May, 1920 
£3l)e Slower (Brower 
8.3 
“Say It With Flowers.” 
By Harmon W. Marsh. 
[ If ’r it ten expressly for The Flower Grower. 1 
I F THE sentiments expressed by Mrs. 
Bellamy, on page 50 of the April 
issue of The Flower Grower were 
general and carried to their logical 
conclusion most of the commercial 
flower growers would soon be bank- 
rupt. I don’t agree with her in the 
least and believe that her article will 
draw a protest from the majority of 
the readers of the magazine. 
To begin with, 1 don’t believe flow- 
ers can be cheapened. Except in a 
few cases they are always appreciated 
and a gift of flowers is often remem- 
bered by the recipient long after the 
donor has forgotten it. There is a 
sentiment connected with blossoms 
that very few people can escape. 
I rather dislike the few flower beg- 
gars I have encountered, but must con- 
fess that were it not for the pleasure 
of giving flowers my interest in gar- 
dening would suffer severely. I have 
given away flowers, seeds, plants and 
bulbs by the thousands, and almost 
universally they have been received 
with appreciation. The gifts have ex- 
tended over a wide range, from the 
very poor, or flat dwellers, who were 
unable to raise their own blooms, 
through all classes to some of the 
wealthy, who were abundantly able to 
buy or grow in any quantity desired. 
A little old lady, well gowned and 
with a bright intelligent face passed 
my little place one day and became in- 
terested in a group of Gaillardias that 
bloomed close to the sidewalk. I was 
busy in the back of the lot, but walked 
forward and spoke to her. She wanted 
to know the name of the flower, which 
it seemed she had never seen before. 
I not only told her the name, but filled 
her hands with blossoms and harvested 
a packet of seeds for her. To judge 
by appearances, she was in very com- 
fortable circumstances, quite able to 
purchase all the flowers she wanted. 
I never saw her before nor have I met 
her since that day, but the recollection 
of the appreciation in her face has 
lingered, a warm spot in my heart. 
And the children — I am always giving 
them flowers. Aside from the pure 
pleasure of it, there is an element of 
protection. My little garden is easily 
accessible from the street, no fence or 
hedge. I should judge that there are 
some fifty children in our immediate 
neighborhood, but they rarely ask me 
for flowers, they are careful where 
they plant their little feet and I have 
no pilfering to complain of. 
When a pretty young lady comes our 
way it is a delight to pick out some 
shade of color that will match her 
gown. I will never forget one particu- 
lar occasion when a big bunch of Mari- 
golds set off a costume to perfection 
and I know that the happy combina- 
tion of handsome young woman, dainty 
gown and golden blooms attracted all 
eyes as she went down the street. 
The elderly ladies are my sincerest 
delight. Perhaps it is because they 
have passed the age when gifts of 
flowers were common and a bunch 
of beautiful blooms warms their hearts 
with recollections of the days of youth. 
From whom do the commercial 
growers derive their largest profits ? 
Not from the people who buy their 
own flowers, I’ll warrant. The profits 
come from the posies sent out as gifts ; 
from old and young lovers and admir- 
ers and friends who find in flowers the 
surest medium for expressing their 
love and friendship. 
A couple of years ago, four of us 
made an automobile trip up to Goshen, 
Indiana, especially to see the Gladiolus 
farm of Mr. A. E. Kunderd — and we 
didn’t go to buy. There were two ladies 
in the party and Mr. Kunderd loaded 
them down with beautiful blooms. 
Was there any lack of appreciation of 
his kindness ? I should say not. Those 
flowers were carried a distance of 180 
miles in the ladies’ arms and carefully 
placed in water at the end of the 
journey. They freshened up and were 
a joy for nearly two weeks, and the 
gift has been gratefully remembered. 
I not only find keen pleasure in giv- 
ing flowers to neighbors and friends, 
but have taken the trouble to carefully 
pack and send by parcel post several 
packages of choice blooms to friends 
in distant cities. I even find a number 
of men who appreciate gifts of flowers. 
I suspect that while they are receiving 
them they are thinking of how a cer- 
tain pair of eyes will brighten when 
they pass them along, but their own 
appreciation is self-evident. 
