inuary 26, 1907 



HORTICUUTURi: 



97 



tion where carnations are grown that 

 you will criticize our work and not be 

 slow to point out our mistakes. We 

 note with interest the popularity of 

 the carnation in England, also that the 

 American varieties are being largely 

 grown, and from the comments in the 

 horticultural press the varieties are 

 giving very general satisfaction. 



I trust that your stay with us may 

 be both pleasant and profitable and 

 thank you for the honor conferred on 

 me by electing me your president, and 

 before concluding I also wish to thank 

 the gentlemen composing the different 

 committees who have worked so har- 

 moniously and zealously in completing 

 the arrangements for this convention. 



Secretary Herr followed with his an- 

 nual report: 



Secretary's Report. 



Mr. President and Fellow Members: — 

 Your secretary reports having issued 

 the usual printed matter during the 

 year and mailing the same as issued. 

 There were two deaths reported to 

 the secretary during the year — those 

 of Mr. Lewis Ullrich, of Tiffin, Ohio, 

 and J. L. Dillon, Bloomsburg, Pa., the 

 first two that have been reported dur- 

 ing my term of office. Mr. Valentine, 

 of Denver, Col., several years back, 

 made some remark about a suitable 

 offering being sent in such cases. 

 There was no action taken in the mat- 

 ter, and I would suggest that an offer- 

 ing be adopted as representative of 

 this society, and upon similar condi- 

 tions arising again, the secretary be 

 empowered to wire a florist in the city 

 of the deceased, to send such offering 

 with the society card. 



Like most human beings, your sec- 

 retary is subject to errors, lapse of 

 memory and the losing of important 

 documents, perhaps more so then the 

 most of them. The last year three of 

 these errors happened to get into our 

 premium list: First, the substitution 

 of the name of Eugene Dailledouze for 

 that of Wm. Scott, as judge; second, 

 the use of the name of O. R. King Co., 

 Ltd., instead of the King Construction 

 Co., in the award of a special: and 

 last, but not least, the loss of copy for 

 a half-page ad. and a $10.00 special, 

 and the non-appearance of either in 

 the premium list. When my attention 

 was called to this, I offered to have 

 ad. and premium both printed on a 

 postal card and send it out to every 

 member, at my own expense, but this 

 offer was not accepted. 



The advertisements in the premium 

 list amount to $231.50. These adver- 

 tisers are worthy of your patronage. 

 This is the only means whereby we 

 can secure the revenue necessary for 

 the exi>ense of this society, expenses 

 that are increasing faster than the 

 membership. To secure these adver- 

 tisements, your secretary wrote almost 

 three hundred personal letters, in ad- 

 dition to the printed notices sent all 

 members, and the showing does not 

 measure up with the amount of time 

 and labor expended. Every member 

 of this society who has anything to 

 advertise should use this premium list; 

 it is not money thrown away and is 

 the only contribution the society asks, 

 aside from your annual dues of $2.00. 

 Your president, Mr. J. H. Dunlop, has 

 given the secretary much valuable as- 

 sistance during the year, and has cer- 

 tainly well earned the honor attached 

 to his office. 



Treasurer Dorner rendered his 

 financial statement for the year. 



Treasurer's Report. 

 I'EK.MAXENT FUND. 



Amount reported Jan. 20, 1906. .$1996.21 

 Cash received 29.10 



$2025.31 

 WOKKI.NG FUND. 



Cash on hand Jan. 20, 1906... $317.08 

 Cash received Jan. 20 



to March 21 $477.00 



Cash received from 



Albert M. Herr, Sec'y. 601.42 1078.42 



$1395.50 

 EXPENDITURES. 

 Paid 42 orders on 



treasury 1005.39 



Balance cash on hand.. 390.11 $1395.50 

 The following paper by John Birnie 

 was then read by Herman Simmers: 



Are There Too Many Carnations 



Introduced? 



By Johu Birnie. 



