What could be cuter than a spotted fawn, looking helpless and adorable?
Most people see deer and think "Bambi." But cemetery grounds personnel see deer and think, "No tulips this spring!" and "Oh, no, those trees are going to be stripped!" and "How are we going to keep them away from those bushes?"

WHAT: Twenty-five years ago, if we saw a deer at Spring Grove, we would get kind of excited, because they weren't common. But here in Cincinnati and in many other areas of the country, communities have developed more and more of our greenbelts, leaving the remaining greenbelts fragmented. At the same time, the number of predators has been reduced.

The result has been an exploding deer population. Deer are everywhere, destroying the landscape as they forage for food.

WHY: There's no doubt that deer and cemeteries are problematic. The deer rub against trees and they treat the landscaping like a salad bar.

A great way to bring visitors out to the cemetery is with a big show of spring color. But for 10 years, we did not plant a single tulip bulb at Spring Grove for the simple reason that tulips are the ultimate deer snack food—there's nothing they like more. They would search for them and ruin the spring plantings. It became an embarrassment and brought so much negative press we decided not to plant any more tulips until we figured out how to handle the deer.

HOW: There are plants deer especially love—like tulip bulbs—so one way to cut down on the number of deer dining at your cemetery is to avoid adding their favorite foods to your landscaping.

Consider using plants from the list below to decrease deer browsing. However, keep in mind there is no guarantee that deer won't eat plants they don't particularly like, or don't like as much as tulip bulbs. If deer are hungry enough and can't find what they love to eat, they'll eat something they don't love. Deer might turn to an alternative food source after a serious snowfall, for example.

However, when you're planting a spring bed and are afraid to use tulips, you can plant every single kind of daffodil that exists (if you're in south Florida, you need to use pre-chilled bulbs) and the deer won't touch them. Daffodil bulbs contain a deadly alkaloid; no grazing animal will eat daffodil bulbs.

Another good choice is an evergreen that was promoted by Ohio's plant selection committee. The first place they'd ever seen it was Spring Grove, so it's now known as the Spring Grove arborvitae. We've never heard of any significant damage from deer browsing anywhere in the country this plant has been used. And, since it's an evergreen, the trunk is never exposed, so there won't be any damage from deer rubbing, either.

Keep in mind that if the deer have nothing else to eat, they will eat whatever's available, including plants they would normally shun.

Exclusion—using fencing to keep the deer out of certain areas—is a wonderful method where it's practical for the cemetery. Spring Grove is divided between developed and undeveloped properties, so one step we took was to install a deer fence a mile long designed to keep the deer in the undeveloped part of the cemetery. We figured it was going to be hard to get rid of the deer entirely, but at least we could keep them out of the developed areas.

Fences cost a lot but they work well. The fencing at Spring Grove has done a great job. It's not 100 percent effective, but we don't think anything is. Deer will hop over a fence, or even crawl under it sometimes. But at least the fence has kept the deer at bay.  We also use wire mesh to keep deer from rubbing against trees.

Spraying plants can provide excellent control. We use some chemical products designed to keep the deer from consuming plants like tulips. Most of those products contain pubescent eggs or some kind of hot, bitter additives. We spray tender plants or annuals like red begonias (a super-favorite of deer), and the sprays do help.

Check with your local game warden and state authorities about other ways to control an area's deer population. Here, a big deer harvest has been conducted the past couple of years in some parks. They use high-powered rifles to hunt the deer.

When you talk about controlling the deer population through hunting, the initial reaction is often, "Oh, no—they want to shoot the little Bambis," But once you show people the statistics for how many automobile accidents are caused by deer hitting cars, the "Bambi" factor becomes almost a non-issue.

In some places, the venison is donated to soup-kitchen or food-pantry types of operations, so that provides an additional benefit.

In some cases, an increase in the number of natural predators may help control the deer population. Ohio has more deer today—more than a half million—than it did when it became a state in 1803.

Unfortunately, the number of predators has not kept up. Coyotes were abundant in Ohio 100 years ago. Today, the coyote population is lagging far behind the deer population, but it's started to increase. A lot of people get paranoid at the thought of the number of coyotes increasing, but the predator-prey equation is how the balance of nature is supposed to work.

What Could Be Worse Than Deer, Geese or Groundhogs?
You Don't Want to Know!

What's the next "big thing" on the horizon as far as cemetery nuisance animals? In preparing for a program about pests recently, we asked a state wildlife expert this question and he predicted it would be exotic pets abandoned and left to fend for themselves.

Pythons, boa constrictors, alligators, poisonous snakes, iguanas, gila monsters—you name it, somebody is keeping it as a "pet," at least until it becomes too difficult and/or dangerous to handle. Or until it manages to escape and slither or crawl away.

An alligator has been found walking along the side of the road in Ohio. It wasn't in Spring Grove, thank goodness, but it's only a matter of time. People buy them when they're small, then when they get to be 3 or 4 feet long, they decide they can't take care of them. Someone's going to think, "Heck, Spring Grove's got 14 lakes—I bet the 'gator would love it down there."

This sounds a lot worse than dealing with geese or deer, but one thing's for sure: If a dangerous animal is spotted in the cemetery, state officials will be down here in a hurry to take care of the problem.

If you spot an exotic, potentially dangerous animal, call your state wildlife division game warden. We can't overemphasize how important it is to develop good relationships with your wildlife people, who are specially educated and trained to deal with these problems.

If you have consulted the wildlife people regularly and made sure you follow all federal, state and local rules and regulations, when you have a boa constrictor on your property and you call them, they know who you are and they'll be right there to help.

Cemeteries are valuable greenbelts.
You know that, but does your community?
To publicize how your grounds benefit everyone
in the area, try these ways of "spreading the green."

WHAT: One way of using your cemetery's natural assets to generate goodwill is to invite people to enjoy events on your beautiful grounds. Spring Grove certainly does that throughout the year, and your cemetery probably does, too.

But we also believe in exporting a bit of nature as a way to remind people that we're an arboretum as well as a cemetery. We're about the cycle of life, and you can't give people a better symbol of renewal and rebirth than a growing plant.

WHY: Plant giveaway programs can generate good news coverage and draw people in who may not have visited your cemetery before. They don't have to be annual events. Try the ones we describe here, or come up with your own tailored to your community and your cemetery, or to a special event in your community like a centennial celebration.

It's a subtle way to get your name out in front of the community, to be a good neighbor and a good citizen. When an at-need situation arises, maybe someone will remember your cemetery because of one of these programs.

And we can't emphasize enough the need to constantly build goodwill in the community, to generate good news stories as often as possible. Because no matter who you are, no matter how hard you try to have a perfect safety record, there may come a day that something goes wrong and the unhappy family runs to the media. When that happens, you want to have a long history of good news so that people will weigh that against the bad.

HOW: We do "green outreach" in a number of ways; we're going to describe three in detail. We've found these three to be cost effective and enjoyable for our employees and the public.

1. The Pansy Program. This is one we just started last year, so we're still working on perfecting it, but we love this idea. We get some tough winter weather here in the Midwest, and we thought it would be nice to do something to celebrate the rebirth of the outdoors environment as we start coming out of the doldrums of winter. In our area, pansies seem to represent that idea.

We decided we'd give away pansies to everyone who comes into the office. We start in mid-February, which is a little ahead of the curve as far as the end of winter. Occasionally we'll get one of those surprise 6O-degree days, but overall it's one of the ugliest months of the year in Cincinnati. The cemetery looks like it's taken a "whupping," with tracking where we've had equipment even though we tried to put boards down. The sky is gray, there's not a bud on a tree.

Just think how great it is to go into an office, maybe to complain about something, and as you're leaving the receptionist says, "Thank you for corning in; we'd like you to have this nice flower to take home and enjoy." Here's this colorful pansy looking you in the eye. How can you not smile when you see a pansy?

Did the bank give you a flower? No. The dry cleaner? No. The grocery store? No. But the cemetery did, and it brightened up your day. And the employee who handed it to you enjoyed doing it, too.

It's amazing how the expression on people's faces change when you hand them the flower and tell them it's free. We include a brief care sheet telling people they can either put the potted pansy on a windowsill and be inspired by it for a couple of weeks, or place it outside.

It doesn't have to be a pansy. Maybe you want to give out petunias, or some other flower. Pansies work well for us because even though the name makes them sound wimpy, they're actually tough plants. They'll tolerate extremes in temperatures, so the cemetery doesn't have to worry about keeping them inside just because it's going down to 20 degrees at night. Pansies love cold weather, damp rainy weather.

You can order them from a local grower, or grow them yourself in your greenhouse. Bring as many into the office as you think you'll need that day, in little pots. Any you don't give out that day can go back outside—you can't keep them inside too long or they start to yellow.

Start planning now, and say "welcome, Spring 2007" with flowers!

2. The Arbor Day Tree Giveaway. We don't do this every year, though it's not very expensive, and it's a natural for cemeteries. Really, is there a cemetery anywhere that doesn't have trees?

When we do it, we team up with the city's urban forestry division. Almost every city has one, or a parks division or something similar. Call up and say you'd like to partner on an Arbor Day project. (Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, by the way.)

One way is to buy seedlings wholesale, maybe for the top two or three plants for your area, and work with the forestry or park people to get them delivered to any schools or libraries who want to do an Arbor Day planting. Newspapers are always looking for a tree planting to take a picture of for Arbor Day, and if your cemetery donated the tree, you hope that will get mentioned in the photo caption or story.

Another way to give out trees is to announce that you'll be giving away seedlings to the first 200 families (parent or parents and at least one child) who come in to the cemetery during a particular time period, maybe the Saturday before or after Arbor Day. You want the child there to talk to about the importance of Arbor Day and trees in general. Having a child also makes for a better visual for the newspapers or television.

You want the parents there for obvious reasons. You'll have a chance to introduce yourself, hand over a card or brochure and ask if you can put them on the mailing list for your newsletter. So it's a subtle way to get some names of people you can eventually approach to talk to about preplanning.

Don't forget to notify the media that you'll be giving away seedlings. They're on the lookout for Arbor Day stories, so "this year. the ABC Cemetery is giving away dogwoods and blue spruce seedlings to beautify the community and celebrate Arbor Day" is news.

This is something you should start out small with, maybe 200 seedlings, depending on the size of your community. If you run out of seedlings, put people on a list to get one later and have a second pick-up day scheduled.
 
You can get a tremendous number of seedlings for a few hundred dollars. When deciding which seedlings to choose, you want to look for native plants that are reasonably priced, easy to transplant and have a high survivability rate. (You can ask the forestry or parks division, or your local Extension agent, for suggestions.)

You don't want Mommy, Daddy and Johnny planting a seedling, getting all excited, watching it grow and then going outside one day to find that it's died. Fife remembers Arbor Day as being Silver Maple Giveaway Day when he was a kid, probably because those trees can survive anywhere, so that's what everyone handed out.

The bigger the seedling, the higher the cost, of course, but you don't want to give people a tree so dinky that no one can really see it and it's going to get run over and chopped up by the lawnmower. You can buy a decent sized seedling sometimes for pennies and certainly for less than $1 a piece.

We give away seedlings 18 to 24 inches high—significant enough so you can see them. We buy them in bulk and repackage them. You can make a fact sheet with transplant and care instructions on it to give out, and a tag maybe with your logo on it that you can attach to the tree.

Or, since you have to repack the seedlings in planting bags with a little sphagnum moss to maintain the moisture, you could use a bag with your logo and the care instructions right on the bag.

The garden editors come running when we do the Arbor Day seedling giveaway. What better advertising can you get than a picture of a child getting his free tree as mom and dad look on? People look at that photo and say to themselves, "Man, that Spring Grove—they're always doing good things."
 
3, The Patented or Special Plant Program. Spring Grove has a Patented Plant Program—yes, some of our plants have been patented. But you don't need a patented plant to do this, just a tree or flowering bush that's special in some way and can offer "babies" to the community.

Maybe you have a great white oak tree you've been mowing around for years. It's got a majestic form and a huge canopy in the summer; it provides late fall color; its beautiful branches and white bark look phenomenal against the winter sky. You don't have to patent it—just identify it, maybe even name it!

Then make it available to the gardening public. Collect its fruit—the acorns—to give away. You could take the next step, of course, and plant the acorns yourself, then give people the seedlings as little potted plants. Either way, this is a fun giveaway.

When you think about it, a lot of cemeteries have been around 50, 70, 100, 150 years, and have plenty of plants that have endured over time. Take photographs of your magnificent tree or plant so people can see what great stock the acorns or cuttings come from, then write a little story about your giveaway to send to the press.

We sell some of our patented plants across the country through our Web site, popular plants that will grow probably in 60 to 75 percent of American gardens. But we're suggesting this as a low-cost giveaway limited to your community.

This doesn't have to be tied to Arbor Day (though it could be), but should be done during a good planting season, meaning spring or fall. As always, include a fact sheet, maybe saying something such as "this is a direct progeny of the champion/the biggest white oak on Section 23 of ABC Cemetery."

Remember, it doesn't have to be a tree, it just has to be a plant that's relatively easy to propagate. We've done this with some of our shrubs. Check with your Extension agent for suggestions.

Maybe you have a nice flowering vibernum—a plant that's adaptable to 90 percent of American gardens. You recall that the previous superintendent said the plant was there, and thriving, when he arrived 30 years ago. It's endured droughts, severe winter and summer weather and flooding. What better test is there? (Be sure to mention that in your press release.)
 
There's no law against naming it the ABC Cemetery Vibernum, taking some cuttings and offering them to the community. Make sure you have photos of it when it's blooming, or that you send out your press release when it's blooming so the newspaper can get a good photo.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

We've tried to plant a seed of an idea with this column. Why not try one of these programs next year? Your employees will get inspired—they'll like being a part of this type of goodwill effort.

After all, being in the cemetery business could be a bit of a downer if it weren't for the fact that we're always trying to do some of these uplifting things, too.

The laying out of the grounds in a modern cemetery is quite a serious problem to secure the best landscape effects, after the monumental work has been erected. A beautiful section of newly developed land present's quite a changed appearance after the different monumental workers have erected various designs in marble and granite, oftentimes destroying some landscape effect which may have been in the mind of the cemetery superintendent when arranging his grading and planting.

To secure satisfactory results it is often necessary to change the original scheme of planting and the planting areas are quite often restricted to small spaces. In such places as these many times the desired results may be obtained by using the dwarfer growing evergreens and ornamental grasses.

The evergreens give a pleasing winter effect as well as summer; and as many of them can be pruned and confined to small size, their usefulness may be readily realized.

The ornamental grasses can be planted even in the narrow spaces around lots or between headstones as they are a perennial, coming into form early in the season and lasting well info the winter. As they die back to the ground each year and can easily be subdivided, they never need become objectionable to the lot owners and yet we are able to hide many undesirable features by their use.

Among the most useful evergreens for use in our locality the following varieties have proved the most hardy: Colorado blue Fir, common and golden varieties of the prostrate Juniper, Irish Juniper, Swedish Juniper, Norway white and blue Spruce, Mountain Pine, White Pine, if kept nipped back closely, Retinosporas, filifera and plumosa, American Arbor Vitae in varieties such as George Peabody, Hoveyii, globosa and pyramidalis, the Siberian Arbor Vitae, Hemlock, Taxus Canadensis and cuspidata, Rhododendrons in variety, Andromeda floribunda and arborescence, Mahonia aquifolia, Kalmia and Euonymus radicans and radicans variegata.

These varieties would vary in hardiness according to location, but are quite satisfactory around Boston. Many more varieties can be used a little farther south, and probably many of the above named would not live if exposed to the cold winds only a short distance north.

Among the most satisfactory ornamental grasses are the Eulalias in variety, Gracillima univitata, Japonica, Japonica variegata, Japonica zebrina, the striped ribbon grass, Phalaris arundinacea variegata, the hardy and some of the half hardy Bamboos.

These grasses make graceful, pleasing effects which can be taken advantage of in many crowded sections and have the further recommendation of standing transplanting at almost any season should they be located where a stone is to be placed or an interment made.
The above-named evergreens and grasses are probably only a few of the many varieties that can be used to advantage, but those which I have mentioned have proved very satisfactory in our own grounds. 

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Convention
Held at Kansas City, MO
August 11, 12 and 13, 1908

The cemeteries I have the honor to represent are situated on the northeast coast of England in close proximity to the North Sea, where the climate is very unfavorable to gardening, especially in a severe winter. We have in Sunderland three large cemeteries, 115 acres in all, under the control of the Sunderland county borough council and are laid out in a way as to make them appear more like parks than cemeteries. In each cemetery we plant annually quite four hundred thousand flowering plants for spring and summer bloom. The spring flowers chiefly consist of early flowering Dutch bulbs, tulips, hyacinths and narcissus forming the greater part, large quantities of dark red wall flowers (about fifty thousand), together with primroses, myosokis, aubrietia, arabis Alpina compacta forming large masses by the long avenues. In addition to this my committee undertake on behalf of the relatives of deceased persons the care of grave lots and plant suitable flowering plants together with flowering shrubs twice during each year, by the way I may mention that I notice in the states that many burial authorities receive grants of money for the perpetual care of grave lots, which I fully approve of and hope that the authorities of our cemeteries in Great Britain will soon follow your example.

