Evening star., 1947-01-12


America awards as a sort of fad or
publicity stunt; perhaps they do
not take quite the same attitude
they would take towards the NAM
ing of Miss America, but they
certainly consider them as some-
thing outside the interest of the
average gardener. This appraisal
must be based upon misunder-
standing of how a flower or vege-
table variety achieves an all-Amer-
ica award, and the purposes served
by the trials leading to each selec-
ton.
In these days when a considerably
number of new things are being put
on the market the gardener has
very little basis for knowing whether
or not the new things have any par
ticular value other than their new
ness. To illustrate, several years
ago a new rose was offered to the
public in such glowing advertising
that many thousands of bushes were
sold at what was then very high
price. This same rose was appraised
by growers from one end OF the
country to the other over period
of years and only "a per cent gave
| it a favorable report. 1t has since
ceased to be listed in catalogues, but
the gardening public paid many
thousands of dollars to find out
how worthless 1t was. To avoid such
a loss and at the same time to
insure the newcomers an opportu-
nifty to prove themselves is the pur-
pose of the all-America trials.
Trial Grounds Maintained.
Under the backing and support of
the American Seed Trade Associa-
tion and a number of horticultural
organizations a series of trial
grounds are maintained for the
testing of these newcomers to the
horticultural world. The grounds
are selected in connection with some
responsible organization who will
supervise their culture. The Judging
is done by qualified group of
horticultural experts (22 for the 1947
awards, who examine each plant
or variety for its various qualifica-
tions and to make certain, that If
similar to some existing variety, it
is an improvement. If the desired
qualifications are present and the
improvement is sufficiently great to
justify its introduction, it is eligible
for an award.
Judging by the results obtained
from plants given awards over a
period of years the judges have re-
stricted their stamp of approval to
those varieties which seem to have
deserved it. However, it should be
noted that there is nothing COM
pulsory about the al-America trials.
On the other hand any plant, vege-
table or flower that has gone
through the trials and earned a
rating is bound to have some merit.
This rating, thus, means much to
a gardener about to buy flower or
vegetable seed. The loss of the 10
to Is cents paid for the seeds that
turn out worthless crop is in
consequential, but the loss Of the
time spent in planting and rails
ing the crop, the use of the land
and the disappointment are con-
siderable.
Some may ask, Cant you tell
from the catalogue description" Try
reading the descriptions of dozen
different varieties Of peas or rad
ishes and see just how much diff
ference is made between varieties.
1947 Medal Winners.
Turning to this years all-America
trials for a brief review, we find
that petunias take the limelight
The double petunia, Mrs. Dwight D.
Eisenhower, won the silver medal in
the 1947 all-America selection. A
new color, salmon pink, and being
all double gave this variety a wide
margin over existing varieties. A
second petunia, Rose Marie, with at
tractive double flowers of large size,
won the bronze medal. The color is
described as clear rose pink, veined
deeper rose towards the center. The
plant has good stems and is a Wig
| orous grower.
A snapdragon, Velvet Giant, also
received the all-America bronze
medal. 1t is a vigorous CROWN"
variety, approximately 80 inches tai
with velvety crimson flowers O
long stems that make it an excer
tional cutting variety. No mentic
is made as to its resistance to til
rust disease.
The French marigold, Naughts
Marietta, received an all-America