56 
Tb\)<i Slower (Brower 
Matthew Crawford. 
Noted Horticulturist of Northern Ohio Called to His Great Reward. 
G LADIOLUS growers everywhere 
will regret to learn of the death 
of Matthew Crawford, for half a 
century well known as a horticulturist 
and especially for his work with the 
Gladiolus. 
Mr. Crawford was stricken with an 
attack of pneumonia and succumbed 
after a three days illness at the home 
of relatives in Belle Center, Ohio. He 
Matthew Crawford. 
had made his home there since last fall 
and at the time of his death was mak- 
ing arrangements to go to Chicago to 
be with his son, William Crawford, 
well known as an insurance man and 
publisher of an insurance magazine. 
Mr. Crawford was born in County 
Antrim, Ireland, in 1839, and was, there- 
fore, 79 years old at the time of his 
death. His father died when he was 
quite young and at the age of ten, he 
with a younger brother came with 
their mother to America, settling in 
Ohio. About 1850 the family moved 
to Cleveland and in 1856 Mr. Crawford 
began work on a large market garden- 
ing place. From that time on Mr. 
Crawford devoted his time to horticul- 
ture and made it his life work. He 
was an authority on soil improvement, 
not only throughout Northern Ohio, 
but in many adjoining places and had 
written much for publication on horti- 
cultural lines. 
Mr. Crawford was known as the 
Gladiolus King of Ohio and he had 
earned this title in years gone by, by 
his energetic work in the improvement 
of this beautiful flower. He was con- 
stantly experimenting with new varie- 
ties of fruits, flowers and vegetables, 
specializing in strawberries and Gla- 
dioli. Since the early eighties he had 
been a grower of Gladioli commercially 
and it is stated that at one time he 
planted as much as 50 lbs. of seed in 
one season. This seed it is also under- 
stood was practically all of the Gladio- 
lus seed that was available during that 
particular year in both Europe and 
America. In addition to his work in 
growing seedlings and bulbs for mar- 
ket, he also did a thriving business in 
the shipping of cut flowers to the city 
markets. In this work he was a pioneer. 
Since the death of his wife, killed by 
an interurban car in Cuyahoga Falls in 
1916, Mr. Crawford had spent consider- 
able time among relatives and gradually 
disposed of his bulb business. He was 
one of the charter members and past 
master of Star Lodge of Masons, a 
member of the Congregational Church 
and a teacher in the Sunday School for 
many years. He is survived by one son, 
William Crawford, of Chicago. 
In the January 1914 issue of The Mod- 
ern Gladiolus Grower which by the 
way was the first number issued, we 
printed a brief article on the occasion of 
the Golden Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. 
Crawford. 
Mr. Crawford in connection with Dr. 
Van Fleet was the author of the book 
called, "The Gladiolus,” published in 
1912 the only bound book on the sub- 
ject of Gladiolus growing. 
Peonies from Seed. 
[ Written expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
The finest Peonies as a rule do not 
produce many seeds. I have had about 
an acre of ground closely planted 
sometimes with choice Peonies, in 
about 100 named varieties that did not 
yield a gill of seeds. Another year 
there might be a quart. I have had 
Officinalis Rubra Plena in cultivation 
more than 60 years and, although seed 
pods are formed freely, I never could 
find a single mature seed. This, the 
" Piney of our Grandmother’s Garden,” 
is one of the most beautiful of all va- 
rieties, and was introduced in English 
gardens more than 100 years ago. The 
finest Peonies of the present, now num- 
bering several hundred named varie- 
ties, have been produced from varieties 
native of China. 
Peony seed ripen in late summer and 
if planted at once or kept moist until 
late and then planted come up the 
following spring. If the seed are al- 
lowed to become dry before planting 
they will lay in the soil a year longer, 
coming up the second spring after 
planting. 
Single flowered Peonies produce seed 
much more freely than the double va- 
rieties, and seedling Peonies are not 
to be despised with flowers of all shades 
of color from pure white to all shades 
of pink to crimson, sometimes six or 
seven inches in diameter, singles bloom 
rather more profusely. E. 
May, 1918 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. 
" Never leave that till tomorrow 
which you can do today,” is the way 
Benjamin Franklin penned the proverb, 
that, written in his copy book, has 
been instrumental in causing many a 
laggard school boy of slothful disposi- 
tion to adopt habits of punctuality and 
promptitude. 
I have in mind a shiftless farmer ac- 
quaintance who is ever promising but 
seldom performs. He is always "gonna 
do” this or that, but never gets the thing 
accomplished. His implements and 
farm machinery are left out in the 
fields where he used them last, exposed 
to the elements, to rust and become 
worthless in a short time, when they 
might serve him a score of years or 
more if properly housed in the shed he 
is " gonna build someday ” ; the old 
farmhouse is about ready to tumble 
down because he has not yet got around 
to make the needed repairs ; his wife 
has a life of drudgery because he con- 
tinually puts off installing the improve- 
ments that he is someday " gonna get ” 
for her. Sometimes I think it is part 
of the all-wise plan that we have in 
every community an occasional defec- 
tive or profligate to serve as a "hor- 
rible example” for the teaching of the 
young. Some such reminder as, " Do 
you want to grow up to be like old 
Tom Jones ?” has probably set many a 
listless youth to thinking, and helped 
to throw off a growing habit of vice, 
or conquer an inherent tendency to in- 
dolence. 
There is a seed time and a harvest 
time- a planting time and a blooming 
time, and whoever would have success 
with flowers must not procrastinate too 
far beyond the proper time to plant or 
reset. I have certain friends who get 
quite enthusiastic at blooming time 
and express resolutions to plant "some 
of these next spring,” or set out "some 
of those next fall,” but when the right 
time arrives for doing it they are either 
too busy with something else or have 
forgotten the resolution. As there is 
a best time for every operation in 
growing things, and as what is worth 
doing at all is worth doing well, it pays 
to learn when that best time is, and 
then act. He who is continually say- 
ing, "I forgot,” has to be ever apologiz- 
ing for his failures and omissions. The 
person who puts off ordering seeds, 
bulbs or plants until after the best time 
for planting them has passed, not only 
has to run a greater risk of success, 
but often has to take inferior goods, 
because the wise and prudent custom- 
ers who ordered early have already 
had first choice, and only culls remain. 
The gardener may consider it no dis- 
grace to have both lice and bedbugs — 
lice on the rose bushes and bugs in 
the flower bed. 
Next in meanness and moral de- 
pravity to the wife-beater, the anony- 
mous letter- writer and the dog-poisoner, 
