522 



TheWeekly Florists^ Review^ 



I'EEltUAUV 2G. 1903. 



remarkable, b\it isn't it true that a 

 goodly share of the progress has been 

 due to improved methods of culture— or 

 rather to a more general understanding 

 and application of correct cultural meth- 

 ods? 



Keep an eye on Mr. Ward's new pink 

 named Mrs. John A. Thayer. 



The B^quet. 



The banquet on Friday evening will 

 long be remembered. The menu, the 

 decorations and the splendid array of 

 speakers were all a credit to the local 

 organization and the American Carna- 

 tion Society. The attendance reached 

 the 300 mark and -with congenial weath- 

 er would have lieen much larger. The 

 musical program was superb, the art- 

 ists, the quartette and the special- 

 ties of !Mx. \Mlk and his assistants all 

 meriting the applause which was spon- 

 taneous and constant throughout the 

 evening. 



President Ward introduced the toa> 

 master, ex-Lieut. Gov. Woodruff, a 

 charming man of about 40. whose beam- 

 ing countenance confirmed i\[r. Wards 

 encomiums and illustrated the fact that 

 he "loved to do good." Gov. Woodruff 



and Their Relation to Art." Mr. Young 

 had many good things to say of the 

 toastmaster, his popularity and worthi- 

 ness, and the great reception that liad 

 been accorded him. He dwelt eloquently 

 upon the revelation of the power and 

 influence of the Carnation Society, on 

 its benefit to the city of Brooklyn and 

 to the generous recognition of the con- 

 vention by the city papers. He said '"the 

 relation of flowers to art is the rela- 

 tion of a mother to her child." He 

 referred to his visits to Egypt. Pompeii, 

 E])hesus. Japan and China and said he 

 had found sarcophagi decorated with 

 floral carvings 5.000 years old, and that 

 paintings of flowers were found on the 

 walls of the buried cities. So art and 

 flowers were companions through all the 

 ages, and the love of botli was ever as- 

 sociated. Then lie told of Japan, the 

 most ancient land of art. where llowers 

 on metal demonstrated his theme, and 

 of Cliina. and the galleries of the old 

 world all indicative of the close rela- 

 tionship. 



He spoke of his experiences in the 

 parks of Brooklyn and their develop- 

 ment, where nearly a quarter of a mil- 

 lion plants were used and where in six 



Ntplirolepis Piersoni Shown by F. R. Pierson Co. at the Brooklyn Exhibition of the 

 American Carnation Society. 



addressed the assembly as "fellow-hy- 

 bridizers" and expressed bis surprise at 

 the large attendance. He spoke of his 

 experience as park commissioner for ten 

 months in Brooklyn, and his "agricul- 

 tural" reputation at Syracuse, and his 

 delight at being present at one of the 

 happiest banquets of all his experience. 

 He "never saw so much enthusiasm in 

 his life" and his reception was indeed 

 an uproarious one. He said Mr. Ward 

 had told him that it was the naming of a 

 carnation after Theodore Roosevelt that 

 had made him president and that now 

 he had promised to call one Gov. Wood- 

 ruff. The value of the carnation exhi- 

 bition as an educator was referred to, 

 the enthusiasm of the organization and 

 the work being done thereby for the 

 benefit of all mankind. He closed with 

 an eloquent tribute to the memory of 

 William McKinley. in which he referred 

 to his always wearing a carnation, aud 

 to his resemblance to the divine flower 

 in perseverance and ruggedness of 

 character. 



Mr. Woodruff then called upon the 

 Hon. Richard Young, park commis- 

 sioner, to speak to the toast "Flowers 



weeks at Coney Island he had trans- 

 formed a desert of sand into a "thing of 

 Ix'auty'' and an educating and uplifting 

 inlluence in the eoiiiiiiiinity. He con- 

 sidered the exhibit of the Carnation So- 

 ciety one of the finest on the face of 

 the globe and closed an eloquent speech 

 with a tribute to the educational influ- 

 ence and the doing of duty, as demon- 

 strated, that would carry its value on 

 through all the years. 



