Jnly rj, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
09 
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AN ANGLO-AMERICAN DAY. 
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A S we in the old country are interested in the work and ways 
horticultural of our kinsmen on the “ other side,” so do 
our transatlantic friends and fellow workers seek to become 
acquainted with the plans, methods, and intentions of cultivators 
in the mother land. Those who had the privilege of attending 
the luncheon at the Trentham Show last week will not soon 
forget the splendid welcome given by some 200 Englishmen to 
the American Consul ; neither will they forget his earnest, 
eloquent, responsive speech. The Consul, though a new comer, 
had been quick to perceive the love for gardens existing among 
the inhabitants of this country. He recognised the great advan¬ 
tages of this to a community, and expressed his full sympathy 
with all that had been done and was being done to foster the 
taste in flowers and improve the cultivation of the land around 
the dwellings of the people. The example of the mother nation, 
to whom his people looked with pride, in making home plots 
bright as well as useful would not be lost on the daughter land. 
He had communicated his impressions and views to his authorities, 
and told them that wherever a patch of ground could be found 
near a cottage door a Pansy smiled. Flowers grew because they 
were loved, and it was gladdening to see the produce of the 
gardens of England. Such in brief and substance was the speech 
of Mr. Warner. 
It is well to see ourselves as others see us, and take courage— 
to press on in work that is good for the worker, beneficial to the 
community, and which may exert a wholesome influence far 
beyond the confines of our shores. It is well also to note that 
Britain as a nation is not, as pessimists would imply, behind all 
the world in everything, but can even win encomiums from 
representatives of what is admittedly one of the most enterprising 
nations of the earth. The Great Republic of the West, in whose 
marvellous progress we take just pride, has taught us many 
things besides the value of Tomatoes, and it is well if we can 
teach something in return of a tendency to add to the comforts 
and pleasures of domestic life. The enterprise of its people has 
taught us something commercially—namely, that the produce of 
one country is good for another, and that by skill in production 
and methods of presentation each may share m meeting the wants 
of the other to the benefit of both. That both have been benefited 
by the interchange of commodities is indubitable, though we do not 
yet work on equal terms. 
With all our faults and failings the Old World remains more 
liberal than the New in tariff arrangements. The disadvantages on 
this side rest with producers, while on the other they press heavily 
on consumers. The “ greatest good to the greatest number ” is the 
keystone of the policy of Britain, but the “ most wealth to the 
fewest persons ” would appear to be the predominating factor in 
moulding the customs and framing the laws of greater and newer 
countries. Yet one has become accustomed to the methods of 
the other, and all may work in friendly rivalry. The latter, after 
all, is the important point, for friendly rivalry is the great lever of 
trade development; friction, through mistrust, ever impeding com¬ 
mercial progress. We will send to other lands whatever we can 
place in their markets in better form at current prices than they 
can supply : and we will also strive to excel in such products as our 
land affords for the needs of our own people. It is a case of 
No. G83.—VoL XXVII., Third Series. 
turning to the best possible account the natural resources and local 
peculiarities everywhere, and sending the products everywhere else, 
where they will command the attention of purchasers. Possibly we 
have not done all we could and ought in this direction, and our 
competitions have become our educators. May we profit by the 
lesson. 
The foregoing is a prelude. Though the pleasant experience 
at Trentham would entitle the day to be regarded as “ Anglo- 
American,” another day is more particularly in mind, not less 
pleasant to those who spent a little time together in seeking to 
impress on an American mind that we have something worth 
seeing a little different from the scenery in the States, as well as 
examples of cultivation that we consider well representative of 
British horticulture both as viewed in its useful and ornamental 
aspect. An American florist of repute is visiting the Old Country, 
from which he took his departure forty years ago, and has won 
fame and foitune in the land of his adoption. In sturdy build 
and steady speech Mr. Palmer of Buffalo, New York State, might 
be taken as a typical Englishman, but his mind and lingual 
characteristics are distinctly American. He believes in dollars, 
and can “ guess ” as well as any native-born New Yorker. But 
he is not ultra-prejudiced, and can recognise what is good wher¬ 
ever he may see it, and when he does see something of particular 
merit he appears as if instinctively to appraise its “ worth ” He 
is great, among other things, in Carnations and Roses, blooms of 
which he grows extensively and profitably for sale. “ Yes, sir,” 
he will say, “ we can beat you in these—growing them under glass 
in winter ; but you can beat us in ” (and who could anticipate 
the conclusion of his sentence) “in crooked country lanes and_ 
hedges.” 
Mr. Palmer has doubtless seen a great deal more in England 
than he did last Saturday; but he saw what he wanted in what are 
left of Carnations at Slough, as well as Roses in pots being grown 
for specimens, also Turner’s new Crimson Rambler, which has 
caused somewhat of a sensation, growing alike in pots and in the 
open ground in the nursery. As to Carnations, it may be interesting 
to know what Americans think of varieties and methods of showing 
them. The paper collar style is to them an abomination, and they 
will not look at a flower twice that is not supported by a stem 
strong enough to hold it boldly, firmly, upright. In America the 
flowers are shown on stems a foot or so long in clear decided 
colours, and as large as they can be produced by cultivation and 
disbudding, these being the kinds that bring in the dollars. They 
are raised early in the year, planted out, generously treated, topped 
once or twice, carefully lifted in September, and planted on 
benches in large light houses for affording blooms through the 
winter and spring, one only on each stem, and as many stems as 
practicable without overcrowding. After blooming, the plants are 
thrown away, young stock alone being relied on for producing the 
coveted blooms. “ Malmaisons ” are not yet grown to any great 
extent in America, but when it becomes known that they are 
among the favourite flowers with our aristocrats and millionaires 
they may perhaps “ take ” among the Democrats and Republicans, 
who appear to have a sneaking fondness for exalted personages, 
and it is pretty well known that strenuous endeavours were made 
to obtain the presence of Royalty at Chicago. 
Returning to Carnations. The bold-stemmed, free-growing 
border varieties, Mrs. Apsley Smith and Queen of the Bedders, 
attracted the Buffalo florist. The former is the brightest of 
flame scarlets in the collection, and the robust plants had passed 
through the winter unscathed. It is most effective in a glowing 
mass, also valuable for affording a wealth of flowers for cutting, 
and their size would be increased by disbudding. Queen of the 
Bedders is similarly bold, hardy, and free, with large, smooth, 
salmon-pink blooms, and altogether a first-class border Carnation. 
King of Scarlets comes within American “claims” in character, 
and two or three of the yellow ground Picotees found favour with 
No. 2339— VoL- LXXXIX., Old Series. 
