Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women - Wise Acres Yearbook (Ambler, PA)

Text from Pages 1 - 28 of the 1924 volume:

DREER’S Seeds, Plants, Bulbs and Horticultural Supplies For many years we have been furnishing our goods to most critical buyers, and we are in a position to fill your orders for your wants in the Garden, Greenhouse, Lawn and Farm, including Vegetable and Flower Seeds, Farm Seeds, Garden Implements, Fertilizers, Insecticides, Lawn Mowers, Lawn Rollers, etc. Also Plants of all kinds, including the choicest varieties of Roses, Dahlias, Hardy Perennials, etc Dreer’s Garden Book will tell you how to obtain the best results. Call or write for a copy, Free. HENRY A. DREER Philadelphia, Pa. AMBLER MARKET Meats, Fruit, Vegetables, Fish and Oysters in Season Bell Phone 79 W Keystone Phone 100D 129 Butler Ave., Ambler Friends of the School of Horticulture TO BE REALLY AT HOME THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK AMBLER, PA. Assures You of Its Hearty Cordiality Every Customer Is Appreciated J. M. KIRK Sanitary Plumbing Gas and Steam Heating Pumping Machinery of all kinds. Windmills, Gas Engines, Etc. Office: 304 Butler Avenue Both Phones Ambler, Pa. Notary Public Auto Licenses I. K. B. HANSELL INSURANCE Ambler, Pennsylvania Furniture Bedding Rugs H. J. DAGER Real Estate Ambler, Penna. Repair Work a Specialty Capacity—90 Cars Battery Re-Charging Gas—Oils KEASBY MATTISON CO.’S GARAGE AMBLER, PA. General Accessories Both’Phones WILLIAM PENN INN Gwyedd, Pa. Dinners served daily from 6.30 until 8 o’clock Sunday: 1 until 2.30 o’clock Special Dinners and Lunches served Phone, North Wales 45-R-2 REES C. ROBERTS Apothecary, Inc. The best in drug store merchandise AMBLER A. LAPETINA 427 Butler Avenue Ambler K N T It A N GE I) O () It W A Y School of Horticulture for Women Ambler, Pennsylvania 19 2 4 SPRING COURSE—12 Week April—June SUBJECTS Fruit Growing Floriculture Lansdscape Gardening Poultry Bees Vegetable Gardening Woody Ornamental Plants Farm Crops and Animals SUMMER COURSE August—4 Week SUBJECTS Floriculture. Vegetable Gardening. Fruit Growing, Canning and Preserving 1924 DIPLOMA COURSE Two Years of 40 Weeks Each. Entrance in January and September Subjects Floriculture Soils and Fertilizers Fruit Growing Landscape Gardening Day Students are admitted to all Vegetable Gardening (Elementary) Junior Classes, to classes which ex- Rotany Zoology, Economic tend only through one year, and to Woody Ornamental Carpentry Senior Classes upon passing an exam- Plants Farm Crops ination. Rural Economy The Farm Woodland School Gardening Business Methods Electives Poultry, Bees, Canning and Preserving. Care o Animals. Practical work out of doors and in the greenhouse forms a large part of the curriculum. FEES—Tuition per year of 40 weeks .....................$200.00 Board and single room 40 weeks ................. 475.00 Board and double room 40 weeks ................. 450.00 Iteglst ration Etc, $10.00 Registration fees are deducted upon first payment of tuition. Fees for day students $10 for 20 lecture-hour periods. For further information address MISS LOUISE CARTER. Director TABLE OF CONTENTS May, 1924 Thoreau’s Spring Prayer. Successive Crops of the Wise-Acres. “The Idle Rich.” Some Gladiolus Experiments. The Department of Botany. Miss Carter's Letter. The New York Flower Show. Saturdays—April and May. Two Tuesday Afternoon Lectures. “A Manual of Cultivated Plants.” Gleanings. Exchanges. The Compost Pile. WISE-ACRES Vol. VIII May, 1924 No. 3 Published Quarterly by the Students of the School of Horticulture for Women, Ambler, Pa.—Louise Carter, Director Entered at Ambler P. O. as Second-Class Matter Under Act of March 3. 1879. STAFF Editor-In-Chief, Esther Cummings Asst. Editor, Elizabeth Pedigo Adv. Mgr., Helen M. Tripner ASST. Adv. Mgr., Flora M. Vare Business Manager, Hester B. Fogg One Dollar a Year Single Copy, Twenty-five Cents THOREAU’S SPRING PRAYER “A mild spring day. I must hie to the Great Meadows. The air is full of bluebirds. The air is as deep as our natures. Is the drawing in of this vital airattended with no more glorious results than I witness? I wish to begin this summer well; to do something in it worthy of it and of me; to transcend my daily routine and that of my townsmen; to have my immortality now, that it be in the quality of my daily life; to pay the greatest price, the greatest tax of any man in Concord, and enjoy the most. I will give all I am for my nobility. 1 will pay all my days for my success. I pray that the life of this spring and summer may ever lie fair in my memory. May I dare as 1 have never done! May I persevere as I have never done! May I purify myself anew as with fire and water, soul and body! May my melody not be wanting to the season! May I gird myself to be a hunter of the beautiful, that naught escape me! May I attain to a youth never attained. I am eager to report the glory of the universe; may I be worthy to do it; to have got through with regarding human values, so as not to be distracted from regarding divine values. It is reasonable that a man should be something worthier at the end of the year than he was-at the beginning ' From Thoreau’s Journal (1852). SUCCESSIVE CROPS OF THE “ WISE-ACRES ” As Wise-Acres passed its tenth birthday this winter, it seems an appropriate time to hunt up the circumstances of its inception, and perhaps note a few of the interesting “Current Events” recorded in the earlier issues. The question is often