In the year 1875 when I first took over the care of one of our large cemeteries there were no flowers cultivated and remember asking the consent of my board to purchase four dozen geraniums to form a flower bed which was very conspicuous, being the only one in 24 acres of land; as time went on the number of flower plots increased also did the grave planting and now the fees from this source is one of the best sources of revenue, averaging near £1,000 per year. When the spring bloom is over the flower beds and borders are cleared and replanted with their summer occupants, such as geraniums, calceolarias, violas, echeveria, lobelia, begonias, East Lowthian stocks, the various kinds of asters and numerous kinds of annuals worked in large quantities, the demand for grave planting in our cemeteries has necessitated the erection of a large number of greenhouses which not only supply the graves but furnish a large number of plants for the general decoration of the vast grounds of our cemeteries.

I notice that the question of erecting glass houses in the cemeteries in the states has been much questioned as to whether they were profitable or otherwise here we find they are profitable but apart from this they enable us to do something to brighten the surroundings in our cemeteries where thousands of our people gather in large numbers. Since the introduction of floral decorations in our cemeteries it is not an unusual sight to see 5,000 people walking through the avenues, especially on a Sunday evening. This I think is sufficient evidence that a good floral display in a cemetery is a fit and proper thing to do. This may give rise to much discussion at the convention but this is my opinion founded on 31 years of practical experience.

Flowering shrubs also form a great part in our floral display, rhododendron, "Cunningham White" being especially useful. Olearia Hastu should always be in evidence with its large clusters of hawthorne like blossoms. This shrub is particularly hardy by the coast, makes a perfect bush and easy of cultivation. I have seen many changes and much progress in gardening, especially in floriculture, which has for its object the production of subjects of taste and curiosity.

For early spring bloom and making a brilliant display I strongly advocate "violas." No one need be afraid of being amply repaid for their labors if they try the following varieties. I grow annually about 20,000 plants.

"Viola cornuta papilio" a beautiful violet shade of blue is most profuse and makes a complete sheet of bloom, a good bed of this is not to be equaled by any, other variety so far as I know. "Viola cornuta rosea," is a new type very distinct and a color much needed. These I consider would give full satisfaction to any who do spring bedding.

The many varieties of self colored pansies form a striking contrast for spring bedding and are worthy of your attention, as I have grown large quantities with good effect.

Stocks are indispensible for spring bloom. For over 20 years I grew large quantities of the scarlet and white queen and improved the strain to a considerable degree until an average of 80 percent were doubles. In 1876 I obtained a few plants from a friend in Newcastle which averaged perhaps 10 percent of doubles the first year and improved each year until 80 percent was reached:

"Primroses," of late years I have been much interested in their cultivation.

Auriculas. This class of spring flowering plants is of great interest to those who can spare the time to give them the attention they require. For many years I purchased seed from specialists and had a failure each time, then I purchased strong plants which flowered well and in a hot season produced abundance of seeds which I had sown immediately it was ripe, under this treatment I produced thousands of plants.

Bulbs. As the cultivation of hyacinths, snowdrops, scillas, crocus and similar spring bulbs is so well known I do not propose to offer any remarks on them.

I trust this short paper has interested you as it is my earnest desire to do.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 20th Annual Convention
Held at Detroit, MI
August 21, 22 and 23, 1906

Among the various subjects for our consideration at this time, is that of "Trees, Shrubs and Plants for the Adornment of the Cemetery." The subject is vast and unbounded. Our country extends from the Arctic to the Torrid Zone. It may be said of it, it is the glory of all lands; and within its bounds are twenty-four (24) botanical classes of plants, with no less a multitude than thirty thousand species, and an endless variety in the species. From this vast array of beauties, each superintendent will have to select for himself that which will flourish in his particular location.

Let us not forget that every plant, from the lichen that clings to the rocks, to the majestic redwood Sequoia Gigantica which adorns the hills of California, is an expression of our beneficent Creator's good will to men. It was a paradise we lost; we are to regain a paradise. When earth and all which it contains shall have passed away within the precincts of a future world, the family of man shall partake of joys depicted under the alluring imagery of a garden, a pure crystal stream, refreshing bowers and luxuriant verdure. It is meet that we should beautify the resting place of our dead, relieve the gloom of death and make the cemetery a pleasing retreat for reverent contemplation.

Whatever planting is done in the lots should be done under the direction of the superintendent. If flowers are desired by the lot holder, they should be planted in beds, circles or crescents, so that they will not interfere with the cutting of the grass. Flowering shrubs are more becoming than tender flowers; a clump of hardy ever blooming roses, White Musk Cluster, Red Rambler, Hermosa; for single bushes Hydrangea Grandiflora is one of the best, but our hardy native Rhododendrons are beautiful all the year round, the fern-leaved birch gives the best shade and does not injure the grass, or stain marble or granite; it is also a pleasing object all the year round.

The best thing in a lot is a fine carpet of grass, and whatever is planted in the lot should be placed so that it will not obstruct the mowing. Trees and shrubs in the lots should be few and select. The screening plantations and sylvan scenery, with thousands of ornamental trees and shrubs should be outside the lots, properly on the borders of the cemetery. A judicious arrangement of the planting gives dignity to the landscape, sequestration and shelter.

The cemetery of which I have charge belongs to the classical city of Washington, PA, the woody land of Penn, the Keystone State of our Union, located among the rich hills of Washington County. When I took charge of the cemetery in 1868 most of the grounds were primeval forest. Our general plan is to leave sections of the forest between the lot sections. The effect is grand. We value these trees highly, not because of their commercial value, but because they were planted by the Lord of heaven and earth. The managers have given their superintendent a free hand to plant everything that will flourish in our location. Already we have a great variety in our old reserve forest, but will add many more as we find it convenient. The standard forest trees cannot be grown to perfection if transplanted. Oak, walnut, chestnut, hickory seeds should be planted as they fall from the trees and covered with wood's earth. As they grow, keep the stem or trunk covered with leaves, let the top go aloft, to any height desired, but protect the trunk with leaves, until the top branches shade the ground around the tree. Fibrous-rooted trees, such as maple, elms and poplars, can be transplanted without dwarfing them.

The white oak is, among the deciduous trees, what the cedar of Lebanon is among the evergreen trees. The way it takes hold of the earth, its perpendicular trunk, where it has room to spread, limbs very large, diverging at a very large but not uniform angle, from a broad, gnarled, massive juncture; some of them go out horizontally, variously contorted, much and variously branched, the higher limbs make a sharper angle, they all often make considerable bends, in any direction, upwards, downwards, or on either side, spray on many twigs at right angles in all directions, miniatures of the larger limbs. As an ornamental tree it is beautiful in every stage of its growth; at first light, slender, delicate and waving, at last, broad, massive and grand but always graceful. Let everyone who has an opportunity plant a white oak. When standing in a situation, where it is somewhat protected and has room freely to expand its limbs, it will improve in beauty and magnificence for many generations of men. It is the last tree on earth to yield to the storm. When standing together, the mixture of the various oaks makes an interesting and beautiful picture. Among the evergreen trees, the pines, spruces, firs, cypresses, north of Mason and Dickson's line, the white pine for beauty and utility heads the list. It bends to the storm, yet successfully resists its violence. All the coniferva are worthy of a place in the cemetery.

Managers and superintendents of American cemeteries and parks, as intelligent and patriotic citizens, should give good heed together and preserve our vegetable American beauties and give them a place in our public grounds, so that they may not disappear from the earth. Before the tremendous energies of our people the forests are going down like the harvest before the reaper. Comparatively there are still a few trees left. Like the latest left in their ancient strength they stand and tell us still of the sylvan years when the forest filled the land. Our worthy President Roosevelt, the Senate, Congress and the Legislatures of every State in the Union, besides the colleges and schools, have taken the forest-tree question into consideration. No doubt good will come to the nation through their deliberations.

Hardy Herbacous plants should find a place in every cemetery; they are beautiful and afford not only a great variety in form and color and habit of plant, but diversity in beauty of foliage, while the flowers present an endless variety in form and color, and in time of flowering they range from earliest spring to latest autumn. Have them arranged in families, according to the Linnean system of botany. Begin with range A, say 100 to the range, then range B; ten ranges to the block; then as many blocks as can be filled; use calcined numbers twelve inches in the ground and three inches above the surface and a catalogue to correspond, which will be of great use to botanical classes in the colleges, seminaries and high schools, but above all it will be one of the most interesting ornaments of the cemetery, more in place than, common flower beds.

Besides the importance vegetation has in the adornment of the cemetery, among the natural sciences none is more fitted for general education than botany. It relates to objects which are constantly within our reach and can be studied at all times; and it is fitted alike for young and old, for rich and poor. It makes us see wonderful beauty and arrangement even in the meanest weed. It adds brightness and pleasure to the hours of recreation. The works of God are wonderful and they are sought out of all that have pleasure therein. Let a student acquire a taste for science and he will proceed to search out more and more the objects around him. But while prosecuting with ardor the study of material things, let him not be misled by a false glare of science, which would lead him to ignore the power, the omniscience and constant superintendence of Him by whom all things were created and by whom they subsist every moment and while diligently acquiring a knowledge of earthly things let him not forget the better things of God's word, which alone can make him wise unto salvation.

Let me call your attention to the shading of avenues in the cemetery with the grand drapery of the forest. Of course we will have to use only such trees as are tough, to withstand storms. Say, one avenue white oak-Quercus Alba; a second avenue red oak-Quercus Rubra; and various other lofty oaks. The white ash, Fraxinus Acuminata, and various sorts; Magnolia Acuminata; several varieties of the elm; several varieties of the beech and hornbeam; the buttonwood tree, Platanus Occidentalis, could be used with fine effect. Both our native and European buttonwood trees are splendid in any position. The idea is to form an arch to any height desired over the roadway, of one particular kind of trees to any point desired. Then proceed with another sort, one sort of tree to each avenue. For vistas, raise the arches, or leave vacancies. To give variety, short dark avenues can be used in some locations. The white pine and Austrian pine are the best, for this purpose. The idea is to keep every avenue or part of the avenue, distinct with a distinct sort of tree. Of course we will have to use such trees as will flourish in the valley and on the hill and various soils. The various trees will give various shades; from the light and shimmering, to the dark of the gloaming, even at noonday.

Trees are a perpetual source of delight to all the senses of man, all the year round; the soothing summer sighing; in winter they sing to the storm. The greatest men, the human race has produced, have been interested in trees. Moses prayed earnestly, that he might be permitted to pass over and see the goodly land and Lebanon. He wished to see the cedars, and the oaks of Bashan.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 20th Annual Convention
Held at Detroit, MI
August 21, 22 and 23, 1906

I have thought it might be of some benefit to write a few lines regarding the subject of this paper, and should it lead any Superintendent who has never indulged in these most beautiful and attractive plants; to spend a few dollars in planting a collection, and receive as much pleasure there from and hear as many expressions of admiration as I have heard, I will be amply repaid and may be excused for offering this paper.

We can well understand that unless some kind of water supply is to be had it is useless to consider this question.

The supply of water necessary to sustain a pond suitable for the growth of Aquatics, will of course depend upon the area of the pond and the general conditions governing it, but I fear there are some who are under the impression that a greater flow of water is necessary, than is actually needed. We are told by the scientific men, that the growth of aquatics in ponds is maintained in part by the plants being fed on the malaria and other impurities hovering around such localities, and render them healthier than such locations usually are before the pond is constructed. Not only are these impurities all absorbed, but the dreaded mosquito (of which so much is now being written) is not allowed to propagate if suitable fish are kept in the pond, which will eagerly devour its larvae as soon as it is deposited.

These facts being true, then what some suppose to be a stagnant pond and unhealthy to be near, is in realty not such; therefore we conclude that we do not need such a bold supply of water as might be supposed by some.

Regarding the location and construction of a suitable lily pond, I will give my experience and a description of one of ours.

In the year 1898, when our Association was held at St. Louis and while we were at the beautiful Shaw's Garden, I first became infused with the idea of making a trial of aquatics. On my return home I began to think the matter over and look for a suitable place to make the start in a small way. Nearby my office we have a moderately bold spring, so we determined to utilize the spring for this, so in the depression close by we constructed a small pool of irregular outlines about 30 feet long by about 12 feet wide with a depth of some 18 inches in the center: this was all completed and ready for the plants at the time for putting them out in the following spring.

In this little pool we planted four clumps of Nymphaeas, the same of Nelumbiums and a dozen or so of other small growing aquatics, possibly enough to plant a pond of .an acre or more in area; however, the plants most all prospered and did well, notwithstanding they were planted in the natural bottom without any special preparation of soil. Satisfied with our success the first season, we had by the next season enlarged our pond to about double the size and in which we planted more and included some Papyrus and Thalias around the edges, all of which added to the beauty of the spot as well as to my enthusiasm and a desire to further enlarge.

Finding our effort so much appreciated and the place so much admired, we determined to set about making a real pond. To do this it was found that we did not have enough water for the area we proposed to encompass in the pond, so we turned another stream into it, which added to what we already had, gave us then only a small supply, but has proved sufficient for our needs.

Our pond now covers only about half an acre is divided into two apartments, one for tender and the other for hardy plants. We then made a good preparation composed of one half old rotten cow manure, the other good virgin soil. Our apartment for the tender lilies lay directly over a brick sewer five feet in diameter, by reason of which we found the pond to be leaking freely; so to overcome the loss of water, we had to cement the bottom; after putting the soil into these two places we planted our lilies and with excellent results. Dotted here and there in the other or larger part of the pond we placed boxes without, bottoms two and a half feet square (to prevent the plants spreading too much) into which we planted our hardy ones. Of course it is best not to plant your pond too full; you need to have a considerable amount of the surface of the water without growth if you wish to make the best appearance.

We germinate and grow our own Victoria Regia (Trickerii variety) and plant them in the places mentioned above and I do not think they can be beat in the same climate unless they are in an artificially heated pond! At this writing, Sept. 1st, one of our plants has nine leaves measuring from four to five feet in diameter, with a blossom about twelve inches across. Let me say here, that I think it is a mistaken idea, that the Victorias require such an immense body of soil to get the size to the plants, for we have had them not so good in the larger space and besides have had them to die when too much soil was given them.

Among our collection I name some which are our special favorites, but will refrain from a description of them as they are all well described in the catalogues of those who sell them. Tender Nymphaeas: Rubra rosea, O'Marana, Zanzibarensis, Gracillis, Capensis, Kewensis, Wm. Stone, Dentata & Jubilee. Unfortunately by re-handling our hardies we have lost many of the labels, but we are partial to Marliacea Chrornatella & Rosea, Odorata, Exquisita, Gigantea and Sulphuria.  We have grown the Nelumbiums in all their glory, N. Speciosum with their supremely grand flowers of a deep rose-pink measuring about one foot in diameter, but they were too much for us; they spread so that they would have soon monopolized the entire pond, so we had to get rid of them, much to our regret. We have also discarded most of the smaller aquatics, such as Hyacinths, Lettuce; Poppies, etc., but we still retain the Parrot's Feathers, as we think it affords a shelter for the young fish and saves them from being devoured by the game fish which we also have there.

I trust I may be pardoned if I have seemed over zealous on this subject but I am sure that no set flower bed or clump of shrubbery that can be planted will receive as much admiration and praise as a well stocked lily pond.
 
From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 19th Annual Convention
Held at Washington, DC
September 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1905

That herbaceous plants deserve all the attention which they receive now by the best landscapers, when laying out new grounds or when called upon to alter, improve or partially replant and renovate older establishments, may not be generally admitted, still the fact remains that there are advantages in hardy plants and it is a fact that in late years thousands of these plants are employed, where twenty or thirty years ago only a few dozen were used-it is not a passing fashion for the demand is constantly growing; showing that with each year they gain in popularity and that their merits are more and more appreciated.

It cannot be denied that, with few exceptions, the employment of perennials has given entire satisfaction-failures usually can be traced to errors and mistakes in selecting the right things for the right place. A plant which requires a moist soil or partial shade was perhaps planted in a dry position or exposed to the full scorching sun or vice versa.

The very best results can only be obtained when we are thoroughly familiar with all the requirements of the various species, with their growth, habit, height, flowering time and all other peculiarities, though very often we meet with fair success even under adverse circumstances and surroundings, showing that many of the plants are not at all fastidious as to soil and treatment.

The great majority of perennials are very accommodating and flourish under ordinary care in ordinary soil, but to grow them to perfection, we should know and study their special requirements-it will not take long to learn (one or two experiments will teach the inexperienced, if he is observing); he will know where and how to use different plants in different ways to best advantage.

A simple shrubbery, for instance, planted to screen a wall, a fence or a building may answer its purpose, but the general appearance would certainly be greatly improved if the front, recesses or spaces of such border were adorned with scattered clumps or colonies of suitable perennials, selected especially to produce color effect during the months when the shrubs are a somber green.

I do not want to be understood as advocating the profuse introduction of perennials in every possible place in a cemetery, thus creating a flower garden effect, but the shrubbery border should not be without its attraction in the shape of flowers or foliage at any time during the growing season and our hardy plants are certainly preferable to our so called bedding stuff for this purpose.

Late summer or autumn flowering plants should form the bulk of perennials in such a mixed border things that bloom from August to November, such as Gaillardias, Anemones in various shades or colors the late Aconitums as A. japonicum and A. autumnale, the Boltonias, the broad-headed, brilliant-purple Vernonias, a selection of late flowering Asters, the deserving Rudbeckia speciosa and R. purpurea, etc.

I do not want to tire you with long lists of plant names suitable for intermixing with shrubs; you can find them in catalogues height, habit, flowering time and cultural directions are generally given in these plant lists and there is an almost endless variety to select from. Neither have I any new suggestion to offer on the subject, merely would caution you against overcrowding. This is a common and widespread mistake; neither shrubs nor perennials are benefited by planting too close; in fact, individual plants as well as patches of them should not be allowed to grow or spread at will, after the first year, trimming of shoots should be practiced among all the taller robust growing perennials such as Phloxes, Heliopsis, Asters; the taller Campanulas and the like, the remaining shoots will then develop stronger growth, get stouter and the flower heads will be larger and more perfect; all weak growths and superfluous shoots should be removed before they make much headway; it pays to do it though it may look as if we were destroying promising young growth and a wealth of bloom.

