30 
March, 1918 
Ofye Slower (Brower 
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X51)e Slower (Brower 
f PUBLISHED MONTHLY ON THE FIRST OF THE MONTH BY ! 
| MADISON COOPER, CALCIUM, N.Y. f 
FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL FLOWER GROWERS 
= Subscription Price : OUR MOTTO: Canadian and Foreign 1 
| $1.00 per year. Special favors to none, and a Subscription Price i 
| 3 years for $2.00. square deal to all. $1.25 per year. 1 
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. 
Copyrif/ht 1i)J8 by Jlfadison Cooper 
The contents of THE FLOWER GROWER, formerly “ The Modern Gladiolus 
Grower" are covered by general copyright. Permission is given to editors to use not 
more than one-third of any article providing proper credit is given at the beginning or 
end of such quotation , as follows: “ From THE FLOWER GROWER , Calcium , N. Y." 
Special permission necessary for reprinting illustrations, long extracts or articles entire. 
Entered as second-class matter March 31, 1914, at post office at 
Calcium, N.Y., under act of March 3, 1879. 
Vol. V March, 1918 No. 3 
“ 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. 
“Pigs is Pigs.” 
As a continuation of the subject of " Patriotism, Pigs 
and Poses,” our editorial in last month’s issue, one of our 
subscribers suggests that we should say something about 
the price of a pig. Years ago a pig was worth $1.00. Later 
he advanced to the dignity of $1.50 or possibly $2.00, and 
gradually increased in value until during the spring of 1917 
the average price was about $5. We were able to secure 
$6 each for pigs eight to ten weeks old and weighing from 
20 to 25 pounds and they were cheap at this price. While 
a pig is a pig, there is a big difference in pigs, and while 
some pigs would be cheap at $6, others might be dear at 
$5. It depends on the age, condition and weight. A well 
grown pig weighing 20 lbs. at six to eight weeks old should 
be worth $6 quick. If you buy a pig six weeks old and 
weighing perhaps 15 lbs., $5 is enough, and perhaps too 
high a price for him. Then again fall pigs never sell as 
high as spring pigs as there is not the demand for them, 
and besides the cost of production is very much less for fall 
pigs than for spring pigs so that with the price of spring 
pigs at $5 to $6, fall pigs sell at around $3.50 to $4.50. 
The prices mentioned above are only given as a guide 
and may vary with locality, and we honestly believe that 
the prices above mentioned are $1.00 too low considering the 
price of grain during the past winter. Therefore, if you 
can buy pigs at about the prices above mentioned you are 
buying them low enough and if you can get them cheaper 
you are securing a real bargain. 
Anyway, buy a pig if you can possibly find a place to 
keep him. He will not only save you some money, but he 
will prove of educational value to you. 
Madison Cooper. 
American Gladiolus Society. 
As explained on page 29, the Membership Committee of 
the American Gladiolus Society, headed by Joseph J. Lane, 
has undertaken a campaign for the increase of mem- 
bership, and the Executive Committee has authorized the 
waiving of the membership fee until June 1st. In other 
words, anyone can join until that date by paying the regular 
annual dues of $2.00. 
As a still further inducement to join the society an ar- 
rangement has been made with The Flower Grower 
whereby this publication will be sent to all members during 
the life of their membership. 
We urge that all who are interested in growing the 
Gladiolus join the society. A large membership will have 
great weight in accomplishing results which cannot other- 
wise be secured. There is no reason why the society should 
not have a membership of 1000. The benefits of member- 
ship are obvious and the privilege of association with a 
national body of this kind is valuable for all who are in- 
terested in growing the Gladiolus. 
Membership blanks may be had on application to Joseph 
J. Lane, Chairman, 120 W. 32nd St., New York, N. Y., or to 
Prof. A. C. Beal, Secretary, Ithaca, N. Y. 
Madison Cooper. 
Alkali or Acid Soil for Gladioli. 
One of our subscribers brings up the question as to 
whether the Gladiolus demands an acid soil or an alkali 
soil. In other words, does the Gladiolus favor a soil well 
filled with lime or a soil which is inclined to be on the sour 
or acid order ? We print this note for the purpose of draw- 
ing attention to the subject and for the purpose of asking 
for further light on the subject. 
We personally have used wood ashes in small quantities 
almost every year on a sandy soil and with good results. We 
suppose the use of wood ashes yearly would result in an 
alkaline soil. Some of our friends who are commercial 
growers can tell us a lot of things about this subject if they 
will only take time to do so and we hope to hear from them. 
Last year was a year of war gardens and somewhat to 
the neglect of flowers. One of our correspondents suggests 
that he already sees a reaction in the attitude of people 
toward flowers, and that one of the Chicago gardening clubs 
has launched a campaign for more flower gardening in 
connection with vegetable gardening. The natural out- 
come of the present situation will be that when the war is 
over and we return to normal conditions, those who have 
made war gardens for the production of foodstuffs will be- 
come greatly interested in flowers. We look for a boom in 
flower growing after the war. 
Last month we promised to print an article on the result 
of a war garden which was planned, worked and the results 
recorded by a man who knows how to make a garden, 
Clarence Wedge, of Minnesota. We are holding this article 
over until April, which is, in the north, in plenty of time to 
make a garden. The article describes a garden one rod 
wide and two rods long. Larger space could be utilized on 
the same general scheme. It is not often that actual re- 
sults and figures are given as they are in this article which 
was prepared by Mr. Wedge for the Minnesota Horticulural 
Society. 
More attention seems to be given each year to Prim- 
ulinus Hybrids and some of the named varieties of this type 
of flower which have been put on the market have rare 
merit. Even the most insignificant Primulinus Hybrid is 
so distinctive in form and habit of growth that it is inter- 
esting. No Gladiolus grower will make a mistake to have 
a collection of Primulinus Hybrids. Start with the mixed 
seedlings without name. 