heard, especially at the beginning of a new term, as to the origin of Wise-Acres, and how the name was selected and so on. It has been most entertaining to find, on searching the files of the paper, a neat little book answering these and other questions. And by getting in touch with Miss Exley, who was the first editor, many interesting bits which do not appear either in the little book or in the earlier issues of Wise-Acres were gleaned. The eight students of the school met at 2.00 P.M., on January 12, 1914, to discuss the proposition and wTere found to be unanimously of the opinion that ‘‘a School Paper would be a very nice thing.” Miss Exley was immediately elected as editor. Because of the distinct difference between Miss Exley's writing and that of the note in the margin, I know I am not slurring at her spelling when I quote that their “Currant Events” editor was Miss Lawrence, who also had charge of the ads. To Miss Frances Shin, the Art Editor, was left the designing of the cover, and her arrangement of the lettering has changed very little, and the School seal appeared on the first number as it does now. Mrs. Caroline Peeler is designated in the report of the first meeting of the staff as “general aid and slavey, with office of secretary thrown in.” Miss Frances Gardener, who is now Mrs. Kite, Miss Exley’s partner, was associate editor. Mrs. Deming was chosen for business manager, and a noble one she was, judging from the tales with which Miss Exley regaled me. As is always the case with a new enterprise, the Paper was in sad need of funds. Mrs. Deming had the inspiration and initiative to start an egg and vegetable route through the village. The horse at that time was “Prince,” and he, hitched in the “jagger wagon,” with which all School of Hort. students are familiar, was requisitioned to carry the produce to the consumers. In a short time she had made her wares so popular that the supply could not keep up with the demand. Of course much of the cash received went to the various departments from which the supplies were obtained, but arrangements had been made for a certain percentage to come to the Paper, and the results of the village trade were most gratifying. It was at first decided to print only three issues a year, but when it was found that the Post Office Department would give us magazine rates for mailing if we had four issues a year, the extra effort of getting together a fourth number was considered worth while. The discussion of advertising was quite extensive, as that was the source of much of the G steady income of the paper. I will refrain from quoting the prices set in those pre-war days for fear of making the present advertisers green with envy, but will merely state mildly that prices have “riz” in this as in everything else. The aim of the magazine was “for advancement of interests pertaining to the school, news items, short stories, advertising and any matter of interest from other publications relating to growing things.” At the end of ten years it seems that we are living up to the ambition of the initiators very well. These minor details were decided upon comparatively easily, but oh!—the naming of the “baby”! Such a task! The presence of eight sponsors, each with several ideas in the matter complicated the problem vastly. Meetings were held on January 21st, 22nd, 29th and 30th before a final and irrevocable decision was reached. Of course it was the desire of the whole group to have a name suggestive of the main interests of the paper. “Cuttings”, “Budding”, “Spade and Barrow”, “The Sprinkling Pot” were thought up, and turned down; “Pruning Shears, A Bundle of Choice Cuttings” was voted for, and considered seriously over night, but fortunately some of the Staff or the Director questioned the suitability of the name. So the discussion waxed hot once more, and to quote the Editor's notes:—“ ‘Cuttings' once more takes the floor and it immediately propagates ‘Choice Cutting? from Garden and Orchard'. ‘Sand, Loam, and Humus'—well-rotted (sub rosa); ‘Digs and Cuts' and at last, ‘Wise-Acres' are brought forward.” On the day of the final decision, given only five minutes to settle1 it, the vote fell in favor of the last, and under the now famous name, the .first issue appeared in March, 1914. This first number mentioned a “Horticultural Conference” held in May, 1913, at the School, at which many people expressed the wish for the formation of a society for women interested in horticultural things. March Wise-Acres announced the aim of the Woman's National Agricultural and Horticultural Association, which had been formed in the year. Mrs. Frances King was the first President. So the School can feel partly instrumental in the inauguration of a movement which has become nation-wide in its usefulness. The second number described the first conference of the Association on May 16, 1914, when four hundred and fifty people enjoyed a well-planned program as well as the charming weather. The subjects discussed during the day were varied:—“The True Role of the Horticultural Society”, by Mrs. King; “Small Fruit Growing for Women”, by Mr. George T. Powell: “Raising Rainbows”, by Bertrand H. Farr, and many other interesting topics. This issue caused a thunderstorm which seemed likely to damage the crops for a while. In it was copied “The Glory of the Garden”, by Rudyard Kipling. They had found the 7 poem in a newspaper, with no credit given to any other publication. When the Garden Magazine saw