Chapter 52
"You folks that are hungry and want apples or apple pie want to get busy about the middle of August and eat up your surplus apples in Minnesota.
It is a shame that farmers, fruit growers, etc., have spent years trying to grow apples in Minnesota and then we cannot get enough people to eat the apples. We are going to carry on the clearing house as we did last year, and if you want apples let us know. We can grow apples the same as we can grow peonies and strawberries, but it is a little hard to get them distributed properly."
Mr. A. M. Brand, of Faribault, who had an extraordinary exhibit of seedling peonies at the meeting, p.r.o.nounced by our peony expert, Mr.
C.S. Harrison, "second to none in the world," was introduced and talked briefly along the line of seedling peony production, as follows: "There is a great deal of encouragement in what we have been able to accomplish down there at Faribault along the line of producing something fine in peonies. Sixteen years ago we started out with the idea of improving upon the stock that we already have. We had a little red peony, a very nice peony, originated by Mr. Terry down in Iowa, called Rachel, and starting out with that as a mother plant we have produced some of the finest roots that there are in cultivation. By using lots of the seed of Rachel we have been able to produce this Mary Brand, considered by many of the peony growers as one of the finest red peonies in the world. A great many people that raise nice peonies think they have to go to the trouble of hand fertilization. That isn't necessary.
We started out with such varieties as Rachel, and by letting the bees and the elements do the fertilizing for us we were able to produce varieties like this. Here is the new seedling that we brought out this year and named Ruth--a pink peony. As a rule we plant about a peck of seed every year, and out of that peck of seed it probably brings us 10,000 seedlings, and out of this 10,000 we get one good seedling, and this is the only good seedling that we have produced this year. This is a seedling that comes from Rosa Fragrans. When we picked this seedling from the bed of seedlings we considered this the finest seedling that we had, and it has never come good from that time to this, and it is ten years since we have been trying this seedling, which will show you when you are growing seedlings that the first time a seedling blossoms and comes splendid you mustn't be too enthusiastic about it. The next year it may be worth nothing. You have got to try a seedling in every way to find out whether it is worth sending out. As a rule it takes us ten years from the time that a seedling first blossoms until we send it out.
Ninety per cent of all the peony seedlings that you grow will be singles, one out of 10,000 seedlings will be fair and one out of 100,000 seedlings will be extra good--so you see that those which we have produced give us some encouragement. I wouldn't advise many of you to go into the seedling business, although you might produce one good seedling out of a handful of seed.
"If you plant a peony on the lawn you have to fertilize it heavily. You can't have your lawn right up to the stalks of the peony. If you want a peony on the lawn you must give it two feet of ground. Most of the peonies that are brought here are taken out of fields that are cultivated with a horse cultivator. If you want your flowers on the lawn and don't want to cultivate them you have to use lots of fertilizer. You must not use too much. Fertilize heavy about once in three years. Don't fertilize every fall. Fertilize in the fall, and the next spring spade the manure in and then don't use any manure for three or four years.
Plant peonies any time from the first of September until the time it freezes up and plant any time in the spring until the growth starts on the plants. If you plant in the spring you are just six months ahead of planting in the following September, though September is really the best time to plant. If a peony clump becomes old, as large around as a tub, and you still want it to stand in the same place I would cut out half of the stalks as they come up, and then to get still larger blossoms after the stalks have come up I would pinch the side buds also."
[Ill.u.s.tration: A fringe of peonies at the summer exhibit.]
Mrs. Crawford, of Indiana, a peony grower of much experience there, who came to Minneapolis for the purpose of attending our flower meeting, we understand, told us something about how peonies are grown in her section, an interesting and practical talk, part of which follows: "In Indiana we have a sour, black clay soil. We fertilize
I consider that the ashes from the tops aid in fertilizing. I pile them up in little piles and burn them and sprinkle the ashes over the peonies. Frequently when I dig around a peony and I feel that the soil has become exhausted I throw in a handful of garden peas, and when they get about a foot high I spade them under for fertilizer."
Mr. D. W. C. Ruff, of St. Paul, had a wonderful showing of peonies of named varieties, most of them very expensive from a money standpoint, they having cost him prices varying from $5.00 to $40.00 a root, and judging by the character of the flowers which he held up for the audience while he talked about them they were well worth the money. I regret that we are unable to give a verbatim report of his talk, with the names of the varieties, but this information must be secured from him at some later time. In part he said:
"I have spent the last fifteen years in making a good collection of peonies. I have gone all over the world for peonies and have brought together some of the finest peonies from all the noted growers and horticulturists. In my collection I have over 400 hundred varieties, that is, what I am growing at my home. I have brought here today of course a great many peonies of the later varieties. I have brought these here from an educational standpoint so that the people might see some of the rare ones that they might have heard about or read about and see them and know of these varieties. Last year I made an exhibit and showed hundreds of them. This year I have brought just a few choice things."
Rev. C. S. Harrison spoke in his usual inspiring way, but with such force and speed that our stenographer was unable to pick him up, which we sincerely regret. We all know Mr. Harrison as an enthusiast in flowers.
He has met with us year after year at both annual gatherings. While he is eighty-three years old yet what he has to say and the way he says it still have the ring and inspiration of youth. He proposed the organization of a peony society for the Northwest, and a show of hands indicating there was material present to perfect such an organization the plans were laid therefor. Our reporter got this far:
"I have attended the national peony shows of Boston and New York, and they cannot hold a candle to your peonies, mark that! There is something in your soil and in your climate which brings them to the front."
