August 20. 1930 



aOKTICULTURE 



269 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS AND 

 ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURISTS 



Twenty-Sixth Annual Meeting at Rochester, N, Y.— The Exhibition 



One of the Best 



Baltimore, Md,, the Next Meeting Place 



Officers Elected 



PRESIDENT— George Asmus, Chicago, III. 

 VICE-PRESIDENT— R. VINCENT, JR,. White Marsh, Md. 

 SECRETARY— H. B. DORMER, Urbana, III. 

 TREASURER— WM. F. KASTING, Buffalo, N. Y. 



The twenty-sixth annual meeting of 

 the Society of American Florists and 

 Ornamental Horticulturists was called 

 to order by Mr. Fred W. Vick, Presi- 

 dent of the Rochester Florists' Associa- 

 tion at 2.30 o'clock, Tuesday, August 

 16th, at the Convention Hall in 

 Rochester, which was also the head- 

 quarters for the Trade Exhibition. 

 The audience was fully the equal of 

 any in recent years numerically and 

 In the representation from all sec- 

 tions. 



Mr. Vick introduced his Honor 

 Mayor H. H. Edgerton, who welcomed 

 the convention to Rochester, and said 

 that its citizens were proud of the 

 florists and proud of their own name 

 of "The Flower City." In extending 

 the freedom of the city he hoped that 

 all would so enjoy the occasion as to 

 wish to come again and come often. 



Mr. Vick next introduced Mr. George 

 Dietrich. President of the Rochester 

 Chamber of Commerce, who spoke of 

 the good city government enjoyed by 

 Rochestfr. and referred to its diver- 

 sified industries and number of homes 

 all of which would be found to boast 

 of lawns and flowers. He congratu- 

 lated the Rochester florists and briefly 

 outlined the progress of the city in 

 its development from flour to flowers, 

 its flrst cognomen being the "Flour 

 City," which later became the "Flower 

 City," and added his emphasis to the 

 welcome voiced by the Mayor. 



Mr. Robert Craig, of Philadelphia, 

 (responded, complimenting Rochester 

 on its ability to take care of large 

 bodies of men assembled in conven- 

 tions. It is the only city so far as 

 Mr. Craig knew that has adopted for 

 its civic emblem a flower, the delight 

 of the florists. Mr. Craig feelingly 

 referred to the life and labors of 

 George Ellwanger, Patrick Barry and 

 Jas. Vick. and a host of others whose 

 careers of usefulness are familiar to 

 all florists, and whose work has done 

 so much to make Rochester famous as 

 a horticultural center. The cordial 

 greeting extended, he declared, was 

 warmly reciprocated, and the visitors 

 were glad to be in Rochester and pro- 

 posed to make the most of their visit. 

 They had brought with them a few 

 examples of the plant growers' art 

 which would doubtless interest the 



people of Rochester. He said in con- 

 clusion that there was a growing 

 sentiment, he thought, in favor of the 

 spring season for a convention and 

 exhibition because at that season 

 florists' plants are seen at their best. 



Patrick O'Mara, of New York, ob- 

 taining the floor, made a neat speech 

 presenting to President Pierson a 

 beautiful ivory gavel, with trim- 

 mings, a gift from the New York 

 Florists' Club. Mr. O'Mara felicitated 

 President Pierson upon the efficient 

 work that he has already accom- 

 plished, and suggested that he show 

 no favors to the donors when he had 

 occasion to use the gavel, and how- 

 ever he might wield it he felt sure 

 he would never prove to be a 

 "knocker," but when he finally, in 

 the course of events, turned the oflice 

 over to another, he would leave a 

 record that few could equal and none 

 surpass. 



President Pierson in accepting the 

 gavel returned his acknowledgements 

 to the New York Florists' Club. He 

 assured his hearers that the gift 

 was none the less acceptable and ap- 

 preciated because it had been unlocked 

 for. 



The Presidents' address followed. 

 PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen — Members of 

 the Society of American Florists and 

 Ornamental Horticulturists: — It gives 

 me great pleasure to address you on 

 this occasion — our twenty-sixth an- 

 nual convention. This convention 

 marks the beginning of the second 

 quarter century in our history. It is 

 very fitting that Rochester, the Flower 

 City, should have been chosen for this 

 convention, for no city in the United 

 States has done more to inculcate the 

 love of horticulture among our peo- 

 ple than has Rochester. This city was 

 the cradle of the seed and nursery 

 business of the United States, and has 

 a world-wide reputation for its love 

 of flowers and the beautiful. 



Consolidation of Societies. 



To my mind, one of the most Im- 

 portant objects to be accomplished at 

 this time is the incorporation or con- 

 solidation of the various societies de- 

 voted to special lines of ornamental 



horticulture into one homogen€ous, 

 harmonious whole. By this I do not 

 mean that the different societies, such 

 as the Carnation Society, the Rose So- 

 ciety, and the other kindred organiza- 

 tions, should losle their individuality 

 or identify, but that, instead of being 

 separate organizations, they should be- 

 come sections of the National So- 

 ciety, each devoted to its own in- 

 dividual interest, but incorporated in- 

 to one powerful organization. This 

 is the day of concentration, and now, 

 it seems to me, is the psychological 

 moment for the unification of the dif- 

 ferent horticultural interests. 



You may ask how this is to be 

 done; and it is a pertinent question. 

 As my friend Patrick O'Mara has ex- 

 pressed it, "We need a Moses to lead 

 us out of the wilderness into the 

 promised land." If I remember cor- 

 rectly, this promised land flowed with 

 milk and honey; so it would seem as 

 if the object to be attained was worth 

 striving for. I do not want you to 

 mistake me as expecting to be the 

 "Moses" to lead you out of the wilder- 

 ness of the numerous and varied in- 

 terests represented by the different 

 horticultural societies. 



This subject has been uppermost In 

 all our minds for years, and the ques- 

 tion of affiliation has been threshed 

 out, and it seems to me as If we might 

 accomplish in a concrete and practical 

 form, what we have been theorizing 

 about for years, in the mid-winter con- 

 vention, which it Is now proposed to 

 hold in connection with the National 

 Flower Show, to be held In Boston 

 next spring, the Executive Board hav- 

 ing recommended that a special meet- 

 ing of the society be held during the 

 time of the National Flower Show; 

 and I sincerely hope that this recom- 

 mendation will meet with your ap- 

 proval and be adopted — especially In 

 view of the fact that the American 

 Carnation Society has already fixed 

 that date for holding Its annual con- 

 vention, and the American Rose So- 

 ciety has also agreed upon that date 

 for holding its annual convention, and, 

 I trust, we may have the co-operation 

 of all the other societies as well. 



This is directly In line with what I 

 have in mind at this time as a desira- 

 bility. In other words, I believe that. 



