August 24, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



247 



on the society roll books and at the 

 regular meetings, yet how pitifully 

 small in the aggregate is the propor- 

 tion of the horticultural craft repre- 

 sented in the membership of all our 

 local or national bodies. The power 

 of organization when all stand behind 

 it, for whatever is just and right, the 

 tremendous advantage in being able 

 to command unity of sentiment and 

 action when any evil menaces, is a 

 lesson that is being learned with ex- 

 asperating slowness. 



Forest Protection. 



While on the subject of societies 

 it may not be amiss to call attention 

 to the efforts that are being made for 

 the protection of what is left of our 

 forests — a heiitage of greater intrinsic 

 value to the health and prosperity of 

 our country than all the gold mines 

 on the continent. Devastation by soil 

 erosion, floods and droughts, bird ex- 

 termination, insect plagues, and many 

 other evils are following in the wake 

 of the wanton forest destruction 

 which has been going on. Few in- 

 terests are more seriously affected by 



the conservatories and con.'jervatory 

 plants, or the small fruits and products 

 of the kitcnen garden which every 

 home lover likes to indulge in, once 

 the appetite of the people for such 

 things has been thoroughly aroused. 

 Large as the demand already is, nu- 

 merous and prosperous as we know 

 the craft to be, yet who can say that 

 our country is not well able to furnish 

 business sufficient for many times the 

 present number of our commercial 

 establishments and employmjent for 

 good gardeners in far greater num- 

 bers than they can be supplied today? 

 With these facts in view I know of 

 nothing which promises so rich a re- 

 turn as the school garden movement. 

 In addition to its services in the cause 

 of good citzenship it must be obvious 

 to all that activity on this line is also 

 good business policy and assures the 

 interest of the coming generation in 

 parks and gardens, tree-lined high- 

 ways, horticultural exhibitions and 

 plants and flowers everywhere. 



Educating by Example. 

 Again, every florist's home should 



iield in a few of its many phases tha 

 question comes as to what part this 

 society should assume conformably to 

 its avowed aims and through what 

 channels best results can be reached. 

 It is the business of an organization 

 such as this to help men to help them- 

 sehes and then to conserve and safe- 

 guard the results of their work so 

 that those who come after them shall 

 have as their heritage the sum total 

 of the efforts of their predecessors. 

 Our Relations with Other Organiza- 

 tions. 

 It has been my conviction for a long 

 time that there is nothing more to be 

 desired to place this organization in a 

 position of greatest usefulness than 

 some system of direct afliliation witli 

 existing or prospective special and lo- 

 cal organizations. Far from regarding 

 these societies as a possible menace I 

 look upon their multiplication as dis- 

 tinctly to our advantage. The field is 

 practically limitless and we can well 

 afford to nourish any and all well- 

 meant efforts to build up horticulture 

 in any of its branches. There Is an 



Robert Craig 



Edwin Lonsdal?; 

 Three Philadelphia Ex-Presidents of the S. A. F. 



John Burton 



all this than is horticulture and every 

 movement, local, state or national, for 

 forest preservation, should have our 

 zealous support individually and col- 

 lectively. 



Educating the Public; the School Gar- 

 den Movement. 



Chief among the instrumentalities 

 for the upbuilding of our industries 

 is the education of the public to a 

 fuller appreciation of our products. 

 The majority of American homes fall 

 short of the home ideal in their lack 

 of any setting of living green. Con- 

 sider the possibilities — the millions of 

 house plants, the hundreds of thou- 

 sands of porch and window boxes for 

 both summer and winter, the innu- 

 merable little table ferneries, the tons 

 of lawn and flower seeds, the cargoes 

 of spring and summer bulbs, the gar- 

 den implements, the vast quantities of 

 evergreens and shrubbery and border 

 and bedding plants for which a demand 

 can be created, not to mention 



be a shining object lesson. Show 

 neighbors and passers-by the possibili- 

 ties with spring bulbs, with easily- 

 grown plants in bed and border, in 

 piazza box and window; excite their 

 dormant perceptions with rose and 

 clematis and honeysuckle-bowered 

 porch and pillar; impress them with 

 the dignifying effect of ornamental 

 trees and shrubbery, the cheery pic- 

 ture of evergreens in winter time. See 

 that they are wisely Instructed in the 

 selection, planting and care of ma- 

 terial and that they realize that the 

 time is probably not far distant when 

 bare yards and flowerless windows 

 will pass as an evidence of Ignorance 

 and squalor within. The public are in 

 th<e mood to welcome such activity on 

 the part of the florist, the newspapers 

 are at all times disposed to assist, and 

 the more the florist does In this 

 direction the higher position he will 

 occupy in the esteem of his townsmen. 



How the Society Can Help. 



Having thus hastily scanned our 



infinity of specialized detail and local 

 work which the smaller and more 

 compact bodies can care for with an 

 efficiency far beyond the reach of a 

 society constituted as this is. Let them 

 do it if they will an.l wherever and 

 whenever the time comes that they 

 find their burden he-'.vy and the road 

 rough let us put our big shoulder to 

 the wheel and help them. On the 

 other hand there are movements where 

 a successful consummation Is only 

 possible under the capacious mantle 

 of a large national organization. 

 Events of the past year have indicated 

 to us how at any moment we may be 

 called upon to champion the cause of 

 some branch of the trade where 

 strength of numbers and national In- 

 corporation become elements of great 

 strength and where the existence ot 

 a powerful representative body serves 

 as a restraint and defence against cor- 

 porate plunder. 1 believe we should 

 keep working on this problem of closer 

 relations until some feasible plan of 

 permanent affiliation and intelligent 



