Evening Star Newspaper, June 10, 1923, Page 75

THE SUNDAY STAR, Father and Son Make Remarkable Records As Experts at Government Greenhouses BY ED. C. KNOLE, | EW of the nearly 80,000 people | who visited the great amaryl- | lis show that was held at the Zovernment greenhouses dur- | ing the spring knew that it was due to the efforts of two men who are| devoting their lives government | service, and back of that statement | fs a story that shows the gome men have for flowers Back in 1872, Edward M voung Philadelphian ston and enrolled of Cnele Sam love ban- in- | in T He even at un nd plant cuiture ernment vision that would, the ome day, rb is iue « He wor tw oftici e of £ h avos ked faitht stendent which he shows them the ent there Liumble at the are the cour ing list of th cnever a dis at once inform NHERLE s l public does that the ears the art of growing 1d usefulness itendent hopes s oificial shoes and ca that has been des Byrnes {s rather proud study d the latter not only has great admiration for his i ruetc Dut is also very proud of him personaily. The younger man is J. Wisc Byrne son cf the superintendent, and want to see a palr of eyes glisten with pride, you should speak well of the father. If you desire to see loving wlances, you should cbserve the elder -1 the son as he goes about his dutles in the greenhouses. Tt is not often that the government is fortunate enough to have a chlef of something that takes both an official interest and also a personal and pater- | nal one. The composite interest means | that when the present superintendent retires the work will not be interrupted for an instant. J. Wise Byrnes knows | avery nook and turn in the thirty-two greenhouses, and one may go further | and say that he knows every inch of | outdoor space that comes under the Jurisdiction of the Department of Agri- 1 culture. i 1t \constant application and intensive study make for efficiency, then the department wery is made 1 that is ard Las been tnstr r man 1 things [ a man that th some d so his £ his is * elder Byrnes has prepared for the fu-! ture of the greenhouses, for every day you can see father and son working at the problems of their ¥fe work. They o not content themselves with merely wcquiring the theory of the work, but Toth have practical skill in thiz great profession. ' . | When you enter the office of the su- perintendent of the greenhouses you see on the walls of the small but business- I'ke place pictures and photogfaphs of fowers and plants ‘mums” thus | rtrayed are beautifully ceiored, as are 1c amaryllls subjects. ‘Che others on tie walls denote the inicnse fondness of | tather and son for the things among \which tiey spend their long working ours, for one must not imagine that | these men are content to work from 9| *elock to 4:30. Plants and flowers have law unto them: s that does not ake office hours into comsideration. | There may be something of interest in | he sma’ hours,” something may appen that calls for personal attentlon | ,n Sundays and holidays, and then you | <ep these men and their assistants at work. 1t should be mentioned that all the employes of this scction of the de- | irtment have the same spirit as that | of the Byrnes, father and son * % % % The HE greenhouses are devoted to the following work: Inspection and fumigation of plants. The great- est care must be exercised as to pests | of differ characters, for if the| destroyers of plant and flower life re permitted to gain a foothold, it| means that thousands and thousands | of dollars’ worth of flowers and plants | st iat are The vould ‘he ‘destroyed. care is taken that all plar shipped into this country are inspect- | ed, and Inspection, in the language of the department, means inspection in capitals. Nothing is left to chance. This” inspection is not only carried | on in the department, but many of | the states have corps of inspectors | ho examine overy bit of plant or| flower 1ife that comes to their borders. The work of propagation of blue- berries and evergreen shzubs s in- teresting as carried on at the green- | houses. This linc of activity means ' much to the people of the country, | “and ever since the department started i it murserymen 2!! over the land have prafsed the results. If one were to| visit any of the many nurseries throughout the country he would see | posted in conspicuous places the Jatest bulletins from the department. General hybridizatlon work is one | of the most interesting phases of ghe aotivities ungder Supt. Byrnes. Another is the testing of seeds. ‘The public as a rule does not comprehend just what this means, put If citizens could spend a few days at the greenhouses they would learn that one reason why this coun- trv has taken such a leading position; in