The Weekly Florists' Review. 



that the development in the culture of 

 foliage and flowering plants does not 

 seem to have kept pace with that of 

 cut flowers. Plants will probably be the 

 next department taken up by our en- 

 terprising friends in the west and will 

 tend to diversify and steady the busi- 



Value of the S. A. F. 



Looking back over the development of 

 the pa-t nineteen years, we must all feel 

 that that progress would have been mil* 1 - 

 slower if there had been no Society of 

 American Florists with its annual con- 

 ventions, its discussions of timely top- 

 ics, the swapping of ideas among the 

 members, each member giving and re- 

 ceiving inspiration for further progress, 

 giving and receiving counsel of untold 

 value and laving the foundations of suc- 

 cess, not only for themselves, but for 

 all those of their neighbors who in turn 

 profited by their good example. Those 

 pioneeis of progress who attended the 

 conventions in days gone by, came from 

 all sections of the country and when 

 they went home and put their new ideas 

 into effect, all their neighbors saw it 

 and went and did likewise. And so the 

 good work went on all over the land, 

 quietly and unostentatiously, but none 

 the less surely until we see the remark- 

 jl,i, ,-\pai.-iiiii (if the present day. And 

 yei how lew of those stay-at-homes ever 

 give the society the credit for all the 

 priceless benefits they thus received from 

 it. 



Every member of the trade owes a 

 debt ol gratitude to the society beyond 

 m J ,v and beyond price, and they i 

 it to' their piuiessiou to do their share 

 for the general advancement. One's first 

 duty is to look after his own interests, 

 of course, but there are other duties 

 besides that of one's family and one's 

 business, one of which is the duty which 

 ea-h of us owes to his profession. I do 

 not attribute neglect of this highei duty 



'';•'■' 



ther to mere selfishness. I think 

 i great deal of it comes from want of 

 reflection. If all would reflect on the 

 £.n-at silent work the society has been 

 di tnj. for the past nineteen years we 

 won Id never hear the question: "What 

 has the society done?" And instead 

 of grudging the $3 annuai dues they 

 would put their hands in their pockets 

 cheerfully to the last mar. for thai 

 small sum, and also find the time to at- 



t 1 conventions, and so pay the debt 



to the society at least thai; much. We 

 have made great strides so far, bu1 

 there are great questions in front i 

 us yet and we need the combined 

 strength of the whole trade to tackle 

 them. 



Industry and Thrift. 

 While reflecting on my visits among 

 my compeers in different parts of the 

 country, there is one point that lias 

 struck me very forcibly, namely, thai 

 the place where packing sheds are clean 

 and tidy and orderly, where the walks 

 are smooth and free from rubbish, where 

 the beds are without weeds, where paint 

 and repairs are in evidence all around, 

 there is the place where the prosperous 

 man holds out; showing very clearly that 

 the old fashioned virtues of indu.-ny and 

 thrift are not dead letters in this mod- 

 ern age of improvement and invention 

 but are still the dirncuH and narrow 

 paths that lead to success I admire 

 hard work, aided by brains, bur. I lo 

 not forget that hard work comes first, 

 brains after. Brains will never do any- 

 thing in this world unless there be seme 



Philip Breitmeyer, President-Elect Society of American Florists. 



push behind them. An industrious and 

 thrifty worker will beat the born-tired 

 genius every time. 



In our business it is not the ge 



we want so much as the fellow who will 

 take hold with a will and do his share 

 of the daily grubbing, confident that in 

 the long run that is the way to become 

 competent and be able to hold his end 

 up in the race for life. Not that 1 

 object to genius; about one in 5,00C 

 perhaps will be a genius and we cau 

 look on and wonder when he comes 

 along; what we have to consider now is 

 that we want the other 4,999 to be com- 

 petent and industrious hewers of wood 

 and drawers of water. If the whole 

 5,000 are aided and abetted by higher 

 education into thinking themselves gen- 

 iuses, life will be half over for most 

 of them before they realize their mis- 

 take. Let us start them out right. 



We heard something recently abou! 

 the help forming a union which may be 

 a good thing for the business and then 

 again it may not. For myself I have 

 grave doubts about it if the same spirit 

 of antagonism and selfishness animates 

 it as seems to be the ruse in other busi- 

 nesses. I have no objection to any g 1 



workman bettering his position if he 

 can, and I think merit should always I" 

 promptly recognized, but I cannot see 

 ;nii good in boosting the incompetent 

 man at the expense of his fellow's. If * 

 workman's union will devote itself to 

 improving the quality of our help it will 

 be doing a good work and if the help 

 are bound to have a union we ought to 

 minimize the evil of same by encourag- 

 ing them along that line. Most of you 



have had experience of what a coal 

 strike means and you can realize the 

 damage that a body of irresponsible, 

 bull-headed men could do on a green- 

 house establishment at a critical time. 

 For damage of that kind there seems to 

 be no protection and we will have to 

 prepare ourselves as best we may against 

 this threatened trouble. A factory or 

 mine can shut down without much direct 

 loss but the florist has to keep going or 

 be ruined. 



The Peony Committee. 



Among the few remarks which i had 

 the honor of presenting to the societv 

 for its consideration last year, I in 

 eluded a suggestion for a 



km i 



on more closely together 

 rork was required on any 

 er. The method previous 



I I n to term a separate 



agreed with nearly every 

 ■e me in thinking that way 

 est that could be devised 

 that a committee, with 

 to its numbers, should be 

 on the peony as a starter, 

 was the only flower on 

 rk could be done best, bill 

 it. rest in it was on the 

 - possibilities in the flor- 

 seemed capable of being 

 the benefit of the mem- 



ng been adopted, 



appoint the coin- 

 found some diffi- 

 jr quite a large 

 al months before 

 to serve on that 