the poem in Wise-Acres, they promptly informed the palpitating Staff that they had infringed a copyright, and it would require the payment of $100 to soothe the Garden Magazine!! Fortunately the School's attorney was able to soothe said magazine by much less expensive methods, and the trouble blew over so quietly that the editor's notes hold no record of the settlement. The growth of the School is noted in later issues, as in November, 1914, the completion of the two greenhouses added onto the original one is mentioned. The present “Dorm was a thrill which occupied parts of several pages in different numbers. On May 6th, just after the first Wise-Acres appeared, the ground was staked off for the building. Although promised for January 1, 1915, it is in the June number that we find this entry in the School Notes: “April 26.—Moving Day! With one accord and a Henry Ford, we gaily made our long-delayed entry into the new building. It was all very strange at first, but now that the smell of fresh paint has worn off, and some of our misplaced belongings have come to light, we begin to feel less like visitors, and more like permanent residents. The paper was discontinued for a year or so during the war. But aside for this slight and necessary interim, the back numbers bring to light many interesting, instructive and entertaining articles. Some of the titles that one notes as holding vast possibilities of information are: “The Flora of Hawaii”. “Through the War Zone in War Time . “Some Recently Extinct Birds . “Dahlias . “The Outlook in the Field of Horticulture . “Poisonous Plants . “A Paying Poultry Plant . “Flowering Bulbs for the House . One longs for room to reprint many of these for the benefit of the newer students. The humorous sallies, quotations from Exchanges, or from the ever-bright and scintillating wits of our own students, appeared as “Smiles for a while, later under the title of “Relish for the Wise . Only a year ago the truly unique and peculiarly fitting heading of “The Compost Pile made . its debut. Improving with age, one would say! All in all, Wise-Acres has had a career of ten prosperous and we trust useful years of existence, and we can heartily wish it many more. E. C. “ THE IDLE RICH ” When I vast riches would acquire, I get some paper and some pens, Sit down before the kitchen fire, And spend the evening keeping hens. Next evening I would richer grow, And soon annex a sum to suit. I get a catalog or so And spend the evening raising fruit. Exchange. SOME GLADIOLUS EXPERIMENTS By A. Greene Horne, H. J. The writer of these notes has called himself a farmer and a lover of natural history; and has always been more fond of plants than of animals. He has grown some flowering plants, Gladioli among them, as well as the so-called more useful crops. Being an admirer of the. “Glads” for their orchid-like beauty as well as for their ease of culture, I purchased one or two packets of seeds about eight years ago and sowed them in my garden. As a result I obtained a small quantity of bulbs, varying in size from a little more than one-eighth to one-half inch in diameter. These were replanted the following spring, and a few bloomed that summer; not good spikes, but enough to show somewhat the color of tiie flowers and something of the habit and arrangement of the blooms on the spike, etc. That fall I had good-sized bulbs, or more correctly speaking, corms and some cormels. The next year they showed up in good form and demonstrated their characteristics as to color, size, shape, substance, placing on the spike, height, keeping quality, vigor, earliness or lateness or bloom, and all those things which make for value or otherwise, from both aesthetic and commercial standpoints. As varieties do not “come true” from seed but almost invariably differ from the parent, owing perhaps to many generations of cross-pollination, an infinite number of varieties may be produced, good, bad and indifferent, by growing seedlings. Being interested to see what some of the more choice kinds would produce, I saved seed from them and planted. And when the resulting plants came to blooming I had many surprises, and a few handsome flowers, but all 9 things considered, none really superior to my original stock, after two years' work with them. I then resorted to hand pollenizing, following instructions given by a neighboring grower. The method followed was to go out in the early morning, and with scissors clip off the end of the petals from a bud of the female parent selected, choosing a bud just starting to open, removing about three-fourths of an inch of the tip, opening out the flower and clipping out the anthers. I then found a bloom of the variety desired to furnish pollen, bearing pollen of the right maturity; the sign of this condition being the anthers burst longitudinally with plenty of fresh pollen showing, and the anthers not too dry. With a small sharp knife blade, I scraped off pollen and transferred it to the stigma of the flower just clipped. The most important thing after this procedure is to tie a hood or cover as muslin or cheesecloth, over the whole flower to prevent further pollination by insects, and then to tag the plant, and make the appropriate record in a notebook. The process may be repeated with other blooms, and with the same crosses or different ones. The beginner in this line of work may be surprised to see how early in the morning the bumble-bees will begin their work of cross-pollination, working