the world in the line of growing things s that the men in charge here hawve been ever on the job cf seeing that the Dest possible seeds were grown. e Fhe seeds atched with greatlgrapes are that the grape growers e e s N { with the United | gressional Edward M. and J Wise Byrnes Live With the Plants and Flowers—l'mporf.ant Results |, for the People,of the Country—Commercial Value of Work—Great Care in Inspection. | | | | \ | E. M. BYRN STANDING BESIDE ONE OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE UNNUMBERED THOUSANDS OF NAVEL ORANGE TREE: IN CALIFORNIA. MR. BYRNE HORTICULTUR- IST, IS IN CHARGE OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GARDENS AND GROUNDS. | { Experiments are being carried | on every day in the year, and the re- | has be a far better condition | obtaining than a few years ago, when | of the people of the country thought that seeds Just and that any old kind would do Another interesting phase experimental work with citrus other troplcal fru The this cannot computed, largely has been the means of brin ing to a high point industry industries that have an output of mil- lions of dollars Other nations have endeavored to compete tates along these lines, but none of them has any- where near approached the output or the quality of the products grown in this country. * care, of the country are today receiving| much higher prices for thelr output than ever before. The $rowing of a collection of grapevines 1s another interesting sight one walks through the different. greenhouses. Each cluster 1s carefully watched, every vine receives expert attention | and the study of the vines and their product is described go that those en- gaged In this line of work may have the full benefit of the observations made by government experts. The work that is done along more | commercial lines embraces the ex- sult man’y as seeds 1 we the and of it value b and a an or each vear. cowpeas and beans. of a city apartment alfalfa does not | register a distinct impression. The | general idea of the city chap is that | alfalfa is a kind of grass and that it is grown somewhere out in the west | —say, Wyoming—but he does not take into consideration that.if it were not for this ang other kindred products he would not be able to enjoy a julcy steak or delicious and tender lanb | chops, nor would he, if there were no clover or grass' be abld to get the | thick, rich cream for his morning berrics or his fragrant cup of coffee. * HE propagation of plants for or- namenting the grounds of the De- partment of Agriculture and those of the weather bureau, and the miscel- laneous experimental work are also carried on at the gardens. There are grown plants and flowers for con- distribution. It may be, | however, that the distribution of i J. WISE BYRNES, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF THE EXPERI- MENTAL GARDENS AND GROUNDS, EXAMINING SOME OF THE BLOOMS ON THE NEW VARIETY OF RAMBLER ROSES THAT ARE BEING TRIED OUT. _— plants will not take place this yenr,] | The lowly bean for years was the butt of many a comedlan's line of Jaugh-producing _effort, but of late the people of the country have learned that this humble food is rich in health-glving properties, and that| the people of Boston weré really rather clever in making the dish of beans a popular article of dlet. ~AI the work that is done on these Varieties of food products has been instrumental in raising the standard. One may say that alfalfa and clover are not foods for man. True, they are not direcl\ foods, but they are the for it-one studies with care that .pro- viston that did away with free seeds he will probably discover that no sec- tion was inserted to take care of the attribution of plants, and one can almost hear the general wail that will go up throughout the country when this fact is learned. While the Volstead act rather gave & temporary setback to.the Vineyards| of the nation, reports from California and other sections which for years were noted for their magnificent | spectes | planted inethe beds In the spring for | certain sofls. basis from which many foods are ul- timately obtained. You remember, for instance, how you used to like the honey that the bees collected from the clover flelds down at the farm; how, when you went to visit the restful old place, heaps of the amber-colored honey would be put on your griddle cakes and you would be told: “This is honey that came from the clover field just beyond the spring.” L HERE is experimental work iwith florists’ crops for which the fol- lowing plants were grown: 3,203 roses, in thirteen varleties, and ninety seedling plants, all of which origl- nated in these gardens; 3,726 carna- tion plants, in fourteen varieties, and 380 seedling plants, all of which had their origin in the gardens of Byrnes, father and son; 8,600 chrysanthemum plants, In 816 varieties, and 539 seed- ling plants resulting from crosses made last winter. 