August 31, 191S 



HORTICULTURE 



93:^) 



AMERICAN GLADIOLUS SOCIETY. 



A.Mress of A. E. KiiiiiiiTd, rresiiliTit at 

 Buffalo, N, Y.. Aiit'ust WIS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen: 



Xot being blessed with great orator- 

 ical ability it has been a matter of con- 

 cern to ine as how to address you on 

 this pleasant occasion. For, it is in- 

 deed pleasant to meet so many fine 

 people, as one always does, at the 

 annual convention of the American 

 Gladiolus Society, and enjoy with them 

 their wonderful display. We all know 

 what is by common consent "the 

 Queen of Flowers", and I am sure I 

 need not tell you what flower is very 

 rapidly becoming by common consent 

 "The King of the Garden". It is not 

 necessary to tell the members of the 

 American Gladiolus Society of the val- 

 ue and importance of our splendid 

 flower, but I feel the importance of 

 repeating on this occasion a few 

 things which have already been better 

 said by others. No class of citizens 

 more keenly appreciate the value of 

 conservation in everything these 

 troublous times than do the members 

 of our Society but many who have not 

 had the time to consider the subject, 

 have not yet realized the vast import- 

 ance of floriculture as the hand-maid 

 of the agriculturist and grower of the 

 primary necessities for the table. As 

 the musician is the great inspirer of 

 the men who do more serious fighting, 

 so is the grower of flowers equally or 

 more the inspiration and cheer of 

 those who do the patient and arduous 

 labor of growing the products which 

 furnish the food, and gives the 

 strength to those who do the fighting 

 for the cause of our great nation. 



In England, France and other na- 

 tions these great principles are fully 

 appreciated, as witness the increasing 

 culture of flowers among the common 

 people; even on the battle-front the 

 soldier has his garden where flowers 

 are grown, and soon in our own coun- 

 try the same need will be better un- 

 derstood. 



The soldier on the battle line can 

 only use the weapon, but when 

 wounded, his comfort is the nurse, and 

 his greatest cheer are the flowers 

 which are brought to his bedside. This 

 is in brief our best reason for the 

 growing and showing the people our 

 favorite flower, and I would say to our 

 members, "don't be discouraged, be of 

 good cheer, you will soon reap your 

 reward in the appreciation of a grate- 

 ful people". 



Nothing is so restful to the busy 

 man of affairs as his gardening, and 

 who could bear to grow a garden with- 

 out flowers. The essentials, so called, 

 of the garden are the food of the body 

 but the flowers are the food of the 

 soul. The essentials of the field were 

 intended for food, but flowers, to give 

 us cheer; and when was man ever in 

 such need of cheer as now? We all 

 are hoping for early victory and honor- 

 able peace when our loved ones shall 

 return to their homes. Can you ima- 

 gine a greater disappointment to a re- 

 turned hero than to be taken by you 

 to your gardens and he find therein 

 no flowers. I speak the sentiment of 

 our members who love the Gladiolus, 

 (and who does not), in expressing 



their appreciation to the Mayor and 

 people of Buffalo for the many kind- 

 nesses shown us during our stay. To 

 the Press, our thanks for its presenta- 

 tion of our objects and aims. I am 

 sure we cannot forget the great efforts 

 for the success of our exhibition on 

 the part of Prof. Beal, our kindly Sec- 

 retary, and Mr. Cooper of the Flower 

 Grower, for his great enthusiasm and 

 encouragement. Every grower appre- 

 ciates fully the toil and sacrifice of all 

 our exhibitors, for certain it is that 

 in a financial way there is only a loss. 

 The greatest reward to our exhibitors 

 in such times as these is in the knowl- 

 edge of having contributed to the 

 noble work well done. 



I hope I have made clear our princi- 

 pal aim in coming together during 

 such trying times. 



In conclusion, I desire to say a few 

 words to our visitors and the general 

 public, and invite them to join in the 

 work of our splendid Society, and par- 

 ticipate in its benefits. To those not 

 yet so well acquainted with our organ- 

 ization let us say, that our Society was 

 organized in Boston nine years ago; 

 its aims and objects are in part to 

 promote the interest and welfare of 

 its members, to encourage local ex- 

 hibitions all over our beloved country, 

 to the end that a greater interest 

 may be cultivated, not only in theGlad- 

 iolus but for all that is beautiful in 

 flowers, and in life in every way. Our 

 official organ is the Flower Grower of 

 Calcium, N. Y., a very ably edited 

 monthly, devoted to the Gladiolus, as 

 well as to an interest in other beauti- 

 ful flowers. Every grower of a garden 

 should be a subscriber as, among its 

 contributors, are many of the leading 

 authorities of our own and other coun- 

 tries. Our membership consists of 

 many people prominent in the best in 

 floriculture from all over the world. 

 It is for your benefit I ask you to 



join our Society, and become an active 

 member. Aid us for the good of our 

 fcllowmen in making it one of the 

 most valuable and important floricul- 

 ture societies in the world. 



Our secretary, Prof. A. C. Beal of 

 Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., will 

 be pleased to give anyone more de- 

 tailed information. Much as I regret 

 that We are holding this year's con- 

 vention under the dark clouds of a sad 

 war, I sincerely hope to be with you 

 again next year under the happy skies 

 of an honorable peace. 



CANADIAN HORTICULTURAL 

 ASSOCIATION. 



This sturdy body had a good old- 

 fashioned convention at Ottawa on 

 August 13-16. The attendence was 

 very representative and the meetings 

 were interesting and productive. The 

 social features were given much prom- 

 inence and the entertainments pro- 

 vided will long be remembered by 

 those who were priviliged to enjoy 

 them. Among the affairs provided 

 were a visit to the Central Experi- 

 mental Farm, a bowling game between 

 Montreal and All-Canada, a visit to 

 Aylmer and Mr. Wright's greenhouses 

 and the annual banquet at the Chateau 

 Laurier. Much credit is due to Mr. 

 E. I. Mepsted, the chairman of the lo- 

 cal committee, or as he is affection- 

 ately known "Uncle Ned." He was 

 ".Johnny on the spot" everywhere and 

 all the time. 



The election of ofliicers was a 

 spirited contest and resulted as fol- 

 lows : 



President — Geo. Douglas, Toronto. 



1st Vice-President — E. B. Hamilton. 

 London. 



2nd Vice-President — Jas. McKee. 

 Ottawa. 



Sec.-Treas.— H. J. Eddy, Montreal. 



Executive committee for three years 



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