Again, under high trees, on steep banks we have another problem to combat. Grass rarely does well there, although in early spring, when the earth is yet saturated with moisture, the turf may, for a while, present a promising appearance. A few weeks of dry weather will make it look brown and dried up, in spots, at least, for the remainder of the season. Such spots are an eyesore and a source of great annoyance in an otherwise well kept place. During a dry spell, any time in summer or fall, we may mark these burned up spots later on to be planted with perennials of various descriptions, which succeed in dry situations.

If we merely want the green on the bank, we can plant a lot of Pyrethrum Tschihatchewi in place of trying to grow grass there. The Pyrethrum does not need mowing at any time and readily forms a dense close - carpet over the driest bank. Close planting is not necessary--small bits, barely rooted, set eight or ten inches apart, in early spring, will have covered the ground completely by June 1st and it will remain green for the rest of the season and every year thereafter. The profuse spring flowering white Arabis alpina would also cover such spots in a short time, or the various Phloxes of the sublata section or the beautiful P. reptans may be substituted and if not too shady, Dianthus caesius, or D. arenarius, petreus, neglectus, deltoides and their allies would flourish and bloom there in their season. The Cerastiums, Alyssum serpyllifolium, Aubretia deltoidea in variety, Genista sagitallis, Cordyalis lutea, Erisymums, Helianthernums, Iberis, Lotus corniculatus, etc., would answer the same purpose.

Should it be desirable to introduce a few taller plants, we may employ some Erodiums, macradenum or manescavii, Genista tinctoria, Cassia marylandica Cityssus, Orobus, the rambling Coronilla varia; in fact any of the Leguminosae will answer to do away with these objectionable spots permanently.

Coronilla varia is especially to be recommended for rambling over dry banks; it blooms early and late, grows luxuriantly on very little nourishment in dry situations and does not require replanting.

Asclepias tuberosa, Vesicaria articulata, Cheiranthus alpinus, Stachys lanata, Antennaria tomentosa and margaritacea, Plumbago larpentae (Ceratostigrna plumbaginoides is perhaps a more correct name for it), Aquilegias of several varieties, Campanula rotundifola, Inula hirta, Stellaria holostea and Sedums in variety can be depended upon to do well in very dry situations and in barren soils without special preparation or care.

Early fall planting is advisable for all herbaceous plants, with few exceptions, especially those which have soft fleshy rootstocks. They are liable to decay in winter if their more or less mutilated roots are not healed over and firmly established in their new quarters before frost sets in.

Ordinarily, plants set out in September will have ample time to form new roots and take a good hold in the ground before hard frost stops all growth.

Fall plantings usually start more vigorous and bloom abundantly the first season after planting, though spring plantings may, under judicious treatment and with a little extra care, do equally well.

All fall plantings should, for the first winter, be protected by a light covering of some loose material to prevent lifting or heaving out.

In autumn, we can spend more time and labor on the proper preparation of beds or borders in spring we would be, as usual, too busy with so many other things which call for our immediate attention. We are in a hurry every day and are apt to postpone planting, until plants are too far advanced.

All hardy plants, with but few exceptions, start into growth as the snow disappears and if not taken up before they make much headway are liable to suffer seriously by disturbing them, after roots and foliage are in full action.

Plants should be as near dormant as we possibly can get them for transplanting and if you cannot get ready to do all your planting in the fall of the year, prepare, at least, the ground to receive them and make up your mind that the first thing to be done in spring is the planting of the hardy things--the sooner they are in the ground the better for them, especially if we should have a warm, dry and sunny spring like our last one in this vicinity.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 17th Annual Convention
Held at Rochester, NY
September 8, 9 and 10, 1903

In the popular mind evergreens are usually associated with pines, spruces, firs and the like. In this brief paper we will call attention to some hardy ornamental evergreens other than the coniferous forms.

There is undoubtedly a particular value in any shrub or tree that will maintain a good normal green appearance in its leaves throughout the entire year in this latitude. The British Islands and some parts of Continental Europe, on account of the cool moist atmosphere that prevails, are admirably adapted to the cultivation and high development of many beautiful "flowering evergreens" that we cannot think of cultivating throughout the northeastern United States. We are, however, more than compensated by the abundant wealth of many deciduous trees and shrubs, which on account of our hot, almost tropical summers, abundant rainfall and cold winters which give a long period of rest, attain to a much greater floral perfection here than, they do in Europe. It may seem strange, however, that although numerous parts of the North American continent are the homes of many beautiful evergreens, that their successful cultivation is frequently attended with much difficulty under ornamental conditions. We will first consider the coniferous evergreens. Their cheerfulness throughout the dull winter months and the handsome comely forms of many of them, so strikingly apparent in the summer time, particularly in their youthful days and their general desirability at all times of the year, commend them to all planters wherever conditions are known to be favorable for their healthy growth and development, in parks, cemeteries and private grounds. They do not impoverish the soil around them nearly to the same extent as deciduous trees, their leaves are not troublesome in creating litter and they rarely are injured by violent storms. They can easily be restricted in growth and area if so desired, without much trouble, by disbudding and pinching, and this can be done so intelligently that the means employed to accomplish this end can hardly be detected.

Rochester being such a prominent nursery center for a great many years, coniferous evergreens among other things, have been more or less largely cultivated, handled and sold. The well known firm of Ellwanger & Barry during their long career have tested a large number of different kinds, from an experimental point of view and obtained much valuable information as to the most satisfactory species and varieties for planting in conditions of soil, temperature and moisture that obtain elsewhere similar to Rochester. For example, on the south side of their vineyard on Highland Ave. the Nordman and Cephalonian firs, over fifty feet in height and Lawson's Cypress nearly forty feet, are in good health, and planted nearly fifty years since, are among some of the important evergreens to be seen in their grounds.

Highland Park, which forms a part of the park system of the city of Rochester, contains an extensive pinetum covering an area of 20 acres. The soil is a very light sandy loam, on porous, gravelly subsoil. The nucleus of this collection was planted in the spring of 1896 and numerous accessions have been made since. No particular plan of planting in generic sequence has been adopted. The more rare and known tender kinds are planted in different situations and exposures to find out what suits them best. As every experienced planter knows, some evergreens are exceedingly capricious and what might strike a planter as an ideal "spot" for these particular subjects may subsequently show by their behavior to be unfitted for them, so we have adopted the plan of not having all our "eggs in one basket." Some species of doubtful hardiness such as Pinus Sabiniana, Libocedrus decurrens, Cedrus Deodara and C. Libanii have been under trial since 1898 and so far have behaved splendidly, but we cannot tell how soon a severe winter may occur and injure them severely. Pinus insignis, P. Pinea and Cupressus MacNabiana have been winter, killed.

The soil best adapted for almost all coniferous evergreens is a light sandy loam with good porous subsoil, which must be naturally or artificially well drained. It must not of course be understood that we recommend a poor soil, but whilst it should be light in texture, it should be rich enough to grow good wheat or potatoes. The best season for planting coniferous evergreens is a much discussed question. I have planted them at all seasons of the year, except when in full growth, with more or less success. In the months of August and September is a good time for planting, providing the ground has been well saturated with rains. I think on the whole I have had the best results by spring planting, just about the time when the buds begin to perceptibly swell. It is needless to say before a body of practical men such as we have here, that coniferous evergreens are much less tenacious of life than deciduous trees, and therefore the most scrupulous care should invariably be exercised in planting or transplanting to preserve the roots from exposure to the air. This gospel has been preached time and again, and no heterodox heresy will ever affect its validity. The different pines, spruces and firs perhaps show their greatest beauty in their youthful days. I mean by that before they attain anything like maturity. Therefore the preservation and retaining of the lower branches should be encouraged by all possible cultural means, This can be aided by an occasional stopping of the leader by cutting back to a bud in firs and spruces and allowing it only so much growth in a season, and disbudding the points of branches in May and June that extend too far beyond the general pyramidal outline. Under conditions where a highly gardenesque effect is desired the most dense pyramidal outlines can be produced in many firs and spruces by systematic judicious disbudding, and still look wonderfully naturalistic. It must be clearly understood that I do not here in any way allude to the topiary art of shearing or trimming with shears into any form whatever, for unless for hedge purposes, that is something to be despised.

In the Highland Park Pinetum very little disbudding has been done, as it is desirable in a collection of this kind to leave them as much as possible to natural development. The main attention has been given towards the preservation of the leaders and occasionally central buds have been repressed in branches of pines, spruces and firs where they extend too far.

Mulching is excellent treatment for young evergreens where it is practicable and I have elsewhere seen splendid results from it. With us this is impracticable, but we do the next best thing. The soil is kept thoroughly cultivated and stirred from eighteen inches to two feet from the extremities of the branches and this also saves them from possible damage from fires, which are sometimes liable to occur in the dry grass in early spring. Among the various insect pests that attack evergreens the two worst with us are Red Spider, and the Pine-Tree Blight, Eriosoma strobi. The red spider in a dry season will attack some of the spruces so badly as to seriously disfigure them. With an abundant supply of water under pressure applied frequently, Red Spider can be controlled, but that is seldom under command. The Pine-Tree Blight has a particular liking for the white pine and will cover the branches thickly, producing a white, downy like appearance.

It can be destroyed by any of the soap insecticides. Sometimes the white pine when apparently in the best of health and vigor will die with what seems like mysterious suddenness. This usually occurs, however, when it has been planted in a heavy, damp soil and is making a rank growth. In a light, well drained soil the causes that produce this sudden demise are rarely operative.

Among the different species of pines that are the most useful for ornamental and decorative planting, the white pine undoubtedly comes first. Our native red pine is excellent. The Bhotan, Corean, Thunbergs, Swiss Stone, densiflora and ponderosa pines we believe can be depended upon in sheltered situations. The dwarf Mugho pine and the variety known as rotundata are extremely useful and serviceable in many situations. The Austrian and Scotch pines are not generally long lived but they grow easily, are very accommodating, and we confess to having a tender regard for them.

The spruces are very attractive and among some of the best are our native white spruce and its blue form. The Oriental, Engelmans’, Douglas', Alcock's and of course the popular blue spruce, are all excellent. A spruce introduced fifteen or twenty years since from Southeast Europe, Picea Omorika, has great promise.

Our native hemlock spruce and its weeping form are indispensable, but although a native, do not plant it in bleak, cold situations or it will look forlorn. The Carolina and Patton's hemlock spruces are very promising. Albert's hemlock spruce from British Columbia and the Japanese species do not look very happy with us so far. Among the firs I have no hesitation in placing Abies con color from Colorado as one of the most decorative in these parts. Nordman's, Cephalonian (the latter will sometimes get scorched in a young stale by the winter's suns but it will soon outgrow it) and the Japanese brachyphylla and Veitch's firs, will, if planted in sheltered spots, be satisfactory. The balsam fir in Western New York looks wretched after fifteen or twenty years. The numerous forms of the native Arbor Vitae such as Hovey's, Siberian, compacta, Vervaeneana, Tom Thumb, globosa and minima, with their prim and stiff forms are useful in many situations.

The two best yews are the Japanese and the Canadian. The English Yew, with its numerous forms, is liable to get badly scorched in a severe winter.

The Nootka Sound Cypress, Cupressus Nutkaensis, appears to do well with us and is very ornamental. The Japanese Retinosporas are very unsatisfactory in Western New York

In the junipers we have some excellent evergreens. The red cedar or Virginia juniper is one of the most virile and hardy evergreens in existence. It will grow and look happy in the poorest soils and bleak exposures, and we have some pretty forms of it such as venusta, elegantissima and the glaucous variety is exceedingly handsome. The Savin juniper and its varieties tamariscifolia and alpina can be used with excellent results on banks and slopes, and in connection with rocky formations. The carpet juniper J. prost rata, and the Himalayan species J. squamata are perfectly hardy, and also excellently adapted for draping slopes and rocky banks.

The common juniper, J. communis, in its procumbent forms is very useful. The so called Irish juniper with us is useless, but the Swedish form we believe can be depended upon and the Japanese and Chinese junipers appear to be satisfactory.

In flowering and other evergreens that can be depended upon to be satisfactory in Western New York the list is small. Among the "flowering" evergreens no plants can compare to the chaste beauty of the Rhododendrons wherever they prove to be happy and healthy. In Western New York the cultivation of Rhododendrons cannot be said to have been successful, but this is more due to soil conditions than anything else. The soil is mainly limestone and it is well known that they will not thrive in soil containing lime. In limestone soil they will make a fairly good growth, but they seem to lack the necessary vigor to pass through the winter, as even when protected closely, they look unhappy when spring comes. Their cultivation, however, in Highland Park in excavated beds filled with humus or soil of a peaty nature has so far given excellent results. They grow freely, flower abundantly, pass through the winter without any scorching, and they are not coddled by close protection, other than that afforded naturally from the prevailing winds, and from the direct rays of the late winter's sun.

What is known as the Hunnewell list, which contains about twenty-five varieties, with Catawbiense blood, are all that can be used here.

The mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia an excellent shrub, should always be used wherever it can be coaxed to grow but it will not thrive in lime. The narrow leafed form K. angustifolia is useful and the early flowering hardy species K. glauca is pretty in early spring.

Leucothoe Cateslxei, with its beautiful glossy leaves, is excellent for planting in quantity in sheltered situations.

Among the Andromedas, A. floribunda and the common A. polifolia are very satisfactory. The latter used in large quantities around the margins of ponds and lakes can be easily made to produce denser effects than it does in its native sphagnum bogs.

The native leather leaf, Cassandra calyculata can be coaxed to grow without much trouble, but it is not very decorative. The pretty little Labrador-Tea is difficult to handle. The Barberry, Arctostaphylos, when seen covering the ground with a dense carpet of green in a wild state in parts of Long Island and about the Atlantic Coast, is very attractive, but in our experience it takes unkindly to cultivation, and it is moreover hard to propagate.

Among the heaths Erica carnea, E. vagans and the Scotch heather in several forms, take kindly to cultivation and form real pretty clumps. The evergreen Euouymuses are very useful farther south, but the climbing radicans form is the only one of any account here. In the evergreen barberries aquifolium, fasicularis and the low growing repens are perfectly hardy, but they need to have natural protection from the late winter sunshine or they will get badly scorched. These evergreen barberries are very ornamental and cheerful in the winter months.

This is about the northern limit of the American holly Ilex opaca and it needs good natural shelter to look at all pleasing. The beautiful crenate holly from Japan grows slowly with us, but it is healthy enough and may form good bushes some day. The gorse or whin from Europe is useless.

Daphne cneornm under sheltered conditions forms a real pretty clump and the dwarf little sun rose, Helianthemum vulgare, is perfectly hardy and forms dense masses.

There are some pretty and useful forms of the common box (Buxus) such as naviculatis, Handsworthi and microphylla, which are quite hardy under partial shade.

A recently introduced form of the laurel from the Balkan Mountains, said to be very hardy, has been under trial in the Ellwanger & Barry nursery for some years and is reported by them to be very satisfactory. As a broad-leaved evergreen this should be very important.

In conclusion, outside the coniferous evergreens the number of flowering and other evergreens suitable for planting in ornamental grounds in this latitude is really not large and not sufficiently extensive, or of that nature so as to produce any marked or broad effect on our landscapes in this climate.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 17th Annual Convention
Held at Rochester, NY
September 8, 9 and 10, 1903

It is obvious to all of you that any exhaustive treatment that might be given the subject of "Nursery Materials for Cemeteries and How to Plant Them" would soon assume the proportions of an encyclopedia of horticulture. And since I am aware that many of your members are recognized authorities on plant materials, it would be useless to run through long lists of the more common varieties with which you are all familiar. In fact, I often envy the cemetery management the opportunity to observe plants as they progress from small seedlings, rooted cuttings, or grafts, up through their growth to maturity. It is an opportunity to study and learn which the Nurseryman does not have, since due to the very nature of his business, "the scientific production of young plants for transplanting elsewhere to grow into maturity," he knows them only in their younger stages.

The conditions for growth in a cemetery are nearly ideal. Most of the newer tracts are located far from the congested districts. Their size is such that the contamination of the atmosphere by poisonous gases is negligible. They are invariably well guarded against the malicious destruction of property by trespassers. They are by the very nature of their purpose designed and executed as to contour, drainage and ground covering and are maintained in every way as an ideal spot in which plant life may thrive. A cemetery is frequently spoken of as "the last resting place," and it serves mankind best when it is so in fact, because some day it must naturally take on a park-like effect and become still more of a community asset. Their long, yes, virtually perpetual, lives of usefulness make the effort to plant for permanency seem worthwhile. It is all these attributes of the scene of your activities that give you gentlemen the unsurpassed opportunity for study and observation that so few professional or business men enjoy. Consequently, you can understand and appreciate plant life and so perform a service in your community in furthering this interest among others less fortunately situated.

You have heard endless references to "the landscape lawn plan," the "park plan of cemetery," the "memorial park," the injection of the "landscape idea" into, cemetery design, how the memory of past generations is sweeter if it is associated with trees than if it is connected with tombs, catacombs and pyramids. This is not idle patter. Our cemeteries should keep pace with the best thought of the times. It is only natural that humanity should seek as their "last sleeping place," as the name implies, a spot of rest and freedom from intrusion. A beautiful park, a real picture, grounds that are the embodiment of all the best practices of landscape art; such places may seem to exist more for the living than for the dead, but the living are the ones that need them, and incidentally the folks with whom you men do business. Scenery should solace those that are bereft.