Our own silver-tongued orator, Rob- 

 ert Craig, responded to the next toast. 

 "Influence of the Carnation on the Eth- 

 ical Side of Life." Gov. Woodrutl grace- 

 fully introduced him as "a man whose 

 face indicated the toast," and Mr. Graig 

 returned the compliment with praise 

 of the Governor and kindly references to 

 the "responsive chord he had struck in 

 his references to President !McKinley, 

 whose memory is so dear to all carna- 

 tionists, and who signed the charter of 

 the Society of American Florists and 

 Ornamental Horticulturists." He de- 

 clared the need of information for th« 

 benefit of the soul as well as the body 

 and dwelt eloquently on the moral ef- 

 fect of beaut V. 



His reminiscences of horticultural 

 Brooklyn 25 years ago were very inter- 

 esting, "when Papa Zeller had gathered 

 all the varieties then known, with Hor- 

 ace Greeley and Henry Ward Beecher 

 among them." He declared William 

 Bennett at that time to be the greatest 

 grower of plants on this side of the 

 Atlantic and that his system of grow- 

 ing had not since been improved on. He 

 told of tlie first early forcer of carna- 

 tions, Gus Messeberg, now gathered to 

 tlie great majority. He said the fast 

 life of the carnation subjected it to 

 many diseases, and threw out a warn- 

 ing as to banquets putting his listeners 

 in the same condition. To revive the 

 constitution he advised the need of rest, 

 contrary to the present system which 

 limits its life and makes necessary a 

 new generation. Some growers realize 

 this and propagate early in January, 

 giving a two months' rest before the 

 plants are called upon for results, de- 

 monstrating thereby the need of rest 

 after a fast life, as illustrated humor- 

 ously by personal experiences. His elo- 

 quence shone in his references to the 

 effect of the beautiful in lifting up man- 

 kind, the glory of ancient Greece when 

 she was mistress of the world, when men 

 took such care of themselves that they 

 became such perfect athletes that their 

 record has never been equaled. 



Gov. Woodruff at 11:15 announced a 

 "home reception" and his orders to be 

 with Mrs. Woodrutl' promptly at 10. 

 with the dire results of his delay, and 

 after kindly reference to Mr. Ward's in- 

 disposition, on whose shoulders his du- 

 ties as toastmaster were about to fall, 

 he departed to the melody of enthusias- 

 tic cheers, the entire company rising and 

 joining in the demonstration. 



Mr. Marquisee. of Syracuse, was in- 

 troduced bv Toastmaster Wlard, as "the 

 ^iarshall P. Wilder of the florist trade," 

 and he proceeded to prove his right to 

 the title in a humorous speech on "'I 

 Humorous Side of the Florist's Life." 

 It seems that February 20 is Mr. Mar- 

 quisee's birthday, and he expressed his 

 appreciation of the big dinner in his 

 honor, thus "taking the deed for the 

 will." He thought investigation would 

 prove he was no "Wilder" than the pres- 

 ident. His fund of stories was inex- 

 haustible and they were told in the dry, 

 quaint way that has made him famous. 

 He illustrated the humorous side of the 

 florist's profession by wandering into 

 the fields of medicine, undertaking, law. 

 ministerial pastures and commercial 

 traveling, culling some side-splitting 

 stories from each which must be heard 

 when told in his inimitable way to be 

 appreciated. He said when he asked 

 "the boys' in the greenhouse for some 

 humorous things in the florist business 

 they looked at him quocrly and he heard 

 one ask the other "if the boss wasn't a 

 little off." When he appealed to 

 his wife, she "couldn't see anything 

 humorous in it." It was "work all 

 night on funeral work, rain all season, 

 and grow a pet seedling three years and 

 then throw it and several thousand dol- 

 lars' worth of orders in the waste bas- 

 ket." 



The story of "The Irishman who was 

 holding his own" was much appreciated, 

 and the imaginary letters of advice on 

 the subject of "humor" in the florist's 

 life from Ward, Hill. Fisher, Scott and 

 others "brought down the house." But 

 like all true humorists his "valedictory" 

 was eloquent and his remarks on the in- 



