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

Text from Pages 1 - 56 of the 1925 volume:

AMBLER MARKET Meats, Fruit, Vegetables, Fish and Oysters in Season Bell Phone 79W Keystone Phone 100D 129 Butler Ave., Ambler After 40 Years of Service THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK AMBLER, PA. Continues to be the Home of Faithful Service Cheeefully Rendered Safe Deposit Boxes at Very Reasonable Rates DREER’S For Dependable Seeds, Plants, Bulbs and Horticultural Supplies For 86 years this house has been regarded as headquarters for Seeds and Plants for Lawn, Garden and Farm. We supply only the best Vegetable and Flower Seeds, Implements, Fertilizers, etc. Also Plants of all kinds, including the choicest varieties of Roses, Dahlias, Hardy Perennials, etc. Our new location is more convenient for you. Dreer’s Garden Book will tell you how to get the best results. Call or write for a free copy HENRY A. DREER 1306 Spring Garden Street Philadelphia, Pa. 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. 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 Notary Public Auto Licenses I. K. B. HANSELL INSURANCE Ambler, Pennsylvania Furniture Bedding’ Rugs For Honest Merchandise and Low Prices, go to ZALL’S Economy Store 109 N. Main St., Ambler, Pa. Open Evenings QUALITY CLOTHING For Men, Young Men and Boys AMBLER CLOTHING TAILORING CO. 426 Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa. A. LAPETINA 427 Butler Avenue Ambler Dr. F. S. ROTHENBERGER DENTIST 229 Butler Ave., Ambler Office Hours: 9 A. M. to 5.30 P. M. Bell Phone. Ambler 375J KN TEANCE DOOR WA Y School of Horticulture for Women Ambler, Pennsylvania 1924-25 Spring Course March 1st SUBJECTS Fruit Growing Floriculture Lansdscape Gardening Poultry Rees Vegetable Gardening Woody Ornamental Plants Farm Crops and Animals SUMMER COURSE August—4 Weeks SUBJECTS Floriculture, Vegetable Gardening, Fruit Growing, Canning and Preserving 1925 DIPLOMA COURSE Two Years of 40 Weeks Each. Entrance in March and September Floriculture Fruit Growing Vegetable Gardening Rotany Woody Ornamental Plants Rural Economy School Gardening Subjects Soils and Fertilizers Landscape Gardening Drafting Zoology, Economic Carpentry Farm Crops The Farm Woodland Business Methods Electives Day Students are admitted to all Junior Classes, to classes which extend only through one year, and to Senior Classes upon passing an examination. Poultry, Bees, Canning and Preserving, Careo.' 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 Registration Fee, $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 1. “A Farewell.” 2. Editorial Word. 3. “ English Gardens.” 4. “A Garden.” 5. “ Bermuda Through the Eyes of a Horticulturist.” 6. News from a Graduate. 7. “ Some Aspects of the Relation between Horticulture and Landscape Gardening. 8. A Tribute to a Graduate. 9. Our Latest Bovine Adventures. 10. Hints from “ Better Plants.” 11. Exchanges. 12. Gleanings. 13. Compost Pile. 4 WISE-ACRES £ Vol. IX January 1925 No. 2 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 Business Manager, Alice I. Legters One Dollar a Year Single Copy, Twenty-five Cents A Farewell My poor little garden, once lovely and gay, Lies brown and bedraggled. In play Came the Frost King; with fiery dart Has taken your beauty, and broken your heart. Where once were the larkspurs, majestic and blue, Forget-me-nots, pansies, bright marigolds, rue, Where brilliant-hued dahlias looked smilingly down— There's nothing but ruins, dull, withered and brown. My poor little garden, I love you so well Your beauty enmeshed me. Through it's magic spell I loved every leaf, every flower you bore— You're gone, little garden, I'll see you no more. No more? Ah, the comfort of Nature is this: After Autumn's farewell comes the welcoming kiss Of April, whose rainbows are broken, to pass Into hyacinths, tulips, and emerald grass. —Mrs. C. W. Lawson. Editorial Word Since—as we remarked in our last issue, winter is the time to plan the garden for next year, we are making this our Landscape Number. Nature is just resting, and giving us time to draw breath before the labors of another summer, and the beauties of the new gardens are with us again. It is something to congratulate the School about, that the course in Landscape Gardening has been extended to the full 5 two years. The lectures are proving very interesting and comprehensive, covering as they have, the history of man's attempts to make his habitation and its surroundings beautiful as well as useful, — although there have been periods when both the beauty and usefulness might be held in question. Our struggles with triangles and T-squares, to say nothing of those horrible French curves or the right-line pens, are pathetic in the extreme, but we cannot say enough for Mr. Stevenson's endless patience with our pitiful accomplishment, and his sincere encouragement that we will learn in time. We hope his fond expectations may be realized. English Gardens “A house full of books and a garden full of flowers is certainly an ideal situation. Just as books add a homelike atmosphere to our houses, so flowers give the livable quality to the garden, with their gay, cheery colors. “The formal garden dominated by flowers is the type which England has perfected. It is the cheeriest and most homelike of all, and it is just these qualities which make us love the English gardens. In traveling through England to study gardens, one is forced to admit, after carrying an umbrella every day for a month, that the climate is made for plants. Constant moisture and long seasons reward the gardener abundantly for his pains, with a luxuriance of flowers, vigorous, healthy trees, and many broad-leaved evergreens, rhododendrons, box and holly, so useful for winter effects. The long twilights give time to work in and enjoy the gardens, thus satisfying the national craving for outdoor life. English gardens are really outdoor living-rooms. There are pavilions in which one may enjoy the flowers at closer range in spite of summer showers, and seats commanding the view of some particularly charming flower color or composition. The love of flowers and gardening is a national trait, from the lord of the manor house, down to the owner of the smallest cottage. Flower venders cry their wares from many street corners. Not all have as fascinating cries as Kipling's flower girl:— “ Buy my English posies! Kent and Surrey may— Violets of the Undercliff wet with Channel spray; Cowslips from a Devon combe—Midland furze afire— Buy my English posies, and I’ll sell your heart's desire! Still it is not difficult to sell flowers to a flower-loving people. It is not an uncommon sight to see workmen in the roughest clothes buying flowers from these venders to carry home at night. Even the smallest cottage has its front yard garden 6 planned with some thought of its design. The gardeners on the large estates seem really to love their work. Certainly they must give more than their eight hours daily, when we find that three men and a boy are able to do justice to the garden work at Compton Wynyates with its extensive lawns, and its richly maintained perennial borders with hedges and quaintly clipped figures in box. This love of gardens is no recently acquired taste, but has been growing stronger with the years. Gardens in England are handed down from father to son, and this has a restraining influence. An Englishman does not think only of immediate effects, but plants long-lived trees, looking toward the future development. This restraint protects the garden from fads, and promotes a healthy, well-conceived growth. Age plays a large part in the beauty of these gardens. It has softened the colors of the stone of walls and garden features, has added picturesqueness in the rugged, gnarled branches of the older trees, and has given a splendid luxuriance to the planting. Such widespread appreciation of the art of gardening is the result of the education and intellectual growth of an older country. As Bacon said in his essay “Of Gardens ”—“And man shall ever see, that when Ages grow to Civility and Elegance, Men shall come to Build Stately sooner than to Garden Finely; As if Gardening were the Greater Perfection.” The English countryside itself is a garden with the magnificent trees, the rich tangle of vines and shrubs in the hedgerows, and the lavish supply of wild-flowers. All gardens have this splendid background, but the people do not stop here. “• Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made By singing, ‘Oh, how beautiful !’ and sitting in the shade.” Their love of gardening is so sincere that they are constantly making improvements. No scheme is entirely successful after the first planting, and some adjustment is always necessary as new growth changes conditions. The English appreciate this, and their gardens show it by their finish. English gardens have many natural advantages, the climate, the age of the gardens, and the true spirit of gardening born and bred in all the people. However, there are certain tangible elements of charm which if studied as principles and not simply copied, may be adapted to our conditions with great success. “In the form of his garden, man has been, is, and will be most revealing.” Englishmen, as a result of their aristocratic training, have a passion for privacy. So the English emphasize privacy which has always been the greatest charm and chief source of popularity of all successful gardens. In this country, with our democratic ideals, we subordinate the development of the individual lot to the appearance of the street as a whole. However, whenever it is consistent with other eon- t ditions, we add charm in proportion as we create secluded enclosures, sheltered from the public gaze. Our design training demands some method of enclosing the flower planting to give unity and background to the picture, and England offers the tangible proof this principle. Everywhere we are impressed anew' with the charming enclosures from the low brick parapet walls of the city gardens of Guilford, and the simple weathered fences of Penshurst village, to the deep green of the yew hedges and the soft colorings of the old brick terrace wall at Penshurst Manor House. Simplicity of planting materials is a characteristic of much of the planting. By this I mean that exotic plants foreign to the country are not used in such abundance as here, where the owner is often influenced by the nurseryman’s glowing description of the latest importation, rather than by an inherent taste for gardening. The English people love their native trees and shrubs, and use them in abundance. In this way they obtain a luxuriance not possible with imported stock, and also the planting takes its proper place in the scheme and does not attract particular interest to itself. Horticultural varieties have their place, and, I think, nowhere have I seen this better shown than in the Golden Box Garden at Penshurst. The garden was one of the many long allees