March 20, 1903 



HOKTl CULTURE 



395 



agement and support, even if they 

 manage to put one over OMasionally. 

 New varieties put life in the lousiness. 

 Keep on strivins; for high standards; 

 the trade demands it. 



In the cut roses, a number of new 

 delegates are in the field looking for 

 recognilion. Notably among these a: e 

 White Killarney and My Maryland. 

 FiOth will be extensively grown. The 

 society offers ample reward to its ex- 

 hibitors, and deals fairly with all new 

 introductions. 



Progress is Certain. 



Your various committees have faith- 

 fully attended to and accomplished 

 the work imposed on them. Your sec- 

 retary in particular was indefatigable 

 and conscientious in the full perfoi m- 

 ance of his duties, to which I can at- 

 test by reason of his voluminous cor- 

 respondence, and deserves the sincere 

 thanks of this society. 



I would like to impress once more 

 on all interested in the sale and cul- 

 ture of outdoor roses the need of dis- 

 seminating reliable knowledge amongst 

 the public. 



During our meetings a number of 

 very instructive essays will be read by 

 men experienced in their lines, which 

 will be entitled to our careful thought 

 and consideration. Discussion which 

 usually follows will open up new 

 sources of knowledge and give to us 

 new ideas. Of one thing we are cer- 

 tain: we are progressing with the 

 times; let us forever keep on doing so. 



To further the society's work and 

 aim, we want it to be known that all 

 lovers of the rose are welcome to our 

 ranks. 



To place the society on a solid finan- 

 cial footing, we ask you to be with us. 

 Annual membership dues are $3.00; 

 life membership, $S0.00. 



To the Buffalo Florists' Club and As- 

 sociates, who have provided the society 

 with workers to carry on this exhibi- 

 tion, and have looked after the socie- 

 ty's welfare, I wish to again express 

 our hearty thanks, hoping that each 

 of you feel well repaid for the pleas- 

 ure it has given us to be with you. 



THE SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



Secretary Hammond next gave a 

 synopsis of the minutes of the last con- 

 vention in an interesting manner, and 

 then read his annual report: 



No society could have a more loyal 

 set of backers than has the Americaii 

 Rose Society. The past year has seen 

 the society sustained by a number of 

 men who claimed the privilege of as- 

 sisting in meet ing all expenses. Presi- 

 den; A.ugust T'. Poehlmann has taken 

 the keenest interest in affairs. Sepa- 

 rated by distance as a society such as 

 this is it requires a long view to keep 

 all matters together and moving. 



The schedule of prizes has been 

 carefully revised by the committee ap- 

 pointed by the President, Messrs. J. N. 

 May, Robert Simpson. Alexander Mont- 

 gomery, Frank R. Pierson and Benja- 

 min Hammond. The first schedule 

 was made up ten years ago and re- 

 mained in force until this season. Of 

 this schedule Mr. Lonsdale of Girard 

 College, Philadelphia, says it is good 

 for five years. 



Last November during the National 

 Flower Show in Chicago a general 

 meeting of the Rose Society was held 

 at which time the sum of $350 was 

 pledged by the gentlemen then pres- 



ent as a fund for the prizes to be 

 offered this spring. At that meeting 

 the important matter of ways and 

 means was talked over freely. The 

 offer of medals as prizes of honor was 

 advised and stress was made of the 

 propriety of making use of the so- 

 ciety's medals. The mint of the 

 United States at Philadelphia has the 

 society die. There never has been a 

 gold medal struck, the value of which 

 would be determined by its weight 

 when struck. A few silver and bronze 

 medals were once made. These have 

 been distributed except one bronze 

 medal. 