4 ©One will not soon forget the “mum” show that was opened to the public record of the attendance discloses’the fact that the pumber of visitors was 69,182, The amaryllis show that was held this spring holds the record, for from the morning of March 19, the opening day, until the closing of the exhibition on March 2¢ the number of those who viewed this wonderful col- lection was 75,833, There were 1,075 plants on exhibition, all of them Iin flower, The blooms of both shows, after the closing of the doors on the final days, were cut and distributed to the hos- pitals, so that those who could not visit the greenhousés might have an opportunity to’ view these beautiful creations. It is the custom of those in charge to make this distribution each year, and those who lead the shut-in 1ife” look forward to the shows that are held every spring and fall with the keenest interest, for they know that they will have an op- portunity to view these specimens. The blooms are treasureg until it is necessary for them to be removed from the sick rooms, and even then the ill ones spend hours dlscussing the flowers that brought joy to their lives. breeding wo: at the ywardens satisfactorily proceeding its inception, and m. the specimen experts who have traveled many to sce just what the government was doing in this line of work. There Lave bLeen horticulturists ffom for- eign shores that have made long jour- neys in order that they might learn of the progress that is being made. Ths pathological results at the bt reau are showing the sdom of the installation of this very Importa; work, and those so far obtained justify not only the continuance of the work, but the expenditure of ad- ditional sume. During tke past there were packed and forwarded for congres- siona! dlstribution 26,200 ornamental flowering plants and 3,400 ornamental vines, and this distribution means that in different sections of the coun- vear perimental work with alfaifa, clover, {T¥ one may see parks, playgronuds | To the resident &#nd other spots of similar character | vines | embellished with plants and that were grown in Washington * ¢ % * oconnection with ornamental plantings thers fs a collection of 25,000 standard sorts of tulip and nar- clssue bulbs, 6,500 pansy plants which were pianted in the autumn tor display In the early spring; a col- lection of 20,000 bedding plants in twenty-six species and varietfes, and 1,500 tropical plants in forty-six and variettes which were | display in the summer and early fall, 'and a collection of ninety young evergreen trees which were planted in the beds In the grounds. At various places we find experi- ments that show the effect of acld solls and then again we find alkaline solls, for different plants must have What Is of benefit to one may be fatal to another. In many places you will see alumintim tags, for the plants and flowers that are being watched have a close record kept of their growth, etc. The best collection of crotons in the United | States is to be found in these houses. | There is also an excellent collectton of cacti, the property of the Smith- sonian Institution, and about 400 of them arc under the care of Supt. Byrnes. Your attention is arrested as you pass Into the next greenhouse, for here you see a man who lives among and for his pets. They really are his pets, for Manuel Fraile has been in charge of this section of the work twenty-seven ygars. In his domain you see plants from all parts of the world. Here is the century plant, and while one hates to destroy a popular bellef, it must be stated that the old superstition about waiting a hundred years for tho cehtury plant to bloom is a “fake,” pure and simple, as there are numerous in- stances on record where the plants have bloomed many times during the iife of the caretaker. ~ . One of the most Interesting of the display is the famous “crown of thorns,” a plant that has been care- tully trained and cared for by Fraile. It came from Madagascar and is con- sideed one of the finest specimens extant. 7 In the houses devoted to roses, you find the famous Commonwealth, a new rose that has had a years test. All of the roses are trained with a precision that would do credit to a drillmaster at West Point. Here also one sees the roses, Annie Laurle, the Amelia Gudc, the Irene Thompson and the one that Mrs. Wallace, wife of the Secretary of Agriculture, named after Supt. Byrnes, a pretty compli- ment, and it may be remarked that the rose is a remarkably fine one. — Friction matches first came into use in 1833 and as late as 1850 were coneidered too dangerous to be-trans- ported by rail.