HORTlCULTURi: 



November 11, 1905 



NEWPORT HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The regular fortnightly meeting of 

 the Newport Horticultural Society was 

 held Wednesday evening, President Sul- 

 livan in the chair. 



Col. A. K. McMahon, the society's 

 delegate to the newly-formed Agri- 

 cultural Federation of Rhode Island, 

 submitted a report of the business 

 transaction at the first meeting of the 

 federation recently held at Kingston. 

 When the forming of this federation 

 was first talked of the name of the new 

 organization was to be "The Rhode 

 Island Federation of Agricultural and 

 Horticultural Societies," but now, like 

 other matters emanating from certain 

 quarters, the importance once attached 

 to the horticultural side of the question 

 is no longer evident, perhaps for the 

 reason that there is no immediate need 

 for the further co-operation of the hor- 

 ticultural societies in promoting what 

 is on occasions termed "the allied in- 

 terests." 



The new organization has declared 

 war on all insect pests in general and 

 on the gypsy and brown-tail moths in 

 particular, detailing the first and sec- 

 ond divisions to operate against the 

 enemies. In the event of the San Jose 

 scale giving trouble, it is proposed to 

 call for volunteers for their immediate 

 destruction, the volunteers to be in 

 command of an officer from Newport, 

 this consideration not in compliment to 

 Newport, but recognizing the fact that 

 Newport is the best place wherein to 

 raise volunteers for work in the at- 

 tainment of disinterested objects, it 

 must of necessity be the place where 

 volunteers can be quickly raised to sup- 

 press an enemy whose presence in 

 Rhode Island can possibly have no 

 other object than the siege of Newport. 



Horticultural Society Awards. i^* 



At a meeting of the Newport Horti- 

 cultural Society an interesting discus- 

 sion took place with reference to the 

 prevailing opinion that recently at 

 least the society had been far too 

 prodigal witi silver medals. One 

 member asked for information regard- 

 ing the failure of the society to recog- 

 nize what William Allan, the raiser 

 of the most gorgeous of all decorative 

 dahlias, Catherine Duer, had done, at 

 the same time intimating that even at 

 this late day some recognition might 

 be shown him. The case in point is 

 so unique, and the arguments were so 

 well taken, the writer feels justified 

 in assuming that the matter would be 

 of interest outside of Newport. 



One participant contended that as 

 this dahlia was of world-wide fame 

 the society would honor itself in hon- 

 oring its originator. Another argued 

 that dahlias were so easily raised, in- 

 troducers of new varieties had no 

 right to expect much recognition; he 

 thought, however, if Catherine Duer 

 had been shown as a novelty when it 

 first appeared it would have received 

 the society's silver medal. In repl.\ 

 to his first remark, it was instanceil 

 that several of the most valuable ni 

 the new varieties of nephrolepis wen 

 discovered almost by accident, al- 

 though their discoverers were shrewd 

 enough to recognize their worth in- 

 stantly. 



Commenting on this discussion, Mr. 

 Editor, it seems to me that while more 

 deliberation on the part of judges of 



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