their way into a slightly opened bud in search of their breakfast of nectar with astonishing dexterity and persistency, accomplishing Nature's object of cross-fertilization at the same time. One needs to be on the job early to be ahead of these industrious workers and non-observers of union hours. They are the true daylight savers, often camping over night within an open bloom. Growing the seedlings is a developer of patience, or of disgust, as the case may be. A fine, rich, continuously moist soil, a covering of about one-half inch over the seed which has been soaked in warm water for a few days, patient waiting for the somewhat slow germination, down on one's knees to pull the tiny weeds which are apt to appear first, and at length the delight of seeing the wee green sword-blades pricking through here and there. The seed does not all germinate at once, like turnips, for instance; but unless very favorable conditions continue, it may be near the end of the season ere the blades appear, showing an exasperating indifference to the flight of time and the short remaining period of growth before frost. The mature bulbs may be planted as early in the spring as the ground is workable, in rows two to three feet apart, and four to six inches in the row, or even closer if the space is limited. They should be covered with six to eight inches of soil, a light sandy soil calling for a deeper covering. I have seen them scattered in a trench, higgledy-piggledy, any old way, perhaps a dozen or twenty to the foot of row, and 10 blooming well. Though personally not admiring this method, I do often plant so closely that the bulbs almost touch each other. More room is likely to produce larger blooms, and deep planting assists in keeping the plants upright. Other plantings may be made at intervals of two or three weeks, to provide a succession and prolong the season of bloom. The later plantings are apt to come forward more rapidly than the earlier. The time of planting will of course vary with latitude. There is some discussion among growers regarding fertilizers. I think it probable that a slightly acid soil as for potatoes is desirable, and a fertilizer carrying a good percentage of phosphoric acid, and I should judge potash also, to make large, strong bulbs, though I have not proved it yet. An application of nitrate of soda just before flowering is said to increase the size of the blooms, but tends to soften the texture. Bonemeal is recommended by some, and probably is good. Some varieties increase by means of cormels at the base of the parent corm very rapidly, and others sparingly. These may be sown in drills or shallow trenches, and many of them make blooming bulbs by fall. If kept damp, or if well soaked for some time before planting in order to soften their hard shell, their growth may be hastened. This deservedly popular flower which is so rapidly growing in favor, is of such easy culture that is should bring its refining influence to every home. Almost infinite in variety of shades, coloring, and markings, beautiful as lilies or roses, rivalling the orchids, its good keeping qualities, its ready adaption to many uses by the professional florist, and its wide range of territory, make it almost, if not quite unexcelled among flowers. Perhaps its greatest draw-back, which is no diaw-back for the masses, is its moderate price, either for bulbs for planting, or as cut flowers for home decoration. THE DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY By George E. Nichols, Associate Professor of Botany. From The Yale Alumni Weekly, April 4, 1924 “ ‘The study of botany seems peculiarly adapted to females So wrote Mrs. Lincoln some seventy-five years ago, in her Lectures; and while one cannot but enjoy Mrs. Lincoln’s naive account of the health and cheerfulness which accrue from cne study of botany, it is to be regretted that this archaic view should be the one that is still held by the large majority of people. It is indeed very doubtful if any science is so thoroughly misunderstood by the general public as the science of botany. Even the educated layman indulgently regards bot- ll any merely as the 'study of flowers', and the botanist ‘as a man who gathers flowers, names them, dries them, and all of whose wisdom consists in determining and classifying this hay which he has accumulated with such zeal.’ Yet how can it be expected otherwise when even the erudite university professor talks about “Botany and Biology , failing to distinguish the fact that biology embraces the study of plants quite as much as it does the study of animals. “A hundred years ago the study of the identification and classification of plants was indeed the outstanding phase of botany; it is still a field which demands the serious attention of a diminishing number of specialists. The ‘study of flowers' will continue always to be a source of pleasure to the ‘amateur botanist,' and perhaps a source of amusement to his friends. But this is not the sort of botany which today occupies the attention of thousands of professional botanists in this country; it is not the sort of botany which is recognized in the majority of our universities and colleges as one of the outstanding divisions of natural science; it is not the sort of botany that confronts the undergraduate electing his first course in this field of science. How far the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction is witnessed by the scant attention paid in our modern botanical text