JUNE 22, 1S99. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



73 



Astilbe Japonica. 



Kansas State University; "Control of 

 Insects and Diseases," Prof. L. R. 

 Taft, of Michigan; "Nursery Business 

 in the South," by N. W. Hale, Knox- 

 ville, Tenn.; "Injury to Nursery Stock 

 by the Winter of 1S98-99," by C. L. 

 Watrous, of Des Moines, la.; "Why 

 We Fumigate," by Orlando Harrison, 

 of Maryland; "Root Killing of Nur- 

 sery Trees," by Prof. E. S. Goff, of 

 Wisconsin, and "Effect of Cold 

 Weather on Nursery Stock," by N. H. 

 Albaugh, of Ohio. The "question box" 

 was well utilized; hedges, Mahaleb 

 and Mazzard stocks and the San Jose 

 scale were all dissected as usual. An 

 advisory committee was appointed in 

 behalf of the Pan-American Horticul- 

 tural Exhibition by request of the 

 fair officials, Prof. Taylor taking espe- 

 cial interest in this department of the 

 work placed under his jurisdiction at 

 Buffalo. 



The wholesale nurserymen have 

 several protective associations in con- 

 nection with their work, the meetings 

 of which were well attended during 

 the evenings of the convention. 



It is whispered that one reason the 

 Beach Hotel was chosen was to pro- 

 tect the boys like Josselyn and Pete 

 Youngers from wandering up to the 

 dangerous places in the big city and 

 getting lost. 



Everybody stayed down by the lake 

 and "dis-cussed" and returned to their 

 respective homes in much improved 

 condition. 



It would be unjust to mention dis- 

 tinctively the names of the great lights 

 of horticulture that shone at this 

 convention without naming all. They 

 were there from every point of the 

 compass; from California, Florida and 

 the frozen north, and even from 

 France and England. 



The "young blood" was prominent, 

 but the "fathers" were much in evi- 

 dence. Mr. Albaugh was as fat and 

 happy as in the old days, and the re- 

 newed prosperity that has come to the 

 nursery business seems to have re- 

 newed the youth of the "old timers" 

 to an unwonted degree. 



The cold weather of last winter 

 proved a blessing in disguise. The 

 value of nursery stock of all kinds 

 has almost doubled and the demand 

 far exceeds the supply. "Everything 

 comes to him who waits." 



The florist papers were well repre- 

 sented and the editor of the Review 

 seemed to be "quite at home." In fact 

 the florist and nursery interests grow 

 closer every year. Nurserymen are 

 beginning to sell palms and ferns 

 through their salesmen, and it's a 

 poor florist nowadays who does not 

 cater to the needs of the garden and 

 the field. 



The "drummers" were quite in evi- 

 dence. Bobbink, McHutchinson, Kil- 

 len and others displayed their goods 

 and talked about their bargains with 

 genial volubility. 



Amusements — such as the florists 



know so well how to provide at their 

 conventions — were not "in it." Life 

 is a serious thing to these children of 

 nature and in temperance Hyde Park 

 you can imagine how early the most 

 of them retired. They did not have 

 time to accept Mr. Peterson's courte- 

 ous invitation to an outing and lunch 

 at his Rose Hill nursery, and with the 

 exception of having their photos tak- 

 en and watching the boys fish in front 

 of the hotel they indulged in no hilar- 

 ity. But they were there for business, 

 and they did it and went home sober 

 and happy, every one of 'em. 



The Chicago Florists' Club, through 

 President Edgar Sanders, beautified 

 the hotel parlors and audience room 

 with an abundance of flowers, and 

 several of the large wholesalers sent 

 vases of roses and carnations, the 

 "best in the market." This evidence 

 of kindly and fraternal thoughtfulness 

 was highly appreciated and every nur- 

 seryman was decorated gorgeously 

 after the sessions closed. 



Few florists realize the immensity 

 of the retail nursery business. It is 

 hard to believe that nearly 100,000 

 salesmen are on the road in this coun- 

 try. Such firms as Chase Bros., Brown 

 Bros, and Stark Bros, think nothing 

 of having 3,000 to 5,000 plate books out 

 at one time. No wonder "the wilder- 

 ness has been made to blossom as the 

 rose." Here is a work better than 

 the subjugation of the Philippines, 

 and here are monuments that endure, 

 in fruit and flower and foliage long 

 after "war shall be no more." 



Better a thousand times the plant- 

 ing of a tree than the shooting of a 

 savage, and the perfumed fields than 

 the devastation of war. These nur- 

 serymen are doing a noble work. Long 

 may they live. AUSTIN. 



SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION. 



The annual convention of the Ameri- 

 can Seed Trade Association was held 

 at Cincinnati, O., June 13 to 15, with 

 an attendance of about fifty membeTS. 

 Quite a number of papers were read 

 on subjects of trade interest, that on 

 "Growth and Development of the Seed 

 Business" being treated under three 

 heads, viz.; "Garden Seeds," by S. F. 

 Willard, Wethersfield, Conn.; "Flower 

 Seeds," by E. D. Darlington, of W. 

 Atlee Burpee & Co., Philadelphia; 

 "Agricultural Seeds," by Albert Mc- 

 Cullough, Cincinnati. Other papers 

 were: "How can the seedman best 

 educate the public to buy for quality," 

 by S. F. Leonard, Chicago; "How to 

 advertise seeds and plants profitably," 

 by J. C. Vaughan, Chicago; "Fancy 

 Pea Growing and its Vicissitudes," by 

 S. M. Pease, Cape Vincent, N. Y. 



The Government free seed distribu- 

 tion again received attention and the 

 following resolutions were adopted: 



Resolved, That the American Seed 

 Trade Association, in convention assem- 

 bled at Cincinnati, June 14, 1S99, again ex- 

 presses its unaltered opposition to the 

 free distribution of common garden seeds 

 by the United States Department of Ag- 

 riculture. 



No class of merchants in America pro- 

 portionate to the business pays more 