between tall dark green yew hedges with a wall sundial and semi-circular pool at the end of the vista. The deep borders on either side of the broad turf panel were filled with masses of violet and blue larkspur, filmy clouds of cream-colored meadow rue, the pure white trumpets of madonna lilies, and white grass pinks. For accent points at regular intervals on either side were balls of golden box in the midst of the flowers. I saw the garden in a pouring rain, and that may account for my pleasure in the brilliancy of the golden box. Much as I dislike yellow-leaved varieties under most circumstances, here the exotic quality of the box was a part of the well-conceived formal unit, and did not give the restless feeling that golden varieties used in an accidental fashion do. Another pleasing result of their ability to see beauty in the homely trees and shrubs is the use of the apple trees in their gardens. Since the time of the mediaeval pleasaunce, the English have appreciated the picturesque outline of this tree, and have often given it places of honor in the planting. At Penshurst they have a “flowery orchard” laid out with a simple design of grass walks, shade-loving flowers, and unadorned features. Many of the important vistas of this garden are laid through the midst of the orchards so that the apple trees play a definite part in the garden ensemble. The branches spread in a caressing fashion over the hedges, relieving the hard clipped line at points, and adding the glory of flower and fruit in its season. There were apple trees in our colonial gardens, perhaps from necessity, but for a time every useful tree or shrub was banished from the flower area. Now with renewed in- 8 terest in garden craft the apple tree is coming back into its own. Almost all English gardens demonstrate how much interest changes of level, which necessitate steps and retaining walls, add to a design. From the more formal St. Catherine’s Court to the more informal terraces of Mr. Peto’s house, the soft-weathered grays of the native stone serve as a foil for the brilliancy of the flowers. Ilford Manor near Bath, the home of the well-known architect, Mr. Peto, boasts a charming terraced area. The clever use of stone features is full of inspiration for the designer. Granted that the architect has been extremely fortunate in his collection of Italian stone antiques, still it is the setting of paved terraces, stone stairways and walls which tie his collection together, and add the feeling for form without which the garden becomes a hodge-podge mixture with no delineation. English gardens are the result of a constant, long-continued growth. England has passed through many schools of garden craft and has learned something from each extravagance. We still enjoy the walled gardens of the monastery type, the stone garden houses, flowering orchards and fish ponds of the mediaeval pleasaunce, and the vine-covered arbors, and fascinating patterns of nosegay flowers and quaintly clipped box of the Tudor days. Since Elizabethan times there has been a logical, intimate relation between house and garden, and the flower border has demanded recognition. The beautiful parks of such estates as Bowood and Wilton House, with their famous lawns, magnificent low-spreading trees, and luxuriance of undergrowth planting tying the lawn to the tree masses, are the results of mistakes made during the reign of the landscape school iconoclasts. The more recent development of wild gardening during the end of the nineteenth century under Robinson, since the atrocious habit of so-called rockeries has disappeared, has resulted in the intelligent planting of wild areas. Miss Jekyll inspires enthusiasm for this kind of work, in descriptions of woodlands where masses or “drifts” of daffodils, scillas, rhododendrons and laurels, foxgloves, roses, lilies, and such trees as birches, beeches and holly give an ever-changing color picture. At her home, Munstead Wood, she has indulged her love of woodland plantings. The main ideas of this wild gardening have not been abandoned, still there has been a decided return to formality. The modern school of garden makers includes many architects who plan gardens depending on precision of line and balance of masses for beauty. The modern schools are tolerant of each other and attempt to use the best of each in its place without extravagance of manner. Elizabeth Dickerman Jones. 9 A Garden A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! Rose plot, Fringed pool, Fern’d grot— The veriest school Of peace; and yet the fool Contends that God is not— Not God! in Gardens! when the eve is cool? Nay, but I have a sign; ’Tis very sure God walks in mine.” J. E. Brown. Bermuda Through the Eyes of a Horticulturist If you have spent all your life in that part of the temperate region where the active growing season of plants is terminated by the arrival of the frost and snow of winter, and where man and beast have to provide for the winter by laying in stock, fuel and food, then you know of tropical and subtropical vegetation and climate only from accounts, written or spoken; or you may have received a glimpse of the vegetation in the corner of a private conservatory or in the conservatories of the Botanic Gardens in the cities. Since the region of the subtropical climate and the vegetation adapted to it stretches around the whole girth of the earth in zones north and south of the torrid zone, and as the vegetation in the different parts of these zones are modified by the relative distance from the equator, the various influences of atmosphere and water currents as well as relative location to the .oceans, altitude, geological formation and soil conditions,— it would take a long journey to become actually acquainted with the whole scope of subtropical vegetation. Therefore, if you desire to come in contact with subtropical climate and have only little time to spare, the Bermuda Islands with charms, origin, history, all their own should be your goal. A forty-eight-hour trip by boat from New York, covering nearly 700 miles, will take you to a group of coral islands out at sea, their geographical location being 32 deg. north and 64 deg. west. There are 365 islands in number, but only five of them are of importance now. These islands are built up by the coral building polypi on the top of an extinct volcano rising from the ocean. Crushed shells and lime mixed with sand and water under the influence of wind and weather are making the foundation of the islands. A thin layer of soil has accumulated from decomposing organic matter and sand, and plants adapted to conditions in Bermuda have become established. 10 Due to their peculiar geological formation, the islands are devoid of fresh water springs and for water the people of the islands are dependent on the rainfall through the year, the rain being caught from the roofs of the houses in reservoirs installed in each house. The government has also established large reservoirs for its own use and for emergencies. All the cisterns are under the supervision of the Health Department and have to be cleaned and disinfected at least once a year and the roofs have to be kept under a whitewash. The limestone underlying the soil is soft before being exposed to air and can be cut readily into blocks, when taken from the quarries. Through exposure to the air the stone hardens and the blocks of limestone are used for the building of the houses on the islands for the roofs as well as the walls, giving a white and immaculate appearance to the entire settlement. The crushed limestone mixed with water is used for the making of smooth and solid roads. The result of seepage of water through the soil and the limestone into grottoes underneath the limestone formation in some part of the islands, have given origin to beautiful crystal caves where drops of water laden with concentrated lime have formed large and small glistening crystals, stalactites hanging down from the roof of the cavern and stalagmites, building up from the drip, to meet them. One can reach these caves through passage ways cut through the limestone, and electric lights unnoticeably attached, are lighting up the calcite formation on walls and roofs and the groups of artistic columns and curious shapes resembling human beings at times, making them scintillate and glisten, and suggesting fairyland. One of the caves has filled up partly with water, after the stalagmites had formed, these reaching up through the water now, and since the water is tidal and apparently connected with the ocean, pontoon bridges lead through the whole length of the cave. Returning to the surface of the islands and driving along the roads, one is greeted by the growth of cedars, a species of juniper typical of Bermuda, palms and tamarisk, lantanas and century plants, sending up their flower stems to the height of telegraph poles, hibiscus and oleanders, bryophyllums and large blue: morning glories, all of these growing wild along the roadside and around old quarries. Again they may be seen adorning gardens and pleasure grounds where they are mingling and rivalling in growth and bloom those of roses, bougainvilleas, many kinds of shrubs and in particular that of the brightly colored shrub, ‘Match-me-if-you-can” (Acalypha). The vegetables gardens will be found to produce all the vegetables of our climate. The Bermuda Department of Agriculture is trying out the various varieties of each kind of vegetable, in order to determine which of those in the market are best suited to its climate and soil, since one of the most important industries of the islands is the growing of early onions, beets, carrots and potatoes for the American markets. 