Evening star., 1922-10-26
DR.. f. Y. COUilLe
Gr0,Us BIueberry
Inch in Diameter.
Announces His Dis
corery at Garden
Club Session.

, means to acidify soil for the growing Oh
orchids, rhododendrons and otner
flowers was announced for the first
time by DR.. Frederick V. Covile, chief
botanist, Department of Agriculture. al
| the closing session last night OF the au-
tumn meeting of the Garden Cluo OF
America, in the auditorium OF the In
terror Department. The auditorium was
crowded with flower lovers, and scores
had to be turned away.
| Dr. Coville's important announcement,
! following hts experiments OF recent
! years, was made in the course OF an
! illustrated address upon his work at the
Department Of Agriculture greenhouses
here. Other addresses were delivered py
Mrs Helen Fowler Of keniiworth, Or.
Edgar T. Wherry of the bureau OF chem
istry, Department Of Agriculture Dr.
I Paul Bartsch of the National Museum
and DIR. William E. Stafford OIL the bureau
OF plant industry, Department oil Ag-
| riculture.
| "voice Of wild Flowers" Given
THE Voice of the Wild Flowers, a
| fantasy by Mrs. Marietta Minnigerode
Andrews, author of The Cross TIL
umphant," written for the benefit OF
the Wildflower Preservation Society
and dedicated to Dr. Bartsch. was pre-
sented preceding the addresses as part
of the evenings program, ana re,
ceived such enthusiastic approval
from the audience that Mrs. Andrews
was forced to respond to a curtain
call, during which she presented Miss
Caroline Mckinley, who took the lead
ing role, and other members or the
cast.
: Dr. Covllle, who is famed for his
blueberries of nearly an inch in size,
n of eap inter-
ested in work on determining the I'M
portance of acid soil tor the best de-
velopment OF certain flowers and
plants. Experiments have been car
ried on with the assistance oil asso-
ciates at the local greenhouses Of
the Department of Agriculture. Many
! plants. Dr. Coville pointed out last
i night, require an acid soil. These In
clude the rhododendrons and azaieas,
! the various members of the heather
family and the blueberry.
Can Acidify Any Soil.
DR.. Coville said he has found that
| by the use of aluminium sulphate he
! can acldify any soil. In the past
! acidifcation has been brought about
! through the use of peat and decayinG
| leaves. BY the use of the acid soil he
| has been able to increase the blue
! berry from its historic insignificant
size to almost an inch in diameter.
The new discovery Is held to open
! the door to great development in the
! culture OF orchids. the arbutus and
/ others named. Scientists in the audi
! ence last night were OF the opinion
| that there is no telling what signif-
canoe Dr. CovIlle's discovery and Its
! announcement may nave IN other
helds Of agriculture.
New Era for Potatoes.
F.. 1t is held as not impossible tha,
| in a weak acid soil potatoes may be
grown tree from SCAbS.
| Dr. Wherry gave an illustrated lee
| ture on his wild flower garden in
! Chevy Chase, in which he has made
| intensive study of soil for acidity and
alkalinity. He told of various tests
devised by him to determine the
! chemical makeup of soils.
! Mrs Fowler gave an illustrated lee
ture on The History OF the Shaw
Lily Gardens" in which she recount
! ed how the gardens. founded by her
| father, government employe. be-
cause he loved the flowers. have grown
| into great business. from which
thousands of lilies are picked and
shipped day.
Pleads for Nature study.
! DR. Bartsch made a plea for nature
| study, declaring that children should
! be so trained that they would be able
| TO recognize flowers, shrubs. birds and
butterflies they might meet on their
way to and from school. Such knowl-
edge is the basis Of all conservation
Dr. Bartsch said.
DR.. Stafford gave an illustrated lee
ture on the dahlia, showing many
beautiful pictures OF the various spec
! linens. all of which have sprung from
three original species found in Mexico
and South America.
The Voice of the Wildfowers,
| which proved to be delightful
pageant in miniature. brought forth
spontaneous tributes of applause
from the large and representative
, audience. The fantasy was presented
in the name of the Wildnower Preser-
walton Society by a committee In
ciuding Mr.. Fairfax Harrison, Mrs
E. H. Bouton. Mrs. James Parmelee,
Mrs. Louis Hertle, Mrs. Charles ].
Bell, Mrs. Rudolph Kauffnann. Mrs
Charles w. Richardson. Mrs. Elipha-
let Fraser Andrews, DR.. Paul Bartsch,
Charles Moore, John H. Small, and
Ben a. Harlan.
Series Of Lovely Dances.
i The pageant was developed in q
series Of lovely dances, built into one
beautiful stage picture after another,
| finally forming the rainbow, with
J the Voice of the Wildnowers' high
at the center, white flowers at her
| feet
Then night came. and the Spirit OF
Night entered and sung the flowers
.. to sleep: Albert Parr took the part
of the Passerby, Caroline Mckinley
that Of the Voice of the Wildfowers
Estelle Wentworth as the Spirit OF
Night. and Paul Bleydon as the priest
The Forest Folk were danced by
Helen Minnigerode and Mary Schultz,
while the RAINBOW Flowers were
danced by Rosemary Browning. jean
nette Albert, Elizabeth Quigley. Ju-
liet Lyeth, Evelyn Davis. Marian
Chace and Florence Thompson. and
the white Flowers by Emily Hoff-
man. Evelyn Preble. Sara Hoover. Jo-
sephine Gantley and Mabel Day.
Dance of "Night Winds"
The Might Winds" were danced by
20. r. Weitzel. Margaret Callahan
Martha Woolley, Blrances Sherrier.
Helen Walten, Ellen Waller. Mildred
Potter, Florence Holiday. Lucy Hop
kins, Josephine Ruber, Dorothy
knight and B. Duaney.
Musical numbers were given by
Helen Gerrer, violinist; Walter Nash,
cellist, and Gertrude McRae Nash.