- The first sulphur matches put on the market came in square blocks of wood w®plit. well down, from which indiyidual matches might be broken. When' ignited a most offensive sulphur' odor arose. The first individual matches, put up in small boxes, were imported from Sweden In the early elghties and, wers a great improvement over th o1d sulphur match. WASHINGTON, D. C.. JUNE | 10,/ 1923—PART | Sphete Used in Great National Game By GEORGE H. DACY. H N ORDINARY baseball such | as Babe Ruth so regularly slams over ‘the right fleld fence, as an article of tech- nical investigation and sclentific re- search, seems to most of us as much’ o case of mistaken identity as to at- tempt to classify the remnant red- skins of the western plains as mem- ! bers of the Semetic race. Although base ball and science, so far as the ken of the average “fan” goes, are not intimately Interrelated, strange to tell, some speclalists have tackled and unusual problems assoclated base ball eficiency, durability composition. It such @ question as, “How good | is & certain base ball and how long’| will it last? came in your mail or! mine some flne morning, with the| understanding that we must submit satisfactory reports and data within the week, the chances are that we would subject base balls of the make in question to the most rigerous of wear and tear and active service| tests. Mayhap, we would go down| on the White Lot with some of the| ball players, and #at and throw abuse and misuse the balls tn cv way possible, In order to how | long they would last. Our investigation would be i assault and battery—a siege of the| kind of violence that the leading| home-run hitters call into reserve to| ald them in their attempts at the annthilation of the horsehide sphe- rotd. Our way, however, is not the wa that the cool, calculating sclentist | follows fn his investigation, dissec- section and detafled study lowly base ball 3 F. R. McGowan of the Diepart at Commerce, & textile expe ternational prominence, has made technical etudy of the Amerlcan! base ball and has devised laboratory misthods of testing the hide-bound yarn and rubber pellet which nose its efclency and comprehenstvely Government Has Devised Some Unusual But Effective Methods of Contributing to the Efficiency of tht Sport—Durability and Com- position of Ball Studied. of Uncle Sam's hired solved | with | and | see one of | v of the dlax- durability o field-uf-pl ted app which are productive of valuable data the livelines Hen bility of the t tensile strength well as the th the cover used in winding studied the best c ton and woolen most satisfactory ing these base ball Our most popul Will benefit as a res vestlgations that elimirate secrets from' ball manufactu THE REBOLND TESTS OF A BASE BALL DETERMINE ITS LIVELL- NE THE BALL 1S DROPPED FROM,A DEFINITE HEIGHT. AND THE DISTANCE OF ITS REBOUND IS MEASURED. plate, he height in inches of the re- | o being measure k ball rebound 9.6 1 when @ height of drop the resist to the another big league bascball 1 to cling thread interior that largely best hes feet | streteh arn and pertant ines the a slosely r- The inches it of 10 feet t the p vl tensile stren reing with which the en was determined in two A speciu pped Dull | undet one of the stitehes as the ball cleanly by 1a fw he tigh in the testing the professional player depen: ot the amount of pull| o geriure of alone on the muscle and force that break the stitch was| .o pans he brings into play, but also on the on a special recording | o cjever liveliness of the spherotd and the It required a force equiva- = restiiency of the materfals of which to 46 pounds per strand to | it is made. As far as possible lacing cords. One of the | ball construction has been standard- removed from ball ized . {cover and tested out tensile Generally speaking, there Is no strength on iraulic testing preponderance of home-run hitting | machine or exceptionally heavy batting in any | A special die one year, becausce the type and qual- | from the leather i ity of the best balls do not vary|could be tested ténsile strength. materfally. By slight changes of |Loads that ranged from 4,300 to 9,400 | material that is used in making the | pounds pe ball or by making this or that altera- | 1, he y tion In the method of winding and the | proportion of wool and cotton used | and by using larger rubber cores, | aysrany balls could be produced that would | 3 zell travel farther when hit, due to greater | that fs held in place by stitches that liveliness. The conservative tenden- | VATY from seien to eight to the inch. cles of the base ball authorities are, | These rows of stitches are one-quarter however, to maintain the game and |of an