11 Easter lilies are also grown extensively for the Easter trade in the United States, and in January long beds of the new growth of the lilies can be seen pushing through the soil, promising a beautiful display around Easter. Patches of bananas can be seen everywhere extending from the gardens. The golf links near Tucker’s Town bear witness of the fact that beautiful turf may be grown under the sky of Bermuda. The- bright verdure contrasts effectively with the blue of ocean and sky. Agriculture cannot be carried on to any great extent, owing to the limited space on the islands. Cows, supplying the demand for milk can be seen pasturing in groves of cedars intersected by clearings grown to grass. A wonderful experience never to be forgotten is the visit to the sea-gardens, where through glass-bottom boats, gliding over coral reefs, one can view submarine flowers in great number, sea-fans in endless variety of forms, corals, sponges, anemones in rose, pink, brown and orange. Among them many kinds of fish of all sizes and colors are swimming about. And who are the fortunate inhabitants of Bermuda, who can enjoy all the attractions the year around? The population consists of about 7,000 white and 13,000 colored people. Members of the English army and navy and their families, the natives and tradesmen and the vast number of people engaged in the catering to the endless number of tourists, who are coming and going in a constant stream, make up the population of Bermuda. It seems that with this big crowd of people consumption far exceeds the production of the islands. Food products, dry goods, and other merchandise are supplied from England and the United States. Fortunately there is no room on the islands for industrial enterprises, leaving Bermuda its quaint and picturesque character which the Bermudians are determined to maintain, for automobiles and trolley cars are barred from the islands. Horse and carriage, and bicycles are the modes of conveyance. Some of the islands are connected by bridges and long rides may be taken to points of vantage, such as Tucker’s Lighthouse, where beautiful views of the many islands and channels with sailing yachts flitting in and out, with the harbor of Hamilton in the distance, may be seen. Bermuda may be called the vacationist’s paradise to attract the general public, for it offers all kinds of sport in an enchanting setting and atmosphere, conducive to rest and meditation, with the pleasure of hotel-life calling whenever you want a change. On the other hand Bermuda offers a vast field of study to the horticulturist, for he is not only interested in the culture of plants proper, but to be truly interested his query reaches down to the soil and its formation as fundamental for the makeup of plants, making the study of geology incidental. Then the interest may be focussed on the economic value of plants. Every 12 one appreciates their aesthetic value, when, through their mere existence they are livening up the landscape, softening harsh contours, be it if natural rock formation or of houses. But aside from this purpose which they fulfill, plants are most vital to every-day existence as food to most living beings and because they are furnishing the raw material for the greatest number of industries. A visit to Bermuda in January, when the sight of active vegetation with birds and insects flying about forms a wonderful contrast to what the traveller left behind when departing from New York two days previously, is most fascinating. However, leaving Bermuda again after a short visit at that time, a longing is aroused to see the islands in the months of April and May, when there is a profusion of bloom everywhere with plants of tropical and temperate regions rivalling each other side by side. F. S. News From a Graduate Miss “LuLu” Torrens has had a busy, interesting year. She wrote that in the spring she had charge of rearranging and planning and planting several gardens, including shrubs for backgrounds and foundations plantings. During the summer she had several men working for her caring for some home grounds and gardens. One family which was away for the summer had her send them cut flowers from their garden every week. This fall she has continued with planning and planting, and enjoys her work very much. Some Aspects of the Relation Between Horticulture and Landscape Gardening To many the terms landscape architecture and horticulture are almost synonymous. This misconception is due, I think, to the quite erroneous but nevertheless widespread belief that the sole function of a landscape architect is to make flower gardens. As a matter of fact, these two great fields of human activity, while possessing certain interests in common, are fundamentally different. Landscape architecture is a fine art, closely allied to architecture, sculpture and painting, and for its successful results it is dependent upon the same principles of design as govern the other fine arts. The particular concern of the landscape architect is the arrangement of portions of the earth’s surface for human use and enjoyment. The design, or the orderly arrangement of 13 parts into a unified whole, is his most important function. As the architect has his stone and wood, the sculptor his marble and bronze, and the painter his palette of colors, so the landscape architect has certain materials with which he works out his designs. These include ground forms (hills, valleys, plains, etc.), vegetation (trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, etc.), and structures as they relate to the landscape. With these he designs the dooryard garden, or plans for the development of an entire metropolitan region. It is evident, therefore, that the practitioners of this art have a wide scope for their powers, and their labors embrace a broad field of design. It is not quite so easy to define horticulture, as much depends on the point of view of the individual. To the person whose interest lies in adding to the total sum of knowledge of the subject, horticulture is a science, while to the one whose interest lies in the cultivation of plants for their individual usefulness or beauty, whether for pleasure or profit, horticulture becomes an industry. In either case a broad field of activity is opened, and these are only two of the many aspects which horticulture presents to persons having different tastes and training. Broadly speaking, we may say that a horticulturist is one skilled in the cultivation of all forms of plant life as the result of knowledge and practice. It is upon the common ground of their interest in plants that the landscape architect and horticulturist meet, and, far too often, separate; and this is written in the hope that, with a more sympathetic understanding of the point of view toward plants of each by the other, a continuation of the latter condition may be in some measure prevented. The difficulty seems to arise almost entirely from a difference in viewpoint. In considering plants the landscape architect approaches the matter from the point of a designer and is thus interested primarily in whether a plant will produce the effect desired in his composition. He selects plants almost entirely for their landscape value, that is, their fitness for use in the particular landscape picture which he is creating. This value is made up of three principal elements: Form (shape), texture, and color. For instance, he decides that he needs a tall round-headed tree, having small leaves of a light green color. Having made this decision he is free — within certain limits, among which are those of soil and climate, locality and situation—to select any one of a number of trees which meet his requirements. His training and experience make him value a plant for its usefulness in a composition rather than for the plant itself; its esthetic value to him is greater than its scientific or economic value. The horticulturist, on the other hand, cares little or nothing about the use of plants in pictorial composition, but by reason of his training and interest in their cultivation as specimens is inclined to value a plant for scientific or economic reasons. He values it for itself alone, its rarity, its exotic appearance, its unusual color or form, or the difficulty with which it is culti- 14 vated, and often for its commercial value. Mute, but nonetheless forceful, testimony of the truth of these statements is given by many of the plantations made by commercial horticulturists (nurserymen). Despite this apparently irreconcilable difference in viewpoint, I believe that the landscape architect and the horticulturist may and should be mutually helpful. Both are interested in the production of healthy plants, in the introduction of new plants, in the further perfection of known plants and the use of all plants whether for economic or esthetic purposes. Here, it seems, are enough interests held in common by these two professions to bring and keep them in a close relationship provided their respective points of view are understood, each by the other. To this end the landscape architect should know the cultural and climatic requirements of the plants he intends to use, else his designs will fail. He should also be interested, and should assist wherever possible, in adding to the body of plant material, as it is upon this that he depends for one of the most important elements in his work. On the other hand, the horticulturist may broaden his field of usefulness and increase his esthetic appreciation of plants by devoting some time to the study of the principles of design, particularly design in plant materials, employed by the landscape architect. Ecology, a comparatively new science of rapidly growing importance, is the study of the relation of plants to their environment and to each other in their environment. As good design is dependent to a great extent on recognition of these laws, ecology is of equal importance to the horticulturist. Through this field of knowledge I think both professions will gain much that will be of benefit and perhaps bring about a better appreciation of each other’s work than has hitherto existed. Since our professional schools furnish us with a splendid fertile field in which to sow seeds of this “apple of accord,” I feel that we should grasp the opportunity and work wholeheartedly to cultivate and later to reap the crop of closer relationship and better co-operation between landscape architecture and horticulture. Markley Stevenson. A Tribute to One of Our Girls (Extract from a letter received at School this fall) “Last summer when I saw you in Ambler, I met a Miss Hall there. She is now at the Pennsylvania Hospital for Nervous Diseases. When there last week I saw her. “Everybody is delighted with her. She is doing splendidly, not only with her horticulture work, but I hear she has a won- 15 derful hold over her patients. They all love to work for her, and that form of “labor” seems to be of the greatest assistance in helping those poor people to get their balance. I thought you would like to hear this, as she belongs to your School.” (We are so delighted to hear from one not closely in touch with either our School or with the Hospital that our “Tom's” work is so well appreciated. We only wish there were room to repeat some of Tom's own interesting tales of the life and efforts at the Hospital. Her well-known enthusiasm runs true to form, and she recounts her adventures with her usual vivacity, and we learn some intensely enlightening bits about the present-day methods of the medical profession.) Our Latest Bovine Adventures These always seem to occur during some holiday period, so that some of us miss the excitement and entertainment. But this time, the end of the Thanksgiving vacation, there were more to enjoy it than when Jasmine, Wonder-Heart and Princess arrived on July 4th. On Monday morning we received word that the long-expected consignment of Ayrshires, coming all the way from Florida, had at last reached Ambler. Miss Carter hurried down to the freight yard immediately—and spent the day! At noon, Dickie drove five of us down to see what we could do to assist. We passed the two men, each with two cows, on their way up to the School. When we reached the yard, we found the cattle eagerly appreciative