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HORTICULTURE, 



May 23, 1908 



NEWS OF THE CLUBS AND SOCIETIES. 



GARDENERS' AND FLORISTS' 

 CLUB OF BOSTON. 



"A few thoughts on the art of sell- 

 ing" was the topic ol a thoughtful pa- 

 per read at the meeting of this club 

 on Tuesday evening. May 19. Out of 

 the discussion of the pai)er was 

 evolved a little shy at the old vexed 

 question as to which of the two inter- 

 ests — grower or retailer — was respon- 

 sible for the various grievances that 

 afllict the cut-flower business ,such as 

 surpluses, overstock, exces-^lve prices 

 and cut rates. As usual, a large pro- 

 portion of the membei-s present were 

 gardeners employed on private places, 

 bui they seemed to be as intensely in- 

 terested in the subject as their com- 

 mercial brothers and were enthusias- 

 tic in their applause when any of the 

 contestants scored a point in the de- 

 bate. Robert Cameron was responsi- 

 ble for the turn taken in the discus- 

 sion by naively inquiring whs'ther a 

 business man is a truthful man. The 

 fine points of difference between expe- 

 diency and inula iiiihis were slvillfully 

 covered by Mr. Palmer in Ms reply, 

 and then W. H. Elliott. Eber Holmes, 

 \V. J. Kennedy, P. Welch and several 

 others became severally involved in 

 the problem of how far defective 

 salesmanship misht be held resixmsi- 

 ble for the periods of overstock that 

 alllict the trade ai times. 



Mr. Palmer allowed that if a better 

 feeling of co-operacion existed between 

 the grower and the retailer there 

 would be no such thing as overproduc- 

 tion and no desire to corner ihe mar- 

 ket or withhold stcck for the purpose 

 of advancing prices. Mr. F.Uiott 

 thought the remedy for gluts would he 

 found in giving the public better in- 

 formation as to prevailing conditions 

 when heavy crops were on, and letting 

 them have access to the low values. 

 The policy of the retail trade as t(> 

 prices was not conducive to the mov- 

 ing of the overstock, especially as it is 

 carried on in Boston, and he instanced 

 Chicago as handling this problem 

 much better than Boston. Mr. Kenne- 

 dy thought it might be a good thing 

 to open the wholesale markets to re- 

 tail trade after a certain hour each 

 day, 



Mr. Holmes voiced an appreciative 

 tribute to Mr. Palmer whom he had in 

 former years found to be the personi- 

 fication of an ideal employer. 



The exhibits on the platform includ- 

 ed four vases of seedling carnations 

 from M. A. Patten, a "rose-pink" sport 

 of Enchantress from Wni. Swan, a 

 very pretty seedling marguerite from 

 F. W. Fletcher, late single tulip Sara 

 Bernhardt from W. W. Rawson & Co., 

 and some roses, including two finely- 

 flowered pot plants of Liberty, from 

 Eber Holmes. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS 

 AND ORNAMENTAL HOR- 

 TICULTURISTS. 

 Appointment of Vice-President. 

 President Traendly has appointed 

 Mr. .John L. Parker of Birmingham. 

 Alabama, as State Vice-President tor 

 his State. 



Census Committee. 

 President Traendly has appointed 

 Messrs. P. O'Mara. Jersey City, New 

 Jersey; J. A. Valentine, Denver. Colo., 

 and Albert T. Hey. Springfield. 111., as 

 a committee to cooperate and advise 

 with the Census Department regard- 

 ing matters relating to ornamental 

 horticulture in the approaching V. S. 

 Censu.s. W. N. RUDD, 



Secretarv. 



NEW HAVEN COUNTY HORTICUL- 

 TURAL SOCIETY. 

 A meeting of the above society was 

 held on May 19, with a large gathering 

 present. John Girard of New Britain 

 .gave an instructive paper on pansies. 

 He had abovit 400 fine blooms on ex- 

 hibition, for which he was awarded 

 a cultural certificate. The society will 

 hold a Rose Show in their hall on 

 June 16th. 



BUFFALO FLORISTS' CLUB. 



At a special meeting of the Buffalo 

 Florists' Club held May 2U, the sad 

 news of the death of Mr. Wra. Scott 

 on May 19 was imparted to the mem- 

 bere. A resolution was adopted con- 

 veying to the family its sincere sym- 

 pathy in their loss, stating that where- 

 as Mr. Scott was well known and high- 

 ly esteemed by the florists of Buffalo 

 and the sAirrounding country, it is with 

 profound sorrow that we have learned 

 of his death. 



