later repealed. We can co- 
operate with organizations for exhibitions, 
lectures, or meetings by special agreement, 
as is already being done, without these pro- 
visions and as these things are among the 
first objects of affiliation, specific provision 
seems unnecessary. 
I wish to call your attention to the follow- 
ing : The Official Data Card will be sent 
on request ; your co-operation is requested. 
The Bulletin on Culture is in preparation 
and will be sent all members. 
Classification is to be worked out in con- 
junction with the Royal Horticultural Society, 
probably scores for judging also, and this is 
the season for you to study the flowers and 
be ready with intelligent criticism. It is the 
season also for photographs of individual 
flowers, of stalks, of clumps or masses in the 
garden. We want to develop a fine collection 
of slides with your assistance for use with 
Garden and Iris lectures another winter. 
REGISTRATION. 
On the basis of the Check List containing 
over 2300 names, we are starting a Registra- 
tion of Names of new varieties. It would be 
advisable also to file a full description when 
the varietal name is entered. This form of 
registration is merely to avoid duplication 
Slower (Grower 
and confusion, there is no charge, and no 
obligation is assumed as to the value of the 
variety so registered. 
Unless objections are filed with the Sec- 
retary by June 1st, the registration of the fol- 
lowing will become permanent. 
Missouriensis Bluebird, a "deep blue” form 
of the type. D. M. Andrews, Boulder, Col. 
Missouriensis Snowbird, a "pure white” 
form. D. M. Andrews, Boulder, Col. 
Robert S. Sturtevant, Sec’y. 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. 
Birds. 
It pays to attract the birds by provid- 
ing suitable nesting places. Now is 
the time to put up some shelves for 
the robins and boxes for the bluebirds. 
And do not overlook some small homes 
for the tiny house wrens, for they love 
a flower garden where they can pick off 
ants from the Peonies and find other 
small insects that always abound. 
Ernest Seton Thompson, in the pref- 
ace to his book, “ Wild Animals I Have 
Known,” declares that the life of a wild 
animal always has a tragic end. A 
robin’s life is no exception to that rule ; 
it is beset with dangers from the mo- 
ment the young bird is hatched from 
the egg, until sooner or later, its life 
goes out in some unnatural manner. 
Even before the eggs are hatched they 
are liable to be thrown out or destroyed 
by some enemy; often some other bird. 
As soon as hatched, hungry jays, crows, 
owls or other nest robbing birds become 
its natural enemies; then, when old 
enough to leave the nest it has to run 
the gauntlet of the sneaking house cat 
or the small animals of the woods. 
The blue jay is an example of the 
dangerous combination of an intelli- 
gent brain and a wicked heart. He has 
been called a renegade ; the clown of 
the bird family ; a bully and a tease. 
Blanchan says of him : “ He is as mis- 
chievous as a small boy ; destructive as 
a monkey ; deft at hiding as a squirrel. 
He is unsociable and unamiable, dis- 
liking the society of other birds. His 
harsh screams, shrieks and most ag- 
gressive and unusual calls seem often 
intended maliciously to drown the songs 
of the sweet voiced singers.” 
The blue jay is both an inquisitive 
sneak and a villainous reprobate, for he 
sneaks through the woods in the spring 
and when he finds a nest with eggs in 
it, jabs his bill into them, and even 
murderously devours young birds. His 
despicable habit of attacking other 
birds at nesting time and appropriating 
their half-built nest, which he finishes 
for his own use, once inspired the fol- 
lowing clever lines by a contributor to 
the Chicago Tribune: 
With twigs and strings and other things, 
The robin builded it strong, 
And as he plaited them into shape, 
He caroled a cheerful song. 
75 
“Why so busy,” the Jay Bird asked ; 
“ What are you doing, pray ? ” 
“I suppose,” said the robin, “I’m build- 
ing a nest 
For you, you blooming Jay.” 
Both the crow and the blue jay must 
stand guilty as charged with the hein- 
ous crime of destroying, Herod-like, the 
young of the robin and other insectiv- 
orous birds, which if allowed to grow 
would annually consume millions of 
destructive larvae, and so these feath- 
ered outlaws cannot occupy a place in 
our hearts as do the innocent and merry 
song birds. Murder and rapine are not 
held in high esteem these days, either 
in or out of birddom. The world will 
never forget the march of the Hun 
through Belgium. 
An experimenter has observed that a 
young robin will eat with apparent rel- 
ish 68 angle worms in one day. Some 
appetite that ! If all the worms that 
comprised a day’s rations were laid end 
to end they would measure about 14 
feet. Wouldn’t it be interesting to 
stage a contest between a young robin 
and an Italian macaroni eater ? Weight 
for weight as to the contestants, the 
writer would back the young robin ! 
The Glad Philosopher. 
Rhododendrons. 
There has been much discussion as to the 
relative merits of our native American 
Rhododendrons and the hybrid varieties 
imported from Europe. Of our native species 
R. maximum has been the species most 
largely planted. In its natural state it is 
found in moist, shady woods where it is 
sheltered from sun and wind. Why this 
Rhododendron is so extensively planted by 
many landscape men in situations where it 
is exposed to wind, sun and drought is a 
matter quite beyond our comprehension — 
probably because it produces that which 
pleases most clients, immediate effect. Such 
immediate effect is, however, of short dura- 
tion, the plants soon die and when the owner 
learns the reason, as he invariably does, the 
landscape man is discredited by the client and 
his friends. The owner of a large estate on 
Long Island, N. Y., in speaking of R. maximum 
had occasion to say to us, "I was induced to 
buy a number of carloads of them at a bar- 
gain price of a hundred dollars a car — it cost 
me five hundred dollars a car to get rid of 
them.” Of course R. maximum has its place 
in landscape work and when planted in a 
suitable situation constitutes a strong and 
pleasing feature. Rhododendron catawbiense 
thrives in sun, provided it is given a deep 
soil of average moisture. It does not suffer 
seriously from moderate wind, but in common 
with all broad leaved evergreens should not 
be planted in wind swept situations. It has a 
much greater range of adaptability than R. 
maximum. The purple color of the flowers is 
the only objectionable (?) quality of R. cataiv- 
biense, and in most of the countries of Europe 
this color is highly esteemed. Rhododendron 
carolinianum is in our opinion unsurpassed by 
any other native species. Its rich, deep green 
foliage seems to be the hardiest of all and the 
dear pink flower clusters are of rarest beauty. 
It seems to thrive equally well in sun or partial 
shade, and is especially adapted to wood-land 
plantings. We think that this variety offers 
the greatest possible opportunity for the hy- 
bridist who by using this species may give us 
a new race better constituted to our severe 
climatic conditions than are the hybrids of R. 
catawbiense to which we are now limited. 
( Horticulture.) 