of such attention as buckets of water, and later an opportunity to walk a bit around the enclosure near the car. In a little while, Pet, Pinky, Trip and Bunny started back to the School, each with a cow “under her arm,” as it were. The cows seemed glad to be exercising, as the difference between Florida temperature, and the 15 deg. being blown at them by our famous northwest wind was obviously uncomfortably. They reached the barns here safely, and later still “Grandee” and the three cows intended for us, were led out by the men. That left us with five big animals and five babies in the car. We sat and cuddled our feet in the hay, trying to pretend we were not cold until after 5:00, waiting for the other consignee to come for the other animals. He came just after we had given up in despair and were prepared to leave. Miss Carter had braved the terrors of our noble “bus,” and brought it over near the car. Two babies were coming with us. It was like leading refractory goats, to get those infants down the runway, across the trolley tracks and the road, and into the bus. We were ably assisted, however, by the extreme hunger of the little heifers. If we gave them each a hand to suck, they could be inveigled along quite easily most of the 16 time. But we did have to impress a couple of passers-by into service when lifting the leggy beasties into the bus. They would be limp for a while, and then suddenly all their legs would fly out in as many directions. But the deed was finally accomplished, and with Miss Carter’s excellent piloting, we reached home with no untoward events. The eleven cows, the bull and the two babies are now well-filled-out, and show no sig is of their long, hard journey, which was broken only by “time out” for the dipping of them all, even the calves, for the tick eradication, according to the latest rulings of the State of Florida. As Mr. Cleaver was still laid up and there was no one on the place with both the time and knowledge of how to make the cows most comfortable, Miss Carter told her difficulties to Martha Twining, and Martha came over immediately to help out. It has eventuated that Martha has been doing the work in her usual energetic and able fashion, and the rest of us have done the helping out to the extent of our feeble abilities. It has seemed like old times to have Martha with us again, and we are doubly glad the cows came. Hints From “ Better Plants ” This is a good time to take out 6 inches of soil around trees and fill in with equal proportions of mixed soil and manure. You do not expect even the short-lived vegetables to get along without fertilizer. How can you expect a long-lived tree to do well without some nutrition? Clean the grounds and gardens thoroughly this month. Garden pests and their offspring do not like cleanliness. Save all the furnace ashes. Apply them heavily to trees and shrubs. Sprinkle them on the lawn. They sweeten the soil. Save all leaves. Do not burn them. Use as a top-dressing, and for the compost pile. There is nothing better than rotted leaves to break up a heavy soil. Azaleas and Rhododendrons appreciate leaf mulch. For storage, keep the leaves in a pit. We believe it is a mistake to collect or rake grass when mowing the lawn. The cut grass affords nutrition. See that all plants go into winter with plenty of moisture around their roots. Newly planted trees and shrubs should be particularly well soaked down with water until the ground freezes. Most winter-killing, or failure of evergreens during the winter, is due to the ground freezing dry. This is an important pointer. Don’t forget that roses, weigelas, buddleias, magnolias, Japanese maples, flowering almonds, etc., will winter-kill severely unless mounded with earth and given a top-dressing of leaves or straw. 17 Apply top dressing or mulch after the ground freezes, and not before then. The real purpose of mulching is to protect the plants from sudden changes of temperature in spring. Use only loose-textured material so as not to smother the plants. Cut back one-third of all trees and shrubs when planting this fall. This does not include evergreens or shrubs already cut back by the nursery before shipping. Exchanges THE TORCH, West Philadelphia High School for Girls. THE MILESTONE, The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. ONAS, William Penn High School, Philadelphia. THE SHIELD, Haddonfield High School, Haddonfield, N. J. THE PENN FARMER, Pennsylvania State College. THE RADIATOR, New Haven High School, New Haven, Conn. SPICE, Norristown High School, Norristown, Penna. THE SARGENT QUARTERLY, Sargent School of Physical Education, Cambridge, Mass. SIMMONS COLLEGE REVIEW, Simmons College, Boston, Mass. THE GARNET AND WHITE, West Chester High School, West Chester, Penna. THE TECH OWL, Westinghouse Technical Night School, East Pittsburgh, Penna. SCHOOL LIFE, Melrose High School, Melrose, Massachusetts. THE CALDRON, Friends' Select School, Philadelphia. THE HORTICULTURAL COLLEGE MAGAZINE, Horticultural College, Swanley, Kent, England. NEWS ABOUT THE GUILD, Studley, Warwickshire, England. Gleanings Miss Seeman and Miss Barber very considerately had birthdays so near together, that we could plan a party to celebrate, and include them both. We surely had a gay time on the evening of October 3. Games, such as “Going to Jerusalem,” and 18 others equally intelligent caused much mirth, and the evening was a most enjoyable one. Mr. Kaiser “put over” another of his trips on the School— rather, not on nor even at the School, but way over beyond Media, on October 6. We tramped through Painter’s Arboretum, and the woods beyond, but didn’t manage to reach Indian Rock. It was a rather warm day, too, so enthusiasm waned rapidly after the first hour. But from all accounts of the Pen Bryn trip last June, we judge that that was not to be mentioned the same day, even. We are sure that Judy would have scorned our weariness after Painter’s Arboretum! At least there was no corduroy road! Our action on October 10 brought in about $50, the expenditure which has yet to be decided upon. Pedi made an ardent auctioneer. Six of us had a delightful trip to the Luray Caverns over the week-end of October 11-13. The country was gorgeous, and “Maggie Buick Hebden” went like a bird all the way. The Caverns were well worth the 576 miles of road there and back. Another member was added to our student body in October —Irene Rogers, from East Lyme, Connecticut. The more, the merrier, in any community, and it applies most accurately when one considers Irene. The 30th was a busy day. Miss Seemann took her two classes to Dreer’s Nursery at Riverton, in the afternoon, and Mrs. Dikeman had all of us over at her house for a Hallowe’en party in the evening. We went in the most mysterious and outlandish costumes, and the masks were the best of all. Me-phistophiles was there, and a colored mammy—who proved to be “J. J. Allen”—not the real one, but the one already met by the 1923 students—and Mrs. “Allen.” The evening was spent playing games—and eating, and everyone had a most delightful time. Tom Hall spent two week-ends here during November, and Pet went in one week-end, and Trip for the two days after Thanksgiving, to stay with Tom and help her a little. Coolidge should feel that he has the School back of him. He was elected by an overwhelming majority at the School polls. School Gardening “lectures” have gone off pretty well. We don’t know how many startling scientific facts Miss Seemann was able to glean from them. On November 18 Miss Carter took us all down to the Ambler Opera House as her guests, to see Norma Talmadge in “Secrets,” a charming picture. After our return we were regaled with nice hot cocoa and crackers. An illustrated lecture by Mr. George Dawson on the 20th attracted many of us to Philadelphia. Many lovely slides of villas and gardens, some of which Mr. Stevenson has been telling us about in Landscape class, rewarded us. Part of the group went and had supper at the Bazaar of the Daughters of 19 the British Empire, where Miss Barber was assisting. Good food and great fun! Thanksgiving was a pleasant day here. Several went to Church. Dickie's sister, Miss Dickerman, visited us again this year. We were threatened with stewed prunes, hash, and rice pudding for dinner, but Miss Barber rose nobly to the occasion and we had a wonderful meal. Compost Pile It was almost- too bad to correct the linotyper's error in setting up our last issue. He headed one article—“My Homemade Road. Assistance to the cross-word-puzzlists:— Obsoctuous—found in floriculture notes. Invigorations—Mr. Kaiser's famous “Fla. to Va., “fol. and hab., “inconspic., etc. Miss B. is sure that “An Australian bird in three letters, is not a “kangaroo. New Varieties which might be termed Horticultural:— Yellow Prince—calendulas. Asparagus spenduli. Asa—the family name of the maples. This item should really go in the “Book Review, but we had no others to mention there. Mr. Kaiser assures us that an excellent book to study is the one called “Our Native Orchids, by Charles Dana Gibson. Another Floriculture note — “Harvesting of Horehound. Lick leaves in summer only lightly. Miss B. wants Carbona for her aquarium. (It isn't far wrong, either, for Mrs. Wacker was able to give her Cabomba with little puzzling.) Extracts from old Wise-Acres:— “How to tell the flowers from the weeds: Pull them up by the roots. If they are flowers that will be the last of 'em; if weeds, only the beginning. “In the following incident is brought out rather forcibly the extreme idea of balance and symmetry once dominant in gardeners. Lord Selkirk walking on his terrace, in his garden in St. Mary’s Isle, which had a summer house at either end, found in one of these a boy imprisoned for stealing apples, and in the other, a son of his gardener, about the same age, looking out with a doleful countenance. Meeting the father, Lord Selkirk 20 expressed his sorrow, supposing the boys were accomplices. “Na, na, my lord,” said the gardener. “Ma laddie's nae a thief, but I just put him there for the symmetry.” “You can tell a Senior, but you cannot tell her much in safety.” Miss Seemann’s favorite song, entitled, “Weeds,” runs as follows: “ How you gonta keep 'em down on the farm, After they’ve gone to seed? How you gonta keep ’em from doing harm, Floating around, And cumb’ring the ground? How you gonta keep ’em out of the feed? That’s the mystery! You’ll have to use the cultivator, rake and plow, Or turn the pasture over to the sheep and cow. That’s the way to keep ’em down on the farm, So they can’t go to seed.” 21 STILLWAGON’S Drug Store Ambler Baking Co. for Service BUTLER AVENUE A. B. C. BREAD THE PUBLIC BE-SERVED YOST S TAXI Butler and Ridge Avenues AMBLER, PA. Bell Phone 535 Keystone 25 Ambler, Pa. Bell Phone 423 Dewey's Auto Supply and Battery Service Ridge and Butler Avenues, Ambler Everything for the Auto J. W. CRAFT SONS Ambler, Pa. Manufacturers and Dealers in Scratch and Mash Feed Building Material Fencing Materials Lehigh Coal Patronize “Wise - Acres” Advertisers S. R. McYaujili ICE DEALER 105 Spring Garden St., Ambler School of Horticulture Ambler, Penna. Advertising Rates for “Wise Acres” Special Rates for 4 Issues For 3 Issues For 2 Issues For r Issue Full page $40 $3° 50 $22 50 $12 75 Half page 24 18 50 12 75 6 75 Quarter page 12 75 to 50 6 75 3 75 Eighth page 8 6 4 2 Sixteenth page 5 3 75 2 50 1 25 MICH ELLS • SEEDS Everything for the Garden, Farm, Lawn and Greenhouse Catalog Free. 5I8-5IG MARKETS! PHILA. AMBLER MARKET MEATS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, FISH AND OYSTERS IN SEASON Bell Phone 79-W Keystone Phone 100-D 129 Butler Avenue, Ambler THE BANK THAT MAKES YOU FEEL AT HOME The friendly atmosphere and the fair treatment that surrounds the workings of this institution make it a pleasant place to transact your banking business. You will feel at home and comfortable here. Let’s have a call from you. We can please you. FIRST NATIONAL BANK, AMBLER, PA. The Ambler French Dry Cleaners and Dyers LADIES’ and GENT’S TAILORING A. SILVERMAN 1C Main Street AMBLER, PENNA. Notary Public Auto Licenses I. K. B. Hansell INSURANCE 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. H. J. DAGER Real Estate INSURANCE MORTGAGES Ambler, Pennsylvania Ambler, Penna. School of Horticulture for Women x' Two Year Diploma Course -Special Spring Courses . Summer Session Catalogue upon request liable of Contents! 