288 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



this meeting whereby all now plants of what- 

 ever species, may be registered under one bu- 

 reau. The desirability of a uniform system 

 in this important department must be evident 

 to everybody. 



The usual executive meetlnff was held In 

 this city on March 5-7, all the members of the 

 board being present except two. The welcome 

 news of the final passage and signing of the 

 bin giving us a national charter was received 

 with enthusiastic gratitude to our friends 

 whose long and arduous efforts had termin- 



facilitles for gathering the right material. It 

 would seem that the time Is now here when 

 the issuing of a quarterly bulletin from the 

 secretary's office might be carried on with 

 great benefit to our members. But with our 

 present income, this Is out of the Question. 



The kind assistance and many courtesies ex- 

 tended at all times by the officers and members 

 of the Society are deeply appreciated by your 

 secretary, and contribute not a little to mak- 

 ing the performance of the duties of his of- 

 fice an unalloyed pleasure. 



Bed of Geraniums at the Pan-American Exposition, Exhibit of H, A, Dreer, 



appointed to pepa 





nd fi 



mored ex-presldent, 

 all others, the credit Is due. 

 nmittee attended to Its duties, and the 

 g testimonial, beautifully engrossed 

 med, was In due time safely delivered 

 Washington: 



To Wm. R. Smith. 



Greeting: The Executive Committee of the 

 S. A. P.. assembled at Buffalo, N. Y.. March 

 5, 1901, on being apprised of the fact that a 

 National Charter for said Society had been 

 duly granted by Congress and signed by the 

 President of the United States, did then and 

 there unanimously adopt the following resolu- 

 tion: Be It resolved. 



That in the name of the Society of Ameri- 

 can Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists 

 which we here represent, we hereby ex- 

 press to our beloved ex-president and esteemed 

 fellow member. Mr. William R. Smith, super- 

 " , Washington, 



intendent of the Botani- 

 D. C, our grateful 

 voted and unselfish efforts on behalf of this 

 Society, and tender our heartfelt congratula- 

 tions upon the successful termination of his 

 persevering endeavors to secure for us a Na- 

 tional Charter. The realization, through his 

 instrumentality, of this unique privilege, preg- 

 nant as it is with the possibilities for great 

 advancement of horticulture in America, places 

 him among the benefactors of our profession, 

 whose names are imperishable In horticultural 



(Signed) Patrick O'Mara, president; Wm. J. 

 Stewart, secretary. 



In Illuminated panels at each of the upper 

 corners appeared these quotations: "Loved at 

 home, revered abroad." "Health and peace 

 and sweet content." An appreciative letter 

 has been received from ex-President Smith, 

 who, being now in Europe, is unable to be 



The letter will be read In the regular order. 



Of the medals provided by the Executive 

 Committee for award through the medium of 

 sister societies, there has been awarded, up 

 to date.' our silver medal by the Newport Hor- 

 ticultural Society for the new dwarf canna 

 Bobs. The crowning event of the year and of 

 our history as a society is the acquisition of 

 our National Charter. This act of incorpora- 

 tion will have the effect of broadening our 

 horizon and opens up before us a wide field 

 for study and Investigation in the develop- 

 ment of an American standard for American 



and 



indu 



Horticulture is 

 the best relaxation we can offer to humanity 

 wearied with the labors of the factory or bur- 

 dened with the cares and perplexities of the 

 counting room or the corporation office. With 

 our widened sphere and extending Influence, 

 our opportunity for useful activity is hindered 

 only by lack of funds which, with the now 

 assured permanency of our organization, should 

 be secured in some way. Given the requisite 



REPORTS OF STATE VICE- 

 PRESIDENTS. 



Maryland. 



Trade generally for the past year has been 

 good. Fair prices have been realized and more 

 than the usual amount of material disposed of. 

 especially at Easter, both the quantity and 

 quality of flowers and plants being superior, 

 showing that our gardeners and florists are 



times, and that if they want to get the money 

 out of their products it is quality that will do 

 it and not quantity. 



Very little building is going on with the ma- 

 jority, owing to the increased cost of material, 

 especially glass. Some few have built, and 

 several new establishments have started. 

 Should cost of material decline and trade con- 

 tinue good, no doubt a large amount of build- 

 ing would be done, but at present prices it is 

 practically impossible for a man of moderate 

 means to build an establishment of any size 

 for commercial purposes. 



Being a member of the Gardeners' Club, and 

 nine-tenths of the florists of the state being 

 members of that club, my report necessarily 

 covers the doings of said club. 



November 8, a dahlia show was held In the 

 club room, free to the public, at which were 

 exhibited a grand collection, the largest and 

 finest being from R. Vincent, Jr., & Son. H. 

 A. Dreer exhibited some nice water lilies; 

 John Cook, fine Mrs. Garrett and Baltimore 

 roses; F. Bauer and H. Fisher, Maman Cochet 

 roses and dahlias. Halliday Bros, decorated 

 the hall with beautiful palms, altogether mak- 

 ing an attractive exhibit. 



October 22. Mr. A. Herr, secretary American 

 Carnation Society, wps present and gave us an 

 address. The club provided a smoker and en# 

 tertainment in honor of our guest. 



