Evening star., 1926-06-10
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL J.. COLLINS.

Would that l,ttIe flowers were horn to live
Conscious of half the pleasure which they
give.
If Wordsworth could so appreciate
the little flowers" Of his day and
country. what would he say now IL
he could have gloated over the gor-
geous beauties shown in the third an
nual exhibit of the National Horti-
cultural Society which ended last
night?
Flowers of remark bic size and hue.
Flowers such as Eden never knew.
There were hundreds of delight ed
spectators, while today there must be
thousa nds of disappointed non-visitOrs
who did not realize what they missed
until too late. And the enthusiasm
Of the speciaists-the floral high
brows. such as DR.. F. l.. Mulford
culture. and DR.. d. Victor Lumsden
president of the National Horticultural
Society.
One phase of DIR. Lumsden's en-
thusiasm had little to do with the
science of foriculture-it was his JOY
in what the crippled buddies Of Wal
ter Reed Hospital had accomplished
under his teaching, in producing 90
varieties of flowers Of rarest beauty
30 prize winners. He had been in
duced TO relinQuish his chair in Cor
nell University after the war by the
opportunity to help the helpless dis.
abled veterans find that there IL Yet
joy in life in cultivating beauty Of
flowers. One who has lost both legs
can win prizes with roses and peonies.
Out in Wisconsin there Is q blind boy
who takes many prizes with his
asters. for he is expert in smelling
the odors and feeling the shapes of
the varieties.
In the exhibit some of the finest
orchids shown had been grown by a
former glass blower whose hands had
become so cut up by the glass that he
could no longer work at his trade.
What sacred memories are incased
in the soft petals and enriched with
the glowing colOrs of roses. Behold
the rich red Souvenir de Georges
Pernet." and another-a golden vel
low--in memory of his brother,
Claudius. Both boys mad been help
ing their fath her breed roses in Lyon.
Fra nee. They were among the first
victims of battle, and now the bereft
and aged father produces unaided his
finest roses in memory Of his patriot
sons. Not Flanders poppies alone be-
token sacrifice of the war.
In Maryland the widow of rose
breeder was hopeless of ever overcOm.
ing her grief. until she undertook to
keep alive the roses her husband had
bred. Today her whole life is in
spired with interest in developing
those roses In sacred memory Of the
departed; prizes went to her flowers
in the exhibit.
Sometimes the breeding Of fine
flowers is an avocation Of the leisure
folks. One Of the famous breeders Of
orchids in Philadelphia is. OF was. II
pork packer.
Mayor +. X. Pierson Of TarrytoWn,
y. y, is millionaire whose hobby
is the breeding of peOnies and roses.
and he leads all In winning prizes.
His greatest success Is a red rose
which he calls. after his wife, "the
Mrs. r. X. Pierson rose; it has won
five gold medals or first prizes at
ma jOr exhibits.
One of the most successful breeders
IL Mr.. Peter Bisset OF the Department
Of Agriculture. who carried off the
first class certificate" Of the society
for his fine irises and new roses.
Ofttimes the common flowers" of
the past become rare beauties. DR..
Lumsden is now working in the de-
velopment of fringed and double
morning glory.
X n
Yet, after all the skill of the scien-
tist. when has man exceeded nature
in marvels? A few years ago. nat
uralist exploring in Africa discovered
an insect with an extraordinarily