inch wide. The best balls \\Gvfll\‘ conditions of play as similar as pos- | 141 srams apicce. Of this total weight sible year after year. wool amounts to 67 grams, the All drastic changes 28 f bal hen & t batting about le under ten- ord s desirabl wearing or qual readily cove HE distan at gy will carry when hit the bLusg tand abra and e achiue essary registered | machine lent to 31 break the was expedients t all more tightl skinning it an tro! dacep Horseh thos; and po deliv- g3 the and curves. that fail first are from the thinner the horsehide Illustrative rem strength of the leather covers on the best baseballs, it worthy that In all the ments, the lacing the balls were se o break before the led ny aring scientists’ feport that in one of the the life the unless the cover le covers ara cut e ns p that was used to cut strips cov which also of the for is of n nt with would experi which al square inch of cover had cords d to break the leather strips. | 5 * % ¥s HE base professional leagu. horsehide cover The whe lost national a stitch r brok signs of has a 1s ball s entirely The n, ended, soved i re investigations in- most simple mprovements that can make their and resewed. a > that and practical nanufacturers the in base balllleather cover tips the scale at in HERE THE WOOLEN AND COTTON THREADS ARE TESTED WITH A SPECIAL APPARATUS composition which would give greater advantage either to the pitcher or batsman are avoided, ® It was at the solicitation of the Tnited States Army that Mr. Me- Gowan initially devised his base ball testing methods and equipment. At Army posts and training camps, base ball is ‘always the most popular amusement. Uncle Sam buys large grams, the rubber center welghs 27 grams, the cototn, including the lac- ing cord or first winding, amounts to | S°Vers: : 19 grams; the siaing or leading welghg| The federal investigators resorted 3 grams. | to the simple chemical oxped’e.n! of Careful study was made of the balls dissolving the wool from a weighed as they were unwound by hand and the sample of baseball .yarn in. caust! amount of loading or sizing in each soda and then of weighing the cotton yarn was determined. Rebound tests|Fesidue. This enabled them to find 3 47t inbbar. cANters were de in| Ot definitely the amount of cotton investigations of base ball efficiency z e | * Kk K K i _ | with the entire ball. When dropped | . :;‘::J;‘;,’;Z‘:{;,?,‘cfi,,‘c":n;‘:;";‘}d a distance of 29 inches, the rubber| QTRANGE though it may seem to durability records of different kinds | COTes would rebound anywhere from \) most of us If too much rubber is and makes of base balls. The tests |52 to 62 inches. The compactness or|placed In the center of the profes- include experiments to determine the | FéSISting power to applied pressure of | sional base ball, the ball loses much wearing qualities of the horsehide | €ach of the rubber corps was ascer-| of its former liveliness and resiliency. cover, the tensile strength of the |tained by means of a meter which re-|A “dead” ball of this description, if thread with which. the cover is|corded the deflections of the applied|used in any games, markedly alds the sewed, tensile strength of the leather, { 10ads, effectiveness of the pitcher. No mat- the quality of the winding and the| The most important of these curious|ter how true or vigorously the bat- percentage of cotton and wool in the | tryouts for base balls was the ve-|ters pound the ball, it will travel just wrapping, the resiiiency, compactness | bound test, which is the most satis- |0 far and no farther. As matters and porosity of the rubber center, and | factory method of determining the|stand at present, the exact center of the tension of the yarn which deter- | liveliness of the ball. By repeating|the big-league base ball consists of mine the liveliness of the ball. this test at regular intervals during|cerk instead of rubber. A small pel- The rebound test was first made. | the service period of the ball, its du- | let of cork about the size of a marble Each ball was held at a known [ration of liveliness can be obtained. 