156 
October, 1920 
Z3t>e Slower (Brower 

Slower (Brower 
1 PUBLISHED MONTHLY ON THE FIRST OF THE MONTH BY | 
MADISON COOPER, CALCIUM, N.Y. j 
FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL FLOWER GROWERS 
| Subscription Price : OUR MOTTO: Canadian and Foreign | 
§ $1.00 per year, Special favors to none, and a Subscription Price I 
| 3 years for $2.50. square deal to all. $1.25 per year. | 
Growers are invited to contribute articles or notes over their own 
signatures, but the Editor reserves the right to reject anything which 
in his judgment is not conducive to the general welfare of the business. 
Copyright 1020 by Madison Cooper 
Vol. VII October, 1920 No. 10 
“ He who sows the ground with care and diligence acquires a 
greater stock of religious merit than he could gain by the 
repetition of ten thousand prayers.”— Zoroaster. 
“ Toil.” 
When we were many years younger than we are now, 
we remember reading a book by the great Russian, Count 
Leo Tolstoy. It was called “ Toil,” and it presented numer- 
ous reasons why every man, (in fact we are not sure but 
what it said every person of work age) should perform at 
least forty days’ labor in each year in contact with the soil. 
The book made a strong impression on our youthful im- 
agination at the time, but we could not arouse interest nor 
even sympathy on the part of anyone we talked with about 
it. At that time, and it is even worse now, people would 
not believe that manual labor was good for them, and there 
were few indeed, but who would in every fair and reason- 
able way, try to avoid it. Labor in contact with the soil is 
the best and most ennobling of any, but any honest labor 
in any walk of life is desirable and necessary. 
The theme of the great Russian is doubtless correct in 
principle, but we do not at this time remember why a period 
of forty days was set down as being a suitable time to labor 
in contact with the soil, but it seems altogether reasonable. 
We speak from long distance memory entirely, but it was 
stated that no matter what other employment any person 
had, at least forty days per year should be utilized in con- 
nection with agriculture. After the long lapse of years 
since the book was read we are still inclined to agree with 
Tolstoy that forty days are none too many to labor in close 
contact with Mother Earth. Surely those who are doing 
the so-called higher work of the world would be greatly 
benefited by such contact and they would better appreciate 
the motives, aspirations, and the tribulations of those who 
labor throughout the year as a matter of necessity and not 
from choice. 
We would not cite Tolstoy’s utopian suggestion as the 
great remedy for all the present ills of humanity, but surely 
his idea is a grand one, and it could be adopted by any 
man no matter how high and great his life work, with dis- 
tinct advantage to himself and to the world at large. 
Necessarily every man must figure out his own salva- 
tion, and to his own satisfaction. It cannot be done for 
him, but we are thoroughly convinced that toil, with proper 
appreciation of what it means, is a remedy for many ills of 
the human family. It is, in fact, a part of the great educa- 
tion which we advocate as the important remedy for 
present unrest and uncertainty. 
Cataloguing Irises. 
A long time ago, somebody originated the practice of 
cataloguing Irises according to the “section” to which they 
belong and Peonies according to the type or the introducer, 
and subsequent catalogue makers have followed this ex- 
ceedingly bad example to the confusion and exasperation 
of all who must refer to printed lists. As a particularly 
bad illustration take an Iris catalogue that I have recently 
received. Here are listed more than three hundred varie- 
ties arranged in no less than sixteen separate divisions. Sup- 
pose I read in The Flower Grower of some desirable form 
and wish to look it up in the catalogue with the idea of in- 
vesting in a few specimens. I start with the first of those 
sixteen lists but before I have gotten half way through 
the catalogue I do not care particularly whether I have that 
variety or not. If the “section ” to which an Iris belongs 
is of any importance to the majority of the flower growing 
public, which it is not, why not list all the varieties alpha- 
betically and add after the name of each the division in 
which it belongs ? The Iris dealer who wishes particu- 
larly to please his customers will include a second list in his 
catalogue in which the varieties are listed according to 
color with perhaps the height and time of blooming added. 
Then he may expect a greater return for the expensive 
catalogues he sends out. 
Willard N. Clute. 
Coal Ashes for Growing Vegetation. 
While the experiment stations and scientific writers are 
all agreed that coal ashes have little or no fertilizing 
value, it has been the observation of many different people 
that coal ashes have an effect on growing vegetation which 
is surely beneficial. It has been found that Dahlias grow- 
ing in old ash heaps have behaved well where, at the 
same time, under ordinary garden culture, they were a 
complete failure. The same has been noticed of Asters and 
other flowers which under cultivation were at a standstill 
or died from blight diseases, yet on a dumping ground for 
coal ashes they were free from disease. 
Sifted coal ashes, (or unsifted for that matter, if one 
wants to put up with the clinkers,) are surely beneficial to 
many soils and plants growing therein, and it has been 
shown by practical experience that certain plant diseases 
are kept down or eradicated by their use. 
We are very much inclined to believe that those who dump 
their coal ashes in a low spot in the lot for filling purposes 
or hire them hauled away, are making a great mistake in 
doing so. We regularly distribute our coal ashes thinly 
scattered, clinkers and all, on the garden. The clinkers 
are somewhat of a nuisance, but as a part of our method of 
cultivation is a liberal use of the garden rake, we gradually 
work them out in this way. 
Too bad the experiment stations and horticultural writ- 
ers generally cannot find out something more definite about 
coal ashes. Practical experience teaches that they are 
beneficial and if writers on the subject of fertilizers could 
tell us in what way they operate we might be able to use 
them more intelligently. 
Madison Cooper. 
Shippers of perishable flower stocks should use parcel 
post in warm weather instead of express. Express has been 
badly congested at times during the past summer. The 
mails have also come in for their share of delays, but par- 
cel post is by far the most reliable. 
Madison Cooper. 