books to matters which pertain to the identification and classification of plants. In fact, there are not a few botanists in the rising generation who have attained that culminating goal of graduate endeavor, the Ph. D. degree, and who are yet blissfully deficient in what a century ago would have been regarded as the very essence of botany. “The botany of today is a subject which bears a vital relationship to man's welfare—in fact, to his very existence, since plants represent an absolutely indispensable feature of the human environment. In the absence of green plants there would be no food to eat, no oxygen to breathe. Fuel, whether in the form of wood or of coal, comes from plants. Plants, in the form of fibers, such as cotton, linen and hemp, furnish man with the raw materials for clothing, to say nothing of rope and twine and a whole series of textile products too numerous to mention. Wood, so irreplacable in its multifarious uses, from construction timber to paper pulp, is a plant product. So also are rubber, turpentine, various vegetable oils, tannin, the so-called cellulose products, and divers other materials which are of outstanding importance in relation to the industries. Quinine, strychnine, and cocaine are merely examples of the many medicinal substances for which the physician is indebted to plants. Agriculture and horticulture, forestry and landscape gardening, are but specialized branches of botany; the materials with which these arts have to do are plants; and their successful practice is based on the knowl- 12 edge and application of botanical facts and principles. Plant pathology—the study of plant diseases in relation, more especially, to economically important crops—is another specialized phase of botany, the importance of which is widely recognized. So also is plant breeding—the systematic attempt to develop new and better varieties of plants. And so on. “In short, knowledge concerning plants is quite as essential to a broad scientific understanding of the world around us as is knowledge of animals or of rocks; and, in any well-rounded scheme of education, botany, the study of plants, well merits a position alongside zoology and geology. In its relation to human life and activity it is only less important, among the natural sciences than physiology.” Miss Carter received this delightful letter, dictated by one of the old colored milkers on the Water Oak Plantation. We should feel much gratified that she could bear to leave such devoted friends, to come back and take charge of the school for us. Tallahassee Florida April 7, 1924 Rout A, Box 52. c|o Mr. R. J. Mathuus Miss Louis Carter My dear i woulder dun rote you Before now But i Bin so worrid About you untill i dident have no mine to rite you Miss Carter i shore study About you all the time untill i dont have no mine to rite you Miss i dident not no that i love you that well i am so worrid About you i dont wont to here your name call i thraught that i like you But then i found out i love you Miss louis use send me some thing if it ant nothing But one of your potergraf if you ant got no one taking please take one and send it to me so i can look after you all the time Becous i wont to put it in my pocket i dun put a pocket in my dress to toat the picture in it Every day to look after you So nothing more to day so by by from Carrie Jeffersson. THE NEW YORK FLOWER SHOW “New York, the blase, the jazz-hunting, has sent its grateful throngs to enjoy the week of flowers—the gai'den exiles, hungry for a sniff of white lilacs and the crocuses of a country dooryard, commuters armed with seed catalogues, and the patrons of the florist world, who weed not, neither do they 13 prune, but by their zeal for beauty do their part to maintain the high standards of American horticulture.” Such was truly the case — the early-comer avoided the vast crowds and was able to view the exhibits in their minuter aspects. But the swarming crowd—what did it see?—a riotous mass of color—from gay yellow daffodils to darkly glowing tulips and perhaps it saw “The Cymbedium Diana, variety Mary Pickford” presented to the fair lady. “The Garden of Vistas” of John Scheepers, was one of the six lovely gardens of this year’s show. A notable feature of this garden, with the little Dutch boy among the crimson tulips and masses of purple hyacinths bordering a pool, with Courtesy of “Horticulture a stone pathway leading to a marble niche with seats and bluish lights shining from above, reflected on marble and water, was the outer border of especially imported tulips. There was “The Lady Tulip—Tulipa Clusiana”— a delightful miniature; the reds of “Pride of Haarlem”, “Mrs. F. Sanders”, and “Eclipse”; the white-edged pink “Centennaire”; the yellow and bronze tones of “Yellow Perfection”, “Moonlight”, “Gesneriana lutea” and “Bronze Queen”, and many more striking shades. This garden of bulbs was awarded the Holland Challenge Cup, of solid gold, tulip-shaped, embossed around the chalice with crocuses, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths—the most valuable trophy ever offered for competition among horticulturists. The gold cup, valued at $3000.00, is 14 to remain with John Scheepers a year and will be offered again until won three times by the same exhibitor of bulbs, when it becomes his own permanent possession. The Japanese garden, arranged by Kottmiller, was a garden miniature. It had the bridges, the little temples and stone lanterns, so characteristic of little