February, 1918 
Ob<£ Slower (Brower 
19 
from South American seed, that being the home of the 
original potato. I am not well informed as to the details 
but have an impression that many of our new potatoes 
originated about that time and from that source. 
Potatoes do not sport to any extent and if they did the 
sports would be as old as the original ; so new varieties 
must be got by sowing seeds. Where shall we get seed ? 
Years ago " potato balls ” were so common that boys used 
to amuse themselves by putting them on sharp sticks and 
throwing them at each other. Lately, though potatoes blos- 
som freely, potato balls are seldom seen and probably nine 
out of ten who might read this never saw one. I have looked 
at some of the blossoms but did not find any developed 
stamens, bearing pollen, and that may be a reason why they 
do not seed. The primary reason for whatever defect there 
may be in the flowers is probably that the Early Ohio and 
other now popular varieties are already beginning to "run 
out.” An article has been going the rounds of the magazines 
that there is a standing offer of $25 for potato balls. This is 
not true but started from the statement that Prof. Gully at 
the Agricultural College at Storrs, Conn., in a lecture de- 
livered some 14 years’ ago, offered to give $25 for a potato 
ball, fully developed, grown in Connecticut. The hearer 
thought he could get them at once but has never found 
them yet. However, though potato balls are rare and surely 
vanishing, they are still produced in some parts of the 
country and one seedsman is obtaining them in considerable 
quantities and offering them for sale. The writer does 
not know where he got his start but makes a guess that 
some Peruvian stock may have been used. It seems prob- 
able that new varieties obtained from these hybridized 
seeds (every seedling is theoretically a separate variety) will 
themselves bear potato balls. It takes about three years 
for the seedlings to become fully matured but good, large 
potatoes are sometimes produced the first season and a 
great number from one seed. It will certainly be very in- 
teresting and some valuable new kinds may be obtained. 
Geo. S. Woodruff. 
The unusually cold weather experienced during the pres- 
ent winter has resulted in the complete loss of the Gladiolus 
stock of one commerical grower that we know of. We trust 
that others have not been seriously damaged. 
We would suggest that a thermometer should always be 
used in storage cellars. Don’t depend on anything else but 
a thermometer and be sure that you get one that reads cor- 
rectly. When the weather is severe, watch the thermom- 
eter, and apply artificial heat if necessary. 
The Glad Philosopher’s ! 
Musings. | 
Haven’t you ever wished you had a 
beak like a chicken and a chicken’s 
ability to use it rapidly when engaged 
in the tedious work of picking up 
bulblets ? 
One runs across amusing things oc- 
casionally in books that have serious 
intent. In his book, "Popular Garden 
Flowers,” Mr. Walter P. Wright directs 
that Gladiolus corms be planted "about 
a foot apart.” What a vast acreage 
the English commercial grower would 
need were he compelled to "go by the 
book.” 
Profanity doesn’t help matters one 
bit when, after you have emptied a 
tray of bulbs, you discover that you 
emptied them into the wrong lot be- 
cause you looked at the label after, in- 
stead of before, you dumped them. 
The differences of opinion and result- 
ant controversies over the proper pro- 
nunciation of the word " Gladiolus ” 
has somewhat confused the general 
public, so that many of our friends 
venture their pronunciation with fear 
and trembling, but the Philosopher is 
always considerate, and never embar- 
rasses by offering any correction if the 
friend’s pronunciation differs from his 
own. Some rather amusing ways re- 
sult from the tongue-twistings that 
many undergo when endeavoring to 
be correct. Several of my friends in- 
variably pronounce it " Glad-oh-lia,” 
and once in a while someone goes one 
worse with " Glad-doil-ya.” 
Coming up street one evening with 
a big basket of cut blooms I was ac- 
costed by a group of children at play 
with : " Hey, mister, give us a lily,” 
and a friend to whom I had sent a box 
of cut Gladioli acknowledged its receipt 
later with a polite note thanking me 
for the "beautiful orchids” I had sent 
her. 
As I was bringing in a large bunch 
of cut Gladioli one evening, a little 
Italian boy, standing at the bottom of 
a stairway called out, " Mister, won’t 
you give me a flower?” When I handed 
him one he ran up stairs in great glee 
to give it to his mother. A few days 
later in passing the place I observed a 
wreath of flowers on the door, and when 
I read my evening paper that night I 
learned that the little Italian boy had 
been run over in the street by a heavy 
truck and killed. Was I glad that I 
had given the little fellow the flower? 
I would have been sorry if I had not. 
The Glad Philosopher. 
The Future of Flower 
Gardening in America. 
By David Burpee, before the National Association 
of Gardeners at Chicago. 
There are two important phases to 
the development of flower gardening 
which I want to emphasize. We might 
call them the practical and the popu- 
lar. By the practical side of garden- 
ing I mean the development of actual 
gardening itself —the science and the art 
of gardening, not only the improvement 
in methods of culture, but also the de- 
velopment of new and improved types 
of flowers and ornamental plants. The 
development of the art of flower gar- 
dening through the ages past has fol- 
lowed closely the development of the 
human race itself. As mankind has 
become more civilized and more re- 
fined, as we have gotten away more 
and more from the caveman stage, the 
aesthetic side of our nature has de- 
veloped and our spirit has cried out 
more and more for that which is beau- 
tiful. It is this ever increasing desire 
for the delicate beauty expressed only 
by flowers that has justified and has 
even compelled the development of 
flower gardening to its present stage. 
I believe, therefore, that the popular 
side of flower gardening is more im- 
portant than the practical — the desire 
for the beautiful is more fundamental 
than the means by which we may ob- 
tain it. It would be ridiculous to sup- 
pose that progress could be made in 
any line of endeavor without first 
having kindled the fire of desire. 
In years past great mystery sur- 
rounded the work of the professional 
gardener. He had gotten his experi- 
ence through long years of hard knocks 
and he was loath to tell the amateur 
the whys and wherefores of his art. 
The practical side of flower gardening 
was left almost entirely in the hands 
of the professionals. But as the de- 
sire on the part of the amateur became 
greater and greater, he began to delve 
more and more into the mysteries of 
flower gardening. Some professionals 
seemed to think that this would work 
a hardship on them, but in reality it 
has broadened the field for their pro- 
fession. 
This general tendency towards the 
growing of flowers should be encour- 
aged by all. It is merely the expres- 
sion of a great desire on the part of the 
human race which must be met and 
it grows stronger year by year. It is 
like a snowball that starts to roll at the 
top of the hill and grows greater the 
further it rolls. There is a cumulative 
effect. The more we grow flowers the 
more demand there will be for flowers 
and the more demand there will be 
( Concluded on page 24. ) 