1. Editorial. 2. We Interview Miss Herring. 3. The New Garden. 4. Indian Summer. 5. On Going Fishing. 6. “Alice in the Bee Country ” (Continued). 7. “ Some News That's Fit to Print. The Summer Session The Endowment Fund. Introducing the Juniors The Party for the Juniors The Trenton Fair 8. Alumnae Notes 9. Poultry Notes 10. The Compost Pile WISE-ACRES 4 Vol. X NOVEMBER 1925_____________No. 1 Published Quarterly by the Students ofthe School of Horticulture for Women, Ambler, Pa.—Louise Carter, Director Entered at Ambler P. O. as Second-Class Matter Under Act ok March 3. 1879. STAFF Editor-in-Chief, Virginia Norment Advertising Manager, Edith Haines Assistant Editors, Estelle Sharp, Business Manager, Irene Rogers Marjorie Stearns. Assistant Business Manager, Jessie Craven One Dollar a Year Single Copy, Twenty-five Cents Wt Ileg Heabe to Feeling called upon to make some small comment as we launch this, our literary project,—which we sadly realize will be far from a literary prodigy,) we preface these few words. We recognize the many lacks herein, though we were unable to supply them. We are seeking a wider circle of listeners, however, in spite of all these faults, and we are asking of you who are reading—you who read while waiting for the dentist to call “next” —you who glance through this paper as you idle the time until your friend appears:—or even you who have watched our brow grow more furrowed as the days passed and saw us drop pounds by the wayside as we struggled to get some readable copy: —of all of you do we ask grace. If we are as bad as this now, the law of averages makes it probable that the next time we shall wax more nicely journalistic. Perhaps,— (just perhaps)—for we could not be less so. That is a happy thought! You see, we have a job on our hands, here. We are trying to be a representative of an organization which we believe to be very fine. And we wish to do it justice. As yet, having been here but a little while, we have not had time to become saturated with the atmosphere of Ambler, as we shall be, no doubt, bye and bye. Then, we hope, having received vigor, some learning, and much happiness, we may be able to hand them along. Until then, we ask you to bear with us. Snterbieto In viewing the lives of those who have been successful and to whom honor has come, we are often struck by the great similarity shown in the methods of procedure in all of them, and to see how much achievement was wrought, in many cases, by a determined singleness of purpose and an unflinching will to work to a single goal. There can be no doubt that your “Jack-of-all-trades,” though an interesting fellow, is not apt to be a successful one, as the world judges. But only too often, the straight road to an end, when seen from another point of view, takes on the semblance of a rut, as the successful ones seem to be all success and nothing else. Happy is the circumstance, then, when one encounters an individual who, though recognized as a leader in his or her line of effort, shows not only this ability to proceed logically from start to finish, but also possesses the power and inclination to loiter a little by the wayside and take time to live, so that at the end they arrive, not only a success, but a person. In this latter class is Miss Herring, the instructor of Floriculture and Vegetable Gardening at Ambler. Born in a London suburb, she lived and worked in England all her life, until about two months ago, when she came to teach in the United States. Her story cannot but carry interest for those who are watching the work of women in agricultural pursuits, nor can it help but put a notion of “how iiliss Serving it can be done” before those who are striving to make the work of the feminine agriculturist a profession which can be followed honorably. Miss Herring received from Swanley the Diploma. For thirteen years after that she had charge of practical gardening at various places, and was very successful throughout the time. Then the war came, and she “began to sit up and take notice,” feeling obliged to give up purely pleasure gardening. Of course, in wartime, there was an intense interest in agriculture shown by the women of England, and naturally there arose a demand for instructors in the art of making things grow. As a result of this Miss Herring went back to Swanley and there not only took charge of the vegetable gardening, but also taught and gave short courses of lectures in horticulture. This continued until the end of the war. Still feeling the urge to teach, she became head gardener and Gardening Instructor at St. Leonard’s School in Scotland, teaching the girls gardening, and taking charge of sixteen acres of gardens. Later she taught in the Lee House Training Centre for Gardening, Dairy and Poultry. Miss Herring is nothing if not energetic. For the last two years she has been back at Swanley, taking her B.Sc. in Horticulture, of which she may well be justly proud. Also she has the National Diploma in Horticulture from the Royal Horticultural Society, upon the merits of her teaching and practical work, an honor which very few women have been awarded. Facts about Miss Herring, the Horticulturist, are these, and while important, are not more so than the facts about Miss Herring the person. I shall never forget her, one evening, when I, stepping in to visit a friend, chanced upon Miss Herring seated beside the bed, sewing, chatting, and creating her own little atmosphere of charm. I wish that all the unconvinced ones who babble about this work being inappropriate for women could have seen her then. No need to lament the passing of graciousness there! She says she likes the quiet things best, quiet talk, quiet contemplation, sewing, and all “home-y” things. Intellectually, entomology, botany, and all the things which lead her to her beloved out-of-doors, intrigue her. It is the practical side of horticulture which she most enjoys, she says. That is readily seen, for in her teaching, practicality is much emphasized. No one can ever properly interpret another. Though I can scribble a few facts, I cannot transcribe personality, and failing to do that, I fail to “put across” Miss Herring. I can say, however, that those of us to whom the future of Ambler is dear, should be thankful that she is who she is. She is going to put much into her work, and even in the short time she has been here, we can see how she has wrought a change. Vigor, energy, unfailing good cheer, plus a quick eye for detail and technique, all these she has. We are expecting big things of her, and all of us who have known her, know that we shall not be disappointed. We are more than happy to have her here. E. V. N. ®t)e ileU) ©arben Deep in the hearts of those who turn into the gates of Ambler with the feeling that they are returning home, lies the wish that it may become recognized by the world as its worth merits. Being a Gardening School it is felt that Ambler should have some distinctive garden feature and that it should make a permanent contribution to the Garden Lore of America. With this in mind, comprehensive plans have been drawn up for the further development of the grounds. Eventually the large dormitory will be built upon the hill near the site of the present water tower and in anticipation of this the new garden is being laid out in relation to the new building. The actual making of the garden will be accomplished bit by bit and it will take many years to carry out the plans to completion, but each season of work will further the development of the final scheme. Already the work is well under way. Last spring the section for annual flowers was laid out and formed a most attractive feature of the place. The planting of the arbor vitae hedge has been started and this autumn the bulb section will be planted. Several thousand daffodils will be put in, clumps of twenty-five of many different varieties, and hundreds of Darwin, and Breeder, and Cottage tulips as well as some of the more uncommon bulbs. Next Spring it is hoped that work may be begun on the rose section. What will some day be the most important feature of the garden is the central portion, which will be devoted to perennials. It is planned that this section should contain a very fine and rare collection of perennial plants and it is hoped that some day the garden at Ambler may be for herbacious perennials what the Arnold Arboretum is for trees and shrubs and that visitors from all sections of the country will eagerly seek, it out. This proposed expansion means more than a mere superficial addition. It means that all who come here for study and work may put part of themselves into the place. Alumnae returning will no longer need lament the passing of old landmarks, as each class from now on, will have its share in building a lasting, living memorial to their Alma Mater. 5nbtan Summer Autumn, with bluest depths of haze. And leaf-bare branches brown against the sky! Great eddying, swirling heaps of leaves, The smell of wood-smoke on the sweet, soft wind, And brooding over all, a langorous calm. Rest in unrest, dreamy discontent— The lazy longing of a sleepy world! Anon. !