old Japan and all embellished with azaleas, dogwoods, Japanese maples, etc. A. N. Pierson, of Cromwell, Conn., was awarded a Gold Medal for his Rose Garden—a simple design and most practicable. The garden was surrounded by a wThite fence, over which twined pink ramblers. In the rear were tall cedars, under which were two white wooden seats with red Baby Ramblers on either side. In the center bed were double white “Killarneys”, flanked with “Butterfly” and ‘‘Premier” and in the front bed bloomed a mass of baby ramblers, “Triomphe Orleans”. Bobbink and Atkins displayed a formal garden of Azaleas. These were most noteworthy due to the fact that the number of Japanese Kurume Azaleas is limited in this country, since it is not possible to import from the Mountain of Kurume as formerly. “Bridesmaid”, glowing salmon; “Cherry Blossom”, dainty light pink; “Christmas Cheer”, a real Christmas red, were only a few of the striking types. In contrast to their formal garden was the Rock Garden of Bobbink and Atkins. There was the mill wheel beneath the rustic summer house, with its rough path leading up the hill and skirted by a rustic cedar fence over which trailed pink ramblers. Daphne cueorum, Azaleas, Ericas, Sedums, Violas, Primulas, Trilliums, Alyssum saxatile and Anemones and many, many more gave a variety made doubly interesting by having all plants numbered and a key accompanying. It was truly realistic, naturalistic. F. R. Pierson, of Tarrytown, was awarded a gold medal for the simplicity of his garden, featuring spring flowers. The . sanded walks were bordered with yellow primroses (Primula Rhine Gold) ; in the center was a circular bed of trailing Daphne (Daphne cneorum) and Pachysandra terminalis. The garden was backed by tall shrubs, flowering lilacs, cedars and pines, at the feet of which were daffodils and lilies of the valley. Pinus cembra, Pinus Mughus and Pinus Sciadopitys verticillata were well represented. A first prize of $500.00 was awarded to Traendly and Schenck, of Rowayton, Conn., for a display of cut roses covering 300 square feet and containing at least five hundred and not more than 1000 flowers. It was their seventh winning in seven years in this special competition. “America”, “Butterfly”, “White Killarney”, “Mrs. Aaron Ward”, “Frances Scott Key”, “Premier”, “Columbia”, and “Crusader” were in the exhibit. F. R. Pierson featured the small yellow rose “Mrs. Calvin Coolidge”, and it was boasted in the New York papers 15 that this was its first public appearance. Was it not displayed in Philadelphia earlier in the season! W. Atlee Burpee Co. made a splendid showing. The display covered over 100 square feet. Of the many sweet peas, with their unusually long and stout stems, were “Mrs. Kerr”, “Fairy Loveliness”, “Milkmaid”, “Harlequin”, “Blue Bird”, “Sunburst”, “Snowstorm” and “Flamingo”. Pierson, of Tarrytown, had a display of ferns: “Adiantum cuneatum”, Cyrtomium Wrighti”, “Nephrolepis Muscosa”, “N. elegantissima compacta”, “N. Norwood”, “Abotium Scheidi” and “Pteris Wilsoni” were a few among the many. Dreer had a simple setting but it caught the eye. It consisted of a circle of the new Baby Rambler (The Chatillon Rose-single pink) surrounded by English Ivy—very effective. Mrs. Harold Pratt's exhibit of lilies was delightful and so well labeled that it was an education to study it. As a result of long experimental work in breeding and hybridization at the New York Botanical Garden, there was displayed a group ol new hardy lilies for the home garden. The square space occupied by the exhibit of Mrs. F. A. Constable was very lovely with its tall shrubs of yellow acacias, its luxuriant ferns and its low growing clumps of reddish orange Tritonas and Imantophylla. The hydrangea display boasted the rose “Marechal Foch”, the lavender “Viscountess de Vilbraye”, the mauvish pink “Trophee”, and the white, “Mme. E. Mouillere”—few among the many. As for the orchids—there was a varied display: “Cym- bedium Diana, variety Mary Pickford” attracted many. “Oncidium pulvinatum” (spray yellow) ; “Cypripedium Godsiffranum” (dirty yellow) ; “Phalaenopsis a m a b i 1 i s ” (coarse spray); “Sybil” (large plant) ; “B. C. maroniae” (fringe) ; “L. C. Goldencrest”, and countless numbers more— an excellent opportunity to fasten the types more clearly. A novelty was an exhibit by Mrs. Henry M. Tilford, of Tuxedo, a hybrid Bougainvillea of rosy-crimson blooms, with thicker broader leaves than the ordinary variety. It was brought up as a slip from Florida three years ago by Mrs. Tilford. The most popular exhibits were those of the Garden Club of America. On a long table was a series of model suburban houses with the surrounding gardens and shrubbery. Miss Phoebe Hart Smith, a former student of the School of Horticulture, was one of the exhibitors. Students from the Harvard School of Landscape Architecture won first place in their group display. In this exhibit each house and its grounds had a different treatment but the effect of spaciousness and close attention to proportion far surpassed the other competitors— it was truly a finished piece of art. The flower arrangements were somewhat disappointing. ir, The yellow-orange tones were found in the first prize given to a vase of yellow calla lilies, apricot sweet peas, orange gerberas, and green foliage; the exhibit of flowers in blue and mauve which achieved first place was that of larkspurs and golden primroses in an iron vase; second place went to a vase of larkspurs and