The country has lost a sincere lover 

 of our profession and an enthusiast in 

 his chosen field. Our heartfelt sym- 

 I>athy goes cut to his bereaved widow 

 and children in this hour of their sor- 

 row. Words are of little avail in these 

 days, but to the fatherless and widow 

 it may be a ray of pleasure to be as- 

 sured that through the length and 

 breadth of this adopted country the 

 name of William Scott commands only 

 res]}ect and affection. 



Resolved that a copy of the resolu- 

 tions be sent to the bereaved family 

 and spread on the minutes of the so- 

 ciety. 



Signed: 



CHAS. SANDFORD, Pres. 



E. C. BRUCKER, Fin. Sec'y. 



ST. LOUIS FLORISTS' CLUB. 



The regular monthly meeting of this 

 club took place on last Thursday 

 afternoon in Bowman Hall. The meet- 

 ing was very poorly attended, the 

 busy planting season being no doubt 

 responsible. In the absence of Presi- 

 dent Young. Vice-President Augermul- 

 ler op'^ued the meeting and J. J. 

 Beneke acted for Secretary Bentzec. 

 None of the pottery committee being 

 on hand to malve a report and the time 

 being up in which to complete the 

 $10,000 subscription in which they 

 failed the committee was discharged 

 with thanks. In discussing a suitable 

 place for the summer outing, the one 

 most favorably received was the White 

 City Amusement C.arden near Belle- 

 ville, HI., and upon invitation of A. S. 

 Halsled the trustees and Mr. Halsted 

 will visit the place next week. 



Most of the afternoon was taken up 

 with a talk on Easter business and dis- 

 cussions on club matters. Next meet- 

 ing takes place Thursday afternoon, 

 June 11, at 2 o'clock. 



PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



Thern was a fine display of May- 

 Ilowering tulips at the monthly meet- 

 ing of this society held on the' 19th 

 in St. Joseph Hurly, gardener for 

 .lames W. Paul, Jr., took first with a 

 choice collection. Samuel Batchelor, 

 gardener to Clement B. Newbold, sec- 

 ond. M. Batchelor also had a fine col- 

 lection of perennials, for which he was 

 awarded a special prize. The Michell 

 juizes for lettuce seed went to Samuel 

 Hammond and John McLeary. Jose|)h 

 Hurley. Thos. Logan, Xavier Schmitt, 

 W. Robertson, and Frank Gould were 

 api)ointed a committee to fix the date 

 of the rose and peony show, and will 

 make final decision 8 P. M. 2Gth. 

 Many valuable prizes are ottered for 

 this event. A discussion took place 

 on peony nomenclature and a vote was 

 passed instructing the judges to give 

 preference to the most correctly named 

 collections. 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK 

 SUPERINTENDENTS. 



The next annual meeting of this 

 organization will be held at West 

 Hotel, Minneapolis, Minn., on August 

 11, 12, 13 and 14. Visits to the park 

 system of St. Paul and Minneapolis 

 will occupy a good portion of the time 

 and on the last day a trip to Lake 

 Minnetonka is proposed. Valuable pa- 

 pers on practical topics will be pre- 

 sented by members. 



CLUB AND SOCIETY NOTES. 



The Florists' Club of Springfield. 

 111., have decided to hold a flower show- 

 in November, but the date is not yet 

 fixed. 



The first flower show of the Woman's 

 Club of Hollywood, Cal., held on 

 April jO, was a great success. Howard 

 & Smith, J. M. Leibold, E. B. Sturte- 

 vant, E. H. Rust, John Murietta, the 

 Arthur Leets and the Bartlett estates, 

 all contributed liberally. Field-grown 

 carnations were largely in evidence. 



The preliminary schedule of the 

 eighth annual exhibition of the New 

 Haven County (Conn.) Horticultural 

 Society has been issued. The dates of 

 the exhibition are November 10, 11, 12, 

 1908. Copies of the schedule may be 

 had on application to the .secretary, 

 Walter Koella, 58 Bishop street, New 

 Haven, Conn. 



A NEW ORNAMENTAL GRASS. 



Paspalum distichum variegatum Is 

 mentioned in the Journal of Horticul- 

 cure of Australasia as a new ornamen- 

 tal .grass, valuable for use in hanging 

 baskets, etc. According to Gray, Pas- 

 palum distichum is a native of Vir- 

 ginia aiid southward in the United 

 States where it is found in wet fields 

 and is known as "joint grass." The 

 origin of this variegated form, which 

 is an introduction of 1908. is not given 

 in the note referred to but the plant 

 is described as green and white or yel- 

 low with pink or red edge. 



