NOVEMBER 3, 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



581 



residence of Mr. O. P. Bassett, Hins- 

 dale, III. It was planted from a 2- 

 incii pot only three years ago. In 

 this case the plant is merely a ve- 

 randa ornament, but any florist will 

 appreciate how useful that mass of 

 flowers would be in design work or 

 decorations during September. 



THE COMING CARNATION MEET- 

 ING. 



Bv .Albekt M. IlllKR. 

 (Read before the Florists' Chili of Pliiladelpliia. 1 



This is a very large subject for a 

 little fellow like myself to tackle, 

 and I trust you will take my size into 

 consideration when you deal with the 

 shortcomings of this paper. 



The first and most necessary point 

 is to get the date well fixed in our 

 minds: February 16ui and 17th. 1899. 

 It looks a long way off now, but time 

 flies quickly, and unless we take it by 

 the forelock and keep just a little 

 ahead of it, the meeting will be here 

 and we not ready for it. 



Fortunately, I know my fellow mem- 

 bers of this club well enough to also 

 know that 1 could not add one sug- 

 gestion as to how they should treat 

 the society socially during its sojourn 

 in this city. I can, however, add a 

 word of caution, and I trust the club 

 in general and every individual mem- 

 ber of the club will take it to heart. 

 Do not plan much in the way of en- 

 tertainment. This society meets, at a 

 busy time of the year, for business 

 purposes, and its members are all 

 wanted at its sessions. This is quite 

 as important as the date, and we want 

 to get it fixed in our minds just the 

 same. 



I think I voice the sentiments of 

 every member of the American Car- 

 nation Society when 1 say that I sin- 

 cerely trust there may never be any 

 rivalry between cities in which we 

 meet to outdo each other in the way 

 of entertainment, and thus eventually 

 have us become a burden to the local 

 club of the city in which we meet. 

 As a society, we prefer to have our 

 meeting looked upon among the craft 

 as a pleasant social event of the sea- 

 son, and to feel that the benefits de- 

 rived by the members of the local club 

 from our meeting and exhibition will 

 almost or altogether balance their 

 share in the meeting, exhibition and 

 our entertainment. 



We meet February 16th and 17th, a 

 time when all carnation-growers are 

 busy with work and can ill afford a 

 long stay from home. As a conse- 

 quence, we meet strictly for business 

 purposes. Arrangements are usually 

 made so that half a day of the two 

 days we are in session can be devoted 

 to a visit among such growers as 

 can be quickly reached. From past 

 experience there are a goodly number 

 of the attendants who remain over the 

 Saturday following the meeting and 

 spend the day among the growers. 

 Then there are a few who will come 

 in a day or two ahead and make a 



nr^ffffffffff! 



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Clematis Paniculata. 



pretty general canvass of the growers 

 in and around the city in which we 

 meet. In view of this it will be well 

 for us all to be prepared for critical 

 visitors. Most of us have pride enough 

 in our make-up to make a special ef- 

 fort toward having our stock in the 

 pink of condition when these men 

 come around. The result is the stand- 

 ard of excellence in the carnation will 

 be raised a notch or two higher 

 through these efforts, and this is one 

 of the benefits derived from having the 

 American Carnation Society meet in 

 a city, for after this notch or two has 

 been put into the upward tendency 

 of the carnation it will not likely be 

 allowed to fall back again. 

 Another great benefit of these meet- 



ings is the opportunity it affords local 

 growers to rub shoulders with grow- 

 ers from other sections, and who grow 

 for a different market. This personal 

 contact with each other brings out 

 ideas and facts that never are reached 

 in any other way. It therefore be- 

 hooves all the members of this club 

 who are interested in carnations to 

 so arrange their affairs that they can 

 attend the meetings. It would also be 

 a neat thing to do if all those mem- 

 bers of this club who are especially 

 interested in the carnation were to 

 join the society and take an active 

 part in its discussions and business. 

 Membership costs but $2.00 per year, 

 and there is no extra fee for initiation' 

 Do not let this little hint keep you 



