Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-11-27
State Institution Unable To
Keep Up Project Is Bene-
fitte d By Arrangement
With B u S in e Man;
Thousands Of"M u m S"
Are One Feature OF Estab-
lishment.

University of North Dakota last week,
the Herald visitor was maze to see
the greenhouse aglow with tall yellow
chrysanthemu1ns and pom poms in
appealing tints. Less than a year ago
this same greenhouse was 4 mass OF
weeds, much Of the glass was broken.
and it was in truth an eyc-sore to an
otherwise unusually beautiful campus
How did the change come about?
The University Greenhouses.
THE Grand Forks Floral company
Of which Mr.. E. G. Lemke is the pro-
prietor, wanted a small greenhouse to
use for raising flowers for its business,
and the university was glad to have
its greenhouses used for this purpose
in order to save them from further
deterioration" said j. w. Wilkerson,
secretary of the university. For a
number Of years the university has not
been able to operate its greenhouses
because of lack of money for the in
stallation Of a heating plant. and nc
money has been appropriated for the
operation Of the houses. The expense
4 of operation would amount to a good
deal as this would include the services
of a full-time man, up-keep, heating
and the purchase of stock
The greenhouses were originally
established for the use of the Depart
ment Of Botany, and under this new
arrangement the university will have
the benefit of the use Of part Of the
greenhouse for botanical purposes.
Four benches have been reserved for
the Department of. Botany n suf1i-
cient space for an aquarium. Mr..
Lemke will take arc Of this part of
tho greenhouse for us. This is an eco
nomical arrangement from the uni
versity's point of view as we get all
u bedding. stock in this way. Mr..
LelNfe has been of great assistance In
putting out stock in the beds on the
campus, cooperating with our super
intendent Of buildings and grounds.
The greenhouses have been rent
ed to Mr. Lemke for a term Of years.
with the understanding that he turn
good condition"
A Long Felt Need.
A good greenhouse has been one OF
the needs Of Grand Forks for years,
but 1t Is an expensive undertaking
and the men who would have willed
to start a greenhouse here had not
the means, n those who had the
means had not the will. Consequent
Nly, the arrangement between Mr..
Lemke and the university is an es-
pecially happy one.
To see the thousands Of blooming
plants in the greenhouses at the uni.
versity today, n would not think this
work had been begun as recently as
the first of February. 1922. Mr.. Lemke
began by putting in a heating plant
for temporary use until the university
should complete its system Of piping.
When this was in operation he seeded
a great many tomatoes. hoping to
have them ready for spring sale. He
also put in a large number Of gerani-
ums for the Memorial day demand
but these and the tomatoes were toe
late to be of any profit. The Eeraniums
were not a total loss, however. as
these are being slipped and started
for next springs use.
NUNS by the Thousand.
While the main purpose Of the
greenhouse is the raising of bedding
stock, there are also many beautiful
flowers for cutting, and plants for the
Christmas season. One whole section
Of the, greenhouse. &c by 60 feet, is
devoted to chrysanthemums Of every
shade and size. 1t was the golden
graceful heads Of the larger variety
that first attracted the visitors atten
ton to the greenhouse, making a
CLEAN on that dull day of lowering
November skies
You should have seen these flow
ers before we began to cut them,' said
MIR. Lemke-' They were a lovely sight,
an unusual sight for North Dakota.
They have been very successful this
year in spite of the act hat we got
such a late start.
NO; T wouldn't attempt to answer
your question as to how many kinds
of chrysanthemums there are. New
ones are being developed all tho time
by experts who are constantly study.
ing them. Those you see at the farth.
er end are called pompons. They be-
long to the chrysanthemum family
and their blooms in many tones OF
color such as yellow, bronze. maroon
pink, lilac and crimson make cheer.
full additions to the living-room or the
table on these dark November days
No, that isn't a daisy. that one with
the large white petals and COLDER
heart. That's another variety OF
chrysanthemum."
.{There was some excuse for the
mistake on the visitors part for the
pompons were originally orienta,
-