No, I do not agree with Mrs. Bellamy. 
When I can’t give away the blossoms 
that reward my toil, when I can’t 
gratify myself by sharing my pleasure 
in them with others in a more sub- 
stantial manner than just letting them 
look at them, then I will be ready to 
seed down my garden with grass and 
make a playground out of it for the 
kids. 
St. Thomas Horti- 
cultural Society. 
The St. Thomas Horticultural So- 
ciety conducted a “ short course” on 
“ Home Beautification and Vegetable 
Gardens ” on March 8th and 9th. Four- 
teen lectures were given in all, eight 
to some 1500 school children who are 
taught agriculture and the remaining 
talks to adults. A. H. Tomlinson, lec- 
turer on Landscape Gardening, and 
Wm. Hunt, lecturer on Floriculture 
at the Ontario Agricultural College, 
Guelph, A. H. McLennan, Vegetable 
Specialist of the Department of Agri- 
culture, Toronto, and W. E. Saunders, 
Ornithologist of London, were the 
speakers. Mr. Saunders’ talk was 
illustrated by innumerable varieties of 
stuffed birds, and the other lectures by 
lantern slides and moving picture 
films. Every lecture was a gem and 
the course received the unqualified en- 
dorsement not only of the adults but 
of the children. It might be of interest 
to readers of The Flower Grower to 
know that all the public schools of 
St. Thomas have qualified agricultural 
teachers and school gardens. Poultry 
raising is a popular subject, incubators 
being furnished by the board of educa- 
tion. In the fall the results of the 
summer work are exhibited at a large 
school fair. 
NOTES. 
The Society is busy at present on a 
canvass for 3000 members and a popu- 
lar fund of $2,000, one-half of which is 
already subscribed. A landscape gar- 
dener has been employed to supervise 
the Society’s planting and give advice 
to the members at a nominal fee. So 
popular is the idea that the services 
of several specialists are really needed 
and the demand for nursery stock is 
unprecedented. 
At a meeting of the executive com- 
mittee held on April 5th, it was unani- 
mously decided to send an exhibit to 
the American Gladiolus Society’s show 
to be held in Boston in August. All 
plans had been made to attend the 
show at Cleveland. On account of the 
distance to Boston only a small dele- 
gation will go, but we hope to send an 
exhibit worthy of “The Flower City.” 
Another matter of importance was 
dealt with. It was decided to secure 
a number of color plates illustrating 
beauty spots in St. Thomas, these to be 
printed on the backs of 300,000 enve- 
lopes which will be sold at cost to the 
merchants. 
The annual distribution of premiums 
to the members is being made. Some 
3600 Roses in 50 kinds, 2,500 shrubs, 
climbing vines, rare conifers and orna- 
mentals ; thousands of Gladioli includ- 
ing the best varieties of Kunderd’s, 
Decorah Gardens, Diener’s, Austin’s 
and Holland stock. Peonies and peren- 
nials are also available. 
F. E. Bennett, President. 
Seasons for Planting. 
Considered from the standpoint of a plant, 
the act of transplanting is a violent one and 
consists of stopping at once a large part of its 
vital activities and generally causing the loss 
of a considerable part of its root-system. 
Therefore, transplanting should be accom- 
panied by precautions to prevent too great 
loss of moisture from transpiration and to 
insure that the plant will become reestablished 
at the earliest possible date. Seeding differs 
from transplanting in that a seed is a ripened 
embryo which is a minute but complete dor- 
mant plant. As the entire process of germi- 
nation includes the making of a vital connec- 
tion between the young plant and the soil 
sufficient to enable the plant to produce green 
tissue and support itself, seedage must also 
be surrounded by precautions to insure that 
proper conditions exist. One of the most 
important factors in transplanting or seeding 
is choosing the proper season, because upon 
the successful start of the operation hangs 
the whole future of the plant .— Landscape 
A rchitecture. 
Gladiolus growers will be especially 
interested in the statements made in 
our advertisement of bound volumes 
of The Modern Gladiolus Grower 
and The Flower Grower in our ad- 
vertising pages this month. 