£n §otng JftSfjmg I know a stream where the trees hang low over a bubbling, gleeful surge that laughs its way to a rocky ledge, drops, but undaunted chortles on. I had a little house at the bottom of that fall, and some evenings, when I, very weary, would come in and throw myself down on a couch, the sound of the water dropping over rocks would make me know why I had been so fretfully restless all the afternoon. I wanted to go fishing! That was it, and with the thought, the desire became a need that demanded satisfaction. With a sort of eager reluctance, I would begin to drag out all the impedimenta that belong to the sport. Rod, reel, creel must be cleaned; flies must be arranged. Disreputable wad- ing boots and trousers, a battered hat and a faded shirt completed the total, and with a patch here and a shine there I was ready. With a tired sigh, I would then tumble into bed, to be gathered up in a great blackness. The alarm wakes me at four o'clock to the gray coldness of a mountain dawn. A quick plunge into icy water, a quicker, and shivering leap into waiting garments, a last gathering up of “stuff,” and I sally forth into the morning. A little sleepy I am, to be sure, but oh! what a sense of life’s joy is in me as I look about. The glories of a mountain sunrise transcend all expression. It is true that every living thing seems waiting for it. The birds chirp in a softened tone, the trees stand motionless and even my brooklet has its soundings muted. Breathless anticipation seems everywhere. Then heralded by pinks and reds and golds of heart-tightening loveliness, “Old Sol” rises majestically over yonder mountain, sending forth rays golden and life-giving. Immediately, as if at a command, everything begins to live anew. The trees start their whispering, the birds their chattering, and the brook its usual exuberance. Even I respond, my pulse quickens, my brain clears, and old ambition stirs again. My rod becomes a conqueror’s sword, my hat a warrior’s helmet, and I see myself with achievement in my grasp. But this is no way to go fishing. I pull my hat over my eyes, and proceed to the pool. I throw, where many a trout is to be had for a little diplomacy. I reach back and cast. The sight of the fly floating on the water removes the last trace of my mooning of the moment before, and I grow tense and excitedly happy as I watch vigilantly the little ripples that tell me my quarry is not asleep. Then zip! He strikes. The trout has grabbed it. and my wrist sings with the shock, and my heart with a song of battle. A battle it is. for yon wily fellow is no novice at this game, and already is trying desperately to reach the rock that means safety for him and a broken line for me. Pull! Tug! Flash! I am hot now. Gone are my hat, my sense of time and place, and then gone is the fish. He made the rocks! I call myself an imbecile and set another fly. The next cast is better I hook him again, fight and win this time. And the next, perhaps, and the next, until there are several speckled beauties gasping in my creel. Perhaps Caesar or some other great conqueror might know my feelings as I look at my spoil. Perhaps he would know a little of it, but I know even his triumphant march into Rome filled him with no greater satisfaction than is mine, for I am content. The world is mine! Heigh ho! ’Tis time for breakfast. I stumble back, bursting out with a great zest of living. Gone is the bad humor of the day before. I am happy again. Each man to his taste, they say, and so say I. Let the city-bred scramble for renown, let the great or near-great gain their praise. I envy them not. A rod, a creel, and I beside my brook, is all I need, and all I desire. E. V. N. ltce in Pee Country (Continued) The ordinary chit-chat of the day being rejected for more thrilling topics, an old crone was petitioned in passing, to stop long enough to tell of an invasion of the hive’s dread enemy, the Sphinx moth. It seems this crafty foe always plans both to allay suspicion and quell the multitude, by imitating the Queen’s war-cry, the sound of which serves to bring her subjects into a state of abject quiescence. Such an effect once produced, it is an easy matter for the moth to lay her eggs in the comb and depart unmolested before the bees awaken from their seeming trance, and realize the havoc wrought in their midst. Thrilling all with her story, she gave minutest details of the tiny larvae which built web-like tunnels through the comb and ruined wax and honey alike. Alice was emboldened to inquire � hat event occasioned the erection of the vast monument that reposed in the rotunda of the hive. She learned it was not set up to commemorate some noble deed, as she had mistakenly surmised, but was the tomb of some vanquished foe. It contained the body of an immense creature, according to their account, but had not the vast proportions and ferocity of the monster been particularly stressed, she would have taken the creature to be a mouse. So huge was the body, once slain, it was found impossible to drag the remains from the hive. So upon the suggestion of some clever brain. a mausoleum was built about it, tightly sealing it from the air, and constructed entirely of that famous material entering so largely into all the operations in the hive,—called propolis. The conversation later was little to Alice’s taste, for it turned to tales of sickness and disaster. There were enumerations of the various infant diseases by the head nurse of the children’s ward, tragic epidemics when the babies died in great numbers after being put to bed for their few days’ nap. Then came an account of sicknesses affecting the grown-up folks, the symptoms of giddiness, paralysis, etc., being described with great gusto. From this the talk glided to tales of tribulations and hard times, of how some winters were so severe that no matter how close they huddled in their efforts to keep warm, the first pale rays of spring sunshine found hundreds of their community cold in death. How, in their vain endeavors to maintain body heat, the younger bees, despite the warnings of their elders, ate great quantities of grossly adulterated food, causing a plague to break out in the colony. (“They should have been smart enough to draw up pure food law’s,” was Alice’s mental comment.) Finally, despairing of the conversation taking a more agreeable turn, she sought the company of the younger fry. “It sounded just like the ladies at Mamma’s bridge club, talking about having their ap- pendices removed ’ soliloquized the little girl. Several days after this, Alice was awakened early by a hum of preparation which filled the air. It was with delight that she heard that this day had been set for the celebration of the Queen’s marriage. She was all agog with excitement when the Queen left the hive with her attendants, and kept venturing to the entrance to assure herself that there were no clouds in the sky to mar the glory of the day, for she had been told that the success of the festivities hinged almost entirely upon the state of the weather. She thought herself quite smart to be able to quote the. saying of her old nurse, “Happy is the bride the sun shines on.” Upon the Queen’s return. Alice pushed herself into the front ranks drawn up to do Her Majesty reverence. There were many gesticulations, and great was the excitement indulged in upon that occasion. It wasn’t until she settled down for the night, however, that Alice recollected not having seen the groom. “But I suppose it is always so at weddings,” thought wise little Alice, “for I never saw the groom when Cousin Amy was married, and neither did a lot of the ladies I asked.” But even the next day she failed to discover his whereabouts. This led her to much pondering upon the subject as to how little esteem was shown to the male element of the community; “and yet,” thought Alice, “what attractive fellows they are, so large, and strong, and with such beautiful eyes.” She frequently heard of their untidy habits, lazy ways, and greediness of manners at the table—all very bad behavior, as she was forced to concede. “They will not work, and yet they fairly guzzle all the honey in sight, if one would allow it.” remarked one little nursemaid bee. “and if danger comes they are only in the way. Never mind, their good times at our expense will come to an end before winter comes.” The talk of the youngsters soon took the form of boasting and bragging of their descent (“just like the D. A. R.’s, exactly,” thought Alice!). They made much ado of their pure Italian ancestry, and the right it gave them to wear the insignia of yellow stripes. They held in contempt their cousins, the Carnolians, Caucasians and Banats, for their meekness of spirit, and yet, as far as Alice could see, the Cyprian branch fared no better at their hands, because of their warlike proclivities. The Osmia group received the epithet of “cave-men” on account of the materials composing their dwellings. But Alice noticed the bees were respecters of some persons, to the extent of making their comments more circumspect when referring to the Wasps and Hornets. From the few remarks she heard, she deduced that these last two families were either of a literary turn of mind, or owned vast interests in the paper pulp industry. Summing it all up, pride of birth and station, and intense satisfaction in their form of government and code of ethics seemed to predominate in the hive. About this time the bees were spurred to greater industry than ever for though never entirely idle, the hive was now the scene of great activity. The wax-makers, architects, carpenters, masons, and all were busy at their trades. The meaning of it all was that the Queen had taken to rearing her family, and never had Alice seen the evidences of such a “one-track” mind, so intent was the Queen on her mission. Everyone had to labor day and night to meet the ever-increasing demands for new quarters, food, and attendance, on new-born babes. “Why, she is far worse than the old woman who lived in a shoe,” thought Alice, and marveled at the entire absence of complaints among the workers in spite of long hours, lack of recreation, and crowded quarters. Even the never-ceasing fanning of the workers’ wings failed to make the temperature of that fevered hive comfortable. Alice wondered at the charts she saw over the new cradles, “3-11-7,” over infants which would become workers, while in the boys’ dormitory were the mystic numbers, “3-12-9” and in the royal cells, “3-8-5.” After judicious questioning, Alice was delighted to have the puzzle solved, for someone informed her that the numbers meant the days of various periods of the life of the cradle’s inhabitant; the first number being the length of time the egg took to hatch, the second the length of the larval stage, the third of the pupal existence before the babies become adults. It interested Alice immensely to be told that if a nurse felt that there were not enough princesses in the royal cells, she could take a tiny worker egg, or even larva, and put it in a royal cradle, feed it royal jelly, a delectable mixture of the richest, and most nutritious foods, and at the end of the pupal period it will emerge a full-grown queen. Alice began wondering at the apparent lack of affection of the Queen-mother for all her children. It occurred to her to ask the members of the colony about it. She found plenty of reverence toward the Queen, especially