August 12, 1905 



HORTICULTURE. 



The Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists 



He who would think to write the history of the Society 

 of American Florists from tlie time of its inception down 

 to the present — a history correct in its estimates and 

 discerning in its deductions, something more than a 

 mere series of statistics and prosy records — must wait 

 yet a few years until minor and suhjeetive issues have 

 faded into dimness and stand upon the vantage ground 

 of a distance sufTiei(>nlly remote to insure a comprehen- 

 sive and broadly impartial measurement of the society's 

 development and influence as a unit. Yet the twenty- 

 first birthday of such an organization is an event wor- 

 thy of some particular notice and reminds us that the 

 society has now reached an age where we may safely at- 

 tempt a retrospective review, at least of its earlier days, 

 and draw reasonably fair inferences from the results of 

 our research. 



As we glance over the years of the society's life we 

 instinctively compare conditions in the domain of horti- 

 culture as they were at the time of its birth with those 

 prevailing today and then try to reason out how much 

 of the admitted advancement is due to its existence. In 

 this effort it is admitted that one's estimate is sure to 

 be colored in a greater or loss degree by the closeness of 

 his affiliation with the organization and its policies dur- 

 ing the time under consideration, yet we will assume 

 that no fair-minded man will question the presumption 

 that between its activities and the bettered conditions of 

 the art and the craft to whose interests it stands pledged 

 there is a certain direct connection and that it has been 

 "a power in the land for tlie advancement of floricul- 

 ture." 



It has been said that there is surely no greater wisdom 

 than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things. 

 Thus was the wisdom of tlie founders of the S. A. F. 

 demonstrated, for the time was most opportune and 

 when the first circular was sent out announcing the birth 

 of "an organization, national in character, honest and 

 progressive in purpose" and outlining its aims, the re- 

 sponse from all over the country left no doubt in the 

 minds of its projectors that a great and efficient agency 

 for the elevation of the profession and the benefit of 

 posterity was in their keeping. 



The career of the organization shows a rare adherence 

 to the general line of policy outlined in the prospectus. 

 Considering that the experience was new to the promo- 

 ters and that the field had never been touched before 

 the closeness of the work as mapped out in advance 

 and its realization as now recorded seems most remark- 

 able. It is true that some of the ambitious dreams of 

 the over-sanguine, such as exhibitions throughout the 

 year, a system of examination and registry of gardeners, 

 an experimental garden, library and central home, mu- 

 tual aid and sick benefits, have never yet materialized, 

 and some of them are not likely to, yet in the main the 

 initial policies have been followed with extraordinary 

 fidelity and this fact speaks much for the fore- 

 sight and judgment of the men who laid so well the 



foundations of ilic ni-frnnization. The obligation to ben- 

 efit the grower of plants or flowers, whether for pleasure 

 or profit, the dealer in these products and the manu- 

 facturer, builder and inventor, to collect and diffuse 

 information, to advise, instruct and defend and in gen- 

 eral to lift up and carry forward the interests of gar- 

 dening in all its pliases, and to promote the prosperity 

 of the craft has at no time been lost sight of, and, look- 

 ing back over tlie annals of the society, who shall 

 say that the promise has not been kept ? For twenty-one 

 consecutive years the members have come together an- 

 nually, some to give their fellow-craftsmen the benefit 

 of the wisdom gained througli study and labor, some to 

 listen and acquire knowledge, others to enjoy the 

 unique social privileges of these gatherings and be par- 

 ticipant in that delightful blending of festivity and in- 

 dustry, work and relaxation which comes so naturally 

 to the florist constructed on the normal type, and we 

 know that they arc more intelligent and better men, as 

 a result. 



Dividing the time into five-year periods we find the 

 meetings of the first period characterized by a disposi- 

 tion to debate minor cultural and trade procedures at 

 random and almost exclusively from the standpoint of 

 the commercial florist, rose culture being the dominant 

 subject and the novel opportunity afforded the small 

 operator to cross-examine his more prominent and STic- 

 eessful fellow was taken advantage of to full, and some- 

 times comical, extent. After the lapse of a few years, 

 when the big growers had been pumped dry, the pet 

 theories all well aired and the novelty of the situation 

 had worn off, the broader questions of the uplifting an^ 

 dignifying of the profession began to come to the front. 

 The need for internal strengthening of the organization 

 itself became also apparent to the more conservative 

 members, and it was soon realized that the problem of 

 so directing the society's activities as to make it a fixed 

 and permanent institution with an established policy 

 and intact membership would demand decisive attention 

 and that very serious work in this direction was yet in 

 store. 



Still, notwithstanding the care free, youthful spirit 

 that permeated the period in question, the record 

 shows that some very practical and far-reaching work 

 had been accomplished. The Florists' Hail Association, 

 pregnant with benevolent purpose, the defeat of an ob- 

 noxious bill doubling the cost of postage on plants, 

 bulbs and seeds, and a further reduction on original 

 rates on these goods were some of the results achieved. 

 To these may be added the healthy sentiment awakened 

 against the practice of renaming, substituting, exagger- 

 ation in catalogue illustrations, and in the interests of 

 correct plant nomenclature. 



An analysis of (be second period, covering the years 

 up to 1895, shows some interesting facts. The meeting 

 of 1890, lagging in absorbing debates and oral features 

 such as had marked the earlier gatherings, came to the 



