96 



HORTICULTURE 



January 2(5, 1907 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY. 



The Convention at Toronto One of the Largest Gatherings in the 

 History of the Society. — The Exhibition, 



The opening session of tlie conven- 

 tion at 7.o0 P. M., Wednesday, was 

 one of the largest gatherings in the 

 history of the American Carnation So- 

 ciety. Hon. Mortimer Clarke, Lieut- 

 Governor of Ontario, delivered a most 

 cordial address of welcome, dwelling 

 upon the close union of sentiment be- 

 tween the people of the United States 

 and Canada, of which the carnation is 

 a fitting symbol, and hoping for a still 

 closer union. Alderman J. J. Graham, 

 chairman of the civic reception com- 

 mittee and R. J. Score also spoke in 

 similar vein. C. W. Ward, in respond- 

 ing on behalf of the Carnation Society, 

 spoke of the vast resources of Canada 

 and the high qualities of Canadian 

 people and predicted future greatness 

 in all lines of horticultural and agri- 

 cultural development. President J. H. 

 Duulop was then introduced and after 

 a few cordial words of welcome read 

 his address which was received with 

 approving applause. 



President's Address. 

 Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the 

 American Carnation Society: 

 It is with more than ordinary pleas- 

 ure I welcome you to this the sixteenth 

 annual convention of this progressive 

 and important organization. At our 

 last convention of Boston words of 

 welcome were extended by His Honor, 

 the Mayor, by the secretary of the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 

 in the absence of its president, the 

 president of the Gardeners' and Flor- 

 ists' Club and replied to by members 

 of this society, men who have by their 

 untiring zeal endeared themselves to 

 us and who have by perseverance and 

 Industry advanced to that high plane 

 which few of us hope to attain. 1 re- 

 ferred to the Boston welcome on ac- 

 count of the historical connection and 

 the traditional history of that good old 

 Commonwealth. But you are welcomed 

 tonight to one of the newer or more 

 modern cities, one that is only begin- 

 ning to feel the impulse of commercial 

 activity and has not that traditional 

 history of which our last convention 

 city could boast, but none the less 

 hearty and loyal. Toronto welcomes 

 you with the true British hospitality 

 that is ever found where the Anglo- 

 Saxon tongue is spoken. Let us here 

 express this wish: May the ties that 

 bind the two greatest English-speak- 

 ing nations, of which Canada is a part, 

 and I may say the brightest gem in 



the British Crown, never be severed, 

 but be welded more closely together in 

 the bonds of Love, Esteem, Friendship 

 and Commercial Union. 



We feel highly honored in having 

 you with us on this the first time that 

 the society has met outside of the 

 United States, more especially so as 

 the membership from the Dominion 

 has been very small. It was not the 

 numerical strength of the Canadian 

 members that brought the convention 

 to Toronto, but the good feeling, the 

 magnanimous spirit and the desire to 

 assist in showing the people of this 

 country the progress and improvement 

 that has taken place in the develop- 

 ment of the Divine Flower. It is of 

 the greatest importance that the edu- 

 cational feature of such an exhibition 

 of carnations as we have in the Ex- 

 hibition Hall should be taken advan- 

 tage of. not only by those who are 

 growing them, but also by the public, 

 who are our best critics, for it is they 

 who are our support and to them we 

 look for approval of our product; cer- 

 tainly, if the public do not patronize 

 our wares, it matters not how much 

 we cherish any particular variety. It 

 is they we have to please, and they 

 whom we should encourage to see the 

 flowers in all stages of development 

 at our greenhouses, and to express 

 their opinion on what we are produc- 

 ing, criticizing as it were, thus becom- 

 ing familiar with the varieties by 

 name, color, etc., and the public like 

 to be consulted and have a knowledge 

 of the different varieties. 



We have long looked forward to this 

 time when we could present such a 

 magnificent show and bring to our city 

 the men who have been instrumental 

 in producing such grand flowers, men 

 who are revered by every lover of the 

 Divine Flower, and whose names will 

 ever be remembered as those who by 

 their love and devotion to their chosen 

 calling have given to the world the 

 best that has ever been. 



There are not many things that I 

 can speak of in this address that would 

 be considered new, as we on this side 

 feel ourselves students and desire to 

 be taught, but there is one matter of 

 particular importance to all, and I 

 feel that if we can we should find a 

 solution or formulate a plan by which 

 we can put it in operation in an intel- 

 ligent and practical way. and that is, 

 What should qualify a new variety for 

 the American Carnation Society's cer- 

 tificate of merit? What has been said 

 and done at previous conventions 

 along this line has hardly been satis- 

 factory, or has been found to be de- 

 fective in some particular. At our 

 last convention at Boston a committee 

 was named to bring in a report, but it 

 was received at the last afternoon ses- 

 sion and too late to receive that atten- 

 tion a question of so much Importance 

 deserves. It should be considered both 

 from the originator's and the buyer's 

 standpoint, both should be considered. 



The man who devotes his time and 

 brains to the hybridizing of carnations 

 should receive every encouragement 

 from the society, also the grower who 

 buys the new varieties largely from 

 the description of the originator and 

 from the awards that have been made 

 both from this society and the various 

 exhibitions at which the variety was 

 shown. It may have scored high as 

 seen at the various exhibitions, but 

 there may be some of the most essen- 

 tial points of a first-class commercial 

 variety lacking. The question is how 

 are we to arrive at a solution? How 

 are we to ascertain if the variety con- 

 tains the points that go to make up a 

 profitable variety for the average com- 

 mercial grower? These should be care- 

 fully considered, and when the certi- 

 ficate is awarded it should be a guar- 

 antee that these points have been as- 

 certained and proven. The more close- 

 ly we guard our awards, the more 

 closely we scrutinize these points, so 

 much more will the trade generally 

 rely confidently on the endorsation of 

 this society and should enhance the 

 value cf any variety having the en- 

 dorsation of this society. But let us 

 guard .iealously the awarding of this 

 certificate and let it be all that the 

 name implies. We know how closely 

 every award is made, how closely ev- 

 ery point is scrutinized in the old land, 

 and as a result the award is according- 

 ly prized by the recipient, for he 

 knows his product has been deserving 

 or it would not be awarded. 



Another matter that should receive 

 our attention is the increasing work 

 of the secretary. With the growth of 

 the society his work has increased In 

 a much greater ratio. During the short 

 time I have held office as your presi- 

 dent I know the amount of correspond- 

 ence must be considerable, as from my 

 end he has had reason to know we 

 were working. There is the compil- 

 ing of the premium list, soliciting ad- 

 vertisements, etc., the compiling ol 

 the annual report and the preparatory 

 work for each convention, etc. It 

 might be well for this meeting to con- 

 sider the question and suggest some 

 means of lightening the work either 

 by granting an assistant for a stated 

 time each year or the purchase of 

 labor-saving appliances and not to ex- 

 ceed a certain sum to be named by the 

 society. Above all, let us recognizB 

 our secretary's ability and make him 

 feel by our words and actions that we 

 appreciate his services. Nothing makes 

 one feel more energetic than to know 

 he has your sympathy and support. 



This convention will have served its 

 purpose if it stimulates a still greater 

 interest in the Divine Flower in our 

 broad Dominion. We have not been 

 as quick to recognize the Importance 

 of the carnation as our American 

 brethren, and for that reason the dn- 

 velopment has not been as great as 

 we would desire, and we hope that in 

 visiting the greenhouses of this sfic- 