It is not the purpose of this discourse to enter into the subject of landscape design which is so largely responsible for the proper development of your grounds. Other speakers on the program will do credit to this phase. Still, the freedom in design is limited by the requirements of modern cemetery practice and the interest very often must lie in the variety of the plant material itself, This does not mean that the cemetery should be an arboretum as far as the number of varieties are concerned, but certainly it is an arboretum so far as it pertains to the intensive study of the subjects at hand. The more modern types of design require a greater variety of plants than ever before. Certain effects of seclusion to the larger lots, which are so desirable, necessitate the use of much shrubby material not formerly used. The larger sizes of the newer cemeteries warrant the appropriation of larger tracts for beautification exclusively. It also makes a more elaborate entrance treatment desirable. Screen and border plantings are needed here, shady retreats there, and bright flowering, happy-looking plants elsewhere. The nurseryman means to supply you with the best plant for the purpose for which it is to be used. (It is not necessary to use Norway Spruces entirely, as is still seen in certain sections.)

Long life is a requisite that any plant material chosen for cemetery work should have. There are already too many places where the immediate effect is the only consideration. Let your grounds be unique in that respect, that permanency and the qualities that come only with old age are the things most desired. There are many plants that are only common place and ordinary-looking until the subduing influence of old age shows up their real natures. This should encourage the more extensive use of the very dwarf and prostrate forms of shrubs and evergreens. I should prefer to mention this group first as it is probably the least well known and next most useful to the intensely valuable group of dwarf and generally slow growing trees.

Some of the evergreens which are quite dwarf in character, and yet sturdy and very tenacious of habit, would be far more desirable covering steep slopes or stony outcroppings than the barren surface often found in the cemeteries of steep contours. These are not paraded before you as new varieties, but suggested as being useful for purposes of which you may not have thought before.

Let me mention first then, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Nana (Hinoki Cypress). This is the variety made famous by its use as a miniature tree in pots by the Japanese. This, to me, is only an example of the punishment which it will stand and still look fresh and vigorous. The annular growth is quite short but it is attractive when small and still more so as it grows older.  I have seen it push aside much larger growing forms like the common American Arbor Vitae, and even Spruces and Pines. Its tenacity for life is marvelous. It will stand up bright and shining against a spider-infested Arbor Vitae or Juniper and come through unscathed. Its only drawback is that it always has been and will continue to be costly, due to its difficulty of propagation.

Juniperus Communis Depressa rarely exceeds two feet in height, good form of Juniper for ground cover. It is at home on sandy or gravelly hillsides fully exposed to the sun, where single plants often reach fifteen feet or more in diameter. It is sometimes catalogued Juniperus Communis, which is erroneous. The name Juniperus Canadensis is also applied, which is a synonym. It grows native in various sections of the country.

Juniperus Horizontalis Douglassi (Waukegan Juniper) is an interesting new creeping Juniper, which is very low and compact, making a dense mat. In spring and summer it is of a soft blue color, changing to a rich purple color in late fall. It grows close to the ground, not over six to eight inches high, but spreads out a dozen feet or more, depending upon soil and planting conditions.

Juniperus Horizontalis Glauca, by some called Sabina Horizontalis, or The Coast of Maine Juniper, grows native along the bleak, rockbound coast of Maine where it is exposed to the most severe weather conditions. It is usually vigorous and dependable creeping Evergreen of a distinctive and attractive bluish-green color.

Juniperus Sabina Tamariscifolia (Tamarix Savin Juniper) is an excellent creeping dwarf variety. The foliage is fine in texture; average height is one foot, with a spread of six to eight feet when full grown. Sometimes it is called Gray Carpet Juniper, and the name Tamarish leaved Juniper is also applied to it. It is said to occur wild in Sicily, Greece, and other places. A very vigorous grower; forming a compact and perfect mat of bluish or gray green; it grows very dense and never changes in color.

Juniperus Chinensis Sargenti (Sargent Juniper) was first collected by Professor Sargent in Japan in the autumn of 1892. This Juniper forms a low dense mat of wide-spreading branches covered with small dark green scale-like leaves, mixed with pointed ones. In the Arboretum it is now the handsomest of the Prostrate Junipers.

Juniperus Communis Depressa Plumosa is a rare Evergreen of distinctive beauty. It is silvery green in Spring and the mountains purple in Autumn. In habit it is low-growing and spreading, and it adapts itself admirably to many, uses. Being very hardy, it will grow under conditions that many Evergreens find unfavorable. For use in rock gardens or filling-in at the base of taller growing Evergreens, it is extremely adaptable and in groups with other species it contrasts with pleasing effect. Its prostrate branches seldom lift themselves more than eighteen inches from the ground.

Taxus Baccata Repandens is one of the few varieties of the English Yew that is hardy in the northern part of our country. Its rich, dark green foliage and low, nearly prostrate, but bunchy growth, makes it wonderfully useful for cemetery planting. Like our native Texas canadensis, it prefers semi-shade and some moisture. The latter should be used more under the shady and often sloping conditions found in the angles of walks along drives, etc.
 
The greatest acquisition and the most valuable gift Japan has contributed to the gardens of the colder parts of North America, is the Japanese Yew, Taxus Cuspidata and its dwarf form, Taxus cuspidata var. nana. Only these and the two above mentioned are hardy enough to be recommended for general planting in this country. These Yews are especially valuable because of their endurance of shade, their shiny, green foliage and bright scarlet berries.
 
The Mugho Pine (Pinus Montana Mughus) is a dwarf variety recognized everywhere as one of the most useful Evergreens, with its many stems, compact form and dark green color which it retains throughout the winter. It does not do well south of the Ohio River, but for northern plantings it is invaluable. All of the pines prefer a clay soil and need to be well compacted when planting.

Mahonia Repens is the low growing form of the Oregon grape and should find a place in moist shaded conditions where Vinca Minor has been used too extensively.

Pachysandra Terminalis is a splendid evergreen ground cover with thick, glossy foliage. It forms a dense mat, but to be successful must be planted closely together. It thrives well only whim the roots have, the benefit of its own shade.

Euonymous Radicans Vegetus is popularly known as the Evergreen Bittersweet and is an accommodating sort of plant. It may be grown as a vine against masonry walls, over rocks, or can be sheared into, a hedge, or grown as specimen plants. Although introduced from Japan in 1876, it is only in recent years that its good qualities have become well enough known to make its use extensive.

Of a more shrubby nature are the low spreading Cotoneaster. C. horizontalis Wilsoni is very similar with slightly longer leaves. A hardier variety than either of these is C. apiculata, and it should replace the two former ones in colder parts of the country. C. microphylla is likewise a prostrate variety with evergreen foliage and quite hardy at the Arnold Arboretum.

Of the taller growing Evergreens, some old reliable ones as well as newer varieties are:

Juniperus Chinensis Pfitzeriana. This remarkable tree is today in the front rank of ornamental conifers. Its popularity is well earned. This is a Juniper that thrives in the hot climate of the South and still comes through the cold northern winters without a scratch. Nothing bothers it as it seems to be practically immune from plant pests of all kinds. If left alone it assumes an attractive, low, broad, irregular form. It was originated in Pfitzer's Nursery in Germany. Ludwig Spaeth, famous German nurseryman horticulturist, introduced it into general cultivation.

Juniperus Chinensis Columnaris was introduced to cultivation by the United States Department of Agriculture, through the late F. N. Meyer. It forms a distinct, narrow pyramid with all the leaves circular or needle-shaped. The foliage is remarkably decorative. Like other forms of J. Chinensis, it is very hardy and also retains its desirable color effect during the winter. The habit of growth resembles the well-known Italian Cypress. This tree offers to planters in colder climates the extreme narrow growing form of evergreen heretofore so much desired but unfortunately not obtainable in a dependable tree.

Juniperus Chinensis Mas is a non-fruiting form of the Chinese Juniper and when better known, will be used quite extensively, as its winter color is greener and brighter than any other variety of the tall-growing ones.

Juniperus Squamata Meyeri, brought from Thibet by the late Frank N. Meyer, is the rarest and most sought-after of evergreen plants. Its rich, steel-blue color, even brighter, if possible than the Kosters Spruce, seems to assure for it a place in the newer plantings where accents of color are wanted. Its common name may work against it—The Fish Tail Juniper.

Juniperus Virginiana Cannarti is one of the foremost among the interesting group of Junipers that have been developed from the Red Cedar (J. Virginiana). It has rich green, heavy-tufted foliage, of medium height, and compact, pyramidal growth. Three newer sorts of Virginiana origin are Keteleri, Smithi and Burki. They certainly appear promising in the young plants, and will, no doubt, help to supply the always increasing demand for tall growing columnar Junipers.

A tall slender variety of Yew, developed from Taxus Cuspidata., has recently been put on the market by a prominent eastern nurseryman. It should fill the same place in northern plantings that the Irish Yew and Italian Cypress does in warmer climates.

Most of the Pines and Spruces are better known and although always important in cemetery plantings, they are so familiar to most of you that they require no comment.

There is no need or burdening you with a long list of shrubs suitable for cemetery planting. Anyone might be used to advantage, but too many of them lose their effectiveness after too few years. I do want to describe a few which might not be familiar to all of you as well as calling your attention to some old ones not used nearly as much as they warrant.

Kolkwitzia Amabilis (Beauty Bush). This is one of the rarest and most beautiful of the recent introductions of the Arnold Arboretum. It is a hardy shrub, closely related to the Lonicera.  Fruits are covered with long brown bristles. It seems to grow in any ordinary garden soil.

Pryacantha Coccinea Lalandi (Firethorn) is a thorny, half evergreen Hawthorn from the Himalayas, and rarely reaches a height of more than six feet. The leaves are small and narrow, with white flowers followed by bright orange colored fruits. These remain on the branches all winter, if not eaten by birds, which, by the way, consider them quite a delicacy. It is well adapted for planting on stony slopes, or sunny rockeries. It may also he used for a low ornamental hedge, as it stands trimming well, and is easily trained into any desired shape. Certainly it is a plant that is not yet well enough known, nor extensively used.  Due to its, evergreen nature, it ought always to be moved with a ball of earth attached.

The Cotoneasters are ornamental shrubs with decorative, bright, red or black berries. They thrive in any well drained soil, but dislike very modest and shady positions. C. dielsiana is one of the best, with a height of not over six feet. It has slender spreading and arching branches. The coral red fruits are very attractive. Several more widely advertised forms have the habit of losing their leaves earlier at the base. A few have the habit of contracting San Jose scale, so should be avoided. The more prostrate forms have already been described. 

The Viburnums rank among the most valuable ornamental shrubs. Possibly too much stress has been placed upon the native forms, prunifolium, lentago, dentatum, acerifolium, nudum, and others. These are all excellent foliage and berried plants for large mass planting, but they seem to lack the popular appeal. Try Viburnum americanum in place of V. opulus, and you will avoid trouble from aphids, Virburnum carlesi, on account of its rather large pink and white, delightfully fragrant flowers, which appear in dense clusters early in the spring, before or with the first leaves, is one of the most charming of the family. It enjoys some shade and could add untold glory to somber plantings which come with less interesting varieties. Viburnum dilitatum is bushy than many of the other viburnums and certainly cannot be surpassed for richness of foliage and a gorgeous showing of red berries, when it is happily situated.
 
Aesculus Parviflora, one of the dwarf horse-chestnuts, is certainly one of the handsomest plants for a lawn group. It is not a shrub that will ever reach any degree of popularity for foundation planting, as it grows rather slowly and does not transplant any too easily. It has slender pinnacles of white flowers and grows best in loamy moist soil. Once established, it takes on a rounded, massive but low effect that is a relief among so many tall, slender growing plants.

One of the newer privets which has been named Ligustrum Ibolium because it is a hybrid between ovalifolium and obtusifolium or ibota, should receive some attention if a formal hedge, is desired. It has all tile attractiveness of foliage that you find in California privet, but apparently it is much hardier. There have been reports of slight winter injury at the Morton Arboretum, but this variety certainly does place the line of winter injury much farther north than can be said of
ovalifolium.

Philadelphus Virginal and others of the now hybrid Philadelphus seem to have gained considerable popularity as of particular value in cemetery plantings. Mr. Roy, of the Mt. Royal Cemetery at Montreal, finds it quite hardy and a great acquisition. Their time of bloom, so near Memorial Day, should add to your appreciation of them.

Among the dwarf growing trees are many varieties which I believe are the most valuable nursery material for cemetery use. There are many that are showy in bloom, others have brilliant fruits, little pruning is necessary, generally have healthy, bright foliage, and in open spaces away from buildings develop into beautiful low growing masses. Used in groups, they are more nearly in scale with the size of cemetery grounds than most shrubs. Their robust, hard, woody growth makes them resistant to injury by storm, winds and trespassers. There are hundreds of species and thousands of horticultural varieties that come in this group. The Flowering Crab Apples, Hawthornes, Dogwoods, Flowering Cherries, Dwarf Maples, Flowering Plums and Peaches, are all families that contribute heavily to the list of the finest ornamental material known in the landscape practice.

The Flowering Crabs of both American and Asiatic origin have few rivals among gorgeous spring flowering trees and shrubs. At the Arnold Arboretum one of the important events of the year is the blooming of the Crabs. In order to still further glorify themselves, the bloom is followed by the fruit—the size, color and time or ripening varying greatly with the variety. It will suffice to name a dozen or the better varieties. Malus floribunda is probably the best known. Others attracting the attention of plants men over the country are the "Tea Leafed Crab" (Malus theifera), micromalus, sargenti, scheideckeri, arnoldiana, Zumi Crab, spectabilis, atrosanguinea, niedzwetzkyana, prunifolia, rinki, rinki-sublobata, and others. These may be planted in the Fall or Spring, pruned severely, and well watered, as they do not transplant as easily as shrubs.

The depredations or tourists and picknickers are going to make the countryside so barren of our native dogwood, Cornus florida, that it will be up to institutions like yours to perpetuate the most beautiful native flowering tree we have. You can't overdo the planting of this handsome dwarf tree. The pink flowering variety, Cornus florida rubra, is a gorgeous sight in bloom. At Woodland cemetery in Dayton, fifty dollars invested twenty years ago by Mr. Kline in this plant has attracted more favorable comment than thousands of dollars spent in other adornment.

I've often wondered why each of you does not let some one flowering tree of this art dominate in your plantings. In Japan they declare a holiday when the cherries are in bloom. Lilac time at Arnold Arboretum attracts thousands of visitors from all over the country. The Japanese cherries at Washington when in bloom are a national institution. Such a planting of Crab Apples, Hawthornes, Dogwoods or other such dominant notes in your planting give character and style to your landscape obtainable in no other way. Time will not permit further details concerning the Hawthornes, Cherries, Maples, etc. but they are equally delightful.

With larger growing members of the plant world, the trees, you are more familiar. I only want to mention some new elms which have come into prominence recently. One, the vase-shaped elm, Ulmus urni, is a fast growing large leafed American white elm, which must be budded or grafted and is destined to fill a long felt want for uniform growing elms. Its rapidity of growth, cleanliness of foliage and bark and general good appearance will make it of much demand in the coming years.

The Moline Elm likewise originated from the American elm. However, its shape, a round-headed form, its dark, heavy foliage and smooth bark makes it resemble the English Elm. Its comparative resistance to the Elm Leaf Beetle, and the European Elm Scale should make its use preferable to the English varieties.

The small leaf elms, Ulmus parvifilia and Ulmus pumilla, though not new are gaining widespread popularity on account of their excellent foliage throughout the summer and their resistance to dry weather.

Now this has been a scattered, disconnected, rambling sort of treatment without doing justice to any one of the noble plants, nor without any attempt to cover completely any part of the excellent stock scientifically grown and prepared for you in the up-to-date nursery. However, the effort to apprise you of some of the noteworthy plants that might have escaped your attention will have been well repaid if that great institution so ably managed and conducted for the public, the American Cemetery will profit thereby.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 41st Annual Convention
Cleveland, OH
August 22, 23, 24 and 25, 1927

Mankind is living today in the Air Age. We turn the switch of the radio and out of the air comes reports of the days news from cities miles away. Lives are saved by the S. O. S. sent out from ships in distress. Our mails are being carried day and night over a vast net work of airways and the air has become the highway of travel between all countries and all people. We not only breathe the air for the very existence of life itself but in countless other ways are we dependent upon air in this modern age.

Nothing is more universally distributed over the earth's surface and it is as free to the scientist as it is to plants and animals. Air is composed of the four common elements: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, but nitrogen is in the greatest abundance. Plants and animals are composed of the same four elements and nitrogen is the plant food required in the largest quantities. As man's dependence for food is almost entirely on plant growth it is of great importance that our supply of nitrogen be increased to take care of the ever increasing population of the world.

It is estimated that the air over every square mile of land contains twenty million tons of nitrogen or thirty thousand tons over every acre. Mother Nature with unusual impartiality has distributed nitrogen to every country in proportion to its area. The problem of the Scientist was how to extract this nitrogen from the air and make it available as a plant food. It was known for ages that lightning fixes or converts some of the nitrogen into a chemical compound which the rain and the snow carries into the ground where the plant roots can absorb it. It was known that clovers and other leguminous crops took some of the nitrogen from the air, but all of these processes are slow and the Scientist struggled for centuries to find the secret of extracting some of this abundant nitrogen from the air so that it could be used for the good of mankind.

