August 21, 1909 



HORTICULTURE 



277 



THAT FIRST MEETING. _ 



(A Pnper Read Before the Society of Ameri- 

 can Florists by E. G. Hill.) 



It is hard to realize that twenty-five 

 years have passed since the organiza- 

 tion of this society: to several of us 

 here it seems only as yesterday since 

 our initial meeting, though the jour- 

 ney from 1S84 to the present time has 

 been diversified by enough momentous 

 incidents to convince us that it has 

 been a full quarter century run. 



The central figure of that first meet- 

 ing was our president. Mr. Thorpe; 

 those of us who were present will 

 never forget how Uncle John in his 

 unconventional manner and in his 

 own unique way presided over our de- 

 liberations, nor can we forget his en- 

 thusiasm, and confidence in this So- 

 ciety; he was sure that it was a ne- 

 cessity, and positive of its success; 

 it is a pleasure to remember his 

 kindly manner, his tact in disarming 

 criticism of any violation of parlia- 

 mentary law, his recognition of big or 

 little who had a suggestion to offer, 

 or an amendment to propose. We all 

 realized that we had a thoroughly in- 

 formed, sincere, and kind hearted man 

 in the chair and every member pres- 

 ent came readily and gracefully under 

 the spell of his personality: John 

 Thorpe had most unusual gifts of 

 both heart and mind and at that time 

 he was at the zenith of his power and 

 popularity. 



I have surmised that the grouping 

 together of the ex-presidents and of 

 the original members of this Society 

 on this occasion is to show the benefi- 

 cent workings of Osterization could it 

 be put into general practice: but 

 though we sun'ivors may wear crowns 

 of silver hair and show the markings 

 of time upon our outer man, I trust 

 that we can claim minds serene and 

 unimpaired and still able to face the 

 battles of life — and of trade— with 

 fearless vigor. 



It was Arnold of Rugby who told 

 the regents that when he failed to 

 take the stairs three steps at a time, 

 'they must look about for a new head- 

 master for the school, and though 

 many of us who met here twenty-five 

 years ago may not now feel like tak- 

 ing the stairs just in that way, we 

 can rejoice in the possession of an 

 open mind, a determination to avoid 

 the ruts, and a living interest in the 

 best things in floriculture. 



Notwithstanding, one of the lessons 

 that we seniors must learn and put 

 into practice as well is the recog- 

 nition of the fact that our sons and 

 the younger men in the Society have 

 rightfully assumed the positions of re- 

 sponsibility in this organization; this 

 is exactly as it should be; every so- 

 ciety, every business firm, needs 

 young blood added to keep it to its 

 highest point of efficiency, and we 

 elders must see to it that we do not 

 supply more than the necessary fric- 

 tion as the wheels go onward. 



To the carrying forward of the 

 work of this Society has been given 

 anxious thought, determined effort, 

 unremitting toil, service unstinted and 

 freely rendered by J. C. Vaughau, My- 

 ron A. Hunt, Jno. N. May, Robert 

 Craig, B. P. Critchell and others down 

 the line. 



I think it right and proper that on 

 this twenty-fifth anniversary we ren- 

 der to the memory of Myron A. Hunt 



a meed of praise for the splendid ser- 



'Vlce rendered the society in its or- 

 ganization and during its earlier 

 years. I sometimes think that we 

 owe to Mr. Hunt quite as mucb as is 

 our debt to Mr. Thorpe; no service 

 was too heavy, no journey too long 

 for him to undertake if thereby he 

 could get assistance or recruits, or 

 turn any seeming disaffection into 

 loyalty; he was the wise counselor, 

 the devoted friend of our Society, the 

 skilful organizer, and to him was due 

 in very large measure the pronounced 

 success of that first meeting. 



Cincinnati was selected as the best 

 place for our first meeting for two 

 reasons, first on account of its geo- 

 graphical position, being intermediate 

 between the west and east, second, 

 on account of the hearty invitation 

 given by the members of the profes- 

 sion in this city. How well these 

 members acquitted themselves is 

 greatly to their credit, for their wil- 

 lingness to help and their cordial wel- 

 come awakened a strong fraternal 

 feeling which was of untold value. 



I shall always remember with plea- 

 sure the arrival of the different dele- 

 gations from the various sections of 

 our country the night preceding the 

 opening of our meeting; when I 

 looked upon the faces of the men 

 who had come up to that first ses- 

 sion I confess I felt relieved and 

 happy, for a great load of responsi- 

 bility had been rolled away. The 

 spirit of those present from every 

 section of the country seemed to set 

 the mark of approval upon the efforts 

 put forth by those who had taken up 

 the initial work of organization. 



If you will look over the report of 

 the proceedings of that first meeting 

 you will find many prophetic utter- 

 ances regarding the future, not only 

 of the organization but of Floricul- 

 ture — and most of these prophecies 

 have come to pass. The topics of 

 the papers read on that occasion were 

 eminently practical and of far reach- 

 ing importance to the trade at that 

 time. I sometimes think we fail to 

 appreciate the tremendous power for 

 good that this society has wielded, 

 but Mr. Vaughan will take up that 

 phase of the society's work, for no 

 one is better qualified or entitled to 

 speak on this subject than he — he has 

 been an indefatigable worker and a 

 tower of strength to the organization 

 down to the present moment. 



The one question foremost in the 

 early days of the society was Hail 

 Insurance. This was a vital question 

 ■which caused prolonged argument 

 and discussion. The formation of 

 the Hail Association was co-incident 

 with the organization of the Society 

 of American Florists, and the wisdom 

 of its founders is best justified by a 

 study of its finances which you will 

 hear presented by the treasurer. 



We have looked in vain for many 

 familiar faces that were present on 

 that first occasion — they have gone 

 on before, having served their day 

 and generation — Myron Hunt, Peter 

 Henderson, J. M. Jordan. Hendricks, 

 John Henderson, Asmus, Scott, 

 Thorpe, the list is a growing one; and 

 though each death seemed a loss be- 

 yond repair, the building has been so 

 well founded that the individual 

 stones have been replaced without 

 impairing its strength, a fact which is 

 the highest tribute possible to the 

 wisdom of the founders of the S. A. F. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS 

 AND ORNAMENTAL HORTI- 

 CULTURISTS. 



Registration of Odontoglossum Cris- 

 pum. 



Public Jiotice is hereby given that 

 the Julius Roehrs Company, of Ruther- 

 ford, N. J., offer for registration the 

 plant described below. Any person ob- 

 jecting to the registration of this plant 

 or to the use of the proposed name is 

 requested to communicate with the un- 

 dersigned at once. Failing to receive 

 objection to the registration the same 

 will be made three weeks from this 



date. 



Description Odontoglossum crispum 

 — Blotched variety. Flowers pure 

 white, well formed large lip. Petals, 

 sepals and lips beautifully blotched 

 claret purple extending to the extremi- 

 ties. An exceedingly distinct fjnn of 

 Odontoglossum crispum. 



Name Odontoglossum crispum, varie- 

 ty E. B. Dane. 



Registration of Canna. 



Public notice is hereby given that 

 Vauahan's Seed Store, of Chicago, 111., 

 offers for registration the plant de- 

 scribed below. Any person objecting 

 to the re.sristration of this plant or to 

 the use of the proposed name is re- 

 quested to communicate with the un- 

 dersigned at once. Failing to receive 

 objection to the registration the same 

 will be made three weeks from this 

 date. 



Description. — Vigorous plant, foliage 

 green, stalk and bracts brown; large 

 flower, brilliant scarlet. Spikes numer- 

 ous, free flowering, carrying the flow- 

 ers well. 



Name.— This variety came from 

 Vilmorin. Andrieux & Co.. Paris. 

 France, under the name "Philadelphia" 

 but as one Philadelphia already exists 

 in this countrv, we have taken the lib- 

 erty of naming this "NEW CHICAGO." 



W. N. RUDD, Secretary. 

 August 13, 1909. 



NEW YORK TO CINCINNATI. 



The New York convention party was 

 large enough to comfortably fill two 

 special cars which, together with a 

 special dining car, were attached to 

 the "Second Empire" train leaving New 

 York City at 12.40 p. m. on Monday. A. 

 few Boston, Albany and Syracuse addi- 

 tions were made to the party and a 

 sood-sized delegation was taken on at 

 Rochester, these latter occupying regu- 

 lar sleeping car from Buffalo. There 

 were quite a numlier of ladies and this 

 fnct together with the influences of 

 advancing civilization was probably 

 resnonsible for the quiet and decorum 

 which prevailed and which furnished 

 material for comparisons with some of 

 the strenuous earlier S. A. F. conven- 

 tion trins when hilaritv untramelled 

 reigned from start to finish. .loe Man- 

 da and Bob Berry handled the com- 

 missary department with consummate 

 skill and if everybody wasn't well sup- 

 plied with his favorite beverage it was 

 not the fault of these two indefati.eable 

 workers. In the party were three 

 members who had attended the first 