November 12. a chrysanthemum show was 

 held in the club room, free to the public, at 

 which were exhibited the finest chrysanthe- 

 shown in Baltimore. There were 



fine di£ 



ited the ha 



Novembf 



tomologist 



palms. At least 4,000 persons ' 



Prof. W. G. Johnson, state en- 

 j present and extended an invi- 

 tation from the Executive Board to the club to 

 affiliate with the Maryland State Hortii?uItural 

 Society. The club accepted the invitation, 

 thereby becoming members, as a body, of that 



January 14. Prof. Townsend. of the State 

 Horticultural Society, gave a stereopticon lec- 



Januar; 



life. 



Mr. R. Vincent, Jr., gave a talk 

 on his recent visit to brother florists of the 

 North. 



May 13, Mr. C. L. Seybold, superintendent of 

 Patterson Park, read an essay on pruning. 

 Quite a number of new members have Joined 



our ranks during the past year; there are now 

 on roll about 150. The treasurer's report re- 

 cently showed that the club was in good finan- 



The club sent out invitations to society 

 ladles to become associate members, the ob- 

 ject being to raise a fund for exhibition pur- 

 poses. There has been a good response to 

 same— about eighty-flve— thereby insuring the 

 possibility of three exhibitions— dahlias, chrys- 

 anthemums and carnations, for which we 

 prophesy success. 



The meeting of the National Carnation So- 

 ciety, which was held under the auspices of 

 the Gardeners' Club, as most of you gentlemen 



the good it has done to the florists of this 

 city and state is, possibly, beyond comprehen- 

 sion. 



As to our part as hosts, modesty compels us 

 to say nothing. We only hope that such of 



ou to "Maryland, my Maryland.' 

 Respectfully submitted, 



RICHARD VINCENT. JR. 



New York, East. 



President and Members of the S. A. F. 

 k fnr a vlpp-prepldent to 



O. H, 

 be brief and 



standstill. 



It is with pleasure, however, that I report 

 that business on the average was very good; 

 there is a feeling In all lines that we have 

 passed a prosperous year. The outlook seems 

 bright, and we anticipate a good season. 



The Christmas trade was chiefly composed of 

 plants, among good-selling kinds being Be- 

 gonia Gloire de Lorraine and the Christmas 

 Pepper, Capsicum Annuum. 



Trade at Thanksgiving. Washington's Birth- 

 day and Decoration Day has been very satis- 

 factory. In some respects exceeding that of 

 what are generally considered the leading hol- 

 idays. 



Easter trade throughout the state was good: 



year. In Manhattan Borough some did well, 

 sold all their plants and did a fair cut flower 

 business; while In Brooklyn the majority of 

 the retailers had most of their plants left, 

 and did hardly any cut flower trade. But for 

 the very unpropitious weather, last Easter 

 would have been the best on record in Greater 

 New York; all the plantsmen had sold out. 

 cut flower prices were soaring high, then the 

 drizzle came, followed by the flop, and what 

 was to be a golden egg turned out to be a bad 

 one. Violets and tulips suffered most, more 

 of these being left on hand than came in on 

 certain days. 



It Is now a decided fact that the principal 

 trade at the holidays is composed of plants. 

 I remember past Easters when lilies were a 

 drug, but that time Is past, and I do not 

 believe that we will ever exceed the demand. 

 I have seen recently lilies to equal any that 

 were on the market last winter, and they were 

 sold at $1 to $3 per hundred. 



During the last six months greenhouse con- 

 struction has been 25 per cent better than dur- . 

 ing the same period last year; this has been 

 mostly private work, with a decrease In com- 

 mercial ranges. There is no likelihood of a 

 diminution in the price of building material, 

 except when all the glass factories start up 

 again in the fall there may be a possible re- 



the glass unions are stronger than ever. 



Among the plantsmen all beddin 

 mer flowering plants were In bri 

 especially roses and geraniums. 



The cut flower business has varied. The fall 

 was poor, but since the 1st of January, and 

 up to the present, it has been very satisfac- 

 tory. One noticeable point was that there 

 have been no great drugs for any length of 

 time. The rose drug was passed over very 

 nicely: while roses ruled low for a time they 

 were always salable — other years at times 

 they could not be moved at $1 per thousand. 

 The carnations, also, during their glut, were 

 sold at fair flgures. 



The chrysanthemum, in my opinion, for the 

 present has seen Us day. It Is hard to realize 

 any fair price for them, and there are too 

 many flowers on the market at the time they 

 appear, although some growers send to the 

 New York market flowers that are ideal and 

 realize just as good prices as they ever did. 



The violet crop was a heavy one; on an 

 average the prices were about the same as in 

 former years. Great quantities were disposed 

 of this year, but the public is critical. They 

 must be long stemmed, large flowered and 

 sweet scented. Flojvers of this standard will 

 always hold their own. I do not know of many 

 new establishments going up this season, ow- 

 ing to the high prices of building material. 



Among the rose growers stock looks well: 

 there are no heavy plantings in new varieties 

 except Liberty, with some growers. 



The carnation cutting business this season 

 was larger than that of any previous year. 

 Most of the growers sold out completely. In 



demand. 



field the ear 

 ater 



