206 



HORTICULTURE 



August 14, 1909 



tipn of local florists' clubs and societies, the support of 

 exhibitions — trade or public — the supervision of horti- 

 cultural information as disseminated through the public 

 press, the acquirement of fundamental knowledge on the 

 part of employes whose duties bring them into contact 

 with the people, the condemnation of everything savor- 

 ing of pretence or misrepresentation in trade dealings, 

 are all means tending to the end so much to be desired. 

 To facilitate progress towards this laudable purpose the 

 active co-operation and aid of the Experiment Stations 

 in horticultural work should be enlisted and that ade- 

 quate importance and strength may attach to all move- 

 ments for such recognition, practical affiliation and co- 

 hesion between all our local and national organizations 

 is an essential which no one will question. These 

 instrumentalities for the betterment of American 

 horticulture and of those who make it their avo- 

 cation have lost nothing of their importance with the 

 lapse of time but are of as vital consequence now as 

 when advocated by the earnest men whom the national 

 society has chosen as its standard bearers from year to 

 year. They all lead in the direction of progress and 

 are founded on those principles which must be accepted 

 and followed if American horticulture is to attain and 

 hold its rightful position. They furnish unlimited ma- 

 terial and inspiration for conventions without number 

 and are an unfailing guide for the activities of clubs 

 and societies wherever located and however constituted. 

 They embody the concrete wisdom and aspiration of the 

 craft as kindled and evolved under the kindly nurture 

 for a quarter century of The Grand 01,d Society. 



Those who are disposed to accept without 

 Privileges qualification the off-hand statement made 

 curtailed by the railroad representatives, as quoted 

 in the S. A. F. preliminary program, to 

 the effect that under present arrangements S. A. F. mem- 

 bers can attend the convention as cheaply as for- 

 merly, may perhaps find subject for thought in the fact 

 that the kound trip rates to the first Cincinnati conven- 

 tion as quoted from several points were as follows : 



From St. Louis J13.30 



From New York 16.00 



From Philadelphia 14.00 



From Chicago 9.00 



With all our alleged advancement in transportation 

 facilities and the freely predicted benefits in which the 

 public were to share as a result of the abolition of free 

 passes we are confronted with the fact that from some 

 of the most important centers we are now called upon 

 to pay almost double the fare for which the railroads 

 were willing to carry us to the convention twenty-four 

 years ago. We are aware that all protests are unavail- 

 ing and have no doubt that everything that could be 

 done has been done to secure better terms. Our main 

 object in these lines is to impress upon our readers the 

 truth as to the situation and to warn them not to be too 

 ready to take on trust either the acts or assertions of the 

 railroad people in their present frame of mind towards 

 the public. 



The prohibition placed by school com- 

 Where the mittees and others in authority upon 

 retailer should the public presentation of flowers to 

 get busy graduating pupils of schools and sem- 

 inaries is, we understand, to be brought 

 before the Society of American Florists for considera- 

 tion, by florists who find their business suffering from 

 this alleged oppressive proscription. Just what the S. 

 A. F. will be asked to do in the matter is not in evidence 

 yet, but it is greatly to be desired that the controversy 



be handled in a discreet and carefully considered man- 

 ner so that it be made plain that dictates other than 

 those that are purely mercenary are behind our activity. 

 There is another subject which might with wisdom be 

 slated for attention at Cincinnati. We refer to that 

 standing reproach to the retail flower trade in many 

 places — the practice of soliciting orders for floral de- 

 signs at homes where death has entered. If some prac- 

 tical plan of dealing with the evil could be evolved it 

 would conduce to the honor of the entire florist trade, 

 for, while the respectable portion of the retail store 

 trade is the principal sufferer, in dignity and in pocket, 

 yet it is plain that so long as no general protest is made 

 those engaged in other departments of floral industry 

 must bear, in the public estimation, a share of the dis- 

 repute attached to the custom which has of late years 

 been rapidly spreading among a certain class of so- 

 called florists. Growers and wholesalers having regard 

 for the fair name of their business should be found 

 ready to join with the decorous element in the retail 

 trade in deprecation of the abuse and in giving wide 

 publicity to their sentiments regarding it. Apart from 

 the phase of the question which we have here touched 

 upon it will be well to consider whether the florists' 

 business as a whole, including those industries more or 

 less dependent upon it, is not materially out of pocket 

 through the disfavor for other uses which florists' flow- 

 ers must suffer through their frequent association with 

 such vulgar practices. 



Horticulture at the Convention 



Hoeticulttjee's office will be located on the first floor 

 of the exhibition, to the left of and close to the front 

 door. A good supply of this special issue of the paper 

 will be on hand for free distribution and we shall be 

 glad to have our friends call and exchange greetings. 

 Some one will be in attendance during regular business 

 hours to receive subscriptions and advertisements or at- 

 tend to any other business connected with the publica- 

 tion. Give us a call. 



We call the attention of our readers, with no little 

 pride and satisfaction, to the splendid array of trade 

 advertising which appears in this issue of Hobticdl- 

 TUEE — a much larger issue than v>'e have ever before 

 published and one wliich would not have been within our 

 power had the advertising trade not responded so cor- 

 dially to our announcement. We hope that the pur- 

 chasing trade will not neglect the opportunity thus pre- 

 sented to acquaint themselves with what is in the mar- 

 ket in the way of desirable material for the busy season 

 which is now close at hand and will favor in every way 

 possible the enterprising dealers who have chosen to talk 

 to the buying trade through the columns of Hoeticul- 



TUEE. 



Our next issue will contain a full account of the pro- 

 ceedings at the 25th convention of the Society of Amer- 

 ican Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists at Cin- 

 cinnati, Ohio, the exhibits and awards and other inter- 

 esting news so far as completed up to the time of going 

 to press. By the thousands of interested horticultur- 

 ists not in attendance at the convention this will be 

 periised with attention and the paper will be an espe- 

 cially good medium for advertisers because of this fact. 

 If you have anything to sell you can feel assured that 

 whatever you may offer in that issue will enjoy a wide- 

 spread and remunerative publicity. Send copy in now 

 while reminded of it and we will do the rest. 