It was a German Chemist named "Wohler" who finally in 1838 discovered a process whereby he made the first artificial urea, which was a compound containing a high percentage of nitrogen in an organic form. This event was the first proof to the world that there is no barrier which cannot be broken between the organic and Inorganic Kingdoms. These early processes were too costly to prove valuable as a source of nitrates, so the world depended on the great natural deposits in Chile. Experiments went on, however as Scientists were sure there must be a way which would give to the world cheaper nitrates.

Finally in 1906 another process was discovered—then came the World War and the crying need of nitrates for explosives hastened events and :processes were perfected whereby nitrogen was extracted from the air cheaper than the Chilean product.

Through these discoveries the free nitrogen can now be drawn from the air and "fixed" in a form to serve the soldier or the farmer, and the same factories that once supplied nitrates for explosives now fix nitrogen for food instead of firearms. Little do we realize what a tremendous event in the World's history this discovery was or what far-reaching effect it will have upon future generations.

So "OUT OF THE AIR" we now derive our principle plant food and because of these discoveries of modern science a new era in fertilizing methods has been ushered in.

As the most important plant constituents which plant growth removes from the soil are nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, our complete fertilizer today must be made up of a balanced ration of these three dependent upon the nature of the crop grown.

For centuries animal manures have been the principal source of fertility. It is no longer available in quantities sufficient for our needs, and besides the actual food value in one ton of well preserved manure is seldom over thirty pounds, leaving seventeen hundred and seventy pounds of straw and water which makes the cost of manure as a fertilizer excessive.

Most soils contain vast quantities of potential plant foods, but on account of its unavailability, being in a form the plant cannot take up, the soil is therefore infertile. In order to make this plant food available various methods are adopted such as deep plowing and improvement of the physical condition of the soil removing of surplus water by drainage and last the addition of lime, humus or whatever is necessary to improve the soil texture or correct over-acidity.

The new era in fertilizing methods has taught the farmer, the florist, the gardener and the nurseryman or whoever grows crops or plants that he should be governed first by the nature of the soil and secondly by the crop he intends to raise.

The hit or miss system has become out of date. We know what foods plants require and in what proportion and if the soil does not contain them in sufficient quantities they can be supplied in a form that is available for immediate use.

It is no longer necessary to handle tons of useless material to provide a few pounds of plant food. The modern concentrated fertilizers containing only the essential plant foods reduce the cost of handling surplus material, resulting in savings in freight costs and the labor involved in applying them.

This new era in fertilizing methods is of great importance in cemetery maintenance. The Cemetery of today prides itself on luxuriant turf. Grass requires constant mowing. This repeated removal of the leaf growth rapidly reduces the available nitrogen in the soil so that this supply must be replenished during the growing season. Moisture is the first essential and next in importance is nitrogen in a form available for immediate use. The nitrogen from the air is principally in the amid form which makes it especially suitable for quick assimilation by the plant and new growth is thereby accelerated within a few days. By applying a fall application of a complete fertilizer the grass goes into a winter condition with sufficient food stored up to start early growth in Spring.

Turf grasses have no large woody structure to store up food during the year so this food must be supplied in a form readily available. Crops which are annual can be rotated and supplied with additional nitrogen and other fertilizers and humus by the plowing under of green manures, thereby placing the food where it can be assimilated. Grass being a permanent perennial plant must be fed from the top after the original plant food in the soil has been exhausted, and it is because of this that our concentrated water soluble fertilizers have proven so valuable in turf maintenance. The old costly method of top-dressing with rotted manure is not only unsightly but costly, as it resulted in weed growth which had to be removed. The new concentrates contain no weed seeds or waste material. Their application is easy and pleasant, the labor cost is reduced arid the exact amount necessary for each plants requirements can be supplied and all guesswork eliminated.

So literally, "OUT OF THE AIR" has come our most necessary plant food. As the population increased the area of fertility must be expanded. The day is coming when one acre must produce as much as two does now. We must adapt ourselves to these new methods and prepare for even greater discoveries which will improve the fertility of our soils.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 44th Annual Convention
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
September 8, 9, 10 and 11, 1930

When this topic was assigned to the writer, his first thought was, in what way can I make this paper of practical value to the craft. The simple expression of my own views as to the value of a greenhouse or houses in a cemetery would be only a personal or one man's idea, and is not a help to the whole. Early last spring, March 20th, a short circular with a series of six questions bearing on the subject was mailed to the members of the Association. I have received eighty-four replies, I regret that some whom I know quite well, and have large greenhouses have not taken any notice at all of the circular, or to reply to the questions, whose opinions should and would carry weight; I cannot but regret that in the minds of some the questions were of no importance and that they did not see what there was to answer or how they should be answered, the right of everyone to his opinion is acknowledged by the fact that through this circular and these questions it was asked of each and all, and it should always be expressed; petty feelings or differences when allowed to prevail over one's mind only grow into prejudice and promote discord. So I am grateful to the eighty-four who took pains to answer the questions which in very many cases were accompanied by interesting letters, and extremely cordial expressions of kindness and willingness to help make this humble effort a success. I know of no other way to make these eighty four members speak, and to show my appreciation of their opinions, I have written out abstracts from a number of the letters (nearly all) which I am interested in keeping in permanent form, and having all the members familiar with and which I hope will be printed in our proceedings as a part of this paper.

In these different abstracts you will see there are but a very few who do not believe in having flowers, and many express themselves very strongly on the influence which they have in beautifying the grounds, also in making the way to the grave smoother and pleasanter. In an eastern cemetery it would be difficult to obtain any great amount of patronage unless the use of flowers was recognized or ornamentation in some way was practiced, if not in the abundant use of tender plants, by hardy plants, such as spring bulbs, a good collection of herbaceous plants, and as good a selection of flowering shrubs as could be obtained. As I sit writing these lines my eye is carried to a hardy border where there is such a variety that something is in flower all the time, a choice collection of Phlox is now a pretty feature.

It is our custom at Forest Hills to use frequently at burials, Palms, Dracaenas, etc., of medium size, these are usually placed on the earth from the graves, arranged to give a pleasing effect, and then carpeted with evergreen; this I have always found to be a very satisfactory feature at a funeral, and there may be some other places on the lot where plants may be advantageously placed; in no case should It be overdone, but in every case enough done to take away the harshness of the grave, and there is nothing like plants and flowers to accomplish that object, and at no time is a thoughtful and kindly act more appreciated. I could give numerous extracts from letters proving this point, I have many a time in our Chapel where the occasion justified it, surrounded the casket with palms and other plants suitable for the place, and when the mourners found what had been done to smooth the way to the grave for the dear departed ones, expressions of heartfelt gratitude from them have been a stimulus to continued efforts in this direction. I think I have already shown you why a greenhouse is an essential feature in a cemetery, let me call your attention to the combined Conservatory and Chapel where services can be held and which adorn several of our best cemeteries, notably at Graceland, Chicago, a model of the kind in the writers estimation; also at the cemetery at Newtonville, MA and at Greenlawn, Salem, MA these are both memorial chapels, accounts of which you have undoubtedly read in the columns of PARK AND CEMETERY. At Utica, NY, an entire glass structure answers for a chapel and conservatory, at St. Paul, Minn., there is a chapel and conservatory combined, which undoubtedly you remember seeing while attending the 1893 convention, those structures where there are other houses to supply can be made very attractive, none but clean well grown specimens should ever be allowed in a chapel conservatory, to use such structures for propagating purposes; or for growing a general collection of plants should always be avoided, they should at all times be clean and orderly, so that at any time when the use of the chapel is called for there would be nothing to mar the quietness of the occasion; a judicious selection of plants for the conservatory is desirable, graceful palms forming the chief feature with ferns growing under them, and as far as the seasons will allow some suitable flowering plants should be introduced which would brighten up the house with vines hanging from the roof. A practical man's good taste will do more to develop such a place, than any amount of writing, and a visit to these and other places will do more than that I am aware I have digressed somewhat but it is in keeping with our subject.

To the important part of this paper; twenty-seven have greenhouses, fifty-seven have none; to the six questions propounded, aside from the first and second the replies as a whole, were so indefinite, that it is quite as well to give the answers as a whole. several did not name the number of plants they use, the largest however as far as reported is at Forest Home, Milwaukee, Wis., 175,000; Oakwoods, Chicago, 133,000; Forest Hills, Boston, 117,700, Mt. Auburn, Boston, 100,000; Graceland, Chicago, 100,000 and by other cemeteries from 3,000 to 50,000 each. In several of the returns the number of foliage and of flowering plants have been given; in one Forest Hills, Boston, the varieties and number of each, there can be no doubt that where any amount of plants over a few thousand is used each year that a greenhouse judiciously managed is a good investment both as a money return, and enabling us to raise the varieties both adapted to our respective places. While geraniums and cannas are universally used there are some things that are not adapted to grow everywhere. For instance, while on a visit one year at Washington, DC, the tender leaved Caladiums were growing in great luxuriance around the basin of a fountain in a shady place, but for everyone who saw and admired them what more fatal mistake could be made than to try and obtain the same results in many of our places. I think one great reason of failure with some of our friends in the management of their greenhouses, is, that too much of an indiscriminate character is grown, and there is always en hand a large amount of plants of no earthly use. I contend that we should always have a definite object in all that we undertake as the seasons come and go, such changes as are of advantage should always be made, and where an improvement can be made by discarding some varieties that have long had a place in your summer planting, and placing others in their stead, there should be no hesitancy about it. I would not grow anything that is not of use for the grounds that I had charge of, better grow a few varieties that you can depend upon, than many that are doubtful. Again, I think you should know the quantity you require; there is no difficulty in this, you undoubtedly know what you can plant out, you also know what is left, I certainly would not grow 10,000 geraniums, when it would be better to have 7,000 and 3,000 heliotrope, neither would I buy every new thing that came along. One or two plants of any new thing placed in your testing ground is enough until you are sure it is what you want. Would any of you want all the Cannas that are catalogued; when a dozen good selected varieties would give you all that there are worth growing? Again why grow thousands of Alternanthera and Echeveria for the so-called carpet bedding, when a long sub-tropical bed well arranged gives a more pleasing effect, and greater satisfaction. Keep these small plants for planting graves and small fancy beds on private lots; why fill all our own ornamental beds with the same class of plants that you plant on private lots, I know you must have some, but where are the evergreens, and the herbaceous plants; why not plant more of Mahonia Aquifolia, and Japonica, Andromeda Floribunda and Polifera, Kalmia Latifolia and Daphne Cneorum, if you have these things your greenhouse is not taxed to its utmost capacity you have a greater variety and at less expense, don't try to make the greenhouse do more than It should. A friend only a few days ago asked me if 1 saw a man whose greenhouse was large enough, I said yes, I am your man. It is astonishing what results can be obtained from a small house and a few frames-well managed. For years the writer was thus situated. The man who attended the funerals, and did the small amount of stable work then required, spent his spare time in the greenhouse and with the assistance of the writer good results were obtained. With a little extra help in the spring time enough plants were raised to supply the place in quite a satisfactory manner, besides yielding a good revenue for plants sold to lot holders and the few ornamental beds were supplied with plants adapted to the place. Small as this effort was, it was the beginning of a new era in the history of that place, and today under the present management longer houses have taken the place of the smaller ones, and the plant department is quite an important feature. I must say however that I do not think any corporation should engage in the cut flower business or in making designs for funeral work. It would take a larger outlay for additional houses and help, and unless a large patronage could be obtained, I am sure it would not pay. The local Florist will not appreciate what he is sure to consider an opposition to him; the cut flower business by a Cemetery Corporation. In regard to the greenhouse department of a cemetery being a financial success, I can only speak from our own standpoint and say, that as it is managed here at Forest Hills it is, figures might be given to show the correctness of this statement. It is important that something more than a common laborer be engaged for this special work.  The assistants should be men of some knowledge of plants, and willing to obtain some more. A man that wishes to be a good gardener is a life long learner, but, alas there are too many that know it all and are not known to spend even one or two dollars a year for Horticultural literature. Such men at the maturity of life are generally at the same place as they were at twenty-one, and are practically of little or no use, so I take the ground that in order to carryon a successful greenhouse arrangement for a cemetery, the first qualification is a gardening Superintendent, who knows when the department is on a right basis, even if the place is large enough for a practical head gardener, It is better for him and the Superintendent too, that they should both be practical men. The assistants should also be practical as already suggested. I further suggest that one or two young men should always be in training in this department. They will work with you and in your ways. Very much more might be said on this line of thought, but we will stop with these hints or rather bits of experience, feeling quite sure that he who is desirous of being a practical gardener, will not spent his money and time in the bowling alley, in preference to purchase of books, and diligent study.

There is a vast amount of work to be done by the gardener which is not strictly confined to the greenhouse. The trees and shrubs are under his care, in addition to the greenhouse work. He should know of and note all changes necessary in that special department. In a word the Superintendent and Gardener are largely the place, and when they pull together it must pull well, these are essential features for a well managed greenhouse.

To those who are contemplating building I would suggest that even the smallest house should not be built without first of all knowing what the house is to be. Have a plan, study it, understand it, and adapt it to your particular needs. In these days of improved construction, do not let it out to any carpenter at hand. Give your plans to a firm that makes it their business to build such structures, and you will then get the benefit of their long years of experience. If it is permissible to quote from experience at Forest Hills, this course was presented with the most satisfactory results.

This subject is the basis for a wide range of thought, the difficulty being in knowing where to stop. I think, however, I have said enough at this time, the greenhouses at Forest Hills pay well, first in supplying suitable plants to the lot holders, second, in the fact that the corporation have the entire control of the plant business in the grounds, there being but very few indeed brought in by outside parties, and those on single graves, third, the men employed in the houses in winter care for the beds in summer, prepare all new beds for shrubbery and plant them at the proper time, do all transplanting of trees and shrubs in fact all the work pertaining to the ornamental department, and the further advantage of keeping good men all the time in this department is their familiarity with the grounds and their thorough acquaintance with the needs of the place is a very great help.

In conclusion I would say if you have a greenhouse or intend to have one and can manage it on these lines that are suggested, I think success is yours. If you only want it merely for the sake of being in line with others, and cannot manage it intelligently be it one house or many, by all means never have one.
 

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 9th Annual Convention
Richmond, VA
September 18, 19 and 20, 1895

To obtain the best and most satisfactory result from trees and shrubs in connection with cemetery planting is one of more than usual importance.  We have only to look around us in many cemetery grounds to recognize how desirable improvement, from a special standpoint, and by a judicious selection and arrangement of cemetery trees and shrubs becomes. It is generally found as time rolls on, that a large proportion of the trees originally planted are where they should never have been, and as a consequence, have to be cut away before they have really served any useful purpose. The great object of modern cemetery planting is not so much to afford shade, form screens or accomplish other objects of practical importance, as it is that the beautiful picture presented by a skilled display of trees, shrubs and flowers should rob death of the many terrors which the ignorance and superstitions of olden times surrounded it.

The modern idea of a cemetery is not so much that the grave is the end of all as it is that it is the beginning of a new career of happiness which we are taught the new life is to be. The earliest idea of paradise was that of a beautiful garden, and it is impossible to rob the paradise of the future of the same surroundings. The modern cemetery is, therefore, the ideal garden of the future, so far as it is possible for the human intellect to accomplish; and it should be the aim to make pleasurable the visits of the living, by making beautiful the resting places of the dead, leading the mind from gloomy thoughts such as ancient cemeteries fostered; but this beautiful garden must necessarily be subservient to practical details. It is impossible to accomplish anything in this world, that is not a financial success and there is no reason why financial success and the ideal cemetery garden cannot both go hand in hand. And, in fact, the financial aspects require close consideration in connection with the adornment of the grounds. In the planting of the cemetery, therefore, the possible desires of future lot holders should be considered. I knew once of a cemetery which prided itself on the number of rare trees it contained, and which had among its arboreal treasures one of the finest specimens of the Cedar of Lebanon to be found in the United States. The majority of lot holders would have been proud to have possessed such a rare gem. Not so, however, the one who owned it at the time in mind. The superintendent of the company was amazed when the lot holder came one day to insist on cutting down the tree, because it shaded over the grave and moss grew on his marble monument. Determined to save his tree, the superintendent had to make arrangements to give the owner a large price for his lot and sell him another one, and have the interred removed rather than have his beloved tree taken away. Such occurrences as this cannot always be foreseen, but they may be sometimes, and thought should be given in the arrangement and planting of cemeteries to the possibility of such unpleasant occurrences. With this end in view, it would seem desirable, therefore, that portions of the grounds should be reserved expressly for planting in order to beautify and make as nearly as possible an ideal garden spot, while that portion devoted to the lot holders should be as free from planting as would be consistent with the necessary landscape effect. By the judicious selection of these spots, a general landscape effect would be produced which is lacking in very many cemeteries, even in those of recent beginning.

I have frequently felt that sufficient importance has not been attached to the artistic arrangement and planting of the entrance to the cemetery. It was with great pleasure when visiting the Forest Hill Cemetery of Boston; I saw that this had evidently been taken into consideration when the plans of the cemetery were drawn. Who having driven along that broad, sweeping drive, planted on both sides with most beautiful specimens of Blue Spruce, Nordman Fir and other choice evergreens, supplemented with banks of Rhododendrons, Azaleas and handsome thickets of shrubs, and on up through the ivy-covered archway, has not felt that he was indeed entering a beautiful Paradise! I really believe that more attention should be given to the approach to, and the entrance of the cemetery grounds proper, for it is there that visitors get their first impression and first impressions are always the most lasting.