rose tulips, and third to sweet peas and lavender tulips. An opportunity was offered to register protest against the proposed use of Central Park for an Art Centre. Judging from the list there will be a strong appeal against it. It might be of interest to know that at 286 5th Ave., New York City, at the National Association of Gardeners, there is a Service Department, which might be of some assistance to those desiring positions as gardeners on private estates. And, finally, it might well be added that if one is the fortunate possessor of a pass to The New York Flower Show— take advantage and go to the Show two or three hours before the doors are opened and see the exhibits take form under the skilled hands of the commercial flower growers—it's worth the whole show. ELIZABETH C. HALL. SATURDAYS—APRIL AND MAY The following interesting programs are announced in a leaflet: SCHOOL OF COUNTRY LIFE Saturdays—April and May at the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women Ambler, Pennsylvania Program 9:30 to 12:30 April 12—Dairy Day April 19—Nature Study Day April 26—Vegetable Garden Day May 3—Bee Day and Poultry Day May 10—Better Homes Day May 17—Flower Garden Day Specially adapted for Girl Scouts and High School Students who are interested in Nature Study and Country Life Registration fee, ten cents. No tuition. Train leaves Reading Terminal 8:02 A.M. 17 TWO TUESDAY AFTERNOON LECTURES May 6th—A very interesting lecture on “Iris , by Mr. John C. Wister, president of the American Iris Society. May 13th—An illustrated lecture on “The Meaning of the Flower”, by Dr. Schmucker, of the West Chester Normal School. Visitors are cordially invited to these free lectures at the school. The talks begin at 3:00 P.M., and tea is served afterwards. Train leaves the Reading Terminal for Ambler at 1:55 P.M.; returning, leaves Ambler at 4:51 and 6:05 P.M. Transportation free to and from the School. Automobiles coming from Philadelphia should come up as far as Chestnut Hill to the Bethlehem Pike, along that to the Butler Pike, then northeast to the first turn to the right, where a sign directs to the School. “ A MANUAL OF CULTIVATED PLANTS ” In reviewing “A Manual of Cultivated Plants” by L. H. Bailey, recently published by the Macmillan Company, we can do no better than quote in full the foreword printed on the cover of the book: “The purpose of this Manual is to provide a ready means for the identification of the species in the usual domestic flora of the continental United States and Canada. It supplies for cultivated plants what the usual botanical manuals supply for the native plants—a means of finding out what the plants are, what are the proper names and characters. It has diagnoses, in the full key, of more than 3,000 species grown for food, ornament and general interest, both in the open and under glass. It includes the fruits, grains, grasses, vegetables, greenhouse plants, ornamental shrubs and trees, and garden flowers. It is illustrated with plates showing the detailed structure of ferns and Selaginellas, conifers, grasses, orchids, rose family, pea family, composites, and others. “The book will be indispensable to students of botany and horticulture, to gardeners and florists, and to all planters who are interested in the close identification of the plants they handle. There is no similar book in any language.” We have already tried out the merits of this excellent Manual of 851 pages and thoroughly agree as to the indispensability of personally owning the volume. G. B. KAISER. 18 GLEANINGS March seems to have been the month of Shows for the students of the School. The Senior class went to Burke's early in the month, to see the many varieties of orchids. One plant is especially interesting for its money and intrinsic values, although as no bloom was on it at the time, its aesthetic merits could not be judged. It is the result of a cross made in England in 1880, from which cross only two seeds germinated. As the other seedling has died, this plant is the only one of its kind in the world. Its name is Phalaenopsis Harrietae, and the plant is valued at $10,000. On March 6th, most of the students of the School had the pleasure of going to Doylestown to see Burpee’s Sweet Peas before the first of the exhibition blooms were cut for the Trenton Show, which was to be followed by the New York and Cleveland Shows. After a tempestuous trip through seas of awe-inspiring mud, we were thrilled by the beauties of those blossoms, with their unbelievably long stems topped by such exquisite butterfly flowers, in all the brilliant and delicate shades. Mr. Kerr himself showed us around, and answered our innumerable questions with admirable patience. That same afternoon, on the way home, we stopped at the Farm School, visiting their greenhouses, full of all kinds of flowers cared for by the students. The one who showed us proudly around is specializing in floriculture. We also saw the dairy buildings and animals. On March 7th, the Juniors, who had kept their designs and intentions dark to such an extent that the guests feared an early “April Fool” performance at their expense, entertained the Faculty and Seniors at tea, with chocolate cake and all. The Seniors have since retaliated, with the addition of sandwiches, cocoa with whipped cream, and more chocolate cake. Miss Lee came out to see us for the day on March 8th. Tom has been to the Twining’s for several week-ends since our last issue, supposedly to see how the kittens