H O R T I C U U T U R i: 



August 19, 1905. 



Society of American Florists and Ornamental 

 Horticulturists 



The Washington Convention is a Great Success 

 From Every Standpoint 



Large Attendance From All Sections of the Country A 

 Splendid Exhibition 



As was anticipated, the visit of the 

 national society to the Capitol City 

 drew out an enthusiastic attendance of 

 old. members and new. and the enter- 

 prising dealers, growers and manufac- 

 turers of the country recognized the 

 unprecedented opportunity to do busi- 

 ness with the progressive mea in at- 

 tendance by puting up a display of 

 their specialties, which in many re- 

 spects has never been equalled. The 

 late additions to the list of exhibitors 

 overtaxed even the overflow space in 

 Masonic Hall, thus making three large 

 halls completely filled with exhibits. 



Monday evening and Tuesday fore- 

 noon saw the arrival of big delegations 

 from all directions, and the opening 

 hour. 2 P. M.. on Tuesday, found about 

 everybody on hand excepting the hun- 

 dred or more on board the special 

 train bearing the Chicago, St. Louis, 

 Detroit and Buffalo people, including 

 the president, who were unfortunate- 

 ly delayed three hours behind the 

 schedule time. The proceedings 

 opened at 3 P. M. in Carroll Hall, the 

 audience room being filled completely 

 with an appreciative audience, in 

 which were a large number of ladies. 



President W. F. Gude of the Florists' 

 Club of M'ashlngton opened the pro- 

 ceedings with a few appropriate re- 

 marks, and then introduced Commis- 

 sioner H. B. F. Macfarland, who made 

 a most felicitous address of welcome, 

 and concluded in the following words: 



•'Y»u are represented here by some 

 of the best of our citizens, honorable 

 for their constant charity, as well as 

 their contributions to the common 

 stock of beautiful things. You could 

 not go anywhere without reminding 

 your hosts of the strongest and tender- 

 est sentiments. 



"The head gardener of Mount Verr 

 non. where Washington's own hand 

 made grace and beauty, after he had 

 shown the most perfect development 

 of patriotism, that flower of all civic 

 virtues, has made it possible for us to 

 present you today a most appropriate 

 gavel made from magnolias planted by 

 Washington and Lafayette, and still 

 living to connect us with them. 



"What more fitting symbol could be 

 given of the noble beauty and lovely 

 memory of the Father of His Country 

 and his friend and comrade-at-arms, 

 the representative of our only ally, who 

 said, 'When I heard of your cause my 

 heart enlisted?' " 



The Vice-President then handed the 

 gavel to President Vaughan. saying: 



"We have great pleasure in giving 

 to the national society a gavel which 

 must be of interest to every patriotic 

 American, and doubly so to every 

 member of our beloved society, for 

 never before, to my knowledge, has 

 the presiding ofllcer of any organiza- 

 tion wielded one of such sacred asso- 

 ciation. The head of this gavel is 

 made of magnolia grandiflora, from a 

 tree planted by Gen, Washington in 

 1799— the year of his death. The 

 handle is of magnolia purpurea, from 

 a tree planted in 1S24 by Gen. Lafay- 

 ette. Both of these trees were planted 

 at Mount Vernon, and are yet living." 



Following Mr. Macfarland an address 

 of welcome on the part of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture was delivered by 

 Assistant Secretary of Agriculture 

 Hays, who took the place of Secretary 

 Wilson, the latter being absent from 

 the city. Mr. Hays said in part: 



"I have great pleasure in welcoming 

 you and inviting you to the Department 

 of Agriculture. It is a great work that 

 is being done by the department in 

 furthering the horticultural and agri- 

 cultural interests of the country, and 

 the band of scientists, young men and 

 women, many of whom are graduates 

 of our agricultural colleges and other 

 institutions of learning, are destined 

 to form a noble factor of what is soon 

 to be the greatest and most useful sci- 

 entific body in the world. Because 

 persons have been defective in some 

 respects in a great system, because 

 there have been personal foibles among 

 men to whom this country and all hu- 

 manity owe a debt of gratitude, is no 

 reason for condemning the system. 

 Your careful study of plants individ- 

 ually has been an inspiration to the 

 government plant scientists, and you 

 should keep in touch with them, for 



you will be mutually benefited. Even 

 you can hardly appreciate the work 

 which the experts of the department 

 are doing for you. as well as for the 

 community at large, in furthering the 

 knowledge of horticulture, and of plant 

 life, with the view to making this great 

 agricultural nation bring forth the best 

 of which it is capable." 



President Vaughan then assumed the 

 chair and read his address, as follows: 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



At this twenty-first convention and 

 in the presence of many who were 

 with us in 1885 a story well worth 

 hearing could be told of what we have 

 accomplished. This story of earnest 

 work by many, on many lines which 

 made our society a remarkable one in 

 the first few years of its history, should 

 some day be written for us. But as 

 your president I have too large a con- 

 ception of our future to devote the 

 time, which your custom gives me, to 

 a backward view. If we made a won- 

 derful advance in the first five years 

 of our existence, what may not our 

 younger members accomplish in the 

 five years which begins today? 

 Our Opportunity. 



There never was a time in our his- 

 tory when opportunities for exploiting 

 our business were greater than today; 

 never a time when the public was so 

 eagerly interested in horticulture and 

 floriculture; never a time when there 

 were so many patrons of floriculture. 

 Nor is this interest a narrow one. It 

 considers the use of horticulture be- 

 yond the decoration of private grounds 

 and is alive to its uses in all public 

 ways. 



Therefore, I shall emphasize first 

 those lines on which we can work in- 

 dividually and as a body. The in- 

 dividual in his own neighborhood, club, 

 city or state; our society, among Ciuhs, 

 nationally. 



Increasing Demand for Plants. 



President James Dean said in 1892: 

 Our advance as a society must be 



commensurate with and excel the 



advance of floriculture, which, during 