Prof. F. L. Washburn was to tell us something about the white pine blister rust, but he failed to inflict upon us a long technical talk, and from what he said all the reporter got was this, from which however one could well judge what was in his thought. "We have found in Minnesota a disease on the white pine called the 'white pine blister rust.' One stage of this disease is on the gooseberry or currant, that is, we find it now on the white pine and going to the gooseberry or currant. We went to the governor, state treasurer and state auditor and obtained $1,000 for use in fighting this besides our regular appropriation."
Mr. J. M. Underwood, of Lake City, without whom the program would be incomplete, spoke a few closing words as follows: "We have had such a splendid program, and I know you are anxious to look at these beautiful flowers, and all I have time to say, and a disposition to say, is that I think we owe a great obligation to the Garden Flower Society, a splendid organization auxiliary to the State Horticultural Society. I think you ought to all be members of that Garden Flower Society. It is a wonderful working organization, and I think the ladies that are in charge of it deserve a great deal of credit and should be complimented as being foremost on the program. There is a great deal that I could say, but I know there isn't time for it, and I thank you."
In the meantime many more visitors had come into the hall to view the display, which continued on exhibition until 9:00 o'clock in the evening. Prof. Cady, who had general charge of the arrangements at the meeting, reports that at least one thousand people saw the display, and we think that it was well worth while to have kept it open until that hour. Representatives from a number of the hospitals were present after the meeting and took the flowers away to be used to cheer the sick in both Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The total amount of awards at this meeting were $178.75. A list of these awards with the names of the judges follows in a separate article. No one person took any large amount of premiums, they were well distributed amongst a dozen and a number of others who received smaller amounts.
Mrs. H.B. Tillotson, who has a wonderful flower garden near Eureka, Lake Minnetonka, received premiums of $17.00, which is the largest amount paid to any one person, although there were a number of others who received slightly smaller amounts.
Award of Premiums, Summer Meeting, 1916.
ROSES.
Collection, B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, fourth premium, $1.00.
Collection named varieties, amateurs, Thos. Redpath, Wayzata, second premium, $4.00.
Collection named varieties, amateurs, Mrs. H. B. Tillotson, Excelsior, First premium, $6.00.
Collection named varieties, amateurs, Mrs. D. W. C. Ruff, St. Paul, third premium, $2.00.
Three named varieties, white, Thos. Redpath, Wayzata, first premium, $2.00.
Three named varieties, pink, Thos. Redpath, Wayzata, first premium, $2.00.
Collection Rugosa and R. Hy., B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, first premium, $2.00.
Most beautiful rose, Mrs. H. B. Tillotson, Excelsior, first premium, $1.00.
Largest rose, Mrs. D. W. C. Ruff, St. Paul, first premium, $1.00.
Seedling, B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, first premium, Bronze medal donated by American Rose Society.
Basket outdoor roses arranged for effect, Mrs. H. B. Tillotson, Excelsior, first premium, $3.00.
Basket outdoor roses arranged for effect, Mrs. D. W. C. Ruff, St. Paul, second premium, $2.00.
Basket outdoor roses arranged for effect, Mrs. John Gantzer, St. Paul, third premium, $1.00.
Mdm. Plantier, Thos. Redpath, Wayzata, first premium, $0.75.
Gen. Jack, B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, first premium, $0.75.
Gen. Jack, Mrs. G. T. Brown, St. Paul, second premium, $0.50.
Magna Charta, Mrs. G. T. Brown, St. Paul, first premium, $0.75.
Ulrich Brunner, Mrs. G. T. Brown, St. Paul, first premium, $0.75.
Baroness Rothschild, Mrs. G. T. Brown, St. Paul, first premium. $0.75.
Mdm. Plantier, Mrs. G. T. Brown, St. Paul, second premium, $0.50.
AUG. S. SWANSON, Judge.
PEONIES.
Flesh or light pink, Mrs. Frank Moris, Lake Elmo, third premium, $0.50.
Medium or dark pink, Mrs. Frank Moris, Lake Elmo, third premium, $0.50.
White, Mrs. Frank Moris, Lake Elmo, second premium, $1.00.
Festiva Maxima, B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, second premium, $1.00.
Medium or dark pink, B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, second premium, $1.00.
Festiva Maxima, John E. Stryker, St. Paul, first premium, $2.00.
Light pink, John E. Stryker, St. Paul, second premium, $1.00.
Dark pink, John E. Stryker, St. Paul, first premium, $2.00.
Red, John E. Stryker, St. Paul, second premium, $1.00.
Flesh or light pink, D. W. C. Ruff, St. Paul, first premium, $2.00.
White, D. W. C. Ruff, St. Paul, first premium, $2.00.
Red, D. W. C. Ruff, St. Paul, first premium, $2.00.
Collection, 3 blooms, professional, B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, first premium, $6.00.
A. M. BRAND, C. J. TRAXLER, Judges.
Collection, three blooms, amateur, Mrs. Frank Moris, Lake Elmo, fourth premium, $1.00.
Collection, three blooms, amateur, Mrs. H. B. Tillotson, Excelsior, third premium, $2.00.
Collection, three blooms, amateur, John E. Stryker, St. Paul, first premium, $6.00.
Collection, three blooms, amateur, Mrs. E. W. D. Holway, Excelsior, second premium, $4.00.
OLAF J. OLSON, Judge.
Seedling, B. T. Hoyt, St. Paul, fourth premium, $0.50.
Seedling, Crimson No. 1, 1916, A. M. Brand, Faribault, third premium, $1.00.
Seedling, Ruth, A. M. Brand, Faribault, first premium, $3.00.
Seedling, No. 245, A. M. Brand, Faribault, second premium, $2.00.
D. W. C. RUFF, Judge.
ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS.
Dielytra, F. H. Ellison, Minneapolis, third premium, $0.50.