8. 
their work, and has produced the splendid 
results in increasing business which has 
benefited the entire florist trade—grower, 
commission men, and retail dealer alike. 
Further than this the deponent saith not. 
This matter was creative of a very 
lengthy discussion, participated in by 
Messrs. O'Mara, Butterfield, Wheeler, Len- 
ker, Scott, Wallace, Harry May, Endgren, 
and others, in which the rose grower and 
the carnationist each found his champions. 
It was pointed out that the carnation men 
had the advantage of the rosarian in the 
ease with which new varieties could be 
secured, creating greater interest in the 
divine flower by commercial florists, at 
least. On the other hand, it was stated 
that the rose man did not advertise his 
_ goods, through public exhibitions, as lar- 
gely ashe might do. It was also shown that 
the men who had attempted the cross-ferti- 
lization of the rose, such as E. G. Hall, John 
Cook, M. H. Walsh, Jackson Dawson, and 
W. A. Manda, had secured results which 
showed great improvement over varieties 
imported: from Europe. Mr. Whieeler did 
not believe the carnation men were really 
More progressive than the rose men; the 
former had a flower that responded more 
readily to progress than the rose. The 
discussion was an. interesting one, and in- 
structive in so fa ras it showed that the 
rose men were inclined to rest on prior 
laurels and did not seize the advantage 
afforded of displaying their goods to the 
same extent as did their brethren who cul- 
tivate the divine flower ; advertising being 
considered a mark of progress, whereas non- 
advertising demonstrated a lack of the pro- 
gressive spirit. 
James T. Scott replied to the question 
“Ts Floriculture More Advanced in This 
Country Than in Europe?” He spoke as 
follows :! 
Is FrLoricunturs More Apyancep rn 
AMERICA THAN In Evropr? 
The question is a somewhat knotty one. 
No matter how well disposed one may feel 
toward the land of his adoption, there is . 
that something voiced in the words of Sir 
Walter Scott :: 
“Breathes there a man withi soul so dead, 
Who never to himself has said / 
This is my own, my native land.” 
‘An opinion thus given is liable, therefore, 
to be biased in a degree, no matter how 
ronan we may endeavor to face the ques- 
jon. 
___ If we should confine ourselves solely to 
commercial floriculture, the answer would 
be a negative one. There is no country in 
the universe where flowers are grown (espe- 
cially in the winter months) for the mil- 
lions to such perfection as they are here, 
but the range of variety is in a great mea- 
sure restricted. If we eliminate the rose, 
carnation, and violet, there would be little 
left indeed; and looked at from the broad- 
est standpoint, these three items could 
scarcely be said to cover the field of flori- 
culture. Financially, this country is able 
to support these luxuries better than they 
world’s goods. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
are supported in Europe. The working 
classes over there find it a hard enough 
struggle to make money enough to keep 
body and soul together,’ without any of 
these added luxuries. Even if they had 
the money, it would be impossible to supply 
these grades of flowers at the same cost. 
The winters over there are cold and dull, 
with scarcely any sunshine, and during the 
summer it is necessary to keep firing con- 
stantly. Under these conditions it is im- 
possible to produce the same grade of 
flowers at the same cost as we do here. The 
wealthy classes over there mostly rely on 
their own greenhouses for all their flower 
supplies, and the commercial florist, as we 
know him, is scarcely known on “the other 
side” at all. Covent Garden is largely a 
plant market, although during the early 
spring months lots of bulbous stock finds 
its way there from the Scilly and Channel 
Islands and from the south of France. The 
modest flower girl is found cn the London 
streets in spring and summer, but there is 
not encugh money in the operation to en- 
tice the Greek; and the millionaire com- 
mission man can only be fattened in such a 
broad and wealthy country as America. 
To every European the cultivation of 
roses, carnations, and violets as done in this 
country is quite a revelation, but here it 
ends, and floriculture in its broader sense 
seems to be largely sacrificed for this. More- 
over, the tendency is to run to specialities, 
most times to carnationg or roses alone, or 
vice versa, and the floricultural training 
of the young man in the business is there- 
fore but superficial. No doubt he may be 
able to make just as good a living as if his 
knowledge were broader, but, from ai flori- 
cultural standpoint, his training has never 
been finished. There are, of course, many 
exceptions to this as there are in anything, 
but those who have surmounted the barrier 
have done so from energy and strength of 
character in spite of the system, rather than 
becausa of it. 