18 inserted botween two hemispheres height and dropped on. a wooden! The ability of the leather cover|of rubber that are hollowed out to baseballs is to use stronger lacking cord for sewing on the horsehide » rkable | her would show | Now Subjected to Scientific Test accommodate the cork. Then the two Dieces of rubber are vulcanized to- | sether. The cork is cfficaclous in causing the ball to hold its shape de- spite heavy service. It also increases the liveliness of the spheroid and makes the ball carry stralghter when | thrown During the early days of base ball —ecredit for originating the game is generally given to a United States Army officer, who evolved a system of play. and rules and sponsored the first match contests in the vicinity of Cooperstown, N. Y., about ninets years ago—Inventors worked long and urduously trying to perfect a durable ball that would hest serve the needs of tho new Patent office rec | ords are prolific in freuk balls that were invented during that day and Onoe of the most curious of e was a ball that was equipped th o central bell that rang whes cver the ball was hit off the bat. The iden evidently was that some of the players might temporarily forget #hout the game. The peallng of th bell was designed to recall their at- ton to the eport at hand. The bulls first used were entirel 1 nd lively. The catchers and flelders did not even need gloves the soft, bouneing ball. It eleven inches st two_inches onal b ume. to handle \pproxir r than &n are that Gradually, however, as the game of 11 was popularized and de similar improvements werc : the composition and the American ba: best base balls are cporting paraphernal withstind severs shocks fiering untoward deflec- shape or losing their prop of desirable resiliency veloped consummated construction Today, ou remarkable t FLu to wrapping material 2 Australla and the d market cireum used in ot chiefly produced acld tests of search have at our made-in I8 are just as good sest that come from abroad. that the base ball the strongest rable sections of the takes about twenty- of leather to cove: cover it I in making 2 base stretched out in the strand, it would approximate’ o uasd s sipped in £ that hide, {ana ho five It yarn ouid Plant Keeps an Army. QT 5 Itfes that are en those cultivating tropics arises from the cutting ante march in ar (QYE of the Gour suits them they as- d spread to every leaf. Each afps off with his sharp of leaf bigger than him inging it over his head joins a procession of his fellows simi- bound for the nest. appear to take their places, and {n a short time not a leaf remains. There one specles of : plant that employs a “bodyguard” to protect itself from these invaders This 1s & epecles of acacla, known as the “bull's horn thorn tree,” native of Nicaragua. This name is given it by {reason of a pair of hornl situ d the base of com: pound leaf. All but the voungest thorns are found to be followed and inhabited by colonies of ants. These are smaller than the leaf cutters, but better fighters, and flercely resist any encroachments on their domatne They are capable of inflicting a severe , so that even the higher animale give them & wide berth. fast as the horns become large [ enough for occupancy the ants bore into one of a and proceed to ho! t out by & the sweetish pulp within, leaving the hardened | wall. They bore through the parti | tion that separates the thorns at the | base, and so continue the cavity into | the other thorn. In this way one en- trance is made to anewer for bot! rooms of their house. Once estab lished in their new quarters they ralse their young and make it thelr { home. | It may be seen that it is of great | Importance to the plant to have its | ittle warriors always on guard, and to this end it suppligs them so com- pletely with attractive food and drink that ants have no desire to leave | the plant. On cach leaf stalf a little w from the basc there is & good- sized gland that sdcretes abundantiy u sweet liquid in which the ants de- light. One or more of the ants are always to be seen near the gland. either sucking the nectar or walting for more to appear. 3ut the ts cannot, of ‘course, sub- sist entirely sweets. The plant | also provides solid, nutritious food in {the shape of pears, which are pro- | Guced at the extremities of certain leaflets, in such a position that to get at them the ants must travel over a considerable portion of the leaf. The fruit ripens a few at a time, and thus keeps the ants going over the lagf pretty much all the while. When the pears are ready to pick they are of rich golden color and filled with ma terfal like the meat of a nut. Upon finding one in this condition an amt bites througlt its slender point of at. tachment and bears it in triumph to the nest an ones on —_—— | RECENT observations have shown that many subspecles of the gi- gantic spiders, generally known as the mygale, are provided with stridu- lating or nolsemaking organs with which squeaking sounds can b8 pro- | duced. It is said that there is not a particle of evidence that thekse spiders, which have occasionally heen known to destroy small reptiles. mammals and birds, possess the sense of hiearing. Yet they can emit sounds and the inference is that the purposc of these molses is similar to that of the rattlesnake's rattle—they arc emitted when tho spider is on the defensive, and under the excitement of fear or anger