Perhaps this was more impressed upon my mind when I visited Forest Hill, because it was only a few days before this that I saw another cemetery in western New York, where the entrance was directly from the street, through the conventional gateway with its stern granite posts and iron railings. Not but what the grounds of this cemetery were very artistically arranged, but the entrance to it did not give me the same feeling of rest that I experienced when I visited Forest Hill. Yet the entrance to the cemetery of which I speak could very easily have been arranged so as to give one the idea of entering a beautiful park, simply by placing the entrance proper a little distant from the street, and massing a number of choice evergreens, trees and shrubs on both sides of its sweeping driveway.

It is not my intention to go into the details of how to plant a cemetery, because that is the province of a landscape gardener; I merely wish to throw out a few hints or points which to me seem to be frequently overlooked, and this question of an artistically planted entrance is, I think, one that particularly needs attention. It seems to me that it is your duty, gentlemen, to let no opportunity escape to instruct your lot holders how to keep in touch with the improved and more advanced aims of the modern cemetery. Every one is prone to do a certain thing because custom has made it popular and this is as true in cemetery matters as in everything else.  The huge marble or granite shaft, rarely an object of beauty and sometimes but a mere display of wealth, is usually erected with the best intentions, and its use is still a custom mainly because it is believed to be the most fitting thing to do and lot holders have not learned a more advanced idea. And this is just where the question arises - What is the most advanced idea by which we can satisfy that desire to do something to show how the dead are missed or loved? Would not the planting of rare trees and plants be more fitting and bear testimony to our love to a far greater extent than does the erection of monuments? Do not visitors at a cemetery show more real love for the trees and flowers than they do for a block of marble or granite, upon which more frequently they look with more curiosity than respect? There is no doubt that our dead soldiers are more honored and the living more inspired by the strewing of flowers annually on their graves, than they would be by mere monuments alone. We must get lot holders to remember with us that beautiful trees and shrubs produce beautiful thoughts, and keep us, as it were, in communion with those we have lost, and that trees, shrubs and flowers are, therefore, more fitting than monuments. The most choice and beautiful evergreens that could be selected would cost but a small portion of the value of a monument, and would leave a handsome fund to be placed in the hands of the superintendent for the annual care necessary to keep the lot in a beautiful condition.

I understand that no marble monument or headstone marks the spot of the famous Nicholas Longworth, one of the pioneers in the industrial development of Cincinnati, and possibly the father of modern strawberry culture, but that he sleeps beneath the spreading branches of a noble elm tree.

I think that you will all agree with me that the time is here for some changes in this direction. Many of you have already passed rules forbidding the erection of marble copings, iron railings, and I think in some cases tall headstones. A few years ago this would not have been possible, but today the people have more advanced ideas, and through your teachings are becoming willing to discard these things. Even in the matter of headstones and monuments they are showing a desire to design them after ideas more natural than the marble shaft and square or rounded top headstone. This is shown by the imitations of tree trunks, and boulders now frequently seen in cemeteries. The monument in Harleigh Cemetery near the main entrance representing a column of stones, doubtless attracted the attention of many of you and each of you perhaps have in the cemeteries which you superintend, monuments, the erection of which has been suggested by some seemingly appropriate object in nature. It is but a step from the imitation of nature to the real, and I firmly believe that the transition would not be so difficult of accomplishment as one might suppose. Let but a few of your lot holders start the work and others will quickly follow. It is probable that the idea may be too radical for its full accomplishment at an early date, but I have no doubt but what it will come in time just as other reforms have been adopted after persistent efforts have been made to bring them about.

It is always a Source of regret that there is not more desire for more meritorious trees and shrubs in cemetery planting. Why should quantities of Arbor-Vitae, Norway Spruce, Austrian or Scotch Pine be used, when the more rare and vastly more beautiful Nordman Fir, Oriental Spruce, Englemans Spruce, Douglas Spruce and the superb Colorado Blue Spruce and Swiss Pine could be used to as great advantage? It certainly should not be because the first named are cheaper, for first cost in planting should not be a consideration, as the work is to last one may say forever. To be sure, there are portions of the United States where some of these named may not be hardy, but there are many that will thrive almost anywhere. The Blue Spruce, Douglas Fir, Englemans Spruce and the Picea concolor are all natives of the mountains of Colorado, and should thrive in almost any portions of the United States, unless the soil of the particular spot be unfavorable. It is not commonly known that plants which are apparently not hardy in a more northern climate than where they are indigenous prove quite so if they are protected when they are small until they become established. The most northern limit of the Magnolia grandiflora is I think North Carolina yet we in Philadelphia and vicinity have no difficulty in getting it to grow if we protect the tree for a few years until it can force roots below the frost line. There are several of these trees in Philadelphia that are not less than twenty-five feet high.

It is impossible for anyone to say positively what might or might not thrive in a certain locality. This can only be learned by the individual efforts of yourselves. Select what you believe would thrive in your soil and climate and test it for a year or two; the cost would be trifling, and every time you find something new or uncommon that will grow in your cemetery, you will have added a new subject of interest to your grounds.

Of late years the planting of evergreen beds has become quite popular; and in many of the more recently designed cemeteries and, in fact, in a number of the older ones, numerous beds are now planted. There is scarcely any form of Spruce, Fir, Arbor-Vitae or Retinospora that cannot be used in this connection, as by frequent trimming, even the larger growing sorts can be kept within reasonable bounds, and at the same time a much finer color will develop from the constant pruning. The great labor and cost of planting large beds of greenhouse plants annually have had much to do with the advancement of the evergreen bed,--as in the latter case the first cost is the greatest one.

During the last few years there have been many introductions of plants from Japan which have been found to be extremely hardy, and also many from Europe and remote parts of our own country, and it may be desirable to mention a few of these that would doubtless be valuable for cemetery work. The Cercidiphyllum, a Japanese tree, has proven hardy in many sections of the country where it has been tried. It is a pyramidal tree, but rather more spreading than either the Lombardy Poplar or the Pyramidal Oak. It seems particularly adapted to heavy soils, and especially to low and damp situations, where it makes quite a strong and rapid growth. The Kolrcuteria is a Chinese tree, making a low, spreading growth.  In July it is densely covered with very large panicles of yellow flowers and is particularly attractive at that time. It is not a new tree, but rather uncommon. One of the prettiest trees adapted to cemetery planting which has recently been introduced is the Styrax Japonica, few things can be more beautiful than the pearly white flower, abundantly produced in the early part of July. The Pterostyrax hispidum is also a valuable addition, a rather spreading tree, of moderately rapid growth, and covered in May with drooping racemes of white flowers entirely covering the tree. This I think will become extremely popular, when it is thoroughly well known.

Of improved varieties of our native trees, nothing seems to have become more popular than the forms of Cornus florida, the red flowered and the weeping. These with the parent plant seem to be adapted to all soils, situations and climates, and consequently are found largely in all cemeteries. The red flowered form is particularly beautiful in spring when covered with bloom, though later, as with the other two, when it assumes its varying tints of autumn coloring, few plants exceed it in gorgeousness.

The recent introductions among shrubs are too numerous to mention, doubtless they have been brought to your notice many times. A class of plants which have sprung into great prominence in a short period is hardy perennials and they need more than a passing word, indeed, a whole chapter could be written of the many useful positions they might occupy in our ornamental planting. A class of plants which after planting become more and more beautiful every year as the roots become stronger, and which, by judicious selection of varieties give a continuation of bloom from early spring to late fall and exist in form from those of low and dwarf habit to plants making a growth from five to six feet are what perennials comprise. It would be useless for me to attempt to name desirable varieties, as this would depend upon the soil and location where the particular bed is to be planted, but I can assure you that you would never regret the use of these plants in your work, and would find the study of varieties particularly adapted to your necessities of great interest to you.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 8th Annual Convention
Philadelphia, PA
September 11, 12 and 13, 1894

To attempt to write an article on planting, to be read before the American Cemetery Superintendents, places me in about the position a man would be in who goes to Minneapolis to sell flour, or to Syracuse to sell salt; he would probably get some good pointers on his business, however, and that is what we are all here today for points.

I have at various times and places, but mostly at previous conventions, met a goodly number of my brother superintendents, and among them all have failed to find an injudicious planter. They are all enthusiasts on the subject; all have had experience, and any of them can tell me all about it; yet when I go to their grounds somehow I am disappointed; disappointed by finding them so much better than I expected; disappointed by finding them worse than I expected and the keenest disappointment of all is the stamp of artificiality which marks the whole business. A specimen tree here, a specimen shrub there, all for show, display.

I like to go to the old part of the grounds where the planting, particularly if original forest, has conformed to the law of "survival of the fittest;" the tender things have been frozen out, the uncongenial died out, and the superintendent has had the "bouncing fever" and bounced out, until what are left are worth a little study.

There you will always find something to arrest your attention. A shrub of which you have just propagated or bought a supply, you find does not look as well at ten or twenty years of age as your young ones, but on the other hand, you find something which is entirely new to you, but on examination it is very common, only you never before noticed its beauties when grown in such a location or soil. Above all, the newness is worn off---the artificial look is gone. In large grounds opportunities are great, and seldom used; we look too much for novelties. A change is always desirable and appreciated.

A wise man would plant wisely, a prudent man prudently, a rational man rationally. A man wise, prudent and rational would possess good judgment; such a man would plant judiciously. Mr. Wm. Robinson, author of the "English Flower Garden," remarks that "if men would give up mere imitation, we should be charmed with the contrast between grounds." Is not that the secret of the whole matter?

Do we not get into a rut by following someone before us? Is not each superintendent a judicious planter if he boldly plants what is within his reach and gives his plans his best care and thought? Suppose the critics do criticize, why that is just what we want; but do it kindly, brother. You did some planting last spring yourself, and someone may be looking you over while you are away and writing you up.

I think sometimes that in our zeal to do ornamental work we forget the main purpose of the cemetery. My ideal cemetery would be one in which there were no interments, no dead to bury, with unlimited means for improvements. Probably it would not be above criticism, but certainly there would not be the individual likes and dislikes of a multitude of lot, owners to contend with, and he would be a hard man to please who could not, under those conditions, please himself.

But this is park planting-surely it is far easier to plant a park than a cemetery. When the park is planted simply maintenance follows.

Keep it neat and clean; somebody will appreciate the effort if all do not, and where is the man who is foolish enough to expect to please all. The cemetery section is graded and while the work is being done the planting plans were given constant thought, and as the plotting of lots was completed, the planting was done. Finished, was it? Theoretically--yes; practically--no. And practically it won't be finished for generations to come. Lots are selected there and sold, interments made, individual tastes have to be appeased. You all know how it is.

Now allowing that it was originally planted judiciously, is it judicious to change it? Probably not, but it will be changed just the same. Why? Because the superintendent is a good natured, bighearted sympathetic man (if he is not he is no man for the place), and the pressure brought to bear will be so great that he will change, add to and replant until the original idea is entirely lost sight of. Now which is the judicious planting? Let each one of you settle it for yourself.

I am going to keep right on in the good old way, doing the best I know how and if some landscape crank comes along and tells me that my plan is execrable, totally bad, horrid-it don't hurt me a bit.

I just say to him that these grounds are devoted to burial purposes, that there is a public park over the other side of the city, and throw out the idea that he is welcome to go over there and jump on them to his heart's content; feeling perfectly safe as to where I stand in the hearts and estimation of my lot owners.

Every superintendent is a judicious planter who is in love with his work.  Doesn’t he use his best judgment? Don't his lot owners when honestly appealed to give up their whims and fancies and concede that his ideas are more likely to be correct than theirs? Some do and some don't. Does not he have his rules and regulations to fall back upon; his board will certainly take care of him. The judicious part thus becomes the easy part, for he is applying himself all the time to learn more of various plants, shrubs and trees. His little nursery, started a few years ago in an out of the way corner, has grown into almost startling proportions, and he himself is surprised when he runs over the nursery catalogue, to make out his orders, how little he really needs, and how much really first class acclimated material he has on hand.

If I have encouraged any brother to go on and plant his grounds according to his best judgment and tastes, without fear of criticism from those of more aesthetic tastes, I have accomplished all attempted in this article.

He who plants carefully, honestly and conscientiously plants judiciously.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 7th Annual Convention
Minneapolis, MN
August 22, 23 and 24, 1893

Some of the things I may say could undoubtedly be better said by some of you, for I know full well that in the growing of trees and plants, many of the members of this association have attained to a rare degree of skill and taste. I hope, however, to interest you in some phases of tree-growing in a climate that is well-known for the frequency and severity of its periods of drought and its long cold winters.

In this climate we lose far more plants from the drying out of the soil, than from the cold atmosphere. In proof of this, most of you can recall that the greatest losses of young trees have occurred in winters following extremely dry autumns.

Therefore the problem of raising trees successfully here is largely one of how to overcome most successfully the droughts to which we are subjected. This is the first part of my subject, and I divide it under the several heads of:

The management of the soil; the selection of the trees and the treatment of the surface of the land around the trees and shelter to protect from drought. 

The proper management of the soil will vary as much as soils differ from one another, but in dry locations, we must try to have as good a supply of retentive material around the roots as it may be practicable to obtain. This may properly consist of clay, or material containing much humus, or of both combined. Nothing is better than the sad from clayey land.

In the selection of trees, there is much to be considered, even after the kind is decided upon. As a rule, seedlings which have not had their tap root seriously cut, grow faster, develop into better trees, and are less affected by drought, than those which are much root-pruned, or grown from cuttings. The cottonwood is a good example of this point, and it will be found with this tree that seedlings are much longer lived than cutting plants when grown in the dry soil of our western prairies or in similar situations elsewhere.

As a rule in dry situations, it will be found that small plants with the root undisturbed are far better than are much boasted nursery-grown trees with fibrous roots. Then, too, we must get the roots down deep, and in very dry locations I would often plant so that the roots will be 15 inches deeper than they naturally grew.

The box-elder is one of our hardiest trees, and is seldom, if ever, regarded as tender, yet when grown from seed collected in Southern Missouri, it does not stand well in this section.

The Missouri black walnut is not as hardy as that which was formerly quite abundantly grown in the river bottoms of the southern part of this state. The same I believe to be true of the hard maple, hackberry, red cedar and many other trees. It is also my belief that the Rocky mountain evergreens grown from seed raised on the eastern slopes, where the parents have for ages endured a trying climate, and all the more tender plants have been sifted out, are far more desirable for growing in our northern states than those which have come from the moist, milder and more equable climate of the western ranges. I have recently gone to some considerable pains to get my hard maples from the northern section of this state, for I believe them the hardiest. These statements simply show what the most casual observer must have noted, that there is much in a good pedigree and that there is transmission of qualities of hardiness in the vegetable as well as in the animal kingdom, and that we should think of them in selecting trees and plants. In fact, the qualities of inheritance extend through all organic matter.

The treatment of the surface soil around trees planted on dry land is a matter that calls for much careful attention. The American public has become educated to thinking that a blue-grass sod in such places should extend close up to the trunks of the trees. In a few years this may become so thick and solid that it will shed water nearly as perfectly as a shingled roof. This is an unnatural condition, and under such circumstances plants cannot reach any great degree of development in dry situations. Where trees naturally make a good growth in dry locations, the surface of the soil is covered with a considerable thickness of leaves and branches that have fallen to the ground. These retard the water and allow it to percolate into the ground and reach the roots of the trees. It also prevents evaporation from the surface soil and keeps the surface soil cooler. For instance, this season the strawberry bed at the experiment station has given far better returns than others in the immediate vicinity, and this success was largely due to the practice of heavily mulching, the space between the rows with straw.

At any time during the severe drought, which has prevailed for a considerable period, the soil under the mulch could readily be rolled into pellets, while in adjacent rows, not mulched, the soil was very dry. Analysis of the soil, four inches from the surface, showed that which had been mulched contained 24.3 % of water, while that which was not mulched had 18 % of water. Of the soils three inches from the surface, the mulched contained 20.6 % of water and that not mulched 15.5%. In either case, the mulch increased the amount of water contained in the soil under it 33⅓%.  This is equivalent to an increase of 2.2 quarts of water to each cubic foot of soil, which is equivalent, where a tree is mulched for five feet on all sides, to an increase of 44.3 gallons of water in its upper one foot of soil under the mulch, and there is, probably, nearly as much increase in the second foot of soil. Yet in this case, the soil which was not mulched was undoubtedly near enough to be considerably affected by the water in the mulched rows. The surface soil of some other land on the farm was found to contain only 5% of moisture at the same time. It is probably fair to assume that the mulched land contained at least 60% more moisture than that not mulched.

This is a great variation, and often makes the difference between success and failure in growing trees and plants.

People may complain that a mulch is unsightly; but it can often be covered up to great advantage with hardy shrubbery, which also aids the retention of water by shading the ground and protecting it from drying winds. We are apt not to appreciate the value of undergrowth around trees. This is nature's way, and we would do well to follow her in it many times. For covering the mulch symphoricarpos, the hardier spireas, flowering currants, buffalo berry and many other hardy plants are suggested as being desirable; and when properly grouped make pleasing contrast. The best material for mulch will vary with that which is easiest to obtain. Hay, straw, bogasse, coal ashes and hardwood sawdust are good; but any material which is a good nonconductor will answer the purpose.

The importance of shelter, by this I mean wind-breaks, can hardly be overestimated. It has been clearly shown that evaporation under the influence of the wind is dependent not only on the temperature and degrees of the same, but also on its velocity, which if impeded, reduces the rate of evaporation. Careful experiments made by the U. S. Signal Service in 1887, showed that with the temperature of the air at 84° and a relative humidity of 50%, evaporation, with the wind blowing at five miles an hour, was a little more than twice what it was in calm. At 15 miles an hour, the wind would evaporate about five times as much water as in a calm atmosphere of the same temperature and humidity. These figures state in exact terms the value of shelter belts and many other similar observations could be given to show the value of wind-brakes.

