THE NATIONAL NUESERYMAN 
225 
plant for bordering purposes. x\notlier variety is the 
P. japonica. 
The hardy dwarf Azalias with their deep green foliage 
and bright flowers. The Kalinias are also good border 
plants for Rhododendron and small evergreen beds. 
The planting for wind breaks should he advocated 
more than it is. In Colonial times it received more atten¬ 
tion than it does now. Picea alba, P. excelsa, Norway 
Spruce, Hemlock should be used more for this purpose; 
even Cypress, Cedars and Siberian x\rbor Vitaes lend 
themselves for wind-breaks, screens and hedges. 
It is encouraging to note that our people are constantly 
giving more careful attention to the proper surroundings 
of their homes. They realize the value of improved mod¬ 
ern planting as against the old time formal designs, and 
landscape gardening is fast taking its place as an ad¬ 
vanced art. 
The old Colonial garden parks of the North and South 
have a claim to charm and sylvan beauty. There arc 
many stately old homes with wonderful specimen ever¬ 
greens, cypress, cedars, magnolia, elms, oaks, black wal¬ 
nut. Great specimen Box showing good taste in planting 
and great care in preserving them. 
Long stretches of country roads or connecting av(Miucs 
between towns and cities that are usually planted in de¬ 
ciduous trees, should have evergreen trees, such as 
spruce, pines, piceas or Cypress planted between them, 
one deciduous and one evergreen alternately. 
The idea of Memorial tree planting is one of the most 
fitting and inspiring that has yet been conceived by a 
patriotic people. Sentimentally and from the standpoint 
of practicability what finer monuments could there lie 
in commemoration of the sacrifice of those who gave tin; 
last full measure of devotion for their country. 
Restrictive legislation has harmed the nursery bus¬ 
iness to some extent. It is hoped that it will soon be re¬ 
moved. The Government should do everything to encou¬ 
rage Horticulture in every branch. 
The planting of window and balcony boxes containing 
small coniferous plants should become more general, but 
care should be taken to only use the hardiest kinds. 
Small boxes containing dwarf conifers and hardy ivies 
could be designed so as to enable the owner to removi' 
them from the open to indoors on the order of the Japan¬ 
ese style. Thousands of such boxes can be sold by enter¬ 
prising firms. It will help to popularize coniferous plants. 
HORTICULTURAL EDUCATION 
Professor Woods, in his address at the Convention, 
called attention to the necessity of education to advance 
the interests of nurserymen. Theo. Borst of the Little For¬ 
est Tree Farms was active in advocating a university 
course for nurserymen, saying it was essential if the nur¬ 
serymen were ever going to raise their jnofession to the 
plane where it belongs. 
There are really three grades of education necessary, 
a university course for the men who are going to rep¬ 
resent us in the government, as nothing less would have 
sullicient standing with university graduates in other 
professions. 
Another grade of ('ducation would be college men who 
know the commerciiil value of the results of labor. There 
is a great weakness in the present method of educating the 
horticiilturist. Th(‘ young man goes to the grammar 
school, from thence to the High school, which lands him 
at 17 or 18 years of age. He then takes a course at an 
agricultural college, where they are supposed to be 
taught how to work, but it is in such a way they do not 
acquire the one essential necessity, and tliat is to know 
the commercial value of tin' results of labor. It is for 
this reason that the graduate of the agricultural college 
is rarely a success in commercial nurseries or gardens, 
and he invariably gravitates to private estates, institu¬ 
tions, parks or the government. The process should be 
revi'rsed, and a young man should seiwe three or four 
years on a nursery before taking his college course. If 
this method were followed there would be many more 
college men in the nursery business. 
Anotln'r grade of education and perhaps one that is 
even more essential than the two mentioned above, is that 
of the skilled practitioner or workman, and of course 
theri' is only one school or college from which they can 
graduate, and that is the nursery or garden. Rook learn¬ 
ing is only of secondary inqiortance. The more they have 
of it of course, the better, up to a certain point, but 
where it begins to detract from their efficiency and know¬ 
ledge of actual work and jilants, they are better without 
it. 
While w e all ought to earnestly work for the establish¬ 
ment of a chair of horticulture in our universities, and 
try and sei' that our college men learn to know the com- 
mercinl value of the results of labor to a greater degree 
than they do when they graduate at present, it is really 
up to tlie nurseries and horticultural establishments 
themselves to find some way to educate skilled workmen 
in their profession. 
Judging by the following from the Horticultural Trade 
Journal the same need is felt in Europe. 
“Another matter that demands the serious attention of 
the Trade is the reinforcement of the ranks of really 
skilled and clever craftsmen which as in eveiy other 
sphere, have been sadly drained whilst the normal influx 
of beginners has been arrested. Depleted stocks of trees, 
and plants cannot be replenished without skilled propa¬ 
gators, and the selection and imjirovement of seed-stocks 
demands the w'ork of carefully trained hands. I ven¬ 
ture the opinion that the revival of the apprenticeship 
system in nurseries and gardens w ould prove to be of far 
more real value than the development of Training Col¬ 
leges and Institutes of Scientific Horticulture and if the 
proprietors of nurseries will adopt the principle of giving 
their employees a tangible interest in the development and 
jirospei'ity of their business the results will be greater 
and more beneficial than any form of Trade Unionism for 
garden workers can be.” 
(ffiarh'S Sizemore, Secretary and Treasurer of the Na¬ 
tional Association reports that the Market Development 
funds are coming in very nicely and everything looks 
good for a very prosperous year. 