There are a few private places in this 
country where floriculture is just as far ad- 
vanced as it is in Europe, instances: at 
Gould’s, Rockefeller’s, Untermyer’s, Bor- 
den’s, Ogden Mills’, Dinsmcre’s, D. Willis 
James’, J. Crosby Brown’s, F. L. and Oakes 
Ames estates, Percival Roberts’, Wana- 
maker's, several estates in Lenox and New- 
port; but the majority of private places 
here are run too much' on a semi-commer- 
cial basis, for what can, be got out of them ; 
and everything is figured down to dollars 
and cents—merely a place where the floral 
essentials necessany for society events are 
produced more conveniently and cheaper 
perhaps than they can be procured in the 
open market; or because a whim of fancy 
or society dictates demand that all up-to- 
date people must have these things to be 
in the height of fashion ; just as the up-to- 
date spirits demand that the wealthy must 
own fast horses or an expensive automo- 
bile. They largely own these things from, 
a spirit of caprice to excel and outdo others 
less fortunate in’ the possession of the 
A big bunch of flowers 
-ba left? 
June 1, {905 
appeals to any nature, however primitive, 
but how few of even those who own green- 
houses will take up one small flower in 
their hand and admire it for the sake of 
the flower itself? In the language of the 
poet: 
A. primrose’ by the river’s brim 
A. yellow primrose is to him, 
And nothing more. 
How few appreciate the spirit of the poet 
Burns as he was about to turn under with 
the ploughshare a modest daisy, the first 
harbinger of spring: : 
Wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower, 
Thou’s met me in an eyil hour, 
Hor I maun crush among the stoure, 
Thy tender stem, 
To spare thee now is past my power, 
Thou bonnie gem. 
If we were to leave out the men who are 
dixectly interested in floriculture here for 
a livelihood, and the wealthy whose case 
has already been dealt with, what would 
The poorer, everyday working 
people have no love for rural beauty, and 
the flowers that clothe the roadways have 
not for them even a passing interest. How 
different from the old world homes, where 
every cottage has its garden; where the 
roses and the honeysuckle mingle with the 
morning glories against the whitewashed 
walls of the humble dwellings; where the 
pathway that-leads to the door has a border 
ot flowers on every side! The edging may 
be of boxwood or oftener of the common 
saxifraga (or London Pride), or double 
daisies, or, sometimes, armerias sea pink), 
Cerastium tomentosum (snow in summer) 
Tn the border behind; the snowdrop appears 
before the snow has left the ground, follow- 
ed in. quick succession by crocus, daffodils, 
aubretias, grape hyacinths, primroses, iris, 
polyanthus, wallflowers, adonis, campanu- 
las veronicas, starworts, woodruff, pyre- 
‘thrums lupines, delphiniums, monkshood, 
ranunculus, anemones, phloxes, peonics, 
pansies, violets, trilliums, potentillas, and 
other things far too numerous to enume- 
rate. In these small garden spots they 
contrive to have things in bloom from early 
spring until late in the fall, when the 
Christmas roses have to be protected from 
the keen! biting winds with spruce branches. 
Flowers to these humble old world cot- 
tagers are a source of everyday delight. 
Few plants are bought or sold; their in- 
comes deny this. But a spirit of good fel- 
lowship, largely enhanced by mutual tastes, 
enables them to barter backward and for- 
ward, and newer things thus find their way 
gradually into every garden. The children 
are reared in this atmosphere; they learn 
the names of the various flowers as they 
come and go; as other children become 
familiar with the names of the various 
household articles. Asa boy, I could name 
every flower that grew in my father’s gar- 
den, as well ag every tree which grew in the 
district, and I wad no exception. When the 
day’s work is over men turn to their gar- 
deng for recreation ; often also, from neces- 
sity, for all grow their own vegetables, 
which otherwise they would haye to go 
a 