This protection is sometimes best given by a wind-break. It certainly may be given by planting in groves where the trees protect one another from the wind and sun. Newly transplanted trees will often be greatly helped by covering their trunks with hay, straw or other material that will keep off the wind and sun. The hard maple is found in the extreme northern limit of this state in large quantities, forming great forests, yet even at Lake City, 300 miles south of this limit, is liable to serious injury to its trunk, and is not considered a safe street tree, unless the trunk is shaded. The same is more or less true of the bass-wood, which is greatly improved by covering its trunk. The mountain ash makes a large tree 200 miles north of this city and yet, here, is liable to sun scald if its trunk is not protected. I have made a considerable study of this subject and have always found the bark much healthier and fresher when protected than when exposed.

To sum up this matter, I would say, in dry locations it is of the utmost importance to have a retentive soil, to mulch and to protect the whole plant from wind and the trunk from the sun as far as possible.

In the extreme north, we do not have the variety to use in grouping which is found in milder climates, but by careful management we can produce very pleasant contrasts with the material we have at hand, and there is no need, even here, of any great sameness in plantings.

Among the larger trees that are most useful for planting along our drives, is, first of all our American white elm, which will endure greater extremes of temperature and moisture than any of the fast-growing larger trees and is the best of all for general use, but it is well to vary this occasionally by planting a few sycamores, or even a whole drive, with the rock and the slippery elm.

The English elm I do not consider hardy enough for planting in this climate. The sugar and soft maple are both good; the latter being especially desirable for quick effects on retentive land where not too much exposed. The Norway maple is unreliable. The hack-berry is a rival of the white elm for planting in good soil; but in dry situations it is not so reliable.

The green ash is the hardiest of its kind; the white is not so well adapted to severe conditions, yet in favorable locations it makes a fine tree.

The box elder is rather too small for general street planting but for drives or alleys, especially in trying situations it is one of the best trees.

The poplars and willows are generally neglected; but some of those introduced from Russia, and a few of our natives, could often be used to good advantage. Among the best of these are the certinensis, and laurel-leaved poplars, and the white and Russian golden and laurel-leaved willows. These are of rapid growth, very desirable as pioneer trees, and of great value in producing pretty effects on the edges of timber plantings.

I fear there is a general tendency to neglect the oaks on account of their slow growth, but in every large planting there should be a judicious mixture of the trees of this genus. They will grow in almost any situation and develop in size much more rapidly than we think, and always command attention. As for myself, I always feel like taking off my hat to a fine oak. The best of all is the Burr or Over-cup oak, which is one of the most magnificent trees in form, foliage and hardiness in the world. Then the scarlet oak is a very desirable tree. No other plant approaches it in beauty of autumn coloring, and it soon becomes large enough to give good landscape effects, and it may be transplanted with considerable certainty if nursery grown.

Among the smaller trees of special merit are the American canoe birch, the European birch and its variety of cut leaves. They are especially desirable for effective grouping in moist land, and to contrast against a back ground of evergreens.

The Balleana poplar is a form of the silver poplar, with a close, upright, distinct and pretty habit, and as hardy as the ordinary white poplar. It is destined to be popular as a specimen tree, where a bright; striking effect is wanted. An occasional white poplar is also desirable.

The Catalpa is worth planting in a small way in very favorable locations on account of its distinct foliage and beautiful flower clusters; but it is unreliable.

The mountain ash is pretty at all times, and is a satisfactory tree as far north as Fargo, and can be used to great advantage along the borders of groves to enliven them with its bright flower clusters in spring, and its fruit clusters in autumn.

The oil-berry (Elaeagnus Augustifolis) is a very hardy small tree and desirable for its pretty habit and downy light green colored foliage.

The Kentucky coffee tree, with its large, conspicuous compound leaves, is valuable for variety and occasional use in good locations.

The Butternut, too, may be used for variety, and for general use should take precedence over the black walnut, which is only reliable in the best locations.

Van Gert's golden poplar, if used occasionally, gives a bright pleasing effect to the landscape by its pleasant contrast with trees of dark foliage, but if used too largely the effect is sickly and unpleasant.
Among the willows, the Russian golden is far superior to the common form. It can be used to great advantage in enlivening the landscape of the late winter and early spring months. The laurel-leaved is especially pleasing with its large, bright, glossy foliage; and can often be used for brightening the effect of more somber kinds.

Salix Regalis is hardy here and is a beautiful, graceful tree with white, silvery foliage. On account of its rapid growth, it is very valuable for an immediate effect.

The Conifers are especially good for winter effects.     They do much the best here when grouped, and a much stronger effect is produced in this way than by single specimens. The ground around them should be kept clear of grass, and if practicable they should be mulched.

When once established such trees as the white spruce, Scotch, Norway and dwarf pine, red cedar and arbor vitae will stand well in almost any location. These are the hardiest of our evergreens, and are generally satisfactory.

I think the dwarf pine is the hardiest of the pines, and the best for a dry situation. It is especially valuable for outer specimens of evergreen beds.

The Juniper sabina, or trailing juniper, is one of the neatest of all for a low evergreen. It is pretty when allowed to assume its natural habit, and by pruning can be made to take on almost any low form.

Among arbor vitaes, the common form and the pyramidal are very satisfactory. Those with either golden or silver foliage have not done well here.

Of the Rocky Mountain evergreens, our best is the Picea Pungens, which is hardy enough for us and is certainly very desirable for fine effect among evergreens.

The Picea Concolor is somewhat unsatisfactory. The Douglass spruce is doing nobly, and is destined to be popular for favorable locations. It grows much faster than the Picea Pungens, and its form as well as its color is very pleasing.

The Pinus ponderosa or Bull pine is of promising hardiness, and will probably prove valuable in dry situations. The Norway spruce is good, but does not hold on like the white spruce. The Hemlock is a little uncertain, and needs a favorable place to do well; but adds much by its grace and beauty to the groups in which it is placed.

The Retinosporas, with which such charming effects are produced in more favorable locations, are almost useless here, and we must get along without them.

Among the shrubs there are a multitude of kinds that suggest themselves and a few are worthy of special notice in this connection. The Caraganas are generally neglected in this country, and yet they are among the hardiest plants in the world, and in Russia they are used as pioneer plants to prepare the land for tree growth. They have a very pretty habit. The young foliage is especially delicate and pretty, and the yellow flowers make a bright and pleasant contrast in the spring. Our best Cornus is the native one with red bark, (Cornus stolonifera), and it is of much value for enlivening shrubberies in winter and is a good plant at all times.

The hardy hydrangea does well here, and if it did require some coddling to make it grow it would be well worthy of it. It is the most popular shrub grown. The Polish privet is the only one that stands even fairly well, but is hardly worth growing. The bush honeysuckles and lilacs are successful everywhere and are grand shrubs.

The Syringas do fairly well, but are peculiarly liable to injury from drought. The P. Columbian is a new form with large white flowers that I think, will prove a great addition to our flowering plants.

The shrubby Cinquefoil (P. fruticosa), is one of the best and hardiest under shrubs, and its bright yellow flowers add to its attractiveness.

Many of the sumacs are hardy, and though somewhat coarse, their rich autumn coloring is a special inducement for growing them.

The Missouri flowering currant is the best of its class, and is a grand shrub which never fails. The Alpine currant may be used in a small way.

Broad leaved evergreens do not thrive.

Rosa rugosa is perfectly hardy with us, and most satisfactory as a shrub. It is not well known as it should be. It is valuable for effective grouping or as a specimen plant.

Of the Elders, the native red-berried form, though somewhat coarse, is very useful in many places, and is conspicuous in flowers and in fruit. The golden elder is a beautiful thing and almost indispensable for enlivening shrubberies, and while it is frequently killed to the ground in winter, it is generally very satisfactory.

Of the Spireas, the Van Houten is the best; but Obovata, Fortunei, Lanceolata and Lobifolis are all good. The delicate Thunbergii is too tender to be satisfactory here. The golden spirea, though no longer put in that class by botanists, is the most satisfactory golden-leaved plant we have.

The Buffalo-berry, (Sheperdia argentea), is a large, clean, graceful and excellent shrub and as hardy as any. There is some difference in the color of specimens. It is not well known, but is destined to be largely used as an ornamental plant. The light green color of the leaves and branches may be used in striking contrast to evergreens and dark-foliaged plants.

The Snowberry is so hardy it may be used in almost any location.

The Tamarix Amurensis is a beautiful, graceful shrub, with feathery foliage and pretty small flowers. While it generally kills to the ground in winter, yet it starts so quickly in the spring that it is very desirable for the edgings of shrubberies. The Snow-ball is well known and satisfactory in good locations. The original form of it, the high bush cranberry, has the advantage over it in bright fruit, which holds on well into the winter, and I like it much better than the snow-ball.

The prickly ash is a good plant for giving variety to lawn planting.

The dwarf June-berry is a nice, quiet looking shrub in the edges of groups and shrubberies, and its pretty flowers are admired by all.

The common buck-thorn is useful and makes either a specimen plant or a good low hedge. Of its hardiness, Prof. Prendergast, who has much experience with it in a very trying location, says: "Plant without fear."

By the use of these plants we may secure a good effect the year around, and even in winter, have our parks and cemeteries objects of beauty and admiration

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 7th Annual Convention
Minneapolis, MN
August 22, 23 and 24, 1893

Mr. President and Members of the Association: I don't want to pass for as good a man as my father was. My name is Fletcher Bohlander; you have it here on the program as Peter Bohlander. I wish I had the language and the gift to express what trees and plants mean to me, as well as what I think they can be made to mean to others. It will be a great pleasure to me, however, to tell you anything that I can on this subject on which I feel that I have been gradually finding out some few things during the last few years. About thirty years ago or more, when I first commenced traveling around the country in the interest of the nursery trade, I began to find out that the best places and the places where I could get the most information about trees and plants, was by visiting cemeteries, for there I could learn what trees and what plants, were doing the best in those communities. This varies quite a good deal in different communities, sometimes in different places in the same community. But I never found a time when the superintendent of the cemetery wouldn't give me time enough and wasn’t perfectly willing to swap ideas. For this reason, I accepted Mr. Salway’s invitation to appear here before you.

Now, as I have already said, I am not gifted in talking, I wish I were. But trees and plants mean a good deal to me, as they do to almost everybody. The very tramp who comes along by your place will stop and enjoy a tree before he goes on his way. I know they have visited our nurseries many times, we are right across from the Railroad and they will even go through the nurseries, and you, will see a better expression on their faces when they leave. Every tree you have in your cemeteries, preaches a sermon, perhaps unknown to us, to everybody who passes. No words of mine can begin to express what trees do for the community. One thing about trees however we all want to remember, for here is where we sometimes make a serious mistake: it is not worth while to insist on planting either trees or plants that are not adapted to our conditions.

There are plenty of trees and plants right in our own communities or adapted to our own communities, where they will do well-what might be called our native stocks and it is much better to use it than to go out and get foreign stock and bring it into conditions to which it is not adapted. A pretty tree, well cared for, is, much better than a dozen trees half cared for and half dead. It doesn't make any difference where you get your trees, so that the varieties you use are adapted to your conditions: that's the important point to remember. Another quite important point is how the trees are grown and how they are cared for before you get them. Many a fine tree has been killed after digging by exposure before packing, and by an unduly long time occupied in transportation. For this reason I would advise every nurseryman to have a small nursery of his own and never to plant a tree that he gets from the nursery in its permanent place until he grows it a year in his own ground. Then, when he transplants it, he very seldom has a failure; it will grow.

Where you are planning for your trees ten or twelve or even fifteen years in advance, if you will take your nursery trees and plant them in groups, and let them come along and develop in beautiful groves, and then take them out of there and plant them in their permanent places using that temporary place as a nursery, I think you will get better results. There are so many little things of this kind I could say to you and it is such a broad subject, that it is impossible for me to hope to cover it in just a short talk. If trees don't mean a good deal to us, why would people like John D. Rockefeller and Charles M. Schwab be working with them and enjoying them? They don't do things unless they get results, unless they get some benefit from them. They get more recreation out of caring for trees and plants than any other thing they can do in life. The proper planting of trees means a good deal of thought. It takes, more time and more patience and more skill to plant and arrange trees and plants to get the proper effect, than it does to paint beautiful pictures. In fact, when we plant and arrange trees, we are painting beautiful pictures on our grounds, and there is only one effective way to do it, and that is to follow the teachings of nature.

Very often, we fail of the effect intended, because we won't let nature teach us. I am satisfied that in the great majority of cases, we would get just the effect we want if we would follow the simple teachings of nature, if we would go out and study our community, if we would study the surrounding country in order to find out what is doing well in our own local communities, and then use that material. Of course, it must be placed right, it must be placed so as to give your entrance a good setting, and it must be placed so as to give mausoleums and monuments a good setting. Don't overplant and don't ignore advice, but don't take too many peoples’ advice. Talking just a little bit against my own business, there is one thing in particular that should not be done, and that is, to employ a landscape gardener who is, connected with a nursery; there is a little too much tendency to recommend the use of the stock and material that he has, himself. But, on the other hand, if you have a good landscape gardener and you have confidence in him, don't let anybody confuse that opinion or upset your idea, but use his scheme the whole way through.

Remember that he has some picture in mind that he is working out, and if you interfere with it, or, if you change it, you will find you will not get the results you should have. Of course, a good landscape gardener is indispensable, if you can get one, but there are mighty few really good landscape gardeners in the country. If there is no landscape gardener available, just remember this, that every man looks at his planting a little bit differently, anyhow, and most of the superintendents of cemeteries have a pretty good idea of how they want to handle their own grounds, and in addition to that, they are always trying to get all the information they can from others. So, if you will just work at it, if you will have confidence in yourselves, and if you don't let too many people confuse you by advice, you• will get good results and beautiful effects. But, it makes no difference how many trees you plant, or, how they are planted or arranged, if you don't take care of them afterwards. And there, again, we can't expect to get very far or do very much, if we work against nature's laws. Take, for instance, the rhododendron, perhaps the most beautiful thing we have in the East; it is impossible for us to grow them here. We can grow them here for a year or two, but we are lacking in soil conditions, in the sulfur and the magnesia that is in the soil, and they just naturally starve to death, so that it is of no use to try to work with them. But we have many other good plants here that can be grown easily. Why not use those things doing the best we can with what we have, instead of trying to do the impossible?

If there are any questions you would like to ask, I will be very glad to answer them if I can. I don't claim to know very much about the business, although it is the only thing that I do know anything about, but there's so very much to know about it, that it actually makes me ashamed of how little I do know. A few years ago, we had so many questions asked us about when and where and how to plant, that we had a little book printed in an effort to answer those questions. I brought a few of those little books here with me, and, if they are of any value to you, you are welcome to them. Or, if I haven't brought enough of them with me, and there are others who want, a copy; I will be glad to see that they are mailed to you free of charge. Anything else I can do for you, please remember I am at your service always.

From the publication:
“AACS - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Convention held at Cincinnati, OH"
September 24, 25 and 26, 1919

There is no telling what those who profess to be your best friends will do to you – seemingly seeking for an opportunity to put one over on you – so that in this particular case, those who find this paper of very small value or interest – can lay the whole thing at the door of our general host Mr. William Salway – and also of our exalted ruler "Billy" Atkinson – for very evidently they have conspired to my public undoing and left me at a your mercy. I hope you will be charitable to me and forgive them.

So little can be resurrected out of the "Compost” of a cemetery green house venture that will be new to many of you and surely stale to others - that it is with some misgiving that I venture into the subject which like all good arguments has two sides, Pro and Con.

With us our experience has been one wholly worked out through several years of varying success, and having got our toes wet, we decided to dive in and get wet all over – taking the consequences.

We have found a constantly growing demand and patronage for all we have been able to produce in the line of plants, cut flowers decorations, etc. and being a cemetery greenhouse we stand well in line in the matter of funeral work and through the friendly relations of our funeral directors have considerable business turned our way, finding in the design work a valuable source of revenue. The first requisite a greenhouse must have is an intelligent, capable florist, a man who has a botanical knowledge of all plant life, their cultivation, food supply, their susceptibility to attack by countless varieties of insects and the means to combat these; a practical knowledge of the requirements in equipment and supply; to know just when to plant or propagate to insure blossom on a certain date or season and to have the executive ability to handle the exasperating help question in connection with the work. Such a man is not easily located-but when found much valued and appreciated.

You who have sought and found not in this particular can readily understand what I would convey from the experience of having had all kinds.

A man not up to these requirements should not be retained longer than his place can be filled and the change should continue until you have found a man who in at least a few of these requirements excels. A big burden is then taken from your shoulders and they get a chance to rest before the next load is placed on them-soil, climatic and atmospheric conditions have a tremendous bearing on your success.

All these must be understood and adapted to plant life otherwise you will have an inferior grade of plants to offer your trade.

I find in following the different localities of the United States that there is but little difference in the season of the general production of greenhouse and garden connected therewith perhaps from our Southland we are a little in advance of our more Northerly friends, but it is a matter of rotation each year, at this season of the year the florist is up against it-until the first cut of chrysanthemums begin and from then on through the winter months his houses are abloom with a riot of color of carnations, roses, etc., to which is added the bulbous stock so heavily imported and which since the war has been in a large measure curtailed by federal regulation, this has put a decided crimp in many of us, and will force development in this country of plants, trees, flowers and bulbs that hitherto have been so easily imported. The Roman hyacinth, the azalea of Belgium and many valuable specimens are not coming to us. This is a severe blow, added to these are many others with which you are familiar and are now forced to substitute. Many of the old fashioned flowers are coming back into use and many under a nom de plume, not recognized, but readily sought and of considerable value commercially.

