PARK AND CEMETERY. 
209 
it is a mistake t > require a college entrance exam'n ui.iu 
of those who wish to gain a good working knowle^lge of 
scientific agriculture; that the colleges of agriculture 
should confine themselves to educating teachers of agri- 
culture and kindred sciences; that few will atteml agricul- 
tural colleges, and they should not be expected to edu- 
case the mass of farmers and gardeners; that the farmers 
of this country are willing to patronize agricultural 
scho )ls as soon as they are made helpful and are put 
within their reach. The common statement that the boy 
is most apt to follow the pursuit with which he is most 
fam liar is here exemplified by about 97 per cent, of 
th )se who have attended the School of .\griculture be- 
ing found on farms or inoccupations closely connected 
with farm life. It is shown, too, that it is entirely prac- 
ticable to hold such a school during the winter months, 
when the boys can most easily be spared from the farm, 
and that while the benefits of field work are not fully 
available in winter, yet with suitable greenhouses and il- 
lustrations this difficulty can be largely overcome, and 
it is more than outweighed by the advantage of holding 
the session at a time when the sons of farmers can eas- 
ily attend: and in having the boys on the farms of the 
state during the growing season, so they do not get out 
of touch with p,ractical farm life. Besides, the students 
can gain knowledge of field conditions far better in 
working for practical horticulturists and agriculturists 
than by any field instruction that could be given to a 
large number of students in any educational institution. 
And the economic side is then kept continually before 
the student, which is very important. 
“It seems to me that in this country we have paid too 
much attention to the higher phase of agricultural edu- 
cation, and too little to the education of the hard-headed 
boys who have to do the practical work, and that we 
could profit by the experience of Germany and France 
and increase the agricultural schools of the lower grades. 
There are in Prussia at least 102 schools of agriculture 
of about our high school grade, and they have introduced 
agricultural instruction into what would correspond to 
our district schools. Of these latter there are over 1000 
in Prussia in the rural districts, where the children are 
taught some of the rudiments of agriculture, and most 
of these schools have a garden in connection with them. 
These low-grade schools are being rapidly increased in 
number, and are looked upon as being exceedingly help- 
ful and desirable by the best educators in Germany; and 
our experiment in Minnesota, it seems to me, indicates 
that they would be fully as desirable here.” 
A NOTE ON HARDY CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND 
COSMOS. 
The writer was very much interested in your 
editorial on the chrysanthemum shows and espec- 
ially when you alluded to the hardy chrysanthemum 
for outdoor display. Indeed they are grand and 
when mi.xed with cosmos provided with a back 
ground of such shrubs as retain their foliage to a 
late date, we would have a garden all to itself; but 
— it is here as with the small boy who could not 
always have wliat he wanted. 
Somewhere around ’93 or ’94 the writer intro- 
duced h.i.nly chrysanthemums to our herbaceous 
border- in Humboldt park, and he distinctly remem- 
bers one variety. Golden Fleece, from Dingee and 
Canard, exhibited by this firm at the World’s Fair. 
In my Diary, dated Nov. 5, 1894, I find the fol- 
lowing notes: “Chrysanthemum Golden Fleece, a 
hardy variety, is now in flower, but owing to con- 
siderable frost during October, the flower’s have 
only partly developed. As an outdoor variety it 
is a failure.” 
This variety was kept for a few years, being 
protected every winter by straw covering, but not- 
withstanding this it got poorer every year and finally 
disappeared altogether. 
This experience put a stop to growing hardy 
chrysanthemums for outdoor effect and the failure 
is attributed to early frost just at the time when the 
buds opened and heat was most necessary. 
Warm weather later on did not seem to be able 
to revive the plants and but a few crippled blos- 
soms was the reward for our painstaking labor. 
Of course this may be overcome by producing 
early flowering varieties; by this is meant such var- 
ieties as will have their flowers developed by the 
first of October for this vicinity. 
Another fall bloomer that causes great dis- 
appointment in the cosmos. Usually at the time we 
should have some benefit from its grand flowers, 
Jack Frost comes along and takes his share only 
leaving us the barren stalks. A number of so called 
early flowering varieties are in the market, but after 
2 years trial I still failed to get these varieties to 
bloom earlier than the old cosmos bipinnatus. 
Last year seeds were received from California but 
with the same results. 
A few years ago I noticed on J. C. Vaughan’s 
grounds at Western Springs, an early flowering 
cosmos and a real one at that. It must have been 
in flower the latter part of August or first part of 
September. I obtained some seed of it, but, alas, 
with the same old success. Was it because I stole 
the seeds? 
Although rather discouraged I still hope we 
may have both — early flowering cosmos and hardy 
chrysanthemums, but I want to say this much, they 
must be raised and grown under our erratic climate 
or I very seriously doubt any success. 
Janies Jensen. 
Floriculture for certain park uses is becoming a 
prominent department in the majority of parks. The 
number of greenhouses and conservatories recently con- 
structed fully attest this. 