since she had been giving the community so many new citizens. Aside from this, and a great fear that she might be injured by newly emerging queens, and strenuous efforts to protect her when these rampant young ladies came out of their cells, they seemed to have no filial affection for her, so that they also did not miss any maternal instinct in her. The result of these cogitations on family life, combined with loneliness and the raising of the brood began, since the raising of the brood began, finally produced in Alice such recurrent waves of homesickness, that her first friendly guide through the hive thought it best to propose bringing her visit with the bees to a close. After a fond farewell to the pleasant little worker, to whom she had become really attached, Alice stepped forth from the hive, into what seemed a dark and chilly world. After vain gropings and tumbles in the tall grass before the hive, she resolved to lie down among some leaves, and sleep until morning, when she would surely be able to find her way home. In spite of the cold, she was just sinking into a sound slumber when she realized with a start that an immense creature was standing over her, with its breath fanning her cheek. In another instant— Little Alice awoke, to find the friendly family cow benignly licking her cheek, while the absence of the sun, long since set, and the heavy dew on the grass, well accounted for the chilliness of her final wanderings, and efforts to find her way from the marvelous dream land, “Bee Country.” Eleanor Hammond. g ome of tfje Cfjat’s Jftt to 9vtnt ®fje Summer Session The Summer Session commenced on August third and finished August twenty-eighth. A great deal was crowded into the four short weeks and the fifteen students proved to be an eager and enthusiastic group. The subjects offered were Floriculture, Soils, Preparation of Flowers for Market, Landscape Planning and Trees and Shrubs. The work in Floriculture was under the direction of Miss Griminger, of Cornell University, and the courses in Landscape work were given by Mr. Bush-Brown, of the Harvard School of Landscape Architecture. Several special lectures were 6 Wise-Acres 1453 given, one a talk by Miss Elizabeth Hall on her work at the Pennsylvania Hospital, and the other a history of the School, given by Miss Carter and illustrated with lantern slides. On Friday afternoons trips were made to nearby gardens and proved a most attractive feature of the course. The Stotesbury estate in Chestnut Hill was visited and several others. Many pleasures were also crowded In. The entire Summer School was invited to have luncheon with Dorothy and Beatrice Cloud in Ardmore one Saturday and a most delightful day was spent with them. On the last evening a farewell party was given by the faculty in the form of a corn roast in the woods. Appropriate gifts were presented to each member of the Summer School, amid much merriment. The Summer Course was a very real success, due to the interest and ability of our teachers and the willingness of each and everyone to co-operate. Edith Thomson. Cfjr Cnbotomnit Out into the maelstrom, resulting from the efforts of Schools and Colleges to raise funds for endowment, swings the School at Ambler. Its appeal is broad, offering to the canny and conservative a sound planning for the future, to the aesthetically-inclined a “thing of beauty” and to all its friends a “joy forever.” The vision towards which the School is steadfastly striving is at once a practical and a lovely one. During the early years of the School's existence, when it was still in the experimental stage, it was supported, aside from what the student fees brought in, by annual contributions from interested friends. But now, after almost fifteen years of steady growth and development the Board of Directors feel that the pioneer stage has passed and that they are justified in asking for an adequate endowment. The School has proved its worth. It has taken a recognized place among the vocational institutions of the country and it is asking its friends for their generous support. The amount required is $400,000. Already receipts total nearly $30,000 and it is hoped that the $100,000 mark will be reached before January first. Kntrobuctng tije Jleto funiors With such a large and inspiring number of Juniors to introduce, it is a bit difficult to know just with whom to begin. Let us start in with the three “Titians.” And out of courtesy to our noble Editor, as she is one of the three, we will say a few words about her first of all. A graduate of Goucher College this last summer, and of the pathetically husky variety which is always being overworked and given the heavy jobs, Virginia Norment has consented to undertake the cultivation of “Wise-Acres” for a year, and we look for a splendid succession of crops therein. - ; Then there is “Til” Craven, known to the recent newspaper readers as the “girl from Colorado,” although in reality she is originally from this vicinity. Her bob is almost as boyish as Virginia’s. With her background of several years of library work, we are hoping she will assemble and arrange our library as has never been done before. The good work has already begun, in fact. Our other “Titian” is a graduate of Lowthorpe, Marjorie Stearns, who has come here to get some of our practical methods before going on with her landscape work. With her clever sketching ability, she is a splendid help to the staff of this paper. And then of special interest among us, are two “foreigners,” though they are so much an integral part of our student body already that the term no longer applies, except as indicating that they come from the other side of the world. Anna Jelinek is from Czechoslovakia, and is triumphing in her struggles with the difficulties of the English language. It is a hard enough task for us Americans to become familiar with all the new terms and names with which we are showered here, but we can little appreciate how much worse it must be for one who has not been speaking— grammatically or otherwise — our illogical tongue all her life. “Billy” Hughes comes from England, to swell the numbers of the society which we are expecting will be formed here by the Daughters of the British Revolu—pardon, British Empire. we mean. With Miss Herring, and now Billy to back her up in any discussion, it will no longer be safe for any of us to “guy” the Dragon about being “tiresome,” and throwing out the “bally bits.” Florence Bertermann heard of the excellent work that our “Tom” Hall is doing at the Pennsylvania Hospital for Nervous Diseases, and has come to learn our ways, planning to go on helping unfortunate people to find themselves by means of horticultural therapy. Then there are Helen Mowrie, from Illinois, late but enthusiastic, and Edith Thomson, of Pittsburgh, who was here during the summer session, and liked it so well she is going on with the full course. “Johnny” Peretti heard of the School from Helen Kille, and shows a keen interest in every branch of the work here. Betty Young comes from nearby, but is living at the School, and consequently sure to love it. Nancy Webster from Baltimore; Frances Hawkins from New York, otherwise aptly designated “Happy”; Martha Chadwick from Harrisburg, Estelle Sharp, a Vassal graduate from Berwyn; Rebecca Biddle from Wallingford, and Edith King from Ohio, bring the total to seventeen, with— mentioned last, but not least, Anne Wertsner, from Germantown, a capable helper who has had some training with Miss Wright in her nursery at Logan. So it is easy to imagine what a jolly family we are. And it is my pleasurable duty to proclaim that surely never was the School blessed with an entering class more eager to learn, nor more hearty in its efforts to go ahead with the job, whatever it is, and get it done. We can congratulate ourselves on the acquisition of such an earnest bunch, and can most sincerely wish the new Juniors well, both now in their School life, and in the work they are fitting themselves for in the future. We hope it will be within the range of possibility that many of our alumnae will come to see us this year, and meet their new sisters, and see all that is being done here to bring about the dream that we all have for the School in the coming years. E. C. tEl)t Partp for tfje Jfuntorsi The Juniors, with their usual enthusiasm for mail, were delighted one evening to find in each box a neatly written invitation to a party, to be given by the Seniors, on Friday, September 18th. We were much thrilled, and waited with much impatience for the day and the hour to arrive. When it did, we all responded promptly to the call of the bell, and were warmly greeted in the sitting room by our hostesses. The festivities were in the classroom. however, and upon entering here, we saw a long line of chairs, and were instructed in the art of playing “Going to Jerusalem.” After many exciting moments, Nancy Webster won by taking the final chair. Captains were then selected, who chose their own teams. The Giants, the Tigers, the Bantams, and the Brahmas then competed, in the various “heats” amid great excitement. “Unshie,” Jelinek won the first of these, which consisted of sitting on a jug placed on its side, with feet one upon the other, and writing one’s name readably while in this precarious position. Such acrobats as we proved ourselves to be! Then each team was given a knife and a dish with a prescribed number of odd shaped candies. These were to be carried from one dish to another on the knife. We worked in relays, and the general uproar seemed not conducive to steadiness of hand. The next game was just as exciting. Each girl was given a cracker. One girl in each team ate her cracker, and as soon as she could whistle, the next girl could begin eating. It was just heaps of fun trying to swallow the cracker and stop laughing long enough to whistle. Miss Carter and “Unshie” caused the most amusement, as they were the last two, and were laughing so heartily from the antics of the others, that they took whole minutes sobering enough, but Miss Carter finally produced an “honest-to-goodness” whistle. Then each team selected and acted a charade. They were all very clever, the word “noiseless” taking much longer to guess than “sandwich,” “misunderstand,” and “propagation.” This completed the games, and the best of all came when several delicious layer cakes and ice cream were served. It was a perfect ending, and enjoyed by all, even Laika. On September 25 was held what has become almost an institution at the School, namely an Auction, of goods, both left-over and useless, and some few things worth while. The money raised last year purchased the pretty curtains and the rag rug which we have been enjoying in the dormitory sitting-room. This year, with the $40 raised, we hope to do something equally useful, although the method of spending such wealth has not yet been decided upon. There was a Fair at Trenton. A Tri-State Fair. (Twixt “Tri-” and “Try we might make a juicy pun. We won’t, but we did not think much of the Fair.) Nevertheless, on a bleak September day the School of Horticulture fared forth en masse—(and in the bus),—for the Fair. The Infant Prodigy, “Happy,” had prayed for rain, that her new raincoat might be in order, but her prayers had been answered only to the extent of a raw and chilly atmosphere, which seemed likely to bring on a first-class blizzard, though that promise was not fulfilled. So swathed in many coats, we went. We reached the station safely, thanks to our noble Editor, who acted as chauffeur. All went well until we reached Philadelphia. There we nearly lost several members of the party, due to an indecent desire for ice cream at 10.00 A.M.— (not to mention tiny cream pitchers for which.they didn't pay!) In spite of all distractions, however, everyone reached the station before the train started. The ride to Trenton was as interesting as usual, perhaps a bit more so, as we stopped at more stations than we knew existed on that line. We were obligingly deposited at the Fair grounds, where we had to parade through long cattle chutes built for human consumption, whence we emerged at the ticket office. There we had to fork over a reluctant dollar each, having carelessly neglected to come on a 50c day. Once within the grounds, our eyes, ears and especially our noses were greeted by the “Get-’em-while-they’re-r-r-r-red-hot!” gentlemen, purveying hamburger cakes smothered in onions. (Between you and me and the fence post, I think those onions could have smothered a much tougher specimen than even those hamburgers.) Some people were nearly lured astray by a romantic individual dispensing snake-oil, with real rattlesnakes all about in cages to prove its genuineness. Our numbers were kept intact, however, and we trotted back and forth in quest of the Cattle Building. There the party divided; the frivolous ones repaired to the Horticultural Building, in search of—not the apples of the Hesperides, but the 57 varieties which Mr. Dikeman is trying to impress upon our weak and defenseless minds. The seriou,s-minded students of Farm Animals stayed to watch the judging of Jersey and Guernsey cows. They were very pretty, with their tails done up like dust brushes, and they looked very complacent. Shorthorns were also shown, with most charming °terwaves all checkerboarded over their coats. Of the Jerseys, I think we had each selected the blue ribbon animal even before the Judge did! Such acumen! After this there was much ambling around in search of entertainment. Enough chances were taken on autos to start a garage. Our noble Editor, with a sledge-hammer, and without the slightest effort, hit a short lever which in turn sent a so-called “weight up to the 4200 mark, to the vast amusement of numerous weakling males standing near; but she received not so much as a stick of chewing gum for her prowess. One kept running across hilarious groups, especially near the merry-go-round, or the “Whip,” which is an excellent assistant in the processes of digestion after several hamburger sandwiches, or a hot-dog or two. Lunch, which we would quite willingly have forgotten, consisted of wandering about from one stand to another, to see which had the least objectionable smell. Some brave souls were seen consuming hot dogs, accompanied by much strange goulash and much gusto. We hear tell that some adventurous spirits saw all the side-shows, but the descriptions of them are so gruesome that we will not go into details. At last, weary and wan, we wandered back to the station for the 2.58 train, leaving a few good sports to get their money’s worth seeing the horse races. The ride home was uneventful, except that almost everybody went to sleep. In one case, the slumber was so profound, that a man stopped and gazed for five minutes at one young lady reclining in a most abandoned attitude on the shoulder of a red-haired “gentleman” in skirts! Let us leave them so! Everyone reached home safely, in fact they were doing it all evening. And here endeth the account of an eventful day. J. C. Alumnae Jlotes Marguerite MacCreight (1916) was married in June to Mr. Thomas Miller. They are to live in Lexington, North Carolina. Dorothy Cloud is the author of “The Culture of Perennials ’ published recently by Dodd, Mead Co. Katherine Cohen (1917) was married on August 6th, to Mr. David W. Wainhouse. Mr. and Mrs. Wainhouse are now living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hortense Knudsen (1918) began work in the spring as Poultry Superintendent at an Industrial School for Girls in Massachusetts. Beatrice George (1918) is working in the office of Mr. Albert Taylor, L.A., in Cleveland, Ohio. Josephine Sharon (1923) was married on October 3, to Mr. George McLean. After a wedding trip to Colorado Springs and California they will live in Passaic, New Jersey. Martha Twining (1923) has accepted a position as Farm Manager in an Industrial School near Richmond, Virginia. Julia Clark (1924) is in Portland. Oregon, where she is planning to purchase a small place and start a perennial nursery. Eleanor Hammond (1925) has purchased a farm near Nashville, Term. Helen Tripner (1925) has a position in Pennock Bros.’ Florist Shop. Elizabeth Pedigo (1925) began work on September 1st, as assistant to Elizabeth Hall, in the Horticultural Therapy Department at the Pe:i r:y!-vania Hospital. •Poultry j otes Proverbs to the contrary, some news is good news, and the variety handed out by Mr. Cobleigh, the new man-about-the-place, who is foster daddy to the chickens, is welcome. For he says, does this Mr. Cobleigh, that he hopes to have a chicken colony of from seven hundred to a thousand chicks by next spring. Think of it! We shall be having-a real poultry farm right here. To all of those who are particularly interested in poultry, this news is gladdening, for it means that at Ambler we shall be able to see functioning a model thing of commercial proportions. Also there will be a source of experimental information for those alumnae who desire to keep up with all the latest chicken data. 'Tis a year of expansion, this one, and we are heading for a model place. “We're off!” ’Deed there’s many a slip between— the dorm and the dine. --------$------- Famous last words—“Let me alone, Jimmy, I just want to see how this corn chopper works!” --------$------- Did you notice that write-up of the School in the paper a while back? Wonder what a “pruning-fork” would look like anyway. Would it resemble the fork, or the prune? Don’t be surprised to see us all develop a third hand. Otherwise how can we set forth to work “with trowel and pruning-fork in one hand, and scientific textbook in the other?” Can’t you picture us? And “vega-culture” is such a nice word to say. Try it. As for bells being “hoary-voiced” —let me tell you, when it sounds in the morning, it creates a “grey” feeling, and don’t you forget it! And lastly, is not a truly pathetic image cast upon your mental vision, of some of us, going “out to the barn to take the cows out to graze”? It will be necessary to build up a much larger herd, if the full beauty of this suggestion is to be realized. There is a touching story going about, that we wish to repeat. It seems that a certain pious, unworldly lady in a small town was blessed (?) with a son whose tastes were rather cosmopolitan, as it were. One day, a policeman caught him shooting craps, and being a friend of the dear old lady in question, instead of arresting the boy, simply went to his mother and said, “My dear madam, I am sorry to say that I caught your son shoot- ing craps today. Won’t you talk to him about it. He’ll be getting into trouble some day if he doesn’t stop.” Now the lady had very little idea just what shooting craps was, but when her son came home, she started to remonstrate nobly: “Johnny, the officer came here today and told me that he has caught you shooting craps. It grieves me to find you so heartless and cruel; don’t you realize, my son, that these little animals have as much right to live as we?” --------$--------- Definitions Capon—A fancy breed of chickens. Pore Space—A place where pores should be, but aren’t. ------ s --------- 1st Junior (importantly)—“We’ve just been pruning!” 2nd Junior (equally enlightened) — “How many did you find?” The standard Horticultural query: “Have you a pantry in your pocket?” --------$--------- Speaking of cows, the following epitaph was gleaned from a New England churchyard: “Here lies Mary Goldwin, beloved wife of Cyrus Goldwin, who was kicked by a cow and died. ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” --------- $ ------- Guess what: Someone wrote for information about the School, and asked Miss Carter what the “intuition fees” of the School were. And another fond poultryist would like to bring her pet flock of 14 hens with her, while she takes the course here! ------------------ Then there is the story about the man who, while motoring through rural France, ran over a peasant. Said the peasant, rising from the dust, “Parlez-vous Francais?” Replied the American, “No, Chevrolet coupe!” ------- s -------- Well, well, this patter is bothering us as much as it is you. Station P. S. H. W. signing off. If you have liked the program—etc., etc. We Thank You. THE AMBLER TRUST COMPANY offers you it’s banking facilities Our services are at your disposal Ambler Furniture Co., Inc. Complete Home Furnishers 427 Butler Avenue AMBLER, PA. RADIOS Farm and Garden Seeds Implements Poultry Supplies Sprayers and Spraying Materials W. C. Dettera 523 Butler Avenue AMBLER, PENNA. Bell Phone 367W D. K. Hellings ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR “ WIRE US TO WIRE FOR YOU ” Bell Phone 508-J AMBLER, PA. Repair Work a Specialty Capacity 90 Cars Battery Re-Charging. Gas and Oils Keasbey Mattison Co.’s Garage Keasbey Mattison Company’s Garage GENERAL ACCESSORIES Both Phones S. R. McVaugh ICE DEALER 105 Spring Garden Street, Ambler Dager’s Antique Shop Rare Old American Antiques Furniture, China, Glassware, Pewter, Modern Furniture 521 Butler Avenue, Ambler, Penna. Phone, Ambler 369-J NICE and LYLE Successors to C. M. RILEY HARDWARE, Paints, Glass, Electrical and Atwater Kent Radio 315 Butler Avenue Bell 156-J AMBLER Keystone 73-X GEORGE W. PORTER Butler Avenue Pastry Shop ICE CREAM and CANDIES Bell, 350J 413 Butler Ave. Keystone, G59D A. T. KAY Diamonds, Watches and Jewelry 5 N. Main Street AMBLER, PA. STILLWAGON’S Drug Store For Service BUTLER AVENUE Bell Phone 42-J Dewey’s Auto Supply and Battery Service Ridge and Butler Avenues, Ambler EVERYTHING FOR THE AUTO J. W. CRAFT SONS AMBLER, PA. Manufacturers and Dealers in SCRATCH and MASH FEED BUILDING MATERIAL FENCING MATERIALS LEHIGH COAL Ambler Clothing and Tailoring Company THE LEADING CLOTHING and TAILORING HOUSE 429 Butler Avenue, AMBLER, PA. R. W. KRAUT Diamonds, Watches, Jewelry, Silverware On Easy Credit Terms AMBLER, PENN A. D. H. KALBACH Trinity and Bannockburn Avenues AMBLER, PA. Bread and Cakes DELIVERY SERVICE ■