are progressing. We have had our force of farm assistants augmented within the last months by two Cornell boys, who help the farm and fruit departments, besides being occasionally impressed for ice cream cranking. Our new chauffeur bids fair to be a vast improvement on our last one. A sad loss occurred during our spring holidays. The eggs which the Junior poultryists had been turning with such care every day, “up and died on us.” The Juniors have been struggling to suppress their emotions on the subject ever since their return. If any errors slipped by the eagle eye of the proof-readers 19 in the March issue, please blame the weather man. He ordered a snowstorm at just the wrong time, and it caused such trouble here that proofreading had to be done by candle-light, and only five candles at that. Our spring schedule has brought in not only special students to make life more interesting, but the new studies promise to be most enjoyable. Landscape gardening began immediately after the holidays, with Miss Clark as our new and very efficient teacher. Friday, the 11th, was a perfect day for the first Woody trip of the season, and the Morris estate was as beautiful as ever. Pinus cembra and Pinus excelsa appeared to be new acquaintances even to the seniors, but they were able to introduce the Woodiers to Cedrus atlantica and Vibernum rhytidiphyllum with much grace. If they didn't hold out such promises of the beauties of the Andorra Nurseries, which are to be visited next week, we could wish to go to the Morris estate every Friday, instead of only once in a while. EXCHANGES We gratefully acknowledge the following exchanges, and will try to find time to express our appreciation of individual papers in subsequent issues: THE TORCH, West Philadelphia High School for Girls. SIMMONS COLLEGE REVIEW, Boston, Massachusetts. SPICE, Norristown High School. THE RADIATOR, New Haven High School, New Haven, Connecticut. THE MILESTONE, The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. SCHOOL LIFE, Melrose High School, Melrose, Massachusetts. THE CALDRON, Friends' Select School, Philadelphia. THE SHIELD, Haddonfield High School, Haddonfield, New Jersey. GARNET AND WHITE, West Chester High School, West Chester, Pennsylvania. ONAS, William Penn High School, Philadelphia. THE SARGENT QUARTERLY, The Sargent School of Physical Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 20 THE COMPOST PILE Our little Pedigo argues that “pollinator” is a preferrable term to “pollinizer,” for, as she says, ‘‘you call it an alligator, not an alligizer.” Pedi surely ought to know! Tom, at the New York Flower Show, to a Nice Nursery Man—“What chances do you think women have in the nursery these days?” N. N. M.—“Just as good as ever.” Trippey, after “lights out”—endeavoring to recall to her room-mate's mind the w.k. poem called “The Children's Hour,” begins reciting in moving tones—“Listen, my children, and you shall hear”—! From the London Times' Agony Column: WOUNDED OFFICER who unfortunately took a course of fruit and vegetable growing, desperately needs immediate HELP. £120. Trained on the boom, launched on the slump.” Evidently Horticulture IS the woman’s profession since the War. We are getting much edification and instruction from the “study” of the daily questions in the evening paper, especially from the answers given by the students before having recourse to the dictionary. For instance: “Tumid means ‘swollen or enlarged both physically and mentally! ' If anyone can define “War-droom”, will they please notify Miss H. B. F., in the “Garret”. Miss Issy, “Did someone have the atlas out last evening?” H. B. F., “Yes, we had to look up Circe.” We don’t wonder that someone asked Tom if she had been in an accident and had to have her hair cut off that way. It looks just that bad. Discussing garden plans: Trippey, “For a bedding plant, ten inches is higher than I want. Oh, well, I suppose I could plant the seeds deeper.” It is more than can be hoped that we will be believed, but it is an absolute fact that a well-known Boston insurance company recently handled the policies of a western man, one “Adams Apple.” Corroboration of this statement can be had upon application to the editor. 21 STILLWAGON’S Drug Store for Service BUTLER AVENUE THE PUBLIC BE—SERVED YOST’S TAXI Butler and Ridge Avenues AMBLER, PA. Bell Phone 535 Keystone 25 Patronize “Wise - Acres” Bell Phone 42J Dewey's Auto Supply and Battery Service Ridge and Butler Avenues, Ambler Everything for the Auto Advertisers Ambler Baking Co. A. B. C. BREAD QUALITY CLOTHING For Men, Young Men and Boys AMBLER CLOTHING TAILORING CO. 426 Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa. Ambler, Pa. Dr. F. S. ROTHENBERGER DENTIST 229 Butler Ave., Ambler Office Hours: 9 A. M. to 5.30 P. M. Bell Phone. Ambler 375J J. W. CRAFT SONS Ambler, Pa. Manufacturers and Dealers in Scratch and Mash Feed Building Material Fencing Materials Lehigh Coal Wm. F. McCann S. R. McVaugh Mt. Pleasant Ave. and Bethlehem Pike ICE DEALER Bell Phone 377W 105 Spring Garden St., Ambler Seed, Hay and Straw BULBS Plants, I Garden tools, fertilizers, INSECT DESTROYERS, POULTRY Supplies- 518-516 Market st. PHILA. free Catalog♦ [ School of Horticulture Ambler, Penna. Advertising Rates for “Wise Acres” Special Rates for 4 Issues For 3 Issues For 2 Issues For 1 Issue Full page $40 S30 50 $22 50 $12 75 Half page 24 18 50 12 75 6 75 Quarter page 12 75 10 50 3 75 3 75 Eighth page 8 6 4 2 Sixteenth page 5 3 75 2 50 1 25 jft