1938: Horticulture

Horticulture, meaning literally the cultivation of a garden, has been defined as the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and flowers or ornamental plants. Although primarily an art, it is connected with science at every point, for example, in many branches of botany, particularly plant physiology and genetics; with soil science; with landscape architecture, and even with art itself, as when artistic standards and styles determine the choice and selection of new varieties of flowers or other ornamental plants.

Although one of the most popular and spectacular fields of horticulture is the development of new varieties of plants which are adjudged better from an artistic or from an economic point of view, a trend in just the reverse direction has been evident in late years — that is, a tendency to exalt, or, at least, to seek out and cultivate the wild plants. The wildings, untouched and unmanipulated by man, have a charm of their own. For example, in the last International Flower Show in New York City, an unpretentious collection of wild ferns attracted an amount of attention equal to that of many of the more spectacular exhibits. People are asking for wild plants from all parts of the world. Nurseries throughout the country are offering wild plants and seeds of wild plants for sale. Even firms specializing in wild plants only have sprung up.

Herbs and Herb Gardens.

In line with this is the continually increasing popularity of herbs and herb gardens. During the past few years their history has been somewhat parallel to that of rock gardens. Rock gardens were known in Europe about 100 years ago, but the rock-garden craze in America reached its high point perhaps ten or fifteen years ago. That rock gardens have come to stay as a permanent feature of American horticulture there can be no question; but during the past half dozen years their popularity has waned somewhat. Likewise with herb gardens: although their history goes back to the Old Roman Gardens, or even earlier, and comes down to us through the monastic gardens of the Middle Ages, the Elizabethan gardens of the Renaissance, and the herb gardens of early colonial times, it is only within the last few years that they have become a fad, so to speak, in America. By 'herbs' is understood not necessarily plants without a woody structure (the strict botanical definition) but those plants used in cooking (culinary herbs) and those used in medicine (medicinal herbs). In the construction of these herb gardens the 'knots' or symmetrical patterns which were prominent features of the European gardens of the sixteenth century are sometimes used.

A Bulletin of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden says: 'The term `knot' is perhaps confusing, because to the modern mind a `knot' indicates a loop tightly drawn together. But as applied to these old gardens it is an arrangement of lines crossing and re-crossing. The intricate patterns of the lines were formed either of nonliving materials, including wood, lead, tile, brick, and sheep shanks; or of interlacing ribbons of low-growing plants or of plants which could be kept low by shearing. Favorite living subjects included: germander, hyssop, marjoram, savory, thyme, thrift, lavender, lavender-cotton, juniper, yew, and box.' Gervaise Markham, the author of 'The English Husbandman' (1613), names germander as 'the most principal best,' but Parkinson finds fault with it and prefers box.

Flower Arrangement.

The various ways in which flowers may be arranged in bouquets, in order to create the most artistic effects, continue to form a subject of great interest. A vast amount of literature, dealing with this matter, has been published.

New Forms in 1938.

As to new plants and varieties introduced during the year, it is of course impossible to even name all or to evaluate the whole field with any considerable degree of fairness: we can only name a few of the introductions which are unquestionably outstanding.

Roses.

The long-desired yellow rose may perhaps be the new Alice Harding, an offspring of the free-blooming Mrs. Pierre S. Dupont. The new rose, Golden State, is to be the official rose of the San Francisco World's Fair in 1939. It was awarded the gold medal at Bagatelle in 1937, also a gold medal at the International Rose Test Gardens at Portland, Ore., the American Rose Society's certificate, and the grand gold medal for the most beautiful rose of France. At the annual meeting of the American Rose Society, the Fuerstenberg prize, awarded each year for the best American rose suited to the American climate, was voted to Mrs. J. H. Nicolas for the late Dr. Nicolas' yellow rose, Eclipse.

Iris.

A large number of new Iris have been introduced, of the following color shades and types; whites, blues, purples, yellows, pinks, reds, blends, plicatas, and coppers. The new Iris, Copper Lustre, originated by Dr. John H. Kirkland, received the Dykes medal for 1938.

Gladiolus.

There are said to be now about 7,000 varieties of gladiolus in the trade. On the basis of popularity, Picardy, the salmon-pink gladiolus, continues to rate first, by a wide margin, as in the past two or three years. Breeding work looking toward the development of forms with fragrance, a quality hitherto generally lacking, is being carefully carried on by Dr. Forman T. McLean of the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, at Yonkers, N. Y.

All-America Selections of Annuals.

All-America selections of best introductions of annuals during 1938 are: — Morning Glory, Scarlett O'Hara, gold medal: Annual Hollyhock, Indian Spring: Petunia, Hollywood Star; Phlox drummondi, Salmon Glory; Light Blue Aster, Early Giant — all silver medals: Cynoglossum, Firmament; Petunia, Velvet Ball; Antirrhinum, Guinea Gold; Verbena, Blue Sentinel; Marigold, Early Sunshine; Petunia, Ladybird — all bronze medals.

Raspberries.

Two new red raspberries, the Marcy and the Taylor, are recommended by the New York State Experiment Station at Geneva.

Apples.

Twenty new varieties of apples and two new crab apples are on the list of recommended fruits published by the New York State Fruit Testing Association, in its 1937-38 catalogue. Promising apples of the McIntosh type are the Kendall, which may replace the Baldwin, the Early McIntosh, Macoun, Milton, Ogden, Sweet McIntosh, and two Canadian varieties, Lobo and Melba. Among the new Delicious types are Medina, Newfane, Orleans, and Sweet Delicious. Other new varieties included are Carlton, Crimson Beauty, Lodi, Red Duchess, Red Gravenstein, Red Sauce, Red Spy, and Dolgo and Young America, the last two being crab apples.

Damage from the Hurricane.

Tremendous damage to plant life, especially to trees and shrubs, resulted from the devastating hurricane of Sept. 18, 1938. Coming up along the Atlantic coast, the center of the storm struck eastern Long Island, and was shouldered up inland by regions of high atmospheric pressure on each side, moving across Rhode Island and Massachusetts to the northward, roughly along the line of the Connecticut River, to the Province of Quebec northeast of Montreal, where, presumably, it was dissipated. Farmers suffered heavily, especially in the orchard and tobacco areas.