The secretary would suggest as one 

 practical way to largely extend the 

 usefulness and membership of this so- 

 ciety that one silver and one bronze 

 medal be offered as a rose prize to 

 local horticultural societies to be 

 known as the American Rose Socie- 

 ty's prize for the best display of roses, 

 without any regard to variety, at the 

 local show. But that each society 

 applying for the same, shall have at 

 least one regular and two associate 

 members of the American Rose So- 



Leonard Barron 



Secretary New York Horticultural Society. 



ciety. This idea is advanced as the 

 outcome of the discussion at the meet- 

 ing referred to above. To put this to 

 an available test I am authorized by a 

 gentleman to say that he will pay for 

 six silver and six bronze medals to be 

 used as a start in this direction to 

 popularize our society. 



The standing of the American Rose 

 Society seems to be growing, and it 

 should be, for the rose as a commer- 

 cial flower is the most commanding. 

 The rose growers of America should 

 recognize the society's essential value. 



President Poehlmann in response to 

 a demand by interested parties has ap- 

 pointed a committee to pass upon the 

 very important matter of Registration 

 of New Roses. The chairman of that 

 committee is ex-president Robert 

 Simpson. This committee would give 

 us prestige as a regular standing com- 

 mittee, as large interests may come 

 before it for consideration. 



The annual bulletin of the society 

 was issued after the close of the cal- 



endar year 190S, thus bringing all busi- 

 ness up to the year's end. This book 

 tells its own story. The cost of it was 

 a little over half covered by the adver- 

 tisements furnished by a few at a rate 

 of ten dollars for each page. 



Without the least taint of discour- 

 tesy the secretary would bring a mat- 

 ter to notice: that is, a request that 

 when a prize is offered in money that 

 it be sent in as soon as possible and 

 furthermore if named for a special 

 purpose and not so won that it may 

 revert at once to the general fund to 

 make good the total amount always 

 required for the regular prize list. 



Our life membership has not in- 

 creased the past year. Our invested 

 fund has, however, reached the total 

 of $2,950 in the hands of our efficient 

 treasurer Mr. Harry O. May. We 

 have tried to keep in touch with each 

 of our members on record but so far 

 the responses to the annual due bills 

 have not been as full as is desirable. 



We have received notice of the 

 death of Miss C. A. Pryer of New 

 Rochelle, N. Y., one of our earliest 

 members and constant supporters. 



At the last annual meeting the sub- 

 ject of a rose journal was one of mo- 

 ment. The tentative effort to start it 

 into being with the cost defrayed by 

 an advertising card was side-tracked 

 by the proposition to launch and sup- 

 port it by subscription for a year as a 

 trial. This plan never materialized. 

 In the meantime the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle of New York has offered to 

 give a magazine page each issue for 

 the use of the American Rose Society 

 as its popular paper. I hold a little 

 money sent in for the rose journal 

 project which will be returned. 



The show before us is the tenth an- 

 nual exhibition. Those previously 

 held were in New York, Philadelphia 

 and Boston. In these cities ahe ex- 

 hibition was held for succeeding years, 

 in Washington and Chicago one and 

 now in Buffalo, the metropolitan city 

 of western New York, in as fine a hall 

 as the best we have had. 



The secretary herewith desires, and 

 properly so, to extend his thanks for 

 the various courtesies and aid he has 

 received from many persons in the in- 

 terest of the society and most partic- 

 ularly to the editors of the American 

 Florist. The Florists' Exchange. The 

 Florists' Review and HO)?-TICUL- 

 Tl'RE. If the Rose Society has fame 

 it is largely due to the friendly sup- 

 port received without cost from these 

 liulilications. 



THE TREASURER'S REPORT. 



Treasurer May then presented the 

 following rport for vear ending March 

 12, 1909: 



l!.'fe-pts $2,152.07 



l)ii5bursements l,y6S.93 



To lial.tn.'e on hand .S1S3.14 



Tn addition to the above general ac- 

 ciitint four life members have joined 

 the Society, making a total of fifty- 

 nine. 



The money of the life membership 

 is ^dded to a Permanent Fund, the in- 

 terest from which is used in current 

 expenses. 



Perntanent Fund $2,950.00 



P'^tei' Crowe here took the floor and 

 enrolled as the sixtieth life member. 



New York the Next Meeting Place. 

 Frank R. Pierson and Chas. B. 