.\re there too many new carnations 



introduced? This is the question put 



John Birnik. 



to me by the American Carnation So- 

 ciety. I think it will be quite safe to 

 give a negative answer to the question. 



PERFECTION NOT YET REACHED. 



Beautiful as the American carnation 

 is at the present time the summit of 

 perfection has not yet been reached 

 and generations yet to come will find 

 the goal still in front of them. There 

 was a time — some fifteen or mere years 

 ago — that carnation growers through- 

 out the country looked a little askance 

 at the "new carnation." and not with- 

 out good reason. We had at that time 

 an avalanche of new carnations many 

 of which were found to be worthless, 

 causing considerable loss and disap- 

 pointment to those who bought them, 

 and with those new carnations several 

 new diseases were introduced which 

 created quite a commotion in carna- 

 tion growing circles. Strenuous ef- 

 forts were made to cure or overcome 

 those diseases by the use of quack 

 nostrums, but in many cases the cure 

 was found to be worse than the dis- 



ease. It might be said here, however, 

 that those diseases never put experi- 

 enced growers to any great incon- 

 venience: and introducers gradually 

 becoming aware of the fact that car- 

 nations grown under proper treatment 

 and natural conditions were immune, 

 those diseases finally disappeared, and 

 today are never seen on any properly 

 handled establishment. 



BENEFIT OF A. C. S. TO GROWERS. 

 Introducing a new carnation at the 

 present time is, however, an altogether 

 different matter to what it was fifteen 

 years ago or before the advent of the 

 American Carnation Society. This so- 

 ciety has surrounded the legitimate in- 

 troducer with such restrictions as will 

 make it absolutely impossible for him 

 to introduce a new carnation which 

 has not got at least good qualities 

 enough to make it desirable in some 

 branch of our business. Under the res- 

 olution passed at Boston, the much 

 coveted certificate of merit will be 

 harder to get than ever, seeing the car- 

 nation has got to score the required 85 

 points or more on the exhibition table, 

 and also be examined at the introduc- 

 er's establishment. This I think, is a 

 step in the right direction, and for the 

 first time makes the certificate mean 

 something to the intending buyer. 

 Hitherto the certificate of merit has 

 only been a sort of special prize for 

 specially selected flowers cut from 

 plants which have been specially 

 treated so as to produce blooms large 

 enough to attract special attention on 

 the exhibition table. This proves 

 nothing, except that the varieties ex- 

 hibited can, by intensive cultivation, 

 be induced to produce large flowers. 

 As to how many flowers can be pro- 

 duced per plant we are left to guess; 

 neither have we any idea how those 

 varieties will act under ordinary treat- 

 ment. This new departure will, if it 

 is ever put in force, be of great help to 

 the intending purchaser of new carna- 

 tions; in fact, it appears to be alto- 

 gether for his benefit and protection. 

 Such being the case all expenses in- 

 curred by the examining committees 

 however appointed, should be paid by 

 the society, even if this necessitate an 

 increase in the annual dues to do so. 

 The introducers, or promoters, could 

 hardly be expected to pay directly for 

 what is so obviously advantageous to 

 the buyer, and might not always be of 

 equal advantage to themselves. 



SUGGESTED WIDENING OF SCOPE. 

 I am also of opinion that the field 

 iiuglit to be widened by reducing the 

 scale a little, as I believe many carna- 

 tions that would not score 85 points 

 on the exhibition table, would, when 

 examined growing on the bench, be 

 found to possess other good points, 

 such as health, productiveness, habit, 

 etc., which would make them desirable 

 for commercial purposes, and probably 

 prove more profitable than the larger 

 varieties. Many of our best paying 

 commercial carnations today would 

 have no show on the exhibition table. 

 The society might with propriety go a 

 step farther and keep a watchful eye 

 on every new carnation from the time 

 it is registered until it makes its debut 

 after receiving its final certificate, and 

 also inquire into the merits and de- 

 merits of all new carnations whether 

 they are introduced through the me- 

 dium of the American Carnation So- 



