334 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
To hark hack again. Progress is always due to the 
more avid minds that quicker catch the possibilities of 
the future. It will be so in our business. Not by com¬ 
mon consent will all our retailers adopt a common policy 
such as suggested, rather will one man in a locality out¬ 
strip his competitors by observance of sound economic 
laws, and by his success force others to follow his 
methods. 
Present conditions in the nursery trade do not favor 
the distributor or retailer, because in so many instances 
the grower enters into direct competion with him, but 
this carries its own penalty or corrective because it 
makes growers out of those who should properly devote 
their energies to distribution. 
GARDENING A PROGRESSIVE PROEESSION 
The bug-a-boo that the American youth cannot be in¬ 
terested in the profession of gardening, and, that it holds 
no attraction for him as a life work, has been exploded 
through the publicity given the new course in horticul¬ 
ture introduced by the Massachusetts Agricultural Col¬ 
lege in co-operation with the National Association of 
Gardeners. 
Inquiries are being received by the college and the as¬ 
sociation from young men of moderate circumstances, as 
well as from some more fortunately blessed, from all 
parts of the country, desiring to learn what the future 
offers to those who will take up the vocation of garden¬ 
ing. They are seeking something that will occupy their 
time in the great outdoors and that will not confine them 
to the four walls of an office or the hub-bub of an indus¬ 
trial plant. As one expressed himself, “free from the 
consequences of radical agitators sowing discontent,” to 
which the gardener is not now subjected, nor ever will 
be. 
There has been some criticism from horticulturists that 
the course is not broad enough in its scope and that it 
will tend to limit students by confining their future ef¬ 
forts to country estates, which, it is claimed, do not offer 
sufficiently lucrative inducements. This is far from the 
fact, for the gardener, whether in that capacity or as a 
superintendent or manager, who has in addition to his 
salary a comfortable home provided and other requisites 
included such as his coal, light, and products of the 
place, has by far a better chance to practice thrift (an 
essential of today and it will be for some time to come) 
and save, than the average office worker has. And there 
are many in the medical, legal, and theological profes¬ 
sions who are not so comfortably situated. 
After the student has completed his training, there is 
nothing to restrict him as to which of the many branches 
of horticulture he may desire to pursue, commercial or 
otherwise. In addition to the private estates, the field is 
open to him for specializing in public park development, 
landscape gardening on an extensive scale, or in catering 
to the owners of small country and suburban home 
grounds, as the increasing surburban population opens 
up new opportunities. And there still remains the broad¬ 
er field of commercial horticulture which he may choose 
to enter. 
Rut twelve years ago, the convention of the gardeners’ 
association occupied only two hours time while those of 
recent years have been of two days’ duration for the 
business sessions, and two days devoted to instruction 
and entertainment in visiting points of horticultural in¬ 
terest. Ry this one can realize what progress the pro¬ 
fession is making. Today the proficient gardener is no 
longer regarded as but little more than a handy man, as 
was generally so only a few years ago in this country. 
He is being respected as a member of a profession that is 
bringing joy to the lives of mankind. 
When such prominent men of affairs as J. Ogden Ar¬ 
mour Samuel Untermyer, W. R. Coe, R. T. Crane, Jr., 
Henry Hunnewell, owners of the most extensive country 
estates in America, have become so interested in the pro¬ 
fession as to invite its members to their estates during 
their conventions and personally entertain them, it is 
surely coming into its own. And with such interest as is 
manifested towards it by such well known women as 
Mrs. Samuel Sloan, Mrs. Francis King, Mrs. Henry 
Hunnewell, Mrs. R. T. Crane Jr., Miss M .R. Case, among 
others, who are devoted to the future of American horti¬ 
culture, it rests with the gardener to make more gener¬ 
ally known in his respective community what his pro¬ 
fession and his association is striving to accomplish. It 
aims to create a closer bondship among all engaged in 
and interested in gardening, to stimulate the advance¬ 
ment of American horticulture through civic planting 
and the beautifying of home grounds, whether extensive 
or moderate. 
MICHAELMAS DAISIES 
According to the reports of the old country flower 
shows in the horticultural papers. The Michaelmas 
Daisies are quite a feature and come in for a great deal 
of attention. 
They are very beautiful and so extremely decorative 
it is difficult to understand why they have not been ex¬ 
ported by the florists of this country. It is true most 
nurseries growing hardy perennials, carry a few of the 
commoner native sorts and one occasionally meets with 
a named variety of European origin but they have never 
been exported and shown to the public in the same way 
other groups of plants have. Perhaps it is because the 
native perennial Asters or Michaelmas Daisies are the 
most common of all the native wild flowers of America 
and they are too closely associated with weeds in the 
American mind. Whatever the cause it would be over¬ 
come if the finer varieties could be shown to good advan¬ 
tage. 
Given the same care and attention usually bestowed on 
the Dahlias and Chrysanthemums they would give equal¬ 
ly satisfying results and win many admirers. Treated 
as hardy perennials and left to themselves they are apt 
to grow weedy, the best kinds dying out. Rut propagated 
annually in the same manner as chrysanthemums, the 
results are really surprising. 
If we may expect the same solution in the perennial 
Asters as there has been in the annual asters and the 
Chrysanthemum they will feature largely in the gardens 
of the future. Roth these fine groups of garden plants 
have evolved from veiy weedy looking single forms and 