High prices of every known supply has hit us a hard blow, but the adopted rule of submitting, and adding the increase of cost and production to the "ultimate consumer" seems to work and without a great big kick.

We in our business have found no lack in buying on the part of the public. Flowers became a part of the war to cheer the sick, and wounded to speak consolation to the bereft and people generally have not ceased to spend now that the war is over. The cemetery greenhouse has many advantages over outside competitors. The land usually does not have to be bought, taxes in some instances are eliminated or negligible, there is a saving in soil compost, pots, designs and labor to a certain extent which help on the credit side of the ledger.

Hardy perennials help out from the planting in many parts of the cemetery; peonies, spireas, vibernum, phlox, hydrangeas and with us in Tennessee the Grand Magnolia, for these flowers can all be used at seasons when the greenhouses are low in cut and all of these flowers are especially fine for lot and vase uses. And when combined with choice annuals find ready sale.

We began in a small way some of my good cemetery friends offering advice from their experience which has been of untold benefit and with what we have learned from our own, and hard knocks, our plant has grown and is still being added to. To so systematize the production that we may have houses adapted to all manner of cultivation. Ranges for cool bench stuff, enclosed house for forcing under any desired temperature and especially built houses for potted plants, ferns, etc.

The experience has been instructive and the result with us is looked upon as a source of revenue. We maintain a sales room in our office building which is handled by the office force. A retail flower booth in the central market house in the city, and just now we are spreading our wings a bit and installing an attractive flower shop in the lobby of our leading hotel with very up to date refrigerator, etc. We believe that we can not but make good there, the overhead being small and the opportunity large. Many of our social affairs now come to the spacious balconies and drawing rooms of our hotels as society finds entertainment much less trouble there than in the private homes where now the help question is impossible, and no "function" is quite complete without table, room or corsage decoration and we hope to feel a little of the “velvet” from this undertaking.

These city places are essential as they cater to two kinds of patronage the middle class and the upper crust, giving opportunity to dispose of surplus from the greenhouses that the regular cemetery trade does not take or require. We have found since the severe flu epidemic an increasing demand for lot and grave decoration. One of our sales ladies is in charge on Sunday, meeting the trade through the week and holding it "for us" on Sundays at our cemetery. I believe that the leading cemetery of any city can well undertake the enterprise, they are assured of large and constantly growing patronage, and it would be ill advised for a very small cemetery to undertake it.

Construction with a view to as much permanency as possible should be considered for there is less of maintenance to figure on in the future, though the first cost may be greater. Particularly so now are the prices of construction almost prohibitive, but to do the thing right your plant must be adapted to your requirements. I have purposely given no figures for now they would not be stable enough to be of use under present fluctuations. We have of course many discouraging features which make us feel sometimes that the result is too burdensome, labor problems, unnecessary waste, carelessness in a hundred ways which cut deep into the profits-overhead-maintenance of plants, tools-machinery-vehicles, etc., to constantly battle with but for our line of business-cemetery development and embellishment-I believe that a well managed and conducted greenhouse adds very much to the result as a whole, in beauty, service, utility and in a reasonable way to the revenue of the cemetery.

From the publication:
“AACS - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Convention held at Cincinnati, OH"
September 24, 25 and 26, 1919

In a short paper like this it is manifestly impossible to do more than call attention to some of the best of the many useful and showy hardy herbaceous perennials that can be grown and used to ornament and give effect in cemetery plantations: Therefore, my object is to recommend and treat briefly, plants that bloom in early Spring and onwards until late Autumn; and also to show a few of the many ways in which they may be used to advantage.

Herbaceous perennials are plants having perennial roots, with tops that die down to the ground annually, such as Delphiniums, Peonies, Veronicas, grasses and ferns. There are many other species which have evergreen leaves and are usually placed under the above heading; such as some of the Pentstemons, Saxifrages, evergreen creeping Phlox, Sempervivums, and some Sedums.

Hardy herbaceous perennials are exceedingly important in landscape work, and although many of our landscape artists do not give them the same rank in importance that they do to hardy trees and shrubs, nevertheless, some of them ask us to imitate nature, and if we do, we find she always gives us a generous supply of herbaceous perennials well intermixed with the trees and shrubs. Probably the actual reason why they do not stand as high in their estimation as trees and shrubs is that this class of hardy plants are not so numerous that it requires more careful selection than any other class to do effective work with them. Anyone who knows a Phlox, a Peony, a Larkspur, an Oriental Poppy, a Japan Iris or Japan Anemone will admit that many perennials are very beautiful, but they will also admit that there are many which are not so showy and useful for ornamental purposes. Consequently, a person has to have a good knowledge of this kind .of plants to get the best results. He not only requires to know the height, the habit and the color of the flowers of the plants, but he also ought to have good taste in arranging the various plants so that the flowers which are in bloom at any given time shall group well in form and color. It also requires study and forethought to get the best and most suitable plants for the different seasons.
One of the most common ways of growing herbaceous perennials is in the mixed border. The first step to take in making a border of this kind is to select a suitable location. There are many fitting locations to be found in cemeteries, such as alongside a drive, a fence, a walk, an avenue, the foreground of shrubbery beds, or at the foot of a stone wall. There is one precaution that ought to be taken when selecting a location that is if possible, not to place the border near large trees, as the roots of the trees will deprive the perennials of their nourishment.

The outline of the border is not important; it may be straight, curved or irregular, according to the situation.

After selecting the location, the next consideration is the soil. If of moderate depth any kind of' soil will grow the plants, provided that plenty of manure is given; but a deep loam if well trenched of medium texture that does not need an annual supply of manure is the best. Of course, all have not such a soil at their command, and therefore recourse must be had to supplying the most suitable ingredients to the varying soils that have to be dealt with. A deep loam if well trenched and given a good dressing of well rotted manure will need little if any other dressing for three or four years. This is of great importance both as regards saving of labor and well doing of the plants, as many kinds of herbaceous perennials will attain their most perfect development when left undisturbed for years. Clay soils should be trenched at least two feet deep and plenty of leaf soil worked in with the manure.

The arrangement of the plants in their order is a matter of taste but here I would advise the grouping style, which consists of planting a number of plants in a mass, the aim being to obtain color in such quantity as to prove effective when seen from a distance. The taller growing kinds should be arranged at the back and the dwarf kinds confined to the front of the border, but a too strict line of uniformity of height should be scrupulously avoided and pains should be taken to dispose of the plants as to color so that there shall be no violent or jarring contrasts. The time of flowering of the different kinds should be thought of so that there may, be throughout the season a regular dispersion of bloom over the entire border. The best example I have ever seen of this grouping style was last year at Drummond Castle, Perth shire, Scotland. Indeed, it was a surprise to me.

Every fourth year we dig all the plants from our herbaceous borders and trench the ground. In this process of trenching, the earth is completely turned over, to the depth of two feet and we work into the soil a liberal supply of well rotted cow manure. In turning over the soil to this depth it gives an opportunity to remove all roots and weeds from the soil. Not only does the soil need enriching, but there are many of the strong growing kinds of herbaceous plants that need lifting and breaking up the plants degenerate, the growth becomes weak, the flowers small and few in number. Examples of such are Phloxes, Delphiniums, Asters, Rudbeckias and Chrysanthemums. When overhauling the border in this way there are many plants that require just as careful handling as if removing a large tree. The plants are very sensitive to rough handling and if it is not done with care they do not grow or flower as well for some time afterwards. Examples of such plants are Adonis Vernalis, Statice latifolia. Clematis recta if not lifted and planted with care does not grow more than eighteen inches the first season when it ought to grow four feet. The best time to do this kind of work is early in September; the nights begin to get cool then, we are liable to get showers, and the soil has not lost any of its warmth, and the plants are able to make new roots and growth before winter sets in.

During July and August there is always a scarcity of bloom in the mixed herbaceous border and there are many places that need filling up, as some of the plants that bloom in the early Spring die down, such as Oriental Poppies and all early flowering bulbs. The empty spaces which these plants leave are not pleasing and can be filled with such good annuals as Zinnias, Tagetes, Asters, Stocks, Phlox Drummondi and many others which give a profusion of bloom during the summer months.

The only care the borders need during the summer months is keeping the ground clear of weeds, cutting dead leaves and stems, and tying up such kinds as need support. A few words on tying and staking will not be out of place here. A plant should not be tied that is at all likely to be self supporting. The height of the stakes never ought to exceed the height of the plants and the ties should not be drawn so tightly that the plants present a broom-like appearance. In dry weather the strong growing kinds need a liberal supply of water.

There is an endless supply of hardy plants that can be used in the herbaceous border, but I will only mention twenty-five of the best Spring and early Summer flowering kinds, and twenty-five of the best late Summer and Autumn flowering kinds. For the early kinds, the following are exceedingly good perennials: Alyssum saxatile with its golden yellow flowers; Aquilegias, several species, caerulea, glandulosa, Stuarti and Chrysantha being the best; Arabis albida, Phlox procumbens, P. Subulata and its varieties are showy dwarf plants; Polemonium reptans and caerulea are good for blue colors; Stellaria HoJostea has numerous white star shaped flowers; Veronicas many kinds, the choicest being rupestris, gentianoides, incana, paniculata and latifolia; Pentstemons which are hardy and reliable are P. digitalis, diffusus, oratus, barbatus, barbatus var, Torreyi, and pubescens; Pyrethrum roseum, very fine, has many forms both double and single, the single flowers are very pleasing ; Clematis recta has panicles of beautiful white flowers; Dianthus barbatus and many other species are good; Campanula carpathica makes tufts of blue; Delphiniums, many kinds and all are exceptionally showy plants; Dicentra spectabilis or bleeding heart is one of the most graceful hardy plants we have in early Summer; Orobus vernus fine early dwarf pea flowered plant; Lychnis chalcedonica and Viscaria flowering plants are both good; Primula veris and vulgaris and their varieties are well known; Campanula persicifolia and its white flowered variety are of medium height bell flowers; Paeonias herbaceous kinds are all beautiful; Papaver orientale and its varieties are without doubt the showiest of hardy plants; German Irises are good border plants and will flourish in almost any situation; Iris laevigata from Japan is extra fine for late Slimmer but requires more moisture than the German Irises. Geranium sanguinea is about a foot in height and has a profusion of red flowers; Baptisia australis gives good racemes of blue flowers in June; Erigeron speciosum and Aster alpinus are the two best early compositae we have.

For late flowering kinds the following are good: Aconitum autumnale; Anemone Japonica and its varieties; the best Asters for border use are Novae-Angliae and its varieties. Aster turbinellus and Aster Shortii, Bocconia cordata, Boltonia Jatisquama are tall, showy plants; Platycodon grandiflorum is a grand perennial and flowers for several months; Coreopsis grandiflora, Dictamnus fraxinella and Gaillardia grandiflora are choice perennials; Helianthus mollis, Helenium autumnale and Hoopesii are good plants for the back row in the border; Monarda didyma is the best of the horse mints; Pyrethrum uliginosum when well grown is very showy; the best of the Rudbeckias are speciosa, sub-tornentosa, and golden glow; Scabiosa caucasica is the finest of all the species of Scabios ; Statice latifolia is the best of the sea lavenders; Veronica subsessilis is very choice; Sedum spectabile is the handsomest of the Stonecrops; Oenothera Missouriensis has the largest flowers of all the evening primroses; Eryngium amethystinum has roundish heads of flowers with a very striking blue color; the best of the day lilies are Hemerocallis flava, dumortierii and fulva. To these might be added foxgloves, Hollyhocks and the late flowering Phloxes.

Some of the best bulbous plants for the borders are Allium moly; Bulbocodium vernum, Camassia esculentum; and C. Fraseri; the different species and varieties of Crocus; Erythroniums, Frittilarias, Snowdrops, Hyacinths, Lilies, Grape Hyacinths; Narcissus many species and varieties, Puschkinia, scilloides, Scillasiberica and Campanulata, Tulips; the species are showy and some of them, such as T. gesneriana, T. cornuta and best of all is T. Greigi. It is not only well to know what to plant, but sometimes it is well to know also the plants that are not desirable for border culture. Some of the plants are recommended in catalogues, but if they once get into the border they are constantly a source of trouble and expense. They spread so rapidly that they kill the weaker plants which grow near them. The most troublesome of these are: Achillea serrata, the variegated aegopodium podogravia, Anemone Pennsylvanica, Saponaria officinalis, Stachys palustris and Heliopsis laevis.

In many cemeteries there are ideal spots for rock gardens where a host of herbaceous plants can be grown. In rock gardens tender greenhouse plants are out of place. Although there are many alpine plants that we cannot grow in our climate, we have plenty of herbaceous and bulbous plants to use. When the suitable location is found there are few more interesting features of out of door gardening than this, and in early Spring and at Memorial Day there would be no spot of the cemetery as pleasing as the Rock Garden.

The herbaceous border and the rock garden are not the only places where hardy perennials can be used with good effect. Some of them are beautiful when naturalized in different parts of the grounds. Many of the spring flowering bulbs do admirably planted in the grass that is if the grass is not cut before the foliage of the bulb withers. Narcissus poeticus is especially fine when grown in this way. At Prof. Sargent's place in Brookline, Mass., it is grown beautifully in this way and is a magnificent sight when in bloom. Bulbs such as Crocuses and Scillas that are planted in places where the grass has to be cut before the foliage of the bulbs mature, have generally to be planted every year. This ought not he an objection to those beautiful bulbs, as they are so very cheap now. The tall summer and autumn flowering compo sitae such as Heleniums, Rudbeckias, Helianthuses, Silphiums, Asters and Golden Rods make a splendid showing when planted amongst shrubbery. Lilies are at their best when planted in Rhododendron beds. Along water margins there are many plants which lend themselves very pleasingly and give excellent effects. Such are Iris, Cardinal flowers, Lythrums and many kinds of grasses. I recollect a tasteless arrangement I saw in a cemetery, a large pond encircled with a double row of Salvia Splendens,

Another use for which the large growing perennials are admirably adapted is to produce subtropical effects. There are quite a few plants that can be used in this way; for example, Helianthuses, Silphiums, Bocconias, Arundo donax, Eulalia Japonica and its varieties, Aralias, Acanthuses, Polygonums, Rheums, Heracleums, Centaureas, Eryngiums and Echinops.

There are many hardy and half hardy perennials which make showy and attractive beds on the lawn. Silene pendula and the forget-me-nots, which are grown as annuals, make excellent beds for early spring. Phlox procumbens, P. subulata and P. reptans are also good for early work. Stellaria Holostea is very good for white. The dwarf Veronicas are all good in early Summer. The tall growing Phloxes, Paeonias, Irises and the tall, graceful grasses all lend themselves readily to this kind of work.

There are many inquiries as to what perennials will grow under trees. I have found the following very satisfactory: Vancouveria hexandra, all kinds of Funkias, Pachysandras, Hepaticas, Asarum Europaeum, Ajuga, Reptans; Orobus Vernus, Lilly-of-the-Valley and many kinds of ferns. The propagation is either by seed cuttings or division of the plants. Every cemetery ought to have a small nursery and grow its plants instead of buying them. Plants are easily raised from seed and can be raised in quantity.

The winter protection of herbaceous perennials is important. Plants that are not reliably hardy can be protected with any material which is not too moist or dose. Most of the perennial plants that are in ordinary cultivation need no protection, but in the Eastern States we find that a coating of some material that keeps them from excessive freezing and thawing during the winter is very beneficial to the plants. If barn yard manure is used a double advantage is obtained, the plants are kept in good condition, and from the leachings during the winter they obtain food. Leaves of deciduous trees, pine leaves and hay are all good for protection. The dressing for protection should not be applied until the ground is well frozen; that will be about the first of December. The covering need not be very thick-two or three inches is enough. The covering is not intended to keep out the frost so much as to prevent alternate freezing and thawing by which the plants are thrown out of the ground, the roots broken and exposed to the sun and air. If the ground keeps frozen all winter this trouble is avoided. The covering should be removed as soon 'as the weather will permit in the spring.

A short time ago I made a tour through the different cemeteries and graveyards around Boston to see what was used in the way of herbaceous perennials. I was disappointed to see the small number used. I do not want to run down the tender bedding plants, as there is plenty of room in our large cemeteries for all kinds of plants, from the American Elm and the tropical palms down to the Alpine Drabas not more than an inch in height. What I do want to point out is that the man who has not the greenhouses to raise the tender plants need not be discouraged, for he has ample material to select from amongst deciduous trees, evergreen trees, shrubbery of all kinds, and herbaceous perennials. The species and varieties of tender bedding plants are few in number compared with the hundreds of hardy perennials that a person is able to select from. There are no bedding plants that will compare with Irises, larkspurs, daffodils, lilies and many others. It is so monotonous in our cemeteries. Almost wherever you go in them you find Geraniums, Coleus, Salvias and Heliotrope. Another point in favor of the hardy plants is that long before the Geranium, Coleus, Heliotrope or Salvia have left their warm quarters in the greenhouses we have enjoyed the charming early Spring flowers such as Scillas, Snowdrops, Crocuses, Tulips, Hyacinths, Phlox, Arabis, Hepaticas and Violets. Not only have we the hardy plants in the early spring but also late in the fall when all our tender plants are housed.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the16th Annual Convention
Held at Boston, MA
August 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1902