270 



HORTICULTURE 



August 20, 1910 



instead of having a convention of the 

 Carnation Society in January, a con- 

 vention of the Rose Society in March, 

 and a meeting of the Sweet Pea So- 

 ciety in the summer, it would be bet- 

 ter if these different meetings were 

 held at one time under the auspices 

 of the Society of American Florists. 



This would afford us an opportunity 

 to test the desirability and advisa- 

 bility of such a mid-winter conven- 

 tion before committing ourselves defi- 

 nitely to any change of plan. There 

 are a great many arguments that can 

 be advanced in favor of the summer 

 convention, such as we have always 

 held, and there are other arguments In 

 favor of the mid-winter convention. 



There are some who advocate doing 

 away entirely with the summer con- 

 vention of the society and substituting 

 a mid-winter convention; but at this 

 time I should not want to advocate 

 so radical a change. The secretary 

 was directed to send eacli member of 

 the society an inquiry as to whether 

 he would find it more desirable or con- 

 venient to attend a summer meeting 

 or a meeting during some month in 

 the spring; so we shall soon have this 

 information available. I do not know 

 why it would not be advantageous for 

 the National Society to hold a semi- 

 annual convention instead of an an- 

 nual convention, as in the past. The 

 summer convention has its advantages 

 for plant exhibits, but gives no op- 

 portunity for an exhibition of cut 

 flowers, practically, of any kind. 



To Interest the General Public. 



Last year, at Cincinnati, there was 

 some considerable discussion as to the 

 desirability of making our exhibitions 

 of such a character as to interest the 

 general public, but on account of lack 

 of room at Rochester, there being such 

 a demand for space by exhibitors, it 

 was found impossible to carry out that 

 suggestion at this time. There is no 

 doubt but the general public is very 

 much interested in our conventions, 

 and it is very desirable that our ex- 

 hibits should be of such a character 

 as to interest the public, and help 

 floriculture generally in the different 

 cities where we gather from time to 

 time. A mid-winter convention would 

 offer a magnificent opportunity for this 

 purpose, and I believe that the coming 

 National Flower Show will demon- 

 strate the desirability of a mid-winter 

 meeting, — possibly not on such an 

 elaborate or extensive a scale as will 

 be attempted in Boston next year, but 

 along those general lines. I do not 

 see why our interests are not of 

 enough importance to justify these 

 semi-annual gatherings. It certainly 

 would require less of an outlay of both 

 time and money to attend the consoli- 

 datied semi-annual meeting than to 

 attend all the various smaller meet- 

 ings. 



Also the Retailer. 



An exhibition in mid-winter would 

 also interest the retail section, as It 

 would afford a splendid opportunity 

 to the retail florist to show what can 

 be done in artistic arrangements, and 

 would give him an excellent oppor- 

 tunity of reaching the public in the 

 most effective way. I was particularly 

 pleased to have President Valentine 

 organize a retail section last year. I 

 believe it will conserve the interests 

 of the large number of men who buy 

 and dispose of the products of the 



growers, and will be productive of 

 great good to the retailer and grower. 



The Secretaryship. 



If an afhliation can be accomplished, 

 I would suggest the desirability of 

 having the secretary of the National 

 Society, also the secretary of all the 

 affiliated societies. I think this would 

 tend to greater efficiency and economy. 

 I would also suggest that the presi- 

 dents of all the affiliated societies be 

 made members of the Board of Direc- 

 tors, thus giving each society a voice 

 in the management of the affairs of 

 the national organization. 



Along these lines, it might be 

 apropos for me to mention what 1 

 have had in mind for a long time, and 

 that is that our interests are large 

 enough and important enough to jus- 

 tify the employment of a secretary 

 who shall devote bis entire time to 

 the advancement of the interests of 

 our society. Our presidents are ap- 

 pointed for only one year, so that it 

 would be desirable to have one execu- 

 tive officer whose term of office should 

 be more or less continuous, we are 

 to have submitted to us at this time an 

 amendment to the constiution relative 

 to the election of a Board of Directors. 

 I am firmly of the opinion that wfe 

 would more nearly follow out our 

 ideas of a democratic form of govern- 

 ment by the election, rather than by 

 the appointment, of directors; in fact. 

 I believe that the offices of the presi- 

 dent, vice-president and directors 

 should all be elective, and that the of- 

 fice of the secretary and possibly of 

 the treasurer, should be appointive. 

 So far as the treasurer is concerned, 

 I am not so insistent that his should 

 be an appointive office: but I believe 

 that the secretary should be appointed 

 by the Board of Directors, and that 

 his tenure of office should not be sub- 

 ject to any uncertainty, as long as he 

 does his work well, and satisfactorily 

 to the Board of Directors. Consti- 

 tuted as we are as a society, it is de- 

 sirable that some one should occupy 

 this oflSee who is familiar with the 

 situation and who can give it his en- 

 tire time and attention. I believe that 

 the extra expense involved would be 

 money well invested. 



You may ask what there is to do 

 that requires a man's entire time. Our 

 committees as now constituted, with 

 one man in one city and another in an- 

 other city, are unwieldy and unwork- 

 able, and are too far apart to do ef- 

 fective work. Those who have served 

 on these committees will hear me out 

 in this statement. Take, for instance, 

 the question of legislation alone. It 

 is becoming necessary that there 

 should he some check upon the various 

 bills that are introduced both in Con- 

 gress and in the state legislatures, 

 many of which in the form in which 

 they are introduced are inimical to our 

 interests. There is also the question 

 of the regulation of express rates, tar- 

 iff, and other matters requiring con- 

 stant attention and supervision. 



To Increase Membership. 



Another matter to which more at- 

 tention should be given is an increase 

 in the membership of our society. 

 This has been talked of often before, 

 by many presidents who have preced- 

 ed me; and. while a great deal has 

 been accomplished in the past by those 

 who have occupied this office, we all 



admit that we do not have as many 

 members in our society as we should 

 have. There are a great many who 

 do not fully realize what a great bene- 

 fit the Society of American Florists 

 really is, and what good a society of 

 earnest workei's can accomplish with 

 the proper support. 1 believe it is the 

 duty of every man in the business to 

 belong to our national organization. 



In regard to the recommendation of 

 the Executive Committee fixing the 

 life membership fee at fifty dollars, I 

 expressed myself at length on this sub- 

 ject at the last convention. I believe 

 that fifty dollars is none too much for 

 a life membership in our national or- 

 ganization. Many local clubs and 

 smaller societies charge as much as 

 this, or more. The right way to suc- 

 ceed is not to cheapen the life mem- 

 bership, but to increase the value of 

 the organization, so that a man will 

 be willing to pay almost any price for 

 membership in the society. 



To Increase Annual Dues. 



Further, I believe that the annual 

 dues might well be increased from 

 three to five dollars. It seems to me 

 that five dollars is little enough for a 

 membership in our society. Now, ev- 

 ery member attending a convention 

 gets more than five dollars' worth of 

 entertainment alone, to say nothing 

 about the other benefits derived there- 

 from. A member of the society who 

 pays his annual dues of five dollars 

 for ten years consecutively might be 

 made a life member, and the payment 

 of further dues cease. I think that 

 an inducement such as this would pre- 

 vent a great many from allowing their 

 membership to lapse, as has been the 

 case frequently in the past. 



I would also recommend for your 

 consideration that any member of the 

 society, to be eligible to the presidency 

 should have first served on the Board* 

 of Directors. My reason for this is 

 because such a man elected to the 

 presidency would have familiarized 

 himself with the detail work of the 

 society, and, consequently, be better 

 equipped to act as the chief executive 

 officer of the society. 



The National Flower Shovi/. 

 I wish to call the attention of the 

 members to the most important event 

 of the year, namely, the organization 

 of the National Flower Show, which 

 is to be held in Boston next spring. A 

 guarantee fund of over $10,000 has 

 been raised. Mechanics' Hall — the fin- 

 est hall in the city of Boston — has been 

 leased, and a manager and secretary 

 engaged; and everything points to a 

 successful show. The first national 

 flower show was a great success, but 

 the second, which is to be held in 

 Boston next spring, is the most am- 

 bitious project that has ever been at- 

 tempted in this country; and I believe 

 that every live florist should endeavor 

 to attend this exhibition, as it un- 

 doubtedly will be the finest one of 

 flowering plants that has ever been 

 gathered together in the United States 

 at one time. No effort will be spared 

 to make this magnificent exhibition a 

 success. Premiums aggregating over 

 $10,000 wall be offered. There is no 

 place in the country where such a 

 magnificent collection of plants can he 

 collected as in the vicinity of Boston; 

 and I ask the hearty support of every 

 member of the national organization 

 to make this exhibition a red letter 



