December 5, i903. 
THE OARDBN/NO Wok LD. 
ioi5 
Our Florists' and Gardeners' Clubs. 
By William Falconer. 
In most all of the big cities of the United States the florist® 
and gardeners have what are known as florists’ clubs, one in 
each city. The club meets once a month and discusses timely 
horticultural topics. These clubs, when properly handled, do 
much good; they bring the members into close acquaintance, 
and all become familiar with the newest and best varieties of 
plants to grow, and the best paying and most progressive 
methods of cultivation and construction, etc. These clubs are 
not beneficiary societies/ in, any way. 
As I have for several years been president of “ The Pitts¬ 
burgh and Allegheny Florists’ and Gardeners’ Club,” I will tell 
you something about what, we do, and this may be suggestive in 
inducing you to go, and do likewise. Pittsburgh is a, city of 
over 360,000 people; Allegheny is an adjoining city of 130,000 
inhabitants; and within a, radius, of twenty miles there are 
several other cities, towns and boroughs, in all amounting to 
750,000 or thereabouts. The one club suffices for all, for all 
are simply suburban parts of Pittsburgh. We hire a small 
hall one night, a month. Our annual dues are 2 dollars a year, 
just enough to, pay our expenses. We meet at night from 8 to 
10, but it is often 11 before we get through, and our meetings 
are well attended, bright and interesting. Boutine business is 
brief, and long discussions are disallowed. A special subject, 
as the Rose, Carnation, Palms, house decorations or the like, is 
taken up for consideration and discussion at each meeting; 
it is announced at the previous meeting, and all come prepared 
to handle it, and a special 'exhibition of the subject is made. 
For instance, if it be Roses, the several growers of Roses send 
in a, few of their choicest flowers, and a letter of request is sent 
out to the uttermost ends of the country to the raisers of 
new varieties or growers of special kinds for exhibits of their 
Roses and a, few note® about them. This brings together a, 
most instructive display. 
No papers are prepared or read. A busy gardener or florist 
lias no time to prepare a paper; besides, the very thought of 
having to prepare and read a paper would scare some of our 
very best growers clean out of our club. But the most diffi¬ 
dent cultivator will answer questions as fast as you ply them 
at him. 
The president takes the chair and gets through the routine 
business as quick as possible. Now we come to the subject 
of the evening, viz., Roses. The standard sorts are taken 
first, and one variety at a, time is placed on his table. These 
American Beauties, were grown by John Smith. John is asked 
the condition of his crop, when he planted them, how far apart, 
how deep the soil, the composition of his soil, about, tem¬ 
perature, ventilation, training or tying, second crop, mildew, 
red spider, fertilisers, etc., and John will answer each question 
pointedly and promptly. Then the chairman will ask other 
growers pointed questions, as regards their experience and 
practice, and there will be an explanation of differences in 
treatment or marketing or cropping. There is no hesitation or 
chillies®; sometimes three or four men try to, speak at 
once. The Beauties are passed and removed, and on to the 
table/ come Meteors, and after them Brides, Te,stouts, and so 
on, each one in, its turn. Then, come the new varieties, and 
the way they are torn to pieces sometimes makes one 
sorry they ever appeared. But it is a critical audience and 
an honest one. 
Dahlias were our October subject. We, had a big exhibition 
of flowers. The meeting was packed to, the door. What, 
became of the blossoms? They were divided among the 
members, every man carrying home an armful or a big hand 
bunch. 
Our last, meeting (November) was Chrysanthemums. One 
hundred and sixty-three distinct, sorts came/ before us, some 
from 800 miles away. And they were classified and handled 
in the same way. 
Ali of our local daily newspapers report, these meetings, and 
they also are noted in all of our horticultural or florist papers. 
And once a year, in the summer-time, we. have an outdoor 
picnic. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
Potato Chips. 
To the Editor of Tim Gardening World. 
Sir,— In our old halcyon days one did not dream that a few 
years hence quite a, furore would be created by our old friend 
the Potato; but with the discovery of a Northern Star in¬ 
terest has been aroused, and everyone seems anxious to have 
his plot full of Stars. Although the price is still rather pro¬ 
hibitive to many, there is no doubt that it is a wonderful 
Potato, and has produced unlooked-for results; but one wants 
to be sure and get seed from raisers’ stock. Many are going 
m for cutting, etc., and then re-cutting, etc. A discussion on 
the merits and demerits of this plan would be interestin' 1- , I 
trow. ° 
A 1 otato that has done splendidly with the writer is Dobbie’s 
Potato, The Factor, an oval-shaped white round of robust 
habit, and splendid cropping qualities. Another advantage it 
has viz., it keeps well, and has proved by far the best of 
the many varieties tried by the writer, and has shown scarcely 
any disease this season, which has certainly been a season to 
te>t the merits of a Potato as regards disease-resisting qualities. 
rp. T. W. Dollery. 
ihe Gardens,, Weetwood Grange, Leeds. 
Bulbs for the East End. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, Will you allow me to appeal to- the generosity of those 
of your reader® who are interested in window-gardenin" - arnonw 
the poor and have resources at hand? They can belp & us very 
materially by sending us at once bulbs of Tulips, Daffodils, 
and Crocuses of the best and brightest colours. We do not 
want, later in the season, gardeners’ leavings which nobody can 
use. That is not the idea. If the dreariness of the East-end 
is, to be brightened at all, it should be brightened by the best. 
Our Window Gardening Society has done wonders for the West. 
Ferry Road, but it ought to do a great deal more. The fresh¬ 
ness, fragrance, and beauty of the country could easily be 
brought, home to the dwellers among these sordid surroundings 
if only our friends would do their best to help us. And if con¬ 
tribution® in kind are not forthcoming we are in no, wise averse 
to accepting money ; for the expenses of a venture of this kind 
aiei heavy, and are apt to, prove an unusual drain upon the/ 
church funds.—Yours faithfully, Richard Free. 
The Oval-Leafed Privet. 
In the United States Ligustrum ovalifolium is, spoken, of as 
the California, Privet, but although it is often named L. cali- 
fornioum in commerce, that is merely a garden name. It may 
succeed so well in California that the nurserymen do all they 
can to encourage the sale of it. Mr. Joseph Meehan, “The 
Florists Exchange, says that, it, was killed to the ground last 
winter in some part,® of New England. Mr. J. A. Pettigrew, 
superintendent of the Public Parks, Boston, describes it as a 
stiff and unnatural-looking plant that should not be used for 
hedges. That, may be so if planted in rich soil and an attempt 
is made to confine it to a height of 4 ft. or 5 ft. To see the 
plant in its best, and most, natural form it must be allowed to 
attain, a, height, at least of 10 ft. or 12 ft., when it becomes 
more graceful. In, Great Britain it i® raised by ten® of thou¬ 
sands as a, covert plant. In place of the ordinary green one, 
we should recommend L. ovalifolium folii®, aureis, the Golden 
Privet, the variegation of which is a sufficient restraint to 
enable the plant to make useful and graceful specimen® of any 
height between 2 ft. and 6 ft., though old plants may reach 
8 ft. At the present time there i® no more beautiful hedge 
than that, in, many villa, gardens in, London and its suburb®, 
where the, plant, is allowed to grow naturally and not pruned 
till spring. Provided the winter is fairly mild, the plant re¬ 
tains its foliage till well into spring. At present (December) 
the leaves, or their broad margins, are of a rich golden-yellow, 
making this one of the most conspicuous and